Semi Truck Accidents Lawyers
Semi-trucks, tractor-trailers, big-rigs, eighteen-wheelers—whatever you choose to call them, they rule the roads, dwarfing our gas-saving compacts and even our SUVs. Long-haul trucking is the backbone of the nation’s commercial transportation industry and the number of trucks continues to grow. California is among the states with the highest number of eighteen-wheelers on its roads.
Semi Truck Accident Statistics
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reported that more than half a million large commercial trucks were involved in accidents in 2010, injuring more than 100,000 people and killing around 5000 people (up dramatically from only 3200 deaths in 2009). This number represents about 12 percent of all motor vehicle fatalities, with 98 percent of eighteen-wheeler accidents resulting in at least one fatality, almost always an occupant of the smaller vehicle. This is not surprising considering these trucks can weigh as much as 100,000 pounds. While essential to the American economy, eighteen-wheelers are clearly a hazard to regular drivers, causing astronomical amounts of suffering
Why Eighteen-Wheeler Accidents are Different from Others
If you’ve been hurt in a motor vehicle accident involving an eighteen-wheeler, you need a personal injury lawyer with experience in large commercial truck accidents. These accidents are different from others in important ways:
- Trucks are bigger, heavier, and more dangerous.
- Trucks are required to carry large liability insurance policies.
- More defendants often need to be identified in truck accidents (owners, drivers, maintenance providers, etc.)
- Truck accidents require wading through more paperwork, including logs, electronic data, and internal company records. But some data is kept for a limited amount of time, so it must be obtained early in the legal process.
- Damages overall are greater with a higher percentage of fatalities.
- Trucking is subject to many federal and state regulations.
- Truck drivers require special training and licensing.
- Trucks are equipped with technology that can provide evidence, but it needs to be accessed quickly.
- More and different experts are often needed to obtain and analyze evidence: accident reconstructionists, electronics experts, load securement experts, etc.
- Evidence is more likely to disappear. Trucking company risk management departments are notified immediately and get to work behind the scenes to protect the company.
The Right Lawyer for Your California Truck Accident Case
Because of the severity of injuries in big-rig accidents, the stakes can be high. Spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, paralysis, and death are frequent results. Those who survive often have catastrophic injuries and require a lifetime of care. The experienced truck accident lawyers at Abronson Law in San Jose understand this and gather evidence of current and future damages, both economic and non-economic (pain, suffering, disability, disfigurement, emotional anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, spousal loss of consortium and more).
Don’t Harm Your Case by Delaying
We have experts on call and are prepared to launch an investigation on short notice, while evidence is available. We are thoroughly familiar with all California state regulations and federal regulations that apply to trucks, truck owners, and truck drivers and know how to use them to make a case to get you the compensation you need and deserve.
If you’ve been injured or lost a family member in a large commercial truck accident in Santa Clara or anywhere in the Bay region, the Abronson law firm can help with experienced legal representation. Call for a free consultation. We take cases on a contingency fee basis, so you pay only if we win, and then our fees and expenses come from the settlement.
Call Now For A Free Case Evaluation
(408) 687-9155 | (408) 444-7700