Sacramento Truck Accident Attorney

Experienced Legal Support for Big Rig Accident Victims

Commercial truck drivers are often under intense pressure to meet deadlines and make a profit. Unfortunately, when such truckers operate on too little sleep, speed, overload the vehicle, or act in other negligent ways, innocent people may pay the price.

Dreyer Babich Buccola Wood Campora, LLP represents truck accident victims and their families throughout California and nationwide. Our highly-skilled attorneys understand the detailed state and federal laws and regulations that are part of these truck accident cases. We also know how to successfully negotiate with insurance companies by making it clear that we will aggressively try the case in court if necessary.

Call our firm at (916) 999-9132 or reach out online to learn how our experience can help your case. Our truck accident lawyers are on your side.

Common Types & Causes of Truck Accidents

A truck accident refers to a collision involving large commercial trucks, such as semi-trucks, tractor-trailers, 18-wheelers, or delivery trucks, with other vehicles, pedestrians, or objects. Due to the size and weight of these trucks, accidents often result in severe damage, injuries, and fatalities. Truck accidents can occur for various reasons, ranging from driver error to equipment failure.

Ensuring safety in trucking involves understanding these different accident types and their potential causes. From mechanical failures to inadequate driver training, multiple factors create a complex environment that demands careful navigation and constant vigilance. Regulatory measures are vital, but they must be consistently followed and enforced to minimize risks.

The following are some of the common types of truck accidents:

  • Jackknife Accidents: Occur when the trailer swings out from behind the cab, forming a 90-degree angle. This typically happens when the truck skids, causing a loss of control.
  • Rear-End Collisions: Involve the truck crashing into the back of another vehicle. Given the size and momentum of trucks, rear-end collisions can cause significant damage.
  • Underride Accidents: Occur when a smaller vehicle slides under the trailer of a truck. These accidents are extremely dangerous and can result in severe injuries or fatalities.
  • Rollover Accidents: Happen when a truck tips over onto its side, often due to speeding, sharp turns, or shifting cargo.
  • T-Bone Collisions: A truck crashes into the side of another vehicle, usually at intersections, forming a "T" shape on impact.
  • Head-On Collisions: The truck collides directly with another vehicle head-on. These are often catastrophic, resulting in serious injuries or deaths.
  • Blind Spot (No-Zone) Accidents: Occur when another vehicle is in a truck's blind spot (often referred to as "no-zones"), and the truck driver changes lanes or turns without seeing the other vehicle.
  • Cargo-Related Accidents: When improperly secured or overloaded cargo falls from the truck or shifts, leading to loss of control and accidents.
  • Tire Blowouts: A sudden tire failure can cause the truck driver to lose control, leading to crashes with nearby vehicles.
  • Wide Turn Accidents: Trucks need extra room to make turns, and if a driver misjudges the turn or a vehicle gets too close, it can result in a collision.

Additional insights into truck accidents shed light on the importance of proper driver training and vehicle maintenance. Many accidents stem from the pressure drivers face to meet deadlines, often leading to speed or overlooked maintenance. Understanding the stressors within the trucking industry can help in devising strategies to reduce these incidents.

Common causes of truck accidents include:

  • Driver Fatigue: Long hours on the road can lead to drowsy driving, impairing a truck driver's ability to react quickly or remain focused.
  • Distracted Driving: Use of mobile phones, eating, or other distractions while driving can cause a driver to lose focus and result in accidents.
  • Speeding: Driving too fast for road conditions or exceeding speed limits increases the risk of losing control, especially when carrying heavy loads.
  • Impaired Driving: Driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or certain medications can impair a truck driver's judgment and reaction times.
  • Improperly Loaded Cargo: If cargo is not properly loaded or secured, it can shift during transit, leading to loss of control, rollovers, or cargo spillage.
  • Poor Vehicle Maintenance: Failure to properly maintain a truck's brakes, tires, or engine can lead to mechanical failures and accidents.
  • Adverse Weather Conditions: Rain, snow, fog, or ice can make roads more dangerous and increase the likelihood of accidents, especially when truck drivers fail to adjust their driving to suit the conditions.
  • Reckless Driving: Aggressive maneuvers like tailgating, improper lane changes, and failing to yield can lead to collisions.
  • Brake or Tire Failure: Malfunctioning brakes or tires can lead to an inability to stop or maintain control of the truck, especially on steep roads.
  • Inadequate Training or Experience: Inexperienced or improperly trained drivers may not know how to handle certain road conditions or emergency situations, increasing the risk of accidents.

Understanding the Complexity of Commercial Truck Accidents

Especially in big-rig collisions, the person who appears to be at fault may not be the person you will actually hold liable for your accident. Because many truckers work as employees of larger companies, they may not be individually accountable for their actions on the road. Instead, the case will likely be against their employer.

Determining who can be held responsible is sometimes a puzzle of its own after a serious accident. Our attorneys know how to fully investigate truck crashes to ensure our clients can pursue compensation. Leveraging our network of investigators and industry professionals, we piece together the timeline of events and identify critical elements that may influence the outcome of the claim.

The intricate nature of these investigations often involves analyzing driver logs, maintenance records, and manufacturer credentials. Recognizing these complexities allows us to build a robust argument, bolstering our clients' claims by maximizing potential avenues for compensation through exhaustive legal strategies.

Employee vs. Independent Contractor: Impact on Your Truck Accident Claim

Whether the at-fault driver is employed by a trucking company or is an independent contractor makes a difference. 
While employee actions are typically attributable to the company they work for, independent contractors typically carry their own insurance and assume the risk of all accidents. Many trucking companies prefer this setup because it allows them to avoid having to pay insurance claims. As the victim of an accident, though, it may harm you. Individuals rarely carry the level of insurance a company does, so if you are badly injured—such as permanent damage to your brain or spinal cord—you may run up against an individual's policy limits when fighting for a fair settlement.

Part of what we do is investigate the employment arrangement between the driver who hit you and the company they were working for at the time. If the driver truly works as a freelancer, choosing their own loads and routes, the company should not be held liable. But if the company is seeking to lower its expenses by misclassifying employees, or if the company reserves the right to control, monitor, and establish safety guidelines for the driver, it may be liable for your claims. Because policy limits for individual drivers are typically far less than those for trucking companies, this is a key issue, especially when injuries are significant. Finding out who is responsible, factually and legally, can make a huge difference in the amount of any settlement or verdict in the case. Our lawyers know how to make that determination.

Our firm conducts thorough investigations involving employment records, contractual agreements, and direct communication with the companies to ascertain their liability. These steps ensure that the correct parties are held accountable, contributing to a comprehensive approach in managing and executing claims with the utmost diligence.

Holding Trucking Companies Accountable for Negligence

Companies must ensure their operations are safe. This means doing background checks on drivers, providing adequate training, setting routes that allow drivers to rest according to regulations, monitoring driver performance, and maintaining all vehicles in a safe, road-worthy condition. A company's negligent failure to do any of these things can make it liable for injuries caused by its drivers or vehicles.

Filing a lawsuit against such a company helps us fight for fair compensation for your injuries. It also helps us push for systemic change to address and correct safety gaps in the trucking industry. A component in many of our past settlements with trucking organizations included requirements that compelled important safety changes in the way they do business. This protects others from suffering unnecessarily.

Our proactive stance in litigation not only seeks to improve compensation for victims but also drives industry changes that promote safer practices overall. By holding companies accountable, we reinforce the importance of comprehensive insurance practices, risk assessments, and strict adherence to safety mandates that ultimately safeguard the community.

Investigating Truck Part Failures & Design Flaws

According to professional over-the-road ("OTR") training programs, OTR drivers can spend up to 300 days a year on the road and average up to 125,000 miles annually. Many drivers end up logging 70+ hours over an average eight-day period. Under federal law, OTR drivers are allowed to drive up to 11 hours a day, which results in wear and tear on drivers and their trucks.

Such use of these large vehicles requires they must be manufactured with materials and parts that are meant to last. Unfortunately, just like personal cars and trucks, big-rig tractors and the trailers they haul may come off the assembly line with faulty parts or bad designs that require recalls. Sometimes, the manufacturers of such products cut corners on design, fail to properly test products for safety, or purchase components that fail. This increases the potential for injury-causing collisions. Because these vehicles are so large and often carry tons of products or supplies, there is an even greater likelihood for severe injuries or death in a collision caused by a semi tractor-trailer rig.

If a defective design or part is to blame for a big-rig crash, there will likely be multiple defendants, including the driver, the trucking company, and the manufacturer of the truck and trailer. Proving a product defect caused or contributed to the collision requires a legal team that understands the many complexities involved in prosecuting product defect claims against manufacturers. Such cases are inherently difficult, often involving battles in court to get the manufacturer to produce necessary evidence and requiring a law firm skilled at retaining and working with the right industry experts to establish standard of care and fault.

At Dreyer Babich Buccola Wood Campora, LLP, we have built a vast professional network of credible individuals who can support your case. We have a 35+ year track record of proving product defect cases and have achieved record verdicts and settlements against a broad range of manufacturers in many different industries.

Often, our cases reveal underlying issues with component suppliers that contribute to product failures. Our practice involves dissecting these supply chains to find root causes, ensuring that extensive due diligence is practiced. By leveraging our experience, we challenge defective manufacturing processes, invoking significant scrutiny from regulatory bodies when manufacturers cut corners or disregard safety.

Sacramento's Roads & Laws: Key Factors in Trucking Accidents

Sacramento's extensive network of highways—such as Interstate 5 and Highway 99—plays a critical role in commerce and daily commutes. However, these busy routes also contribute to the frequency of truck-related accidents. The high volume of traffic presents unique challenges that make diligent driving and adherence to road laws essential for preventing accidents. California’s specific regulations, such as the restrictions on truck weight and the hours a truck driver can operate without rest, are designed to mitigate risks. Nonetheless, not all drivers adhere to these rules, leading to incidents and severe consequences.

