Truck accidents are among the most dangerous motor vehicle collisions that occur on US roads and highways each year. Due to their massive size and weight, collisions with 18-wheelers and other large trucks often result in catastrophic injuries or death for the occupants of passenger vehicles. If you or a loved one has been injured in a truck accident, you may be considering filing a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault truck driver and trucking company. However, trucking litigation comes with its own unique set of challenges that require an experienced 18 wheeler truck accident lawyer Oakland.
Key Differences Between Truck Accidents and Other Auto Collisions
Unlike typical fender benders and multi-car pileups, truck accidents have a number of distinctive characteristics:
- Large size disparity – An 80,000 pound big rig colliding with a 3,000 pound sedan is no contest in terms of physics and force. Occupants of the smaller vehicle will likely suffer traumatic injuries.
- Complex liability – Beyond the truck driver’s actions, trucking companies, manufacturers, and parts suppliers could share in negligence. Proving liability requires extensive investigation.
- Specialized regulations – The trucking industry operates under extensive federal and state safety regulations that must be navigated. Violations can help establish negligence.
- Data recorders – Most trucks are equipped with event data recorders similar to an airplane’s black box, providing objective data if properly retrieved and interpreted.
- Limited insurance – Despite their size, most trucks carry the minimum liability insurance required, between $750,000 and $1 million. Medical costs can easily exceed policy limits.
Key Challenges in Trucking Injury Lawsuits
Pursuing fair compensation in a truck accident claim comes with a number of legal challenges:
Proving Liability
Establishing the truck driver’s negligence relies heavily on evidence collection at the scene, eyewitness accounts, and expert analysis of physical evidence, often requiring accident reconstruction specialists. The trucking company can share liability depending on factors like driver training, vehicle maintenance records, overloaded cargo, unrealistic delivery timetables, or encouraging drivers to exceed hours-of-service regulations. Plaintiffs may need to pursue claims against multiple defendants.
Thorough accident investigation typically involves:
- Inspecting the condition of the trucks, including brakes, tires, and other components
- Retrieving the truck’s black box data and other electronic records
- Collecting maintenance and inspection records
- Reviewing driver logbooks, training records, and personnel files
- Documenting the secured status of the truck’s cargo
- Identifying any substance use such as alcohol or drugs
Navigating Federal Trucking Regulations
The trucking industry must comply with extensive regulations governed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regarding allowable work hours, drug and alcohol testing, vehicle repairs and maintenance, securing cargo, and other safety mandates. Violations provide grounds for negligence per se if they contributed to the crash. Experienced attorneys must thoroughly understand these complex regulations.
Key areas where regulatory violations occur include:
- Driver fatigue – Exceeding maximum hours behind the wheel or failure to pull over and rest when fatigued
- Overloaded cargo – Exceeding weight limits strains the vehicle and makes it harder to control
- Impaired driving – Failure to conduct or violations found in drug/alcohol tests
- Improper maintenance – Lack of repairs or documentation for vehicle components
- Inadequate driver screening – Employing drivers with poor driving records or inexperience
Obtaining Sufficient Compensation
Due to the catastrophic nature of injuries suffered in truck crashes, costs add up exponentially between medical treatment, rehabilitation, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Most trucking companies take out minimal liability insurance. Successfully recovering full compensation often requires pursuing additional avenues, such as underinsured/uninsured motorist coverage from the plaintiff’s own auto policy.
Maximizing compensation requires calculating both economic and non-economic damages:
- Medical expenses – All past and estimated future costs of treatment, surgeries, hospitalization, physical therapy, assistive devices, rehabilitation, and in-home care
- Lost income – The plaintiff’s diminished earning capacity if injuries prevent returning to work, require job retraining, or reduce ability to work full-time
- Pain and suffering – The physical and emotional impacts of permanent disability, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life, and bereavement in wrongful death cases
Dealing with Aggressive Defense Tactics
Major trucking insurers have vast resources and spare no expense on legal defense teams who utilize aggressive tactics to dispute liability, counter sue the plaintiff, drag out litigation, and pressure victims into settling for less than their claim is worth. Plaintiffs need tenacious advocates to counter these strategies.
Common defense strategies include:
- Claiming the plaintiff was partially at fault for the crash
- Disputing the extent of injuries and downplaying their impact
- Delaying proceedings through endless motions and continuances
- Refusing to make reasonable settlement offers pre-trial
- Attempting to exclude evidence prejudicial to the defense
- Making spurious counterclaims against the plaintiff
Finding Truck Accident Legal Experts
Not all personal injury law firms have the resources and expertise to litigate trucking cases successfully. Trucking litigation often requires retaining specialized accident reconstruction experts, economists to calculate lost earnings potential, vocational experts to evaluate impairment of future job skills, in addition to medical specialists. The right legal team makes all the difference.
Key specialists needed on the plaintiff’s legal team are:
- Accident reconstructionists – Analyze collision mechanics and calculate speeds, angles of impact, and other factors based on damage analysis, debris spread, and other evidence.
- Trucking operations experts – Provide insight into training procedures, safety protocols, driver oversight and other company policies that may reveal systematic negligence.
- Medical experts – Testify to the prognosis, treatment requirements and impairment ratings for the plaintiff’s specific injuries.
- Economists – Project future lost income based on the plaintiff’s earnings history, education, skills, and work-life expectancy.
How an Experienced Truck Accident Lawyer Can Help
The skilled California truck accident attorneys at Karns & Karns Personal Injury and Accident Attorneys have years of experience successfully representing victims of catastrophic truck collisions throughout the state. We take an aggressive approach to establish truck driver negligence, hold companies fully accountable, and overcome insurer resistance in pursuing maximum compensation for your injuries and losses. Our comprehensive services include:
- Thorough investigation utilizing trucking litigation experts
- Meticulous review of applicable regulations
- Assertion of all viable legal avenues and compensation sources
- Strategic settlement negotiation to avoid unnecessary delays
- Trial preparation leveraging our history of successful verdicts and judgments
- Compassionate client guidance through the legal process
Suffering devastating losses in a truck wreck can make victims feel powerless. The trucking company and insurance groups have vast resources on their side. You need a fierce Oakland 18 wheeler accident attorney who knows the trucking litigation landscape inside and out. To explore your options for legal action in a free consultation, contact the truck accident attorneys at Karns & Karns Personal Injury and Accident Attorneys today at 833-545-1644. With offices throughout California, we are dedicated advocates helping injured victims and grieving families recover the maximum compensation they deserve.
