Salinas drivers deal with so many large, heavy trucks on local roads like Highway 101 and Market Street that they may not even notice them anymore. That’s okay until a careless truck driver veers out of a lane or isn’t watching the road ahead when a light turns red. A collision with something the size of a semi-truck, a box truck, or a delivery van can do terrible damage to a smaller car or SUV and severe harm to the people inside.
After an accident involving a big rig, victims must be allowed to focus on healing without worrying over how enormous hospital bills will get paid. A Salinas truck accident lawyer handles the difficult injury claims process with a truck driver’s insurance company while leaving victims to focus on recovery.
Schedule a Free Consultation with a Salinas Truck Accident Lawyer
After a scary accident involving a truck on a local road, speak with a Salinas Truck Accident Lawyer before answering a phone call from an insurance adjuster.
Contact Maison Law first to set up a free and confidential consultation. It’s a no-risk way for you to learn what your injury is really worth before insurance companies try to convince you otherwise. If you feel Maison Law can help you earn the maximum truck accident settlement for your family, you won’t need any upfront money. We don’t get paid until after we’ve won your case.
Truck Accident Dangers on Salinas Roads
Salinas is a crossroads for the many farms, manufacturing plants, and other businesses in Monterey County. Tanker trucks, produce trucks, and delivery trucks like Amazon’s big blue vans all race across the city on routes like Natividad Avenue and Highway 68.
Truck drivers need special driver’s licenses and are tested for safety, but unfortunately, some truck drivers still behave recklessly considering the massive loads they carry. Their weight, speed, and their shape can make them especially dangerous for other motorists.
These and other hazards are what leave so many car and SUV drivers and passengers with major injuries in Salinas truck accidents:
- Distracted Truck Drivers: Delivery drivers depend on their cell phones for work updates and navigation help. This reliance is dangerous when drivers glance down for seconds at a time. Semi-truck tractor-trailer drivers might gaze at a text on a cell phone screen and travel hundreds of feet while basically blind. These are dangerous decisions no matter how light traffic may appear.
- Excessive Speed: Drivers may be tempted to speed to make their next destination on time. Heavy trucks try to keep up with the cars around them but stopping can be the real problem. That extra weight increases the space needed to come to a full stop, and speed only reduces the time truck drivers will have to react.
- Tired Truck Drivers: Truck drivers are subject to strict laws about how long they can continuously drive. Unfortunately, drivers can break these rules and their employers can even pressure them to. An exhausted truck driver or a truck driver using drugs to stay awake can suffer from poor judgment and end up causing a devastating accident.
- DUI Truck Drivers: Truck drivers can choose to climb into their cabs and get behind the wheel while under the influence of a drug or alcohol. That heavy payload becomes a deadly weapon in the hands of an impaired driver.
- Truck Mechanical Issues: A mechanical flaw or a tire defect can result in a dangerous situation, especially as a truck travels the speed limit or beyond. A trucking company may neglect to do routine maintenance on vehicles. That negligence could cause an accident that injures drivers and passengers.
All of these careless and reckless mistakes leave a truck driver, perhaps the driver’s employer, and even a truck manufacturer liable for property damage and injuries that an accident causes. A skilled Salinas truck accident lawyer fully investigates your accident and the truck driver involved. Your lawyer then makes sure all parties who may be liable in your accident provide fair support for what you’ve had to endure.
Who Is Responsible After a Salinas Big Rig Accident?
After getting injured in a big rig accident, victims can quickly face thousands of dollars in medical fees. They’ll have a hard time paying a dime towards those bills when they’ve missed days or weeks at work while healing.
You may be ready to file an insurance claim with the at-fault truck driver’s accident insurance, but you should know that the policy will have limits. The insurance company will only pay up to a certain amount no matter how high your medical costs go or even if you require a lifetime of support to deal with a permanent disability.
When the insurance coverage of one insurance policy won’t be enough to cover your costs, your lawyer will help identify other parties that might be liable for your accident. This gives you a better chance of securing the money you’ll need to help pay for every damage you’ve suffered.
These and other parties may be found liable in your Salinas big rig accident case:
- Truck drivers who work for themselves or for a small local company will have commercial truck accident insurance. They may be classified as contract workers as they haul for other businesses. You’ll file a claim with the driver’s insurance provider. Sometimes lone drivers or small companies will have low insurance caps on the compensation they’ll provide.
- Trucking companies. Truck drivers who work for a farm, a company, or a corporation usually receive insurance coverage from their employers. This can include a large agricultural company, a transportation company, or a company like Amazon. These policies can offer a lot more in coverage but beware because large corporations also have access to corporate lawyers. These lawyers get paid to help businesses wriggle out of responsibility and deny help to accident victims.
Compensation Available to Salinas Truck Accident Victims
After suffering through a difficult and expensive recovery, you’ll wonder how much support you can count on from a driver’s insurance and trucking company.
Your compensation totals factor in the physical, emotional, and financial hardships you endure. Your Truck Accident Lawyer will be submitting each individual hardship you and your family face in an injury claim. Anything left off this list could end up as a bill you’d have to pay out of your own pocket.
These are just a few of the factors that can earn compensation after a Salinas truck crash:
- Medical expenses and estimates on any care needed in the future
- Costs associated with a permanent physical disability. Estimates on your lost earning potential, your medical care, and home healthcare costs over a lifetime.
- Physical pain and suffering. This includes the emotional trauma many victims suffer with. Victims may suffer anxiety and depression and lose their enjoyment of life. PTSD symptoms might also linger after a frightening big rig collision.
- Medical travel costs. This includes transportation to doctor’s appointments while you are off your feet. It might also factor in trips out of the city or state to see specialists.
- Damage or destruction of property.
- All income you’ve lost from missing valuable time at work.
- Wrongful death benefits. When a family loses a loved one in a semi-truck accident, close relatives can file a wrongful death lawsuit. This lawsuit asks for help with funeral costs and remaining medical bills. This civil claim also seeks to protect the family in the future when they’ll be without the financial support the victim would have provided.
Contact a Salinas Big Rig Accident Lawyer
If you or a loved one suffers a serious injury due to the careless actions of a truck driver, don’t allow an insurance company to determine what you’ll receive in compensation. A crash along a local highway might leave you off your feet, unable to work, and with no way to pay your growing medical bills.
Take advantage of a free case consultation from Martin Gasparian, the founder of Maison Law. This evaluation from a real Salinas Truck Accident Lawyer comes with no obligation to you or your family. Make sure you are treated fairly and receive the support you need to fully recover and rebuild your life.
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