A top-rated truck accident attorney in Ceres can help guide you and your family through the claims process and ensure you receive fair compensation for your damages. When you have been seriously hurt or lost a loved one in a traffic crash involving a large commercial truck, contact our attorneys in Ceres, California, at AutoAccident.com now to discuss your big rig crash case. Call our law firm at (209) 227-1931 or (800) 404-5400 for free, friendly legal advice.

We recommend contacting our Ceres truck accident lawyers as soon as possible to learn how you can receive financial compensation for your injuries and damages from the trucking company involved in your semi-truck accident case. Our legal team can evaluate your truck accident injury case through a free consultation to determine what you may be entitled to. Should you decide to hire us for your big rig crash injury claim, you can rest assured knowing you will receive the best legal assistance possible from our law firm.

Large commercial trucks are challenging vehicles that require high skill to operate safely. Both truck drivers and trucking firms have specific obligations that must be met to make the roads safe for everyone. When these duties are ignored, catastrophic or fatal truck accidents may result. The leading causes of tractor-trailer collisions include:

• Truck Driver Error: Truckers are expected to operate big rigs safely. When a truck driver is distracted, drowsy, drunk, or makes a mistake, 18-wheeler crashes and catastrophic injuries may result. Lack of tractor-trailer inspections, improper cargo loading, and excessive speeding may also cause traumatic or fatal commercial truck accidents.
• Insufficient Supervision of Truckers: Commercial truck companies are liable for employing and screening qualified truckers, providing adequate truck driving training, and ensuring their employees follow federal safety guidelines and regulations. When a trucking firm fails to properly hire, train, or supervise truck drivers, 18-wheeler crashes become more likely.
• Mechanical Failure: 18-wheelers may experience mechanical failure in any system, including steering, brakes, tires, load straps, hydraulics, etc. Any mechanical failure may potentially result in a catastrophic truck accident. Mechanical failure often occurs when a part or component of a big rig or routine maintenance is performed incorrectly or neglected.
• Dangerous Road Conditions: Missing guardrails, broken pavement, construction, and insufficient signals or signs at intersections may increase the risks of big rig crashes involving passenger vehicles, cyclists, pedestrians, and motorcycle riders.

At our Ceres truck accident law firm, our injury lawyers have the experience, skills, and resources to investigate your tractor-trailer collision’s cause and collect evidence. Our legal team can help identify who should be financially accountable for your injuries and losses. We work diligently to ensure our clients receive the compensatory damages they need to rebuild their lives.

Depending on the facts and circumstances of your big rig crash case, you may bring a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit against the following parties or entities:

• The driver of the big rig
• A commercial truck company that employed the trucker
• Shipping company
• Owner of the trailer
• Manufacturer of the defective truck part or equipment that caused the big rig crash

Under California law, the purpose of a personal injury claim is to compensate a person for injuries and losses suffered because of someone else’s negligence. Financial compensation in a personal injury case for a truck accident may fall under the following three types of damages:

• Economic Damages: In a big rig crash case, economic damages refer to financial losses that can be calculated and proven through receipts and documents. Economic damages include past and future medical bills, lost wages, and loss of future earning capacity. For a wrongful death truck accident case, the family may seek compensation for end-of-life medical treatment and costs, funeral bills, lost benefits, loss of future financial support, and more.
• Non-Economic Damages: In a truck accident claim, non-economic damages account for the detrimental impacts on your quality of life from intangible losses suffered like mental anguish, pain and suffering, and loss of consortium for damage to your marital relationship. For wrongful death, surviving family members may be compensated for the loss of a loved one’s companionship, protection, and care.
• Punitive Damages: A jury may award punitive damages in a truck accident injury case where the truck driver or trucking company acted particularly egregiously and showed a disregard for the lives of others. An example of this for a big rig crash is excessive speeding or driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs (DUI).

Unique circumstances are involved in each truck accident case, which may affect the statute of limitations that applies. Most personal injury claims are subject to a two-year statute of limitations under the California Code of Civil Procedure Section 335.1. Retaining a top truck accident lawyer in Ceres can help protect your legal right to take your case to court. If you do not meet the time limit imposed by California law nor accept a settlement from the insurance company representing the truck firm, the court may dismiss your case, and you may lose the right to financial compensation.

A Ceres truck accident lawyer should be hired after a big rig crash in Stanislaus County as soon as possible. Skid marks and other types of physical evidence may disappear over time. The commercial truck company may destroy critical documents within days, weeks, or months of the tractor-trailer accident. An experienced and top-rated big rig crash attorney will take measures to preserve all evidence related to your personal injury case, including sending letters of preservation of evidence to trucking firms to ensure you have the best chance to receive the fair compensation you deserve.

Insurance companies and trucking firms have the resources to hire trained professionals to downplay the value of big rig crash injury claims or deny them altogether. You may face challenges in recovering a full and fair semi-truck accident settlement without an experienced Ceres truck accident injury attorney. At AutoAccident.com, our big rig crash lawyers know how to overcome insurance companies’ defense tactics, claims adjusters, commercial truck firms, and defense attorneys. Our legal team will do everything possible to ensure you receive compensatory damages for your commercial truck accident losses.

A big rig crash may occur for a wide array of reasons. However, one thing remains the same in these situations: those involved often face devastating, life-changing consequences. That is why our truck accident law firm in Ceres, CA, is dedicated to protecting the rights of people injured in truck accidents or those who have lost loved ones. Contact our legal team today for a free consultation to learn how we can help you through this difficult time.

^{Editor’s Note: updated 11.14.23 Photograph Attribution: “markusspiske” via Pixabay ds [cs 1255] cha}