Being involved in any vehicle collision can be a traumatic, life-altering experience. However, accidents involving large commercial trucks or 18-wheelers can result in especially devastating injuries and financial strain for passengers of standard-sized vehicles. If you or a loved one has recently been injured by a truck driver in California, understanding key next steps is critical for claiming fair compensation.
The Main Causes of Truck Accidents
Truck accidents are often caused by factors related to the unique size and handling of these commercial vehicles.
- A leading contributor is lack of experience or improper training of drivers, which trucking companies frequently neglect by hiring inexperienced or unqualified operators and failing to provide adequate ongoing training.
- Fatigue is another major issue, since regulations limiting drivers’ hours are frequently violated.
- Improper truck maintenance and unsafe loading practices overweighting trucks or resulting in shifting loads can lead to accidents.
- The large blind spots around trucks can lead to collisions when turn signals are ignored or other vehicles aren’t visible to the driver.
- Dangerous truck equipment like faulty brakes, slick tires, or broken lights also play a role.
- Companies may pressure drivers to meet unrealistic delivery timelines, causing them to speed, operate trucks unsafely, or drive well beyond normal fatigue.
- Dangerous driving behaviors like distraction or impairment from alcohol/drugs lead to many truck crashes annually.
Understanding these risk factors can help improve truck safety through targeted interventions addressing training, working conditions, vehicle maintenance, regulations, and traffic law enforcement. More focus in these areas could prevent many catastrophic collisions involving these oversized vehicles.
Seek Medical Attention Immediately
The first priority after a truck accident is always to stabilize and treat injuries, which require prompt medical intervention. Even if you feel fine initially, the rush of adrenaline after a crash can mask serious health issues that may worsen without care. Insist on being examined thoroughly by emergency responders and follow up with recommended doctors’ visits. Documenting accident-related injuries and treatment is vital later when building an injury claim.
Report the Crash to Authorities
Contact the police to officially report any truck collision, as this triggers an investigation. Be extremely detailed when describing what happened and ask the officer to include key facts like weather/road conditions, speed estimates, points of impact, violent maneuvers, noticeable truck defects, and more. Thorough, accurate crash reports protect victims’ rights and form a key piece of evidence for liability disputes. If the accident resulted in injuries, deaths, or over $1,000 in property damage, the driver must report it to California’s DMV within 10 days.
Gather Evidence from the Scene
While authorities investigate, also make note of critical evidence you observe firsthand. Take photos capturing the scene, final positions of damaged vehicles, skid marks, debris fields marking points of impact, hazardous weather like fog or icy patches, obscured signage, etc. Get contact details and brief statements from any witnesses while events are still fresh in their memory. Review camera footage if available from nearby buildings or dash cams that may have captured the crash. Compile evidence as soon as possible.
Consult a Truck Accident Attorney
Do not delay retaining an experienced truck accident lawyer after any collision involving a commercial vehicle. Large trucking companies and insurers quickly deploy specialized legal teams to minimize liability, so victims need robust advocates to level the playing field. An attorney also interfaces with insurers while you recover, monitors the trucker and trucking company for safety violations through extensive discovery, retains expert witnesses, and determines the full scope of available compensation in California. This includes damages like medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, property damage, loss of consortium for family members, and punitive damages if negligence is proven.
File an Accident Report with the Trucker’s Insurance
Truck drivers must carry substantial commercial insurance policies to operate legally, with minimum liability limits of $750,000 in California under most circumstances. Your attorney can identify all relevant policies and file an accident notice to engage the claims process. Insurers will investigate the crash themselves and request documentation supporting injuries, so retain all hospital/doctor records, receipts for prescriptions/medical equipment, payroll statements if missing work, and anything else demonstrating losses from the collision. This evidence trail will drive settlement negotiations later.
Submit a Claim to Your Auto Insurer
Also, with the help of your attorney promptly report the truck accident to your own auto insurance provider, especially if your vehicle suffered damage or you have medical payments coverage and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. These policies help pay bills the trucker’s insurance does not cover fully, but strict claim time limits apply. Let your lawyer handle all communications with any insurance company.
Attend All Doctor Visits
While receiving treatment, be completely candid with healthcare providers about symptoms and how the crash is still impacting your life, like keeping you from work or usual activities. This creates a factual record that the insurer cannot dispute later. Follow all recommended treatment plans closely rather than skipping therapy sessions or ignoring a specialist’s referral. Gaps in care can falsely suggest you healed faster or did not sustain serious injury initially. Ask doctors to explain diagnosis/prognosis details plainly so your attorney can relate this to the legal claim.
Create a Lost Wages and Expenses Log
Keep precise records of every penny lost or spent due to injuries suffered, including medical copays/deductibles, prescriptions, medical equipment, damage to vehicles/property, lost income from missing work, transportation for doctors’ appointments/errands you can no longer perform yourself, costs of hired household help, and more. This financial log helps prove the trucker or company’s liability for the collision also caused considerable, quantifiable damages under California negligence laws. Update these costs continuously so your vehicle accident lawyer can demand full compensation.
Hopefully, this breakdown of key next steps following a California truck accident helps you protect your rights in seeking damages after a crash. With an experienced personal injury attorney guiding you through this complex legal and insurance claims process, you can make emotionally difficult decisions with confidence. Focus most on healing physically and emotionally, while your road accident lawyer builds the strongest case possible against negligent parties to recover maximum compensation under state law on your behalf.
With persistence and dedication, you can eventually move past this painful chapter of your life. We have offices in California, Texas, and Nevada. Get in touch today.
