Maison Law represents families who lose loved ones in heartbreaking California truck accidents. When reckless truck drivers cause fatal collisions, the victim’s family can seek full financial support to deal with immediate difficulties and hardships in the future. Our wrongful death lawyers offer a free, confidential case consultation to all family members. Schedule a case review to determine how much support an insurance company should provide to your family after a tragedy.
Do I Need a Lawyer After Losing Someone in a Fatal Truck Accident?
If a loved one is killed in a tragic accident caused by a truck driver’s mistake, families have the legal right to seek financial restitution. Families can seek support from insurance companies and in some cases, the trucking companies that employ careless drivers. However, company lawyers and insurance adjusters will be trying to blame the victim for an accident and minimize the support they offer to families.
A California Wrongful Death Attorney safeguards the family’s rights and fights back against these unfair tactics. A skilled lawyer makes sure families are awarded all benefits available. A personal injury lawyer can help in filing a wrongful death claim and protecting the family’s interests. A lawyer also handles the frustrating negotiations with insurance companies while allowing as little disruption to a grieving family as possible.
Deadly Truck Accident Hazards in California
Trucks present such an obvious risk on California freeways and boulevards. They tower over cars and SUVs. Those big rigs carry 7 or 8 times more weight than the average car. And they take up a lot more of the lane than cars.
Their enormous size makes them more likely to cause accidents and more likely to cause traumatic injuries in a collision.
Truck drivers only add to the risk of death when they get careless and speed. They put other drivers at risk when they look at cellphones or tablets instead of the road. Distracted truck drivers will have a harder time reacting to backed-up traffic or a red light if they are texting or watching a video. They are also less likely to notice when their big rigs drift out of the lane they are supposed to be in.
The National Safety Council reports that California was second on a list of the states with the most fatalities resulting from truck accidents in 2022. California recorded a tragic 436 deaths. That was second only to Texas with 810 deaths.
These truck accidents devastate families emotionally, but the financial consequences on close relatives are also enormous. Families may see massive bills for emergency response and funeral expenses. They’ll also likely struggle to make ends meet in the future without the weekly income a loved one may have always provided. A California truck accident lawyer is a safeguard for victimized families and fights to get the most in support for those left behind.
Who Can I Hold Responsible After a Deadly Truck Accident?
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:
- Truck Driver’s Commercial Truck Insurance – Some drivers are independent contractors and work for themselves. They’ll have commercial truck insurance to help support families after a collision.
- Trucking Company’s Insurance — Drivers can work for large trucking companies or corporations. Trucking companies must be held accountable when they don’t provide enough training to drivers or don’t do proper background checks on their driving records. These companies must also see to the maintenance and safe upkeep of vehicles.
- Farm Owner or Agricultural Corporation’s Insurance – Careless drivers may haul 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.
Who Can Sue After a Family Member’s Wrongful Death?
California permits a spouse or domestic partner, or children of the victim to file a wrongful death claim on behalf of the rest of the family.
In some cases, the parents, siblings, and grandchildren of the deceased may also be allowed to file a wrongful death claim to seek a settlement check. Anyone who can prove they were financially reliant on the victim could file a claim.
A wrongful death attorney can also represent all family members and file a truck accident wrongful death insurance claim. An attorney working on behalf of a victimized family fully investigates the accident and collects powerful evidence of who was to blame.
Demanding Compensation for Families After a California Truck Accident
A skilled attorney assists your family in filing a wrongful death claim backed by powerful evidence. Your lawyer also includes a detailed list of every hardship family members have faced and will be forced to face in the future. This helps make sure the family isn’t left to pay for any damages caused by a driver’s mistake.
These are just a few of the factors that determine the amount on a wrongful death settlement check for the family:
- Expenses of a funeral service and burial.
- The ambulance fees and any hospital bills accumulated before the victim passed away.
- The paychecks and work benefits the victim will no longer provide to support the family in the years to come.
- Emotional trauma suffered by family members. This can include the loss of the love and guidance victims won’t be able to provide in the years to come.
- Loss of consortium. (The loss of intimacy now that a partner is gone) Cost of grief counseling and other mental health services.
Contact a California Fatal Truck Accident Attorney
Contact Maison Law to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with an actual California truck accident lawyer. We’re going to answer your family’s questions and make sure you are fully aware of every party that should be providing support at such a difficult time. A truck driver and the company the driver works for could be fully responsible for supporting loved ones now and in the years ahead.
There’s no obligation, but if you feel Maison Law can help get fair treatment for your family, 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 insurer must pay your family.
