Truck Accident Lawyers in Ventura Seeking Big Justice in Big Rig Accidents

If you were injured in an accident involving an 18-wheeler or large pickup, contact an experienced truck accident lawyer in Ventura, CA. Dedicated Ventura personal injury attorney Craig Murphy offers victims a free consultation to better understand their rights.

Our nation’s roads aren’t the safest place to spend your time. For the average individual, the most dangerous activity they engage in on a regular basis is driving on American streets. There are plenty of opportunities for collisions while driving, but truck accidents present a particular danger to drivers and those with them in passenger vehicles. While fluctuations in the number of accidents occur every year, close to 5,000 people die in collisions involving 18-wheelers yearly. Scarily, more than 70% of those who die in these accidents are occupants of other vehicles.

Many of these crashes are preventable and senseless since they’re often the result of unsafe driving practices by the trucker — such as driving under the influence of alcohol or texting while behind the wheel. There are other fatal and injurious trucking accidents, though, that are merely the result of physics. Even if there was no negligence on the part of the big rig driver or trucking companies, it never ends well when a semi-truck crashes into a smaller vehicle. In nearly every instance, it’s the smaller vehicle that suffers the brunt of the damage.

This is good news for anyone riding in a larger vehicle. Unfortunately, those in the smaller auto are likely to suffer severe injuries or even die. This is a major reason why accidents involving trucks (especially commercial trucks) are particularly devastating to human life. If you have been involved in an automobile accident that included a truck or other type of large commercial vehicle, consider yourself lucky to still be around. Many people don’t come away from these collisions. This doesn’t mean, however, that you just have to accept injuries or financial losses. This is particularly the case if the big rig driver was at least partially at fault.

It’s not fair for you to bear the full burden of lost income from missed work — while paying mounting medical bills — just because you were involved in an accident with a truck. As you’ll learn in your personal injury case, though, there are also intangible losses. These include the loss of time with your family and the physical pain you endured because of the accident. Luckily, there’s a possibility that you may be entitled to compensation for these and other damages you’re facing. But it usually takes an experienced Ventura truck accident attorney to navigate the legal and insurance complexities you may encounter.

What Makes Truck Accidents Unique?

If you’re looking for a Ventura truck accident attorney, your accident most likely involved a commercial truck. There are some advantages to dealing with a case involving a big rig rather than another passenger vehicle. But as you can probably imagine, there are some significant disadvantages to a truck accident claim as well. Here’s what you need to know.

Advantages of Seeking Compensation from Truck Crashes

One advantage victims have in cases involving commercial truck accidents is that companies are more likely to have resources to cover their financial, physical, and emotional damages. Whether it’s the larger bank account of a trucking company or the higher policy limits of a commercial insurance policy, the odds are better (although not guaranteed) that you can obtain maximum fair compensation.

Of course, this assumes that the commercial truck driver or the truck company is legally responsible for your damages and at least partially at fault for the accident. A second advantage is that there will likely be a trove of evidence to help figure out what happened. Commercial trucks are more likely to have dash cams, driver logs, or “black boxes” that can help provide information as to the circumstances before, during, and after the crash.

Disadvantages of Seeking Compensation from Truck Crashes

A disadvantage of having to deal with personal injury claims involving 18-wheelers is that getting the aforementioned trove of evidence can be difficult. Commercial truck companies are in the business of moving goods, people, and materials — so they want their vehicles repaired and back on the road as quickly as possible. This means it’s sometimes harder to get photographs, truck parts, and other forms of physical evidence to prove the driver was at fault or that other forms of negligence occurred.

Truck companies should protect potential evidence, but it’s very possible they may not realize that something needs to be saved for this purpose. Occasionally, this will result in someone “accidentally” disposing of evidence — claiming they were just making necessary repairs or getting rid of damaged vehicles as a part of the normal course of doing business. Another disadvantage is the complex array of state and federal laws that apply to commercial truck drivers and businesses. Congress and state legislatures understand how dangerous truck accidents can be, so they have created special laws to protect other drivers on the road. For example, commercial truck drivers have restrictions on how long they can drive in one shift. Similar restrictions exist regarding how much maintenance a truck needs.

Failure to follow such requirements could cause an accident. For instance, falling asleep behind the wheel or a mechanical failure can prove deadly. Finally, a disadvantage when dealing with commercial trucks is figuring out who is legally responsible for the accident. For instance, let’s say a commercial truck driver was distracted by his cell phone when he crashed into your vehicle. He admits he was on his cell phone, but he also claims his brakes failed. Additionally, he says that he was on his cell phone because his boss told him to check his email while driving to save time.

There are a lot of complexities here, but truck accident lawyers can help simplify things for you.

Who’s Responsible for Big Truck Accidents?

So who’s responsible for the accident? Besides the driver, there is a host of potentially responsible parties, such as:

The driver’s boss
The driver’s employer
The maintenance company that worked on the truck
The parent company that owns a controlling interest
The manufacturer of the truck or the truck’s brakes

Perhaps all of the above parties are responsible for the accident, but maybe only one or two of them are. It can take an extensive investigation to get everything sorted out. Much of this investigation will take place only after a civil lawsuit has begun. This means it’s ideal to get the help of a Ventura truck accident attorney to conduct the most thorough investigation possible.

Looking for a Truck Accident Lawyer in Ventura, CA?

Involvement in any trucking accident — even those that occur at low speeds — can lead to serious injuries or worse. Even if you’re clearly not at fault for the truck crash, an adjuster will do everything they can to reduce or deny your insurance claim. This is why it’s so important to have personal injury attorneys on your side with experience in big rig lawsuits. This will minimize the likelihood of the insurance company trying to take advantage of you. If an agreement can’t be reached with the insurer, though, you’ll need a trial lawyer with extensive experience in litigation in your corner.

At Murphy & Murphy Law Offices, that’s exactly what we offer. Both state and federal law grants drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians extensive rights when the negligence of truckers or carrier companies cause a collision. The truth of the matter is that you shouldn’t have to pay out of pocket just to meet with truck accident lawyers in Ventura. That’s why our personal injury attorneys will provide a free consultation to those injured in big truck collisions so they can better understand their rights.