Truck Accidents

Truck accidents have taken the lives of approximately four thousand to six thousand people every year since 1975. Most deaths involving truck accidents are in passenger vehicles which take severe damage when they either crash into, or get hit by, a large truck. Wrecks often occur because trucks simply cannot break fast enough to stop on today’s busy highways and roads. Negligent and distracted drivers compound this problem by texting while driving and using navigation monitors that constantly chime for attention. The result is often catastrophic.

Spencer Young Law has a skilled personal injury team with experience filing truck accident lawsuits. We understand how frustrating it is to get jerked around by the truck driver’s insurance company. We strongly recommend you call an experienced accident attorney first before speaking with any person other than the police or medical professionals after a collision. Call us for a free consultation. We promise to listen, learn, lead and win big if you have a case.

In California, the statute of limitations, or time limit, for filing a truck accident lawsuit is two years from the date of the accident if the person causing the harm is a non-governmental entity. If the person driving the truck or bus works for a school, transit authority, or other local, state or federal agency, your statute of limitations may be only six months. It is critical to obtain counsel quickly to preserve your rights and to collect evidence.

Truck accidents often cause glass to scatter on the ground and metal shards to fly through the air. Rubber marks stick to pavement from brakes and blood splatter patterns travel to unlikely places. We have experts that can record and preserve evidence in order to maximize your right to compensation should tragedy strike.

Here are some common examples of truck accidents our clients call us about:

Example 1: Marvin is driving northeast on Interstate 80 from Richmond towards Sacramento. It is late at night and it is raining. Marvin does not know that a truck up ahead has crashed into the median and is blocking the left four lanes. Marvin is in the fast lane. The truck driver knew that the truck had brake line problems but failed to fix it. The trucker and his boss both knew the reflective tape on side of the truck needed to be replaced, but they failed to fix that too. Marvin sees the worn-out reflective tape one hundred yards away from the truck, but he is too late. He crashes into the truck and dies. Marvin’s family has a wrongful death case. They need to contact an experienced personal injury attorney and file a lawsuit within two years.

Example 2: Josephine is riding her bicycle legally on the side of highway 37 near Sear’s Point. A truck, contracted by the state of California, is delivering desks to various local school districts. The trucker swerves off the road while answering a text message and collides into Josephine, causing a traumatic spine injury, broken bones, and severe skin lacerations. Josephine and her family only have six months to file the right claim forms against the proper government entities and hold them liable for the trucker’s negligence. A truck accident lawyer can help her family file timely forms and a lawsuit while Josephine and her family put their lives back together.

Example 3: Travis is driving a large eighteen-wheel truck known to have problems with its steering. Since 1984, there have been over thirty-five accidents nationwide where the steering went out and a collision occurred. Travis and his boss have heard of this problem, but they did not take it seriously. One day, steering in Travis’ truck locks up and he collides into a car with a mother and her two children in it. The father has two years two years to file a lawsuit against Travis and his trucking company. The father also has two years to find a qualified products liability attorney to file a wrongful death case against the auto manufacturer because the steering on the truck did not work as intended. If Marvin was injured, he has two years to file a lawsuit against his boss’s company for forcing him to drive a defective truck.

Truck accidents case be devastating. Unfortunately, the trucking company and their insurance agency will not make a fair offer of compensation unless they are forced to do so. Call now to speak to a trusted personal injury attorney that can hold them accountable for your loss. We happily pay referral fees to attorneys who refer us trucking accident cases.