Santa Monica commuters and tourists have all been on a local freeway or boulevard and shared the lanes with a large semi-truck, tanker, or box truck. They may have watched nervously as a tractor-trailer has switched lanes in front or beside them with little room to spare.
These giant vehicles keep the supply chain flowing into and out of Santa Monica, but they also provide extra hazards on the road. These big rigs can come over on your vehicle and end up on top of your car or SUV. They can be traveling too fast to brake with their heavy loads before crumpling your vehicle from behind.
These and other devastating impacts might leave you or a loved one with a traumatic injury. Once injuries have been stabilized, you’ll be forced to consider how to earn financial support from a careless truck driver and perhaps a trucking company.
Schedule a Free Case Consultation After a Big Rig Accident in Santa Monica
If you or a loved one are hurt in a big rig collision in Santa Monica, you’ll quickly find out that the at-fault truck driver’s insurance company isn’t there to make your recovery easier. They’ll try to deny the fault of their driver and limit the financial help you and your family receive.
Contact Maison Law of Santa Monica for a free and confidential consultation. You’ll quickly get an honest appraisal of what you should expect in compensation. You’ll also have help in determining if a trucking or delivery company might also carry financial responsibility for what happened.
Santa Monica Truck Accident Dangers
Truck drivers and delivery drivers traveling on Santa Monica roads often have tough jobs. They work long hours and must sometimes refer to cell phones to get the latest updates on shipments and destination addresses. A distracted or drowsy truck driver is an extreme hazard to other motorists when you consider the heavy loads they carry.
Drivers on longer hauls can be watching a movie or eating a meal while at the wheel. These lapses in focus might leave a big rig, carrying thousands of pounds, traveling blind for long moments. You might quickly find that your car has been crushed and you’re left waiting inside for rescue before medics can treat you.
Truck drivers might be proceeding recklessly and exceeding the speed limit. Stopping from these elevated speeds takes much more distance and quicker awareness. Worn-down brakes and tires also contribute to major accidents and trucking companies can be held liable for negligence when it comes to keeping up with maintenance.
These situations and others can leave Santa Monica truck accident victims with enormous recovery bills and lost income as they miss work. It’s critical to alert a skilled Santa Monica Big Rig Accident Lawyer so your lawyer can create an aggressive plan to hold drivers and their employees fully accountable.
What To Do After You’ve Been the Victim of a Santa Monica Truck Accident
A truck accident may leave you in urgent need of medical care and unable to stand. Stay put if you are at risk. However, if you are strong enough or can ask someone nearby to help, you should collect as much evidence on the scene as possible.
This proof will be a big help when a commercial insurance representative attempts to pin blame on you for an accident and tries to reject your claim. Try to gather this key evidence if possible:
- See to everyone’s safety. If your car came to rest in a spot where you could be hit again, move if possible. Check the injuries of everyone in your car and call 911.
- Give a full report to the Santa Monica Police or to California Highway Patrol investigators. Let them know what happened and if you saw the truck driver behaving carelessly or recklessly. Get examined by paramedics and go to the hospital if they think you should.
- Take photos of the scene. Show damage to the truck and the other vehicles involved and show where your vehicle ended up. Capture images of any skid marks on the road and get photos of the truck’s tires. Show any business signs on the truck demonstrating who the driver works for and who owns the truck.
- Get information from witnesses on the scene. Find out if they had dashcams rolling and get their contact information for your Santa Monica Truck Accident Attorney.
- Exchange information with the truck driver. Realize that if you make comments like “my bad” or “I’m fine” they’ll likely be used against you later. Insurance companies can say you caused the accident or that you seemed to be uninjured on the scene even when it turns out those assumptions are far from the truth.
- Set an appointment with your doctor. Get all injuries documented, especially pain that arises in the days after an accident that you may not have noticed on the scene. Follow your doctor’s orders.
Who Can Be Held Responsible After a Santa Monica Big Rig Accident?
If you or a family member are hurt in an accident caused by a truck driver, it’s only fair to expect some help with your recovery costs. It’s also not out of the question that more than just the truck driver’s own commercial truck insurance provider should be held liable.
Truck drivers around Santa Monica are often on-the-clock for a local company or a national corporation. These businesses like Amazon, UPS, and California farms must often provide commercial truck insurance for when their employees cause accidents.
These parent companies are also liable when they hire unsafe drivers or are guilty of providing too little training to their employees. A Santa Monica personal injury lawyer will definitely be examining any company’s hiring records and safety records to strengthen your case.
Truck manufacturers are also fully liable if a part on a truck malfunctions and causes a dangerous collision. Recalls are common and if a truck went out of control due to a design flaw or a breakdown, a truck maker should be asked for support.
Compensation Available After a Santa Monica Truck Accident
To ensure that every damage and loss you’ve absorbed after an injury in a truck accident is covered, you must be careful to include them in a big rig accident insurance claim. Your Santa Monica big rig accident lawyer will help you total all of your hardships currently and also those that may arise in the future.
These are just a few of the factors that will determine how much in compensation you’ll receive in a settlement check:
- All hospital and rehabilitation expenses.
- Estimated costs associated with a long-term injury or permanent physical disability.
- Support for the pain you endured in the accident and in recovery.
- Support for the emotional trauma you’ve experienced and the effects on your life in the future.
- Damage or destruction of property.
- Earnings you’ve lost while missing work.
- Wrongful death truck accident benefits. Families are encouraged to seek benefits including help with funeral costs. Close relatives are also allowed to ask for help replacing the income the deceased will no longer be able to provide the family in the years ahead.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I Talk to the truck company’s insurance reps and lawyers?
No. Insurance adjusters and corporate lawyers will call you asking to get a recorded statement about your accident. Refuse this request. Offer only basic information. These statements could be used to hurt your case.
How long do I have to file an injury claim after a Santa Monica big rig accident?
You have two years to file an injury claim from the date of the truck accident, but you shouldn’t wait. The sooner you turn your case over to a skilled lawyer, the easier it will be to collect fresh evidence and locate witnesses.
What evidence will I need to bring to a meeting with a Santa Monica truck accident lawyer?
Bring all medical bills and your paystubs showing what you’ve lost in income while out of work. If you’ve already secured a police collision report, bring it along. You’ll also want to provide contact information for witnesses.
Contact a Santa Monica Truck Accident Lawyer
After a serious big rig collision, make sure you know about every benefit available to you and your family. Discuss your rights and your options with a skilled Santa Monica Big Rig Accident Attorney. Insurance companies will not inform you of everything that’s available because they want you in the dark when they extend an insufficient settlement offer.
Take advantage of a free case consultation from Martin Gasparian, the founder of Maison Law. It’s a no-risk way to find out just who should be providing recovery support to you. It’s critical that drivers and trucking companies are held accountable for the harm they cause.
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