Knowledge of local traffic patterns and common accident hotspots is crucial for accident mitigation. For example, the Highways 50 and 80 interchange is known for heavy congestion which can lead to heightened chances of collisions. Understanding these local dynamics allows law firms like Dreyer Babich Buccola Wood Campora, LLP to provide targeted legal advice and representation, tailoring strategies based on the distinctive characteristics of the Sacramento roadways and applicable laws.

The Role of Technology in Reducing Sacramento Truck Accidents

Advancements in technology have revolutionized approaches to increasing safety and reducing accidents involving trucks in Sacramento. Vehicles now come equipped with sophisticated safety features like automatic braking systems, lane departure warnings, and blind spot detection—all designed to compensate for human errors and enhance safety on the road. These features are proving essential in mitigating the risks typically associated with heavy and long-haul vehicles.

Furthermore, telematics involves tracking driver behavior and vehicle conditions in real-time, allowing companies to improve driver accountability and truck maintenance. These systems alert companies to issues like speeding, hard braking, and equipment malfunctions, ensuring immediate action can be taken to remedy problems. By incorporating such technologies into regular operations, trucking companies can considerably reduce the risk of accidents, contributing to safer roads in Sacramento and beyond. Nevertheless, when accidents happen, Dreyer Babich Buccola Wood Campora, LLP is equipped to handle the complexities these advanced technologies may introduce into legal proceedings.

Frequently Asked Questions About Truck Accidents

What Should I Do Immediately After a Truck Accident?

Following a truck accident, ensure your safety and that of others by moving to a secure location if possible. Contact law enforcement immediately to report the incident and request medical assistance for any injuries. Gather evidence by taking photos of the scene, noting vehicle positions, and documenting any contributing environmental conditions. If there are witnesses, gather their contact details. Importantly, see a medical professional even if injuries are not immediately apparent, as symptoms may surface later. Additionally, early documentation of injuries is crucial for legal processes. Reach out to a lawyer at Dreyer Babich Buccola Wood Campora, LLP to understand your rights and get professional guidance tailored to your unique situation, aiming for comprehensive claims processing.

How Is Liability Determined in a Truck Accident?

Liability in a truck accident is determined by analyzing multiple aspects of the incident. This includes investigating driver logs to check for compliance with regulations, examining maintenance records of the vehicle, and scrutinizing the driver's credentials and training. Law enforcement records, witness statements, and evidence gathered from the accident scene significantly contribute to determining fault. In complex cases, liability may extend to trucking companies, vehicle manufacturers, or third-party maintenance providers. Dreyer Babich Buccola Wood Campora, LLP can assist in unraveling these complexities, ensuring that all responsible parties are identified and held accountable, thereby maximizing your potential for a fair settlement.

Why Are Truck Accidents More Dangerous Than Car Accidents?

Truck accidents pose a greater danger compared to typical car accidents primarily due to the significant size and weight difference. Trucks can weigh up to 80,000 pounds when fully loaded, giving them considerably more force upon impact. This results in more severe damage, catastrophic injuries, and sometimes fatalities. The increased stopping distances, larger blind spots, and the potential for cargo to shift during transit add to the risks. Trucks also have a higher center of gravity, making them prone to rollovers, causing further jeopardy. Hence, the aftermath of truck accidents tends to be more complicated, requiring detailed legal and technical expertise, a cornerstone of the services offered by Dreyer Babich Buccola Wood Campora, LLP.

What Compensation Can I Claim After a Truck Accident?

Depending on the case specifics, various types of compensation can be claimed following a truck accident. These can include medical expenses, loss of earnings, both present and future, and compensation for pain and suffering which accounts for both the physical and emotional repercussions of the accident. Additional claims can be made for property damage and decreased quality of life. Understanding how to quantify and substantiate these claims requires skilled legal guidance, a service efficiently provided by Dreyer Babich Buccola Wood Campora, LLP to ensure your entitlements are pursued effectively to achieve fair recompense.

Why You Need a Skilled Sacramento Truck Accident Lawyer

Truck collisions tend to cause serious, catastrophic, and sometimes fatal injuries, and no one knows this better than the trucking companies. To protect against having to pay large settlements, trucking companies often dispatch investigators to a collision site as soon as they learn it happened. This allows them to gather, and sometimes hide, evidence that can either support their claim, or prove that they are responsible.

Without evidence to prove what happened, it is difficult to prevail, especially against the seasoned team of defense lawyers and insurance companies on the other side in trucking cases. If you are on your own, without the assistance of highly-trained, experienced, and knowledgeable attorneys, the odds are stacked against you. That is why you want our team in your corner.

Our lawyers launch investigations of our own from the very beginning of your case. We take immediate steps to put the trucking company on notice that all evidence must be preserved and produced for inspection by our experts. Often, we have been able to discover and uncover evidence of the trucking company's fault that would rather have remained