Truck Accident

Why Hire A Los Angeles Truck Accident Lawyer?

Immediately after a trucking accident, the truck company in question wants to avoid liability. However, despite ample insurance, many trucking companies are quick to deflect fault for any collisions. Many businesses in the trucking industry draw upon their vast legal resources to fight a truck accident claim to help save money.

As an individual that was harmed by the trucking accident, you will need to hire an attorney or law firm like John W. Stenson to represent you. We have years of experience helping victims of a truck accident in Los Angeles successfully claim and receive compensation. Our team works hard to ensure that you, i.e., our client, do not settle for less than what the case is worth when negotiating with the insurer. We fight hard for maximum compensation from all the at-fault parties, regardless of whether it is an individual trucker or the company itself.

What Are Some Common Causes of Truck Accidents?

Trucking is a federally regulated industry to promote safety for everyone on the road, including the driver. However, failure to follow the regulations often means that there was negligence involved and thus translates to a catastrophic injury. Thus truck accident victims are well within their rights to seek compensation.

Take, for instance, if a trucking company forces a truck driver to spend an extended period behind the wheel, thus causing them to fall asleep because they are fatigued; this is the perfect example of negligence. Another instance of negligence is improperly loading cargo or not adhering to the weight restrictions, which can lead to the cargo dislodging from the truck. Improper loading or overloading could also lead to what’s called the truck being jackknifed, leading to severe injuries not only for the truck driver but potentially others on the road. A few other common examples of truck-related road accidents include distracted driving, going at high speed to meet unrealistic deadlines or make up for a lost time, and driving when under the influence of alcohol.

Our years of experience working with truck accident injury claim cases means we understand what it takes to investigate the causes of a truck crash meticulously. Our team will look at all the facts following a truck accident to determine if the accident was caused by negligence or if there were other factors, like maybe defective parts or if it was indeed truck driver fatigue.

In our experience, it isn’t entirely uncommon for there to be multiple parties at fault when there is a commercial truck accident. However, that’s something our skilled Los Angeles truck accidents lawyers work on uncovering so that we can hold all responsible parties liable for compensation.

Large trucks can weigh several hundred tons when fully loaded; thus, colliding with a smaller vehicle can be devastating. A passenger vehicle that may get into an accident with another vehicle will probably have a very different outcome than when it comes into contact with a truck.

Sure, some truck crash victims may be able to walk away from the semi after the accident with minor injuries, bruises and scrapes, but most large truck accidents are catastrophic. In many cases, this can lead to wrongful death.

Some of the most common truck cash-related injuries include:

• Neck injuries
• Burn injuries
• Brain injuries
• Spinal cord injuries
• Fractures
• Wrongful death

If you or a loved one has been in a truck accident, now would be an excellent time to consult with a seasoned truck accident litigation expert. We can help protect your rights and successfully seek rightful compensation.

Who Is Liable For A Truck Accident?

The vast majority of Los Angeles truck accident cases hold the truck company liable. The trucking company is liable not just for its actions but also for its truck drivers. Every trucking company is responsible for preventing accidents. This can be accomplished via regular vehicular inspections, training drivers, refresher training and good hiring practices. Plus, trucking companies need to abide by all federal trucking safety regulations. Thus, if the trucking company is found to be negligent in fulfilling its duty of caring and causes an accident that could otherwise have been prevented, the company will be liable for damages.

The trucking company may be liable for its employees’ negligence, including the independently contracted truck drivers driving their vehicles. Suppose a cargo loader, truck driver, ground controller or any other employee of the company was the cause of a recent accident. In that case, the company will be held liable as long as the at-fault party was clocking in hours for the company at the time of the negligence. However, most trucking companies have better insurance coverage than their individual driver, which is why holding the company liable for injuries is a better approach. That is also what any experienced truck accident attorney would recommend.

At John W. Stenson, we have years of experience handling truck accident claims in LA for third-party defendants. Third-party is defined as one that was not directly involved in the accident but may have still contributed to the accident and thus the victim’s injuries. An excellent example is a truck parts manufacturing company that produced a defective part that led to an accident. Accidents caused by a tire blowout and brakes that don’t work could indicate the manufacturer’s liability. However, this is something that experienced truck accident attorneys need to establish before moving forward.