California residents are used to seeing box trucks along every route they take. Many of those vans are Amazon Blue and UPS Brown. They carry shipments to our front steps.
Other box trucks keep the stores we shop at stocked with the produce and products we need each week. Those deliveries are a vital part of California’s thriving economy, but the professional drivers behind the wheel can become careless like any other motorist.
Those large and sometimes loaded down box trucks can end up colliding with your vehicle or hitting you while you’re making your way across a crosswalk. The consequences of such a powerful crash can be all the more life-threatening to victims.
And after a frightening accident, victims and their families can rightly question whether it should be more than just the delivery driver who should take responsibility.
A Free Case Consultation After a California Box Truck Accident
The truth is, serious accidents involving box trucks can very easily mean that drivers and their employers should be held responsible.
If you or a loved one are injured in an accident involving a large truck, insurance companies probably won’t be informing you of every benefit you may be able to secure. They hope you remain in the dark about these benefits.
To find out what you should be expecting after a truck accident, talk with a skilled California Truck Accident Lawyer. You can talk to a real lawyer with Maison Law without paying a dime by scheduling a free consultation. There’s no obligation to you or your family and it’s a great way to go into settlement negotiation with an insurance company fully informed on what you should be demanding.
Box Truck Size and Weight Dangers
Delivery and shipping trucks are found on our freeways and interstates and on our blocks at all hours of the day and night. Moving companies like U-Haul also utilize these vehicles. Produce wholesalers around California also load up fruits and vegetables and transport them to markets.
If you encounter one, you most likely won’t know the maintenance that’s been performed on the truck and just how heavy of a load that truck is carrying.
These factors are both very critical when assessing how dangerous a collision caused by one of these trucks can be. Box Trucks are differentiated by Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) showing the most weight that the vehicle can safely handle.
The description “box truck” applies to many different-sized vehicles. Generally, box trucks are rated to carry weights of anywhere between 12,000 pounds GVWR up to as much as 33,000 pounds GVWR.
These weights can factor into devastating accidents, as they make it harder for drivers to slow down for a red light or for stopped traffic. Extreme loads also only add to the impact force of any collision.
The shape of a box truck also adds to the hazards other motorists must face. Their large footprint makes it more likely a truck will come over into your lane or run off a road and flip in front of you or beside you. Smaller vehicles might also end up underneath a box truck in an impact, threatening the safety of all drivers and passengers.
Box Truck Driver Risk in California Accidents
When you encounter a box truck coming down a narrow street, you most likely won’t know the condition of the driver at the wheel either.
Commercial truck drivers have more on their minds than just the road as they work. They must deal with distractions from headquarters, their next tasks, and from their personal lives as they drive. These hazards that come with the job dramatically raise the chances of an accident and a personal injury.
Here are just a few of the added dangers box truck drivers can pose:
- Distracted Drivers: Delivery employees depend on their cellphones and sometimes computer tablets to keep track of their jobs. Like a glance at a cellphone for any motorist, this inattention to the road can prove devastating.
- Reckless Drivers: Delivery drivers can also be under a lot of pressure to finish their routes. This may encourage them to hit the gas, rush through traffic lights, and cut you off at an intersection. These moves are all made with the knowledge that loaded down trucks take that much longer to come to a complete stop.
- Exhausted Truck Drivers: Truck drivers are like anyone else. They may not have gotten enough sleep or could be focused on personal and work issues as they travel. These issues rob the attention they should be showing you and every other driver on the road.
Who Can Be Liable After a Box Truck Accident?
In a normal accident, the at-fault driver’s insurance provider is called upon to furnish money to injured victims. These insurance claims ask for medical costs to be covered and lost wages to be compensated. The physical and emotional pain suffered by victims should also factor in.
Box Truck Drivers will usually have commercial auto insurance that you will hope to draw similar damages from. However, since that truck driver likely represents a company or corporation, their employers may also owe you support through recovery.
These are just a few of the parties that could be called upon to provide compensation after a Box Truck personal injury accident:
- Independent Driver — You may have been hit by a local driver or farmer who is only covered by his or her personal insurance policy.
- Local Transport Company — Drivers may be working for local delivery or shipping company. That smaller company may be under contract with a national distributor that could also bear liability for any accidents.
- Large Corporations – National and international delivery and shipping companies may have their own in-house network of shippers. Companies like Amazon or a major agricultural company can hire their own drivers and back them with insurance to cover their victims.
- Truck Manufacturer – A problem with the design or manufacture of a box truck could cause accidents across California. If this was proven, victims could expect accident support from the truck manufacturer.
Making sure every individual and company that should be supporting victims after an accident is critical. When just one driver’s insurance policy can be drawn from, major accident victims can find that after coverage limits have been reached, they still have several outstanding hospital bills left unpaid. Having the insurance policy of an employer to also draw from leaves victims with a bigger possibility of getting full coverage on their hardships.
A personal injury lawyer serving California truck accident victims is skilled at sorting out every entity that might owe you support and then holding them fully accountable.
Contact a Truck Accident Lawyer in California
Accidents involving box trucks often result in much more serious injuries for victims and in the worst cases, the loss of life. It’s extremely important to make sure victims have everything they need for the best medical care and rehabilitation that follows.
If you or a family member come to harm in an accident caused by a delivery driver please consult with a California Truck Accident Attorney as soon as possible. There are benefits available to you and your family that insurance companies won’t be informing you of.
Attorney Martin Gasparian offers a free and confidential case evaluation. Mr. Gasparian works hard to make sure clients are allowed to restore their health and their lives without worrying over hospital bills and lost paychecks. A free case evaluation is also available to families who have lost a loved one in a tragic accident. It’s important that family members understand the benefits available to them after a tragedy.
