Los Angeles Truck Accident Information
Have you been involved in a traffic accident where the person at fault was driving a commercial truck? It is important for you to get a lawyer on your side to help you through this trying time. An accident involving an eighteen wheeler or other large freight carrier almost always causes much more serious damages and injuries than an ordinary traffic accident. This is partially due to the fact that typically, a fully-loaded commercial truck weighs around 80,000 pounds or more, and an average passenger vehicle weighs approximately 3,000 pounds. The size difference alone is enough to cause serious, even fatal injuries should a collision occur. Another danger posed by commercial truck accidents is the freight itself could be dangerous. Hazardous chemicals, flammable materials, and other similar cargo can cause injuries not only to the people involved in the accident, but others in the area as well. You may be entitled to recover compensation for your injuries if you have been involved in such an accident.
Similar to most personal injury cases, the injured party (the plaintiff) must show negligence on the part of the driver (the defendant). In simple terms, negligence occurs when a person or business has failed to take all precautions against an accident, and that in turn caused the plaintiff’s injuries. More specifically, if the driver of the vehicle was not following the speed limit signs, that person would be negligent in an accident. Also, if a commercial truck company failed to keep up maintenance on their vehicles, and as a result that caused injury to the plaintiff, the company would be negligent. A person injured in a commercial truck accident must prove negligence to recover compensation. This can be done by showing that:
- The defendant owed the plaintiff the duty to exercise a reasonable degree of care to avoid injury. Basically, this is going to be automatically met because it is a fact that all drivers on the road owe a legal duty of reasonable care to other drivers, passengers, and pedestrians.
- The defendant failed to show such reasonable care.
- The failure of the defendant to exercise reasonable care was the direct cause of the injury suffered by the plaintiff.
In the event that you have been injured in this type of accident, it will be important for you and your attorney to identify all the potential defendants to have the best chance of a complete legal recovery for your injuries. This is where a lawyer that specializes in commercial truck accidents will be the most resourceful. Some commercial truck drivers work directly under a trucking or shipping company, and that company can be held legally liable for the negligence of the driver. The attorney will know how to show the company had some degree of control over the driver and the driver was “on duty” at the time of the accident. Other drivers are independent contractors, and establishing the liability of a third-party company can be difficult in this case. This is another area where your attorney experienced in this sort of lawsuit will be extremely helpful. The main issue in this type of arrangement would be the amount of supervising done by the company that hired the contract driver.
A traffic accident involving a commercial truck can cause more severe injuries than a typical car accident, and the need for medical care could go on much longer, perhaps even life. Because it is difficult, if not impossible to put a dollar value on certain injuries that cause emotional distress, pain and suffering, as well as loss of income or earning potential, it is important to have a lawyer experienced in commercial truck accidents to be on your side. Find a Los Angeles truck accident lawyer who can help you in the Los Angeles Lawyers 360 Directory today.