Rancho Cucamonga Truck Accident Lawyer

Rancho Cucamonga Truck Accident Attorney

There are many commercial trucks on the road that provide a critical service. Unfortunately, like any vehicle on the road, these trucks can be involved in accidents while moving cargo. Because of the significant size, weight, and speed of commercial semi-trucks, the damage they cause to property, other passenger cars, and the people on the road is severe. Victims of these accidents should hire a skilled Rancho Cucamonga truck accident lawyer to obtain the compensation they need.

Trucking accidents can occur for many reasons, including poor maintenance, errors of truck drivers or other drivers, or trucking companies that give their drivers impossible schedules. When you or a family member has been injured or killed in a trucking accident, you want a qualified truck accident lawyer. If another driver or party is at fault for the accident, you could hold them liable in a civil claim, recovering the cost of your damages.

Filing these claims when trucking companies are involved is incredibly complicated to do alone. To give your claim its highest chance of success and increase the compensation you might earn, you’ll want experienced legal support.

Legal Counsel to Protect Rancho Cucamonga Truck Accident Victims

The team at Belgum, Fry & Van Allen can review the circumstances of your trucking accident and determine the ideal path to guide you to recovery. For years, our attorneys have served the community around Rancho Cucamonga and represented injured parties against those who have acted negligently.

When another driver acts recklessly or negligently, and this causes a truck accident in which you are injured, you are entitled to coverage for your damages. These damages include medical bills, long-term medical care, damages to your vehicle and property, lost income, and any noneconomic pain and suffering damages.

We understand how financially straining a severe and catastrophic injury is. We know that financial compensation will not heal your injuries or make up for your loss, but it can help you remain financially stable as you recover.

At Belgum, Fry & Van Allen, our team has more than 100 years of collective experience across different legal areas. We have extensive experience with personal injury cases, including trucking accidents. We know the challenges of civil claims with complex and serious injuries and how to handle trucking companies and their insurance providers. We leverage our resources and understanding of state and local law to strengthen your claim.

When you are injured in a truck accident and don’t know what your next steps are, our attorneys can give you the support you need.

Finding Fault in a Rancho Cucamonga Trucking Accident

When there is a car accident, fault must be determined. In California, all injured parties file their auto insurance claim with the insurance provider of the at-fault driver. Fault must also be determined in a trucking accident. Once fault is determined, injured parties can file insurance and civil claims against the at-fault party.

Truck accident claims are more complicated than other motor vehicle accidents like motorcycle, pedestrian accidents. In a truck accident, it is more likely that many parties are partially responsible for the accident, such as a truck driver, other drivers, the trucking company, a trucking maintenance company, and many others. This may mean filing multiple claims, which can be complex.

Truck accident claims also frequently involve the insurance provider of a trucking company. When a truck driver is at fault, their employer is liable through the theory of vicarious liability. The trucking company is responsible for vetting drivers before they hire them, properly training them, and encouraging safe practices while driving.

Trucking companies may have many resources, and their insurance providers will be interested in protecting those resources. Even when your claim is made in good faith, a company’s insurance provider may find a way to limit or eliminate the compensation you receive.

What Are the Most Common Causes of Truck Accidents?

To determine fault, there needs to be an investigation of the accident and its cause. Some of the most common causes of truck accidents include:

• Distracted driving
• Speeding
• Reckless driving
• Aggressive driving
• Driving under the influence (DUI)
• Fatigued driving
• Moving violations
• Failure to maintain a vehicle
• Improper maintenance or repair
• Bad road conditions
• Low visibility or other dangerous weather conditions
• Improperly loaded trailers
• Badly designed commercial trucks
• Malfunctions of a vehicle

Evidence to help prove fault and the cause of the accident may include traffic videos, photos of the accident, the truck’s logs, dash cams, eyewitness testimony, and black boxes.

Recovering Damages After a Truck Accident

Once the at-fault party is determined, recovering compensation after a truck accident often starts with a car insurance claim. This may be against an at-fault driver or the employer of the at-fault truck driver. An auto insurance claim can recover certain damages, like medical costs and property damage.

However, even the maximum settlement amount in an insurance claim may not be enough to recover the damages in a truck accident. For the remainder of your damages, you can file a personal injury claim. In a civil claim, the damages you could recover include:

• Property damage. The damage to your vehicle in a truck ancient claim may be significant, and the coverage in an auto insurance policy may not cover it. A personal injury claim can cover the additional repair or replacement cost of your vehicle. If any other property was damaged or destroyed in the accident, you could also recover compensation for that.
• Medical treatment bills. A truck accident can cause devastating injuries and often results in life-altering and disabling injuries. Whether your injuries are short-term or long-term, a personal injury claim can cover any medical bills that were not covered by an auto insurance claim. This may include the cost of surgeries, physical therapy, prescriptions, doctor’s visits, hospital overnights, and any future rehabilitative care.
• Lost income. The injuries from a truck accident can prevent you from returning to work for days or months, depending on its severity. This lost time off work is compensable. A personal injury claim can recover all the wages you would have typically earned during your time off work. It will also cover the time you must take off work for accident-related doctor’s appointments.
• Lost future earning capacity. If an injury is severe enough to permanently disable you and/or prevent you from working in the field you were trained in and had experience in, you may be able to claim lost earning capacity. You could obtain the wages you would have earned had you not been injured.
• Pain and suffering. These are noneconomic damages, which do not have a clear financial value like other damages. Pain and suffering damages have no limit in personal injury claims. These damages are awarded to compensate for losses like emotional strain, mental trauma, loss of enjoyment of life, and physical pain from the accident and injury.

The value of these damages should reasonably reflect the stress and pain that you have suffered. The more severe and life-altering an injury, the higher the pain and suffering compensation is likely to be.

An attorney is a necessary asset to accurately determine the cost of noneconomic damages and the future cost of medical bills and earning capacity. These are costs that may be hard to determine on your own, but an attorney has calculated personal injury claims for many years and has the resources to appropriately apply that knowledge to your claim.

By working with an attorney, you can file for the most damages you are legally allowed to receive, and you won’t end up with a settlement that will not cover all your costs.

What Happens to My Claim if I Am Partially at Fault?

When there are multiple parties at fault for the accident, the percentage fault is divided between the parties. If you are found partially at fault for a truck accident by an insurance company or the court, this does not mean you are barred from recovering your damages. Under the state’s pure comparative negligence laws, an injured party can file for damages even if they were 99% at fault for the accident.

The amount of fault you have in the accident will impact your settlement. The percentage liability you have for the accident will be the same percentage of your final settlement that you will not be awarded. If you were found to be 15% liable for the accident, you would lose 15% of the final settlement amount.

How Does a Truck Accident Attorney Help Me?

A truck accident attorney helps your claim and makes it more likely that you will earn the maximum compensation legally allowed in your personal injury claim. An attorney will look into the accident and determine the cause and the party who was at fault. They will then begin building your claim with proof of negligence and file the proper insurance and civil claims.

If you are partially liable for the accident, your attorney can argue why your percentage should be lowered, which may prevent you from losing more of your settlement.

Your attorney will negotiate fair and reasonable compensation for the injuries you suffered. If the insurance company is unwilling to negotiate, your attorney can bring the claim to court and advocate for your interests there.

FAQs About Rancho Cucamonga Truck Accident Laws

How Much Are Most Truck Accident Settlements?

Every truck accident settlement will have a different value, depending on the extent of the damages. Under state law, if someone else was at fault for your losses, you have the right to full recovery of those economic and noneconomic losses. A truck accident often results in injuries like traumatic brain injuries, loss of limbs, spinal cord injuries like paralysis, and internal organ damage.

The severity of these injuries means that compensation is typically much higher in truck accident claims. The settlement amount is also impacted by the amount of time you must take off work to recover and whether your ability to do your job in the long term is impacted.

How Much Do Accident Attorneys Charge in California?

When you are already suffering from financial strain due to lost wages and several medical bills, it may not feel worth the cost to hire an attorney. At Belgum, Fry & Van Allen, we offer personal injury claims on a contingency fee basis. That means we get paid a percentage of the final settlement you are awarded. If we don’t win your claim and obtain compensation for you, you do not owe us legal fees. That way, you do not have to worry about any financial risk.

Do I Need a Lawyer for a Truck Accident in California?

There is no legal requirement to hire an attorney for an insurance or personal injury claim after a truck accident. However, there are many benefits to working with an attorney. By working with the right attorney, you have the resources and knowledge to effectively manage your claim or claims and maximize the compensation you obtain.

An attorney will be able to outline the damages you should earn from a claim, investigate the accident to determine who was at fault, and negotiate your case efficiently.

What Is the Statute of Limitations on a Truck Accident in California?

In most California truck accident claims, the statute of limitations is two years from the date the injury and accident occurred. If you do not file your civil claim within that time, you will lose your right to recover damages. Though this may seem like enough time, it’s important to file quickly. Significant evidence could be lost if you wait, impacting the success of your claim.

If you are filing an insurance claim, the window may be even shorter. Each insurance provider will have their own deadline, but they typically require drivers to file a claim as soon as possible.

Legal Support in Rancho Cucamonga

Advocating for your rightful compensation against large companies is not easy. At Belgum, Fry & Van Allen, our team knows the difficulties you are going through as you fight for your recovery. We want to give you the necessary legal support and care to achieve maximum compensation.

We believe in compassionate and effective representation and can answer any of your questions about your truck accident claim. If you have been injured in a truck accident, contact our team today. We can review your case and determine who can be held liable.

Rancho Cucamonga, CA Truck Accident Resources

• Common Causes of Truck Accidents in California