The roads and highways in and around Berkeley are heavily trafficked by many motorists, including large commercial trucks. This is likely due to the Eastshore Freeway along the bay’s shoreline. There’s an inflow of thousands of motorists in and out of Berkeley every day.

In addition to many motorists, Berkeley is home to many individuals who commute by bicycle and simply walk to work. This is why accidents involving large commercial trucks in Berkeley can be devastating and often involve much smaller vehicles, pedestrians, or bicyclists.

If you have been severely injured in an accident involving a large truck in Berkeley, call our legal team at (510) 631-0200 or (800) 404-5400 for a free consultation to discuss your options for compensation.

Rules and regulations guide the operation of trucks in Berkeley and the rest of the country. However, trucking companies flout these regulations to meet strict deadlines and increase profit. In the end, they cause accidents that harm other road users.

Due to the nature of the different parties involved in a truck accident, they can become quite complex. As a result, you need the services of an experienced Berkeley truck accident lawyer to ensure you get maximum compensation for your injuries.

If your Berkeley truck accident lawyer can establish the fault of the defendant or defendants, you may be able to obtain financial compensation for the following harms and losses:

• Cost of medical treatment: This covers your past, present, and future medical treatment.  
• Reimbursement for lost income: If the injuries you sustained from the accident make you unable to work and generate revenue, you can get reimbursed for your lost wages, including reasonable future wages, if you wind up partially or fully disabled.  
• Pain and Suffering: This covers your injury’s emotional and physical pain. This is usually subjective and differs on a case-by-case basis.

The following are some commonly cited causes of trucking accidents:

• Employer Negligence: Trucking companies are expected to hire qualified truck drivers, supervise them, and adequately maintain their vehicles. However, trucking companies often do not employ certified truck drivers to save costs. They also do not regularly keep their trucks, leading to mechanical issues like brake failures. In other cases, they overwork their drivers to meet deadlines.
• Faulty Manufacturing: Another cause of the accident is the trucks’ poor manufacturing and design. A truck’s design flaw could have made it more susceptible to rollover accidents. The manufacturer might not have used the best material to manufacture the vehicle, leading to disastrous consequences for road users.
• Improper Loading: The improper loading of a truck can make the center of the truck’s gravity too high, making it more likely to tip over. Also, adding much weight to the front or back end could make it harder to handle, leading to crashes.
• Driver Fatigue: Driver fatigue is one of the leading causes of truck accidents. Federal regulations govern the number of hours a driver can safely operate a semi-truck. Some trucking companies still overwork their drivers to meet deadlines despite these regulations. Some employers even engage in a wink and a nod by incentivizing the drivers to continue working with promises of bonuses. As a result, these drivers work while fatigued and may not concentrate on the road, leading to many avoidable truck accidents.
• Substance Abuse: Drug and alcohol abuse also leads to many truck accidents, especially drivers using amphetamines and other substances to try and stay awake for more extended periods. This is why trucking companies conduct drug tests before hiring their drivers. In addition, trucking companies have to monitor their employees to ensure they do not engage in further substance abuse while driving.
• Driving Above the Posted Speed Limit: Driving any vehicle above the speed limit is a safety risk. Driving a massive big rig above the speed limit is a significant hazard to other drivers. Why? Because these big rigs are harder to control and collide with another vehicle at a high rate of speed, the devastation can be severe.

The video below explains the types of injuries in serious truck accidents.

Your truck accident injury claim can involve multiple defendants since there may be varying levels of negligence that enable a lawsuit to be filed against numerous individuals and entities, including:

• The Truck Driver: The person operating the big rig during the crash was likely negligent in some form or fashion, making them potentially liable and, therefore, a defendant.
• Trucking Company: When the big rig in question is owned by a trucking company, that entity would likely be liable for the negligent acts of the truck operator since employers are generally held responsible for the reckless actions of their employees when committed within the scope of the truck driver’s work duties.
• Truck Manufacturer: The truck’s manufacturer could be liable if the accident results from a defect in the build or manufacture of the big rig.  

Speaking with an attorney as soon as possible after the accident is essential. Many truck companies take immediate action and send out investigators and defense lawyers to begin analyzing what happened and how to best defend against a personal injury lawsuit. You deserve to have an experienced legal professional in your corner.

If you or a loved one has been seriously injured in a large truck accident, call our experienced Berkeley truck accident lawyers for free, friendly advice at (510) 631-0200 or (800) 404-5400. You can also contact us online. See how we have won millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements for our clients.

^{Editor’s Note: This page has been updated for accuracy and relevancy [cha 10.3.23] sb Rey [cs 975] Photo by Pixabay}