Maison Law represents the victims of Lancaster truck accidents. Our personal injury lawyers aggressively seek compensation for our clients from the truck driver’s insurer and the trucking company. Please contact us after an accident caused by a truck driver’s recklessness. We provide a free, no-obligation consultation for all local injury victims. It’s a no-risk opportunity to find out what your injury may be worth and how to hold trucking companies fully responsible for recovery costs.
Should I Call a Lawyer After a Truck Accident?
If you are struck by a truck and suffer serious injuries, you should speak to a skilled lawyer about your options. Injuries caused by a forceful semi-truck impact are often very serious, and the cost of recovery can tempt some commercial truck insurance companies to look for ways to avoid liability. Businesses and their insurance providers can try to blame you for an accident that wasn’t your fault. They may also try to downplay the injuries you’ve suffered.
Your Lancaster truck accident lawyer protects you from these tactics. And if a trucking company is also liable for your injuries, your Maison Law representatives are not afraid to stand up to trucking companies and big businesses like Amazon. We want to make sure your current medical bills and any care you might need in the future are fully covered.
How Many Truck Accidents Happen in Lancaster Each Year?
In 2023, California’s Transportation Injury Mapping System (TIMS) recorded at least 11 accidents involving injury caused by truck drivers, with at least one fatality recorded. That was slightly down from 2022 figures when there were 16 major accidents involving trucks.
Lancaster sometimes serves as a crossroads of sorts for manufactured goods and shipping. That means motorists will see plenty of heavy trucks on the road. Some of them will be slow-moving, and some will be moving way too fast for comfort. It’s also a city surrounded by dairy farms, orchards, and ranches. There are always farm vehicles and even tractors on the narrow, rural highways.
These big rigs combine with loaded-down delivery vans from companies like Amazon and UPS to increase the risk of major collisions.
Common Causes of Lancaster Truck Accidents
The largest trucks on the road can be up to 80,000 pounds. When truck drivers get careless and truck maintenance goes neglected, accidents become a certainty.
Drivers can become careless or simply travel recklessly risking a giant vehicle flying out of control. A Walmart 18-wheeler can ram cars head-on along Highway 14. Victims can end up trapped underneath tractor-trailers waiting for rescue and medical care.
These are just some of the most common reasons truck accidents occur.
Driver Exhaustion: Truck drivers are often pressured to work long hours even though there are laws in place that say to take a certain number of breaks. Drivers might illegally exceed their working hours and fall asleep at the wheel, putting multiple vehicles in terrible danger.
Truckdriver Distractions: Drivers can be using a cell phone to text loved ones or watch videos. They may have to eat behind the wheel. Even taking eyes off the road for a few seconds could cause a devastating accident.
Driving Under the Influence: Traffic laws hold truck drivers to a higher standard when it comes to the blood-alcohol content allowed. The maximum allowed blood-alcohol content limit for commercial drivers is 0.04%. If truck drivers consume alcohol within four hours of operating their vehicle, they are breaking the law and putting lives at extreme risk.
Failure to Properly Maintain Truck: Trucking companies and owner/operators are responsible for putting safe trucks on the roads. Tires checks and brake maintenance must be kept up with so runaway trucks can’t cause major pileups.
Lack of Proper Training: Companies must confirm that truck drivers are safe drivers and have the experience necessary for the job. Trucking companies must also keep up with driver certification and continued training programs.
Unbalanced Cargo: A load must be properly secured so it doesn’t shift and cause a truck to swing left or right to cause collisions.
Figuring out who is to blame for a truck accident will be critical to your truck accident case. Claims must be filed against anyone who contributed to a truck accident so you have a better chance of earning enough in support to pay your doctors, surgeons, and physical therapists.
Your Maison Law representative takes up this task and makes sure everyone who is at fault, drivers and businesses, provides what’s fair to you and your family.
Who Can Be Sued After a Truck Accident?
Filing a Truck accident claim after a collision with a semi-truck or a delivery van can play out a little differently than a normal car accident. That’s because the truck drivers usually represent the companies and agricultural corporations they are driving for. That means victims hurt in an accident may be able to file insurance claims against several different parties:
- A Driver’s Commercial Truck Insurance – Some drivers are independent contractors and work for themselves. They’ll have commercial auto insurance to cover their accidents.
- A Trucking Company’s Insurance. The driver may be on the clock for a national trucking company. Trucking companies can get into trouble when they don’t provide enough training to drivers or make them drive too long. These companies must also see to the maintenance and safe upkeep of vehicles. A large company will have a bigger insurance policy than a lone driver. The insurer could provide you much more in compensation.
- The Farm Owner’s or Agricultural Corporation’s Insurance – Careless drivers may be on the road for a local farm or an international agricultural business. If your accident is with a piece of equipment from a local farm, the local owner or the corporate owner of that farm should share in your injury recovery costs. Owners and companies will have larger insurance policies to draw from and hopefully provide everything you need to recover.
- Vehicle Manufacturer’s Insurance – If the accident was caused by a part breakdown on the semi-truck or produce truck, the vehicle’s maker should also be targeted with a lawsuit in the event of an accident.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to file a truck accident injury claim?
The statute of limitations on a truck crash injury is two years. If you wait longer to file a claim with an insurance company, the insurer is usually allowed to reject it. Your recovery bills could be your full responsibility.
What kind of damages can I seek compensation for after a truck accident?
Victims must demand reimbursement for all medical bills and those that may arrive in the future. Victims should receive support while having to miss work hours. The physical and emotional pain victims endure must also factor into any settlement check. The cost of car repair or replacement is another hardship that can be compensated.
Can my family seek support after a loved one is killed in a truck accident?
Yes. Families may file wrongful death claims and ask for help with burial costs and remaining medical bills. They must also seek full support for the future now that the victim’s guidance and financial assistance won’t be available.
Contact a Lancaster Truck Accident Attorney
Contact Maison Law to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with an actual Lancaster truck accident lawyer. We want to hear what happened to you. We’re going to answer your questions and make sure you are fully aware of every party that should have to help you through recovery. A truck driver and the company the driver works for could be fully responsible for your hardships.
If you are seriously hurt and a truck driver is to blame, you may worry about having to take on a major trucking company or corporation. If you feel you’ll need Maison Law’s help to be treated fairly, you don’t have to worry about having the money to hire an attorney. We don’t get paid unless we win your case for you. Then, the attorney fee comes out of the settlement money a trucking company or delivery company must pay you.
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