Orange County Truck Accident Lawyer

Hire an Orange County truck crash attorney who will fight to get you compensation for a semi-truck wreck. We won’t let the trucker’s insurance company take advantage of you, and we will fight for your rights.

Few things are as terrifying as a vehicle collision, but accidents involving 18-wheelers or other large commercial trucks can be even more traumatic. The sheer size and weight of these types of vehicles makes them intimidating to other drivers—and for good reason. Serious injuries can occur when a small vehicle collides with a large truck.

In 2020, California reported 427 fatalities from vehicular accidents over 299,812 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT), resulting in a fatality rate of 0.14 per million VMT. This rate remained consistent into 2021, even as both the number of fatalities and million VMT increased to 447 and 310,823 respectively.

Accidents can’t always be prevented, but most can. With proper care and responsibility, the majority of vehicle collisions could be avoided. That’s why it’s important to hold negligent truckers and other careless parties involved in your accident responsible for endangering others’ safety on the road.

If a semi-truck or other commercial vehicle has injured you, hire an injury attorney who will fight for justice and compensation for all you’ve suffered. An Orange County truck accident lawyer from our office can see to it that you don’t suffer financially for a wreck involving a negligent trucker.

Factors That Lead to Orange County Semi-Truck Collisions

The first behavior that often comes to mind when you consider what might lead to semi-truck collisions is drowsy driving. We know that truckers sometimes work far too many hours at a stretch, and we also know from experience that driving is exhausting and can cause drowsiness.

Strict rules govern the amount of time truckers can spend on the road, and when they fail to abide by those regulations, they should be held accountable—especially when they injure someone. Your safety is important, and truckers and insurance companies should compensate you for your suffering.

The following are some common factors you may not have thought of that could lead to 18-wheeler crashes in Orange County:

• Speeding and Other Reckless Driving Behaviors – Drowsy driving and speeding are major factors that lead to truck collisions. Truckers are behaving in a negligent manner when they engage in driving behaviors that are unsafe for other motorists.
• Distracted Driving, Such as Texting or Eating – Distracted driving is a huge risk factor that causes many commercial trucking collisions. In 2021, California witnessed a significant increase in fatalities from distracted driving incidents, with 140 people killed, marking a 27.3% rise from the previous year. Mobile devices are the primary distraction, with activities such as texting, taking pictures, emailing, and using various apps while driving being the most common causes. A lot of people think of texting or phone conversations as distracted driving, but there are many other distracting behaviors. Listening to loud music, paying too much attention to passengers, and eating while driving are also types of distracted driving that affect truckers’ focus.
• Poorly Marked Construction Zones – Construction zones are confusing as it is, so they should always be properly marked and contain signs and speed limits that safely guide drivers through these areas. If the signs and the construction area are not handled correctly, trucks can easily crash and injure others.
• Poor Road Conditions – Local government agencies are assigned to maintain the roads in each state. If your roadways are not properly maintained and that led to your collision, you could hold the government responsible for your injuries.
• Failure to Secure a Load – Sometimes, the trucking company or loading company fails to properly secure a load. These costly loading errors have dangerous consequences when cargo falls onto the road, often including catastrophic injuries and death.

Understanding Negligence in California

Negligence is a legal concept that is best explained as violating your duty to not cause harm to others. In California trucking accidents, negligence is determined by using a system called comparative negligence.

The court determines fault, and negligence is assigned based on each involved person’s responsibility in the accident. You can actually be somewhat at fault for your Orange County truck accident but still seek compensation from another party for the role it played in your wreck.

Multiple people or entities can be held responsible for an accident, and you can actually pursue all avenues to receive compensation for your injuries. It’s important to note, however, that if you are found partially to blame for your wreck, your payout will be reduced based on the percentage of fault you’ve been assigned.

A truck crash attorney in Orange County can help see that you are properly compensated and that you aren’t unfairly blamed for an accident you didn’t cause.

You Have a Deadline

It’s important to speak with an attorney sooner rather than later because there are certain time frames you must follow in order to file a claim for personal injury after a truck accident in Orange County.

According to California personal injury law, you must file your case within two years of your accident or within one year of discovering your injury. If you’re suing a government entity, this deadline will likely come sooner, and the process will be somewhat different.

The Role of Insurance Companies in Commercial Truck Crashes

Legally, all drivers must have insurance in order to drive in California, and that is also the case for truckers. In fact, truckers have additional requirements because they drive for commercial reasons. Those companies have insurers whose job is to protect the company—and, by extension, the trucker—from injury claims.

In most cases, insurance companies are going to do everything in their power to prove that the trucker wasn’t responsible for the Orange County wreck, or they will try to stick you with as much fault as they can to lower the amount they must pay you in a settlement. It’s a tactic the insurance companies use to protect their bottom line.

We know all that from experience. That’s because we used to represent insurance companies. While we no longer represent them, we still remember how they operate. We will fight their sneaky tactics to see that you get the compensation you need to get past an Orange County trucking collision you didn’t cause.

Compensation for 18-Wheeler Wrecks in Orange County

When you’re driving safely down the road and a trucker isn’t paying attention and collides with you, should you pay for the associated damages? We certainly don’t think so. Damages from trucking collisions can add up fast and could include medical expenses from hospital bills, physical therapy, medication, and more.

Not only will you suffer from monetary losses, you could suffer from non-monetary losses, as well. Your emotional wellbeing is just as important as your physical health—in some cases, more important. You deserve to be compensated for all your losses: physical, monetary, and emotional.

Below is a list of damages that can be added to a personal injury claim for an Orange County semi-truck wreck:

• Hospital bills
• Healthcare-related costs, such as medications, physical therapy, and doctor visits
• Pain and suffering
• Mental anguish, which includes post-traumatic stress disorder
• Mental health treatment
• Property damage
• Disfigurement
• Dismemberment

Partner with an Orange County Semi-Truck Accident Attorney

Being injured in an 18-wheeler collision is among the worst accidents a person can experience. You likely have debilitating injuries, you may be scared to get in a vehicle again, and extensive medical bills probably have your head spinning. You shouldn’t have to pay for injuries caused by someone else’s negligence.

Working with an Orange County truck accident lawyer from Kohan & Bablove, Injury Attorneys will give you a great chance of recovering fair compensation for your injuries. We can investigate your truck crash and help you file and fight for your personal injury claim. Call for a free case review at 1-844-404-2400, or fill out our contact form below.

Citations

Large Truck and Bus Fatality Rates Per 100 Million Total Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) by State, 2020 and 2021, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmcsa.dot.gov/files/2023-12/FMCSA%20Pocket%20Guide%202023-FINAL%20508.pdf

Distracted Driving, California Office of Traffic Safety
https://www.ots.ca.gov/grants/distracted-driving/