The California agricultural industry keeps America’s cupboards stocked and sends food across the globe. It plays a gigantic role in California’s economy. Hundreds of thousands of farmworkers and those in food manufacturing support their families with their hard work.
With farming and ranching such a big part of our lives, motorists on California roads often see produce trucks, livestock haulers, and even giant harvesting vehicles filling the lanes of freeways and rural highways.
The drivers of these giant trucks try to stay as safe as possible, but as with all drivers, carelessness and recklessness can cause accidents. When you or a family member sustain an injury in a collision with a farming vehicle, you shouldn’t have to wonder about who should be providing support during recovery.
Contact a California Farm Vehicle Accident for a Free Consultation
After suffering an injury in a farm vehicle accident, you deserve to know about your legal options under California law. When a farm worker’s or truck driver’s carelessness or oversight causes you or a family member to get hurt, you shouldn’t have to pay recovery costs.
Maison Law exists to help California car accident victims recover what is fair in compensation for the physical and financial trauma they’ve suffered. Contact us for a free case consultation session. We will listen to what happened, explain your full range of legal options. We’ll help you decide whether or not your case is worth pursuing with the help of an attorney.
The consultation comes with no obligation to work with us. Even if we don’t represent your case, we will be happy to point you in the right direction.
California Farm Vehicle Common Hazards
California motorists in farming country might be used to the long lines that form behind large pieces of farming machinery being hauled along two-lane roads. Even normal big-rigs hauling crops or livestock to market can take up well more than just one lane.
Collisions are a constant threat as truck and tractor drivers make turns without being able to see all the vehicles around them. Crashes may also occur as drivers attempt to pass these big trucks. With the weight and shape of these vehicles, the injuries involved for car and SUV victims can be much more severe.
There are also other potential dangers when a smaller family motor vehicle must travel near a farming vehicle:
- Lost Cargo – Agricultural trucks can lose unstable payloads and drop an unavoidable obstacle in your path or down on the hood of your car.
- Chemical Spills – Harmful chemicals used to protect and fertilize crops can be carried by tanker trucks. Exposure to these chemicals can make you sick in the short and long term.
- Harvester/Combine Vehicle Collisions – These vehicles can offer extra danger from protruding accessories and blades. Vehicles even end up underneath these frightening contraptions, often leaving injured victims trapped until rescue teams arrive.
Who Can Be Held Liable for a Farm Vehicle Accident?
It can be difficult to sort out who might be liable for an injury to you or a loved one. That’s because, in an accident involving a farm vehicle or truck, several parties could be held accountable.
These are some of the liable parties that may be a part of your farm vehicle accident claim:
- A farm owner. A local farmer could own the land and the vehicles used on that land. Farmers can carry farm liability insurance and auto insurance to cover victims in case of an accident.
- A trucking company. A company may handle the transport of goods for farms and food manufacturers. They may hire and maintain their own drivers. These companies would carry commercial insurance for their drivers.
- A national agricultural company. A truck may be hauling a payload for a major corporation. This driver’s employer would be liable for the employee’s actions on the road. A major corporation will have higher insurance limits to provide everything you need in recovery. Unfortunately, these businesses also have corporate lawyers who are paid to discredit your injury and your expenses.
- Truck and Equipment Manufacturers. A malfunction in a defective part might have led to a farm truck hitting you. The manufacturer would be a potential defendant in your accident claim.
Speak to a farm accident lawyer to establish an attorney client relationship and gain more information regarding your case.
What to Do After a Farm Accident
Corporate lawyers and insurance adjusters can question your claim for damages and even try to pin the blame on you. They do this even when their clients and policyholders are clearly to blame, just to see if they save their companies some money.
It’ll take strong evidence in order to leave insurance companies no room to cast doubt on your innocence. If you are well enough after a collision, you should begin collecting details in the moments after your collision, right there on the scene.
- Care for any injured parties and dial 911. Allow EMTs to check every injury. Go to the hospital if the operator advises as much. Tell investigating officers everything you remember.
- Use a cellphone to obtain photos. Show the damage and take photos of traffic signs and lane markings. Capture photos of any signage that identifies the farm, company, or transportation firm the driver works for.
- Discuss the accident with witnesses. Obtain any contact information available. Ask if anyone had a dashcam rolling at the time of the accident.
- Exchange information. Get license and insurance information from the driver and try to get an employee number if they have one.
- Schedule an appointment with a physician. Even if you are taken to the emergency room, be sure to document all of your injuries with your doctor later. You may have injuries you don’t notice until the day after an accident. Your medical charts will be powerful evidence for your side. Keep all medical invoices.
What Can I Earn Support for After an Accident in California?
California allows victims to wait up to two years before filing an injury claim, but ideally, you’ll want to act much sooner. Your personal injury lawyer will want to begin an investigation into your farm vehicle accident as soon as possible. This will make finding evidence and keeping track of witnesses easier.
When your California Farm Vehicle Accident Lawyer files your claim for damages with the insurance companies involved, you’ll be seeking compensation for several factors. You’ll want every medical bill you have now and any bills down the road fully covered. The income you forfeit while losing work hours to an injury should be reimbursed. The physical pain and emotional hardships you suffer after a difficult recovery should also add to the settlement check amount you receive.
Contact a Farm Vehicle Accident Lawyer Serving California Victims
After a serious traffic accident involving a piece of farming equipment or a transport truck, talk over your case with a skilled, local attorney.
Contact California Farm Vehicle Accident attorneys at Maison Law for a free consultation and case evaluation. Mr. Gasparian and his law firm take a hands-on approach to every case. He fights to make sure insurance companies are fully accountable and that clients receive the support they need to rebuild their lives. Talk to us about filing a personal injury claim or auto accident wrongful death suit.
