Anaheim Truck Accident Lawyer
If you were seriously injured in a truck accident, you may face incredibly high costs and damages. The cost of treating your injuries alone might be enough to bankrupt you, especially if the injuries keep you from working.
Our lawyers take insurance companies, drivers, and trucking companies to court to get you the damages you deserve. We can seek settlement through insurance, but if they refuse to pay what you are owed, we can file a lawsuit and take the case to trial.
Call the Law Office of John J. Perlstein at (213) 252-1070 for a free case evaluation with our truck accident lawyers.
Who Do You Sue in a Truck Accident Case?
We need to investigate and determine who is at fault so we can take the case against the right parties.
The Trucker
The truck driver might be directly liable for the crash. Drivers often get tired and bored after long hours on the road, and they may turn to alcohol, drugs, or their cell phone to try to relieve that. Truckers are also likely to make rolling stops, skip turn signals, and otherwise get lazy with following rules after hours (or years) of driving.
Another Driver
Just because a truck is involved does not mean the crash was the trucker’s fault. Another driver might have cut across them or otherwise caused the crash first.
Another driver might have also shared fault, allowing you to sue multiple drivers.
The Trucking Company (Direct Liability)
The trucking company could also share liability or be wholly at fault for the crash. They are often responsible for these issues:
- Improper driver training
- Negligent hiring of a dangerous driver
- Negligent retention of a driver they should have fired
- Trucking regulation violations (e.g., forcing drivers to drive beyond hours of service limits)
- Maintenance, repair, and inspection issues with their trucks
- And more.
The Trucking Company (Respondeat Superior)
The trucking company may also be the driver’s employer, and they can be sued in that role. This does not require the trucking company to have done anything wrong, but rather:
- The trucker was an employee of the company.
- The trucker was negligent.
- The crash happened within the scope of the driver’s job.
This allows you to hold them “vicariously liable” in place of the driver, suing the bigger company instead of the individual driver.
What Does Insurance Cover in a Truck Crash?
All auto accidents are supposed to be covered by auto insurance. Even so, which policy covers what can be confusing.
Your Insurance
In California, we use an at-fault insurance system. This means that the at-fault driver’s insurance pays, and yours does not.
However, you might have additional coverages on your policy that supplement these damages. You pay a deductible, and your insurance can pay for collision coverage, medical bills, or other coverages, but only if you added optional coverage to your policy.
The Truck Driver’s Insurance
Most damages will be paid through the at-fault driver’s insurance. Whether you file through insurance or sue the driver, insurance pays.
Commercial truck drivers often have high-dollar policies and can potentially cover everything in your case.
The Trucking Company’s Insurance
If the trucking company was liable, they have insurance to cover their liabilities as well. They are usually the ones paying for the trucker’s insurance, but they should also have insurance to cover their business activities when they injure others.
If not, they potentially have assets and resources to cover damages out of pocket.
UM/UIM
If all of these policies and defendants pay, but you still have damages that were not covered, you might have underinsured motorist insurance. This is typically grouped as “uninsured motorist and underinsured motorist insurance,” also called “UM/UIM.”
This policy is optional in California, but insurance companies have to offer it to you. You might have a UM/UIM policy and not realize it.
UM may also cover the accident if the driver is somehow uninsured or if you are injured in a hit and run.
Should You Settle or Take Your Case to Court?
It depends. If the insurance company or trucking company has offered a full settlement that pays for everything you need, you may accept it. If the offer is too low, you should reject it and consider going to trial.
Your lawyer can help you analyze settlement offers and negotiate for better ones if the offers are too low. Do not sign anything or accept money without checking with us, or else your case is done and you cannot go back to court.
What Should You Do After a Truck Accident?
In the immediate aftermath of a truck crash, take the following steps:
- Get to safety and clear the road to prevent injury in a second crash.
- Call 911 and report the accident.
- Get medical care.
- Exchange information with the other drivers (contact information, insurance info, etc.).
- Note all of the vehicles involved (make, model, license plate number, etc.).
- Get witness contact info.
- Note whether any dashcams or security cameras might have caught the accident on video.
- Take photos of the accident scene and damage.
- Call a lawyer.
- File insurance claims and lawsuits with your lawyer’s help.
Should You Talk to Insurance Before Calling a Lawyer?
No. You should let your lawyer send demand letters for damages and negotiate with insurance companies on your behalf. Once you have a lawyer on your side, everything should go through them instead of directly to you.
What if the Insurance Company Refuses to Settle?
If the insurance company denies your claim and refuses to settle your case for a fair value, we can take them to court. California law also has a special rule that can help us recover damages beyond the insurance policy limit if we offer the insurance company a fair settlement below limits, but they still refuse to settle.
This rule, plus the cost of defending a case at trial, often pushes insurance companies to settle instead of taking the case to court.
Call Our Truck Accident Attorneys in Anaheim Today
Call (213) 252-1070 to get started with a free case review from our truck accident lawyers at the Law Office of John J. Perlstein.