Every day, we take calls from individuals who have been involved in truck accidents. These crashes happen on the freeway in traffic, on residential streets when roads are closed, in parking lots, and more. If you have been injured in a truck accident, it is in your best interest to take legal action against the driver. He may be employed by a company, which would allow you to pursue compensation against the business, since businesses are responsible for the actions of their drivers. Our truck accident attorneys in Long Beach at the Downtown LA Law Group can ensure that you get the maximum compensation available for your damages.

Truck Accident Causes And Details

Truck drivers may be involved in accidents for a number of reasons. It is not uncommon for drivers to be on the road for more than half the day, for example. Although it is illegal for drivers to drive more than 14 hours, some do anyway in order to meet deadlines and ensure their deliveries make it to their destinations. This can result in fatigued drivers who can fall asleep at the wheel or have slowed reaction times. They may even take caffeine pills or other drugs to stay awake, which can further compromise their states. Truck drivers may also break the law while driving. They could speed, tailgate, run red lights and stop signs, turn into oncoming traffic, ignore right of way laws, drink and drive, text and use their phones while behind the wheel, and more. This is extremely risk for truck drivers, as they are operating large vehicles and if they are involved in an accident, they can cause extensive damage. There may be troubles with the trucks themselves that could also contribute to accidents. Trailers may not be properly hitched, containers may be improperly filled or not covered, trailers may not have correct weight distribution of the items inside, brakes could be broken, lights could not work, and the tires may not be completely inflated. These defects and troubles could cause accidents very suddenly; all trucks should be examined and maintained by drivers and mechanics before going on long trips. Because of the size of the vehicles, they are more dangerous in rough conditions. It is harder for trucks to stop when traveling downhill or in rain, for example, and the drivers could have compromised visibility in foggy weather. Curved roads and sharp turns are also hard to handle, and road defects may cause drivers to lose control. It is also likely that you will be hurt even worse in a truck accident than you would be in a regular car accident. This is due to the larger mass and higher velocity present in such crashes. A simple rear-end crash with a truck could easily propel you forward and cause you to suffer broken bones and irreversible neck damage, for example. Other individuals have reported damages like internal organ injuries, spinal cord troubles, severed limbs, nerve pain and CRPS, crushing and puncture injuries, paraplegia and quadriplegia, and more. There is also the risk of death in truck accidents, with thousands of individuals dying each year thanks to reckless truck drivers. For the best help available in your truck accident lawsuit, contact a truck crash lawyer in Long Beach.

How To File A Lawsuit For A Truck Accident

Filing a personal injury lawsuit after a truck accident requires you to prove that the driver was negligent. You must show these four points of negligence:

• The truck driver owed you a duty of care
• The duty of care was breached
• The breach of duty led to an accident
• The accident resulted in physical injuries

If you weren’t physically harmed, you w0n’t be able to pursue certain compensation. You will only be able to compensated for your missed income and property damage. Fortunately, these costs are generally much lower than those involving physical harm, so you may not have to negotiate too much with the insurance agent – you may not even need an attorney. You will have to present adequate proof to the insurance agent to show that you were injured and that the truck driver was at fault. Your evidence package should include the following:

• Proof of medical treatment, doctor’s notes, hospital bills, and more
• Photographs of your injuries
• Pictures of the damage done to your vehicle and to the truck
• Pictures or videos of the scene of the accident
• Surveillance footage from nearby businesses or dashboard camera footage if available
• Interviews and statements from eyewitnesses and bystanders
• A copy of the police report if the police conducted an investigation at the scene
• A copy of the incident report you submitted to the truck company after the accident

You will need to write down the contact information of the truck driver, the details about his business, and how to contact his insurance agency. All of this evidence will then be gathered together and submitted to the agency, together with a letter demanding compensation for the various expenses you paid. The insurance agency will take about two weeks to go through the claim and will make a decision based on the extent of your injuries, the level of negligence you played in the accident, and how much of an impact the injuries had on your life and career. The agent will then make an offer; if the offer is too low or does not cover enough of your costs, we will negotiate a fairer settlement. This may go on for weeks or months, but we promise to always have your best interests in mind while we fight for your deserved compensation and to uphold your rights. Contact a truck accident lawyer in Long Beach for more assistance and we will do all the legal legwork for you so you can focus on recovering.

Truck Accident Compensation

You should not be held accountable for your expenses if you were injured due to a negligent truck driver. The responsible driver and the company he was working for should pay for the expenses that accrued because of the accident. It is only fair, after all, that you do not go into debt if you were an innocent victim. Our lawyers will work to bring you the following forms of compensation:

• Medical bills from the past and future
• Lost income from the past and future
• Property damage to your personal items
• Pain and suffering for your emotional trauma

We can also secure you punitive damages if the truck driver were grossly negligent or tried to hurt you intentionally. These damages are difficult to win, though, and many judges do not condone awarding them. Only a skilled lawyer will be able to wrestle them from the company. We also have the ability to bring you wrongful death expenses if a family member or loved one died in the accident. This will allow you to recover fees for their funeral and burial, your loss of relations, your loss of expected income and savings, their pre-death medical bills and pain and suffering, and more. Do not walk away from a truck accident without your ample compensation. Let our Long Beach truck accident lawyers assist you.

Statute Of Limitations For Truck Accident Lawsuit

You do not have an unlimited limit of time to file a lawsuit against a truck driver for an accident. If you fail to sue within the limit, you will not be able to get compensation. You only have 2 years from the date of the injury to take legal action or you risk receiving no winnings at all. If you were underage at the time of the incident, you will not have to adhere to that limit until you turn 18 years old, since minors cannot legally sue. You also do not have to follow the statute if you were left physically or mentally unable to sue afterward, such as by falling into a coma or a depressive or manic state. Additionally, the defendant must be present in the state if you wish to sue him. If he has left the state, the statute of limitations would not resume until he returns. This can extend the deadline months or years depending on how long the individual leaves. The two-year limit is enough for you to gather all your evidence without it becoming corrupted or lost. If you have trouble figuring out how much time you have left to sue, you are welcome to call our Long Beach truck accident attorneys for help. We will file your claim for you and ensure that you are not in danger of missing any deadlines.

Choosing Us

The Downtown LA Law Group has a team of attorneys with years of experience handling truck accident cases. We have won millions of dollars for our clients and have brought countless victims the compensation and closure they deserve. You should not be mistreated after an accident and our firm seeks to treat you like family. Our lawyers are empathetic and know how troublesome it can be to get hurt in a truck crash. We will aggressively hunt for your rightful restitution and we refuse to give up. If you need a free legal consultation, feel free to call our law offices at (855) 339-8879. We will discuss your claim with you and give you the legal answers you need. We’ll advise you on the best route to take and what we feel your claim is worth. If you want us to handle your case, we will also give you our zero fee guarantee. This preserves your financial standing and ensures that you will pay no fees at all from start to finish. We will not get paid unless and until we win, and if we do not succeed with your lawsuit, we won’t get a dime. You won’t have to touch your savings at all throughout the case. A Long Beach truck accident lawyer at the Downtown LA Law Group can take your call and help you get started on suing the responsible party for your injuries.