California has plenty of wide-open spaces and ranches, stables, and horse farms dot a sizable percentage of the landscape. The equine industry is big business across the state and when horses need transport between sites, they hit the road. These big, majestic animals are loaded into horse trailers and they take a ride.
You may have recently passed a rear duel-wheeled pickup truck (or dually) pulling a trailer with horse tails trailing in the wind. Local drivers are used to the sight of horse trailers on California highways and backroads, but these wide convoys present a risk to all motorists.
A trailer may drift over into your lane to strike your SUV and send you out of control. A farm truck with a heavy load may not be able to stop for a traffic light and end up ramming you from behind. When these California horse trailer collisions occur and someone gets hurt, it’s important to know how to hold a driver and potentially a horse farm fully responsible.
A Free Consultation After an Accident Involving a Horse Trailer
If you are hurt after a collision with a truck and horse trailer, don’t trust an insurance company to automatically provide what you’ll need to fund a full recovery. Reach out to Maison Law for a free consultation with a real California Truck Accident Attorney.
This is a meeting that comes with no obligation to you. It’s a way to learn about the benefits available to you and how to secure them from an unhelpful insurance provider. Make the call to Maison Law if your car has been hit or if you were hit as a pedestrian, a cyclist, or a motorcyclist.
What Causes California Horse Trailer Accidents?
A driver pulling a heavy payload of horses can make a simple mistake that causes an accident just like any other motorist. Driver error can involve a glance at a cellphone or paying too much attention to a radio dial. Those types of distractions lead to devastating truck accidents each year.
A reckless driver pulling a trailer is another scary combination of risks. The truck’s driver might be traveling way too fast to adjust to slowing traffic ahead. Truck drivers might also pull out in front of traffic, forgetting about the length of the trailer they’ll be leaving in front of fast-approaching cars.
There are other unique hazards that horse trailers present on California roads. A tire blowout on a horse trailer leaves all motorists in the surrounding lanes at risk.
Companies or farms may also provide inadequate maintenance for the trucks they utilize for hauling. Brake pads may go unchanged leading to a dangerous situation on a freeway. A trailer might be improperly connected to a truck and come loose to cause a jack-knife accident.
A truck pulling a trailer could also be under-rated to handle such a load. A driver may lose control with no way to get a truck back on the road safely.
What to Do After a California Horse Trailer Accident
After getting into a serious accident involving a truck and horse trailer your priority will be everyone’s safety. Make sure all victims are safe until help arrives.
Once everyone is secure the next order of business will be to collect evidence from the scene. If you are able, you’ll want to gather every bit of proof that shows you weren’t to blame for your accident.
Try to gather these details or ask someone with you to help you gather them on the scene of your California horse trailer accident:
- Call 911. Alert the local police force or the California Highway Patrol about what happened. Tell them everything you remember from the moments before the crash. Allow EMTs to check out your injuries and go to the emergency room if they advise it.
- Take pictures. Show damage to the truck and trailer and your vehicle. Show your surroundings such as traffic signs and lane markings. Take photos of the farm or company logos that identify who the truck driver works for and who the horses belong to. Take pictures of any visible injuries.
- Find out what witnesses observed. Get their contact information so your California Horse Trailer Accident Lawyer can contact them later for testimony.
- Don’t Approach Horses. Don’t get close to loose horses or go near the horse trailer. Even horses who aren’t hurt will be in a frightened state and could hurt you.
- Exchange information with the truck driver. Get any company identification the driver may have. Don’t make any statements about accident fault or how badly you are hurt. These statements can be used against you later.
- Schedule a doctor’s appointment. Do everything your physician recommends, including visiting specialists. Keep your medical receipts.
Who Can I Sue After a Horse Trailer Accident?
Horse trailer accident claims can take several different paths because there may be several different parties that should be providing you with a settlement check.
The truck driver could be a one-man operation or a small farm owner. The claim would be directed at the farmer’s commercial traffic accident insurance. The driver may also work for a large agricultural company or corporation. Those employers might also bear some liability for what happened.
The truck maker and the company that manufactured the trailer might also share in the blame if it’s found their design or parts failed and caused your crash.
A California Truck Accident Lawyer works to identify every party that may owe you financial support during your injury recovery. The more parties targeted in the claim the better chance you’ll have of earning full compensation to cover every medical bill you have and the valuable time you miss at work.
Contact a California Horse Trailer Accident Lawyer
After an accident involving a truck and horse trailer, you might be facing a long, expensive recovery from your injuries. You’ll need an attorney with experience in all types of farm-related injury cases to help you determine who was a fault. An California farm truck accident attorney with expertise in dealing with medical service providers and insurance companies will help you maximize the compensation you and your family receive.
After an accident involving a serious injury on a California roadway, contact attorney Martin Gasparian for a free consultation and case evaluation. Mr. Gasparian takes a hands-on approach to every case. He believes that clients should work directly with their lawyers, and get the personalized attention to detail their case deserves.
