Motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists all use Balboa Boulevard to get up and down the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles. The 20-mile route runs north/south and carries all types of traffic each morning, afternoon, and night.
Travelers will encounter plenty of big rigs and box trucks on Balboa Boulevard. Those trucks and vans might be walling off a lane beside you or coming straight for you in oncoming traffic. Collisions are not rare and victims can suffer severe injuries in these crashes.
Once an accident involving a big rig has occurred, it’s critical that victims receive the medical care they need without being left to worry over the cost. Truck drivers and trucking companies must be held fully accountable for the damage and physical harm they cause.
A Free Consultation with a Balboa Boulevard Car Accident Lawyer
If you or a loved one are hurt in a big rig collision on Balboa Boulevard, you’ll quickly find out that the at-fault truck driver’s insurance company isn’t there to make your recovery easier. They’ll try to deny the fault of their driver and limit the financial help you and your family receive.
Contact Maison Law of Los Angeles for a free and confidential consultation. You can quickly get an honest appraisal of what you should expect in compensation. You’ll also learn about every benefit available to you and your family.
Rush Hour Big Rig Dangers on Balboa Boulevard in Los Angeles
Just like everywhere else on the Los Angeles grid, motorists practice a lot of distracted driving and reckless maneuvers on Balboa Boulevard. That puts other drivers, motorcyclists, pedestrians, and cyclists at risk near intersections with other busy routes like Devonshire Street and Sherman Way.
When big rigs and delivery vans are added to the mix, their size and weight only add to the obstacles for drivers and those on bikes and on foot.
The truck drivers themselves are the greater threat when they start looking at text messages and radio dials instead of the lanes ahead. Drivers can also travel too fast and end up hitting the brakes way too late to stop for a red light. The collisions that result might leave a smaller vehicle wedged underneath a semi-cab or a tractor-trailer, waiting on medical care until they can be cut free from the wreckage.
These extreme dangers caused by big rig impacts are one reason why it’s vital to make sure victims receive financial assistance with recovery. A Los Angeles Big Rig Accident Lawyer would demand fair support from a truck driver’s insurance provider and from the driver’s employer. That might include a farming company, a corporate trucking business, or a delivery giant like Amazon or UPS.
Who Can I Sue After a Balboa Boulevard Big Rig Accident?
If you or a family member are the victim of a scary truck collision, you’ll likely be forced to wonder if an injury claim could target the driver’s insurance or the trucking company’s policy.
It could be one or the other or both in some circumstances. There may also be other parties to blame that your Los Angles Truck Accident Attorney would identify for you.
This is a list of people and businesses that could be part of a victim’s insurance claim:
- Truck Driver Insurance – The driver could be a one-person operation and carry his or her own commercial truck accident coverage. If the driver is considered a contract worker for a trucking company, you may be forced to start by filing a claim against the driver’s insurer. If that insurance company rejected the claim or didn’t provide enough in compensation, you could then file a claim against the company’s supplemental insurance.
- Trucking Company Insurance — The driver could work for a national trucking or shipping corporation. In California, truck drivers are often hauling produce and goods for farms and ranches as well. These businesses often have much larger truck accident insurance policies to draw from, but they’ll also have corporate lawyers. The lawyers are paid to find reasons to reject your claim or get you to accept far less than what you need for your injury. It’s critical to have your own personal injury lawyer to protect your interests.
- Truck Manufacturer – If the accident was caused by a malfunction of a part on the truck or tractor-trailer, the big rig’s maker could share in the responsibility.
What to Do After a Truck Accident on Balboa Boulevard
A collision with a box truck or delivery van will leave you shaken up at the least. But if you are physically strong enough, you should try to capture evidence that will only be available on the scene before the vehicles are cleared away.
This proof becomes essential to your insurance claim against a truck driver and/or the truck accident company. Without the solid evidence you and your Los Angeles personal injury lawyer gather, insurance adjusters will have an easier time shifting blame to you and robbing you of the compensation you need to recover.
Try to secure these details on the scene of a Balboa Boulevard Truck Accident:
- Call 911 and tell LAPD or CHP officers everything you can remember about what happened, including if the truck driver was behaving carelessly or recklessly before the crash. This information goes into their collision report to help support your side of things.
- Take photos of the scene. Show where the vehicles collided and the angles of the truck and car. Show lane markings and traffic signs that were ignored by the truck driver. Take photos of any injuries that are visible and any damage to clothing. Make sure to get images of the logos on the truck and any uniform the driver wears to prove who they work for.
- Get contact information from witnesses so your Los Angeles Truck Accident Attorney can contact them for testimony.
- Exchange information with the truck driver but don’t make any statements about the fault in the accident or how badly you are hurt. Insurance companies like to use these statements to cast doubt on your innocence or your injuries later.
- Get checked out by paramedics and later by your own doctor. Save invoices.
- Keep any damaged clothing and personal items. Don’t throw evidence out. If you were on a bicycle when you were hit, don’t throw out your bike.
Contact a Balboa Boulevard Truck Accident Lawyer Serving Los Angeles Victims
After a serious big rig traffic accident while traveling on Balboa Boulevard, make sure you know about every benefit available to you and your family. Insurance companies will not inform you of your rights before offering you an insufficient settlement check.
Take advantage of a free case consultation from Martin Gasparian, the founder of Maison Law. It’s a no-risk way to find out just who should be providing recovery support to you. It’s critical that drivers and trucking companies are held accountable for the harm they cause.
