Truck accidents cause serious injuries that can derail your life for years to come. While you may have the right to file a legal claim to seek compensation for your medical bills, lost income, and other damages, collecting fair compensation can be difficult without the help of an experienced Santa Rosa personal injury lawyer. Trucking companies’ interests are aggressively protected by defense teams and insurance companies.
The legal team at Caruso Law Offices, P.C. has over 40 years of experience focusing on motor vehicle accident cases. We have successfully recovered over $1 billion in compensation for our clients. Contact us today for a free consultation.
Common Causes of Truck Accidents in Santa Rosa
Truck accidents occur for various reasons. Understanding these reasons is critical to determining liability for them. Some of the most common underlying causes of truck crashes include:
- Hours-of-service violations: Fatigued driving is a serious concern for truck drivers, which is why rules exist to limit the number of hours they can work. However, truck drivers may violate these rules, and trucking companies may encourage that to increase their profitability.
- Driver error: Driving a large truck can be difficult. Drivers can cause crashes when they speed, drive too fast for conditions, make turns that are too wide, or make other mistakes.
- Lax hiring practices: Trucking companies may hire unsafe or inexperienced drivers to fill gaps.
- Distracted driving: Truck drivers may be distracted by talking on the radio, texting while driving, inputting information into a GPS unit, or engaging in other activities while behind the wheel.
- Mechanical issues: Commercial trucks have thousands of moving parts. A problem with one can cause a mechanical failure during a critical moment.
- Defective motor parts: Sometimes, truck parts fail because of defects.
- Drug or alcohol impairment: Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol is dangerous under any situation, but it is exponentially more dangerous when behind the wheel of an 80,000-pound vehicle. Truck drivers may drive in an impaired state, while trucking companies may fail to conduct required drug and alcohol testing.
Who Is Legally Liable for a Truck Accident in Santa Rosa?
The truck driver may appear to be the most obvious party responsible for injuries. They may be responsible when their negligence contributed to the accident.
However, other parties may have also contributed to the accident and could be responsible. Trucking companies are generally responsible for the negligence of their drivers. In other cases, cargo loading companies may be held responsible because they did not load goods onto the truck properly, causing the load to shift during transit. In other situations, truck or parts manufacturers can be liable if defective parts contributed to the crash.
Contact Our Santa Rosa Truck Accident Attorneys Today
If you or a loved one was injured in a truck accident, the Santa Rosa truck accident lawyers at Caruso Law Offices, P.C. can help. We can investigate your case, identify the reasons it occurred, and explore all options for financial recovery. Contact our Santa Rosa truck accident lawyer today to get started with a free case review at (909) 937-4480.