Maison Law represents families who lose loved ones in heartbreaking Turlock truck accidents. When a reckless truck driver causes a fatal collision, the victim’s family can seek full financial support to deal with immediate difficulties and hardships in the future. Our wrongful death lawyers offer all family members a free, confidential case consultation. 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 through a wrongful death claim filed with the truck driver’s insurance and the trucking company’s insurer. However, company lawyers and insurance adjusters will often try to blame the victim for an accident and minimize the support they have to provide.
A Turlock 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 file a wrongful death claim and protect the family from the tactics insurance companies use. A lawyer also handles the frustrating negotiations with insurance companies while allowing as little disruption to a grieving family as possible.
Deadly Truck Accident Dangers in Stanislaus County
Turlock is a busy spot where a lot of traffic from across the state meets. Produce trucks and semi-trucks from local farms, orchards, and packing plants use routes like Highway 99 to transport goods. Manufacturers and businesses have their own big rigs out on narrow lanes like those on Geer Road. Delivery vans, like those that Amazon uses, race through local neighborhoods all day long.
These giant, heavy vehicles can be hard enough to control under the best of conditions. However, when truck drivers and delivery drivers get distracted and careless, the situation for drivers in smaller vehicles gets extremely dangerous. A speeding semi-truck can crush a car or SUV. Victims can end up under tractor-trailers waiting to be rescued before they can receive life-saving care. These accidents end far too often in the loss of human life.
California’s Transportation Injury Mapping System (TIMS) reports that in 2023 there were 142 truck accidents involving serious injury on Stanislaus County roads. Those collisions led to at least seven tragic deaths. Highway 99 through the county contributed to those heartbreaking figures. It was the scene of at least 28 serious truck collisions and two deaths in 2023.
Families affected by these and other accidents may have to rely on powerful legal assistance to force a large trucking company or business to accept responsibility. Those truck drivers represent the company, and victimized families shouldn’t have to face the consequences of an accident alone. A Turlock truck accident lawyer can demand the maximum in support for those left behind, so they don’t have to deal with a devastating loss and at the same time, a financial disaster for the family.
Who Can Be Held Responsible for a Fatal Truck Accident?
Your Maison Law attorney goes over each detail of your accident and collects all evidence available. Your attorney also conducts a deep investigation into the truck driver’s past and the company’s safety record.
It’s the best way to determine every party that may have to contribute to the support of the family left behind. It may be a reckless truck driver to blame. The negligent company that didn’t hire safe drivers and provide proper training could be held accountable.
These are just a few of the potential at-fault parties who would be forced to support your family:
- Independent Driver – Drivers may work for themselves. They’ll have commercial insurance your family can hopefully draw from.
- Local Trucking Company or Farm– Drivers may be working for a local delivery or shipping company that provides some insurance. A local farm may have its own drivers. These companies may also face liability if poor maintenance and upkeep of their trucks and tires contribute to an accident.
- Large Corporations – These national businesses, like Walmart, and giant agricultural corporations, may have their own network of trucks and drivers. Delivery companies like Amazon or UPS usually carry large insurance policies for their drivers. Unfortunately, these businesses also have corporate lawyers who fight to free their employers from blame after an accident.
- Truck Manufacturer – A problem with the way a truck or a farm vehicle is assembled could be the cause of a major accident. A parts defect or a design flaw could have led to an impact. The maker of the vehicle may even have to recall a truck over safety issues. The manufacturer could also have to support your family financially.
Who Can Sue After a Family Member’s Wrongful Death?
California law enables close relatives to file wrongful death claims after an accident. Basically, anyone who was financially dependent on the victim could file.
However, the closest family members to the family would usually file a claim on behalf of the rest of the family and have the first right to collect support. These members would include:
- A spouse or domestic partner,
- Children of the victim or grandchildren of the victim
- In some cases, step-children of the victim
If the deceased didn’t have a spouse or children, the parents and siblings of the deceased may also be allowed to file a wrongful death claim to seek a settlement check. 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 accidents and collects powerful evidence of who was to blame.
Frequently Asked Questions
What type of support can a family receive if a loved one is killed in a truck accident?
Close family members are encouraged to file a wrongful death claim to get help with funeral expenses and leftover medical bills. They must also receive help in replacing the income the deceased can no longer provide for a spouse and children in the future. The emotional trauma close relatives are put through and the guidance that’s been lost in the future should also earn support.
What if I can’t afford to pay a truck accident lawyer?
Your family can still afford the protection of a Maison Law attorney. We don’t get paid unless we win your case for you. Then, our fee comes out of the insurance settlement check a trucking company must pay your family.
How long does my family have to file a wrongful death truck accident claim?
California allows families to file wrongful death claims up to two years after someone’s death. But families shouldn’t wait months or years to file a claim. Evidence can disappear and witnesses can become hard to track down after waiting too long to start the claims process.
Contact a Turlock Fatal Truck Accident Attorney
Contact Maison Law to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation. It’s a confidential opportunity for families to talk with an actual lawyer and work out their best options after a tragedy. We’re going to answer your family’s questions and make sure you are made 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.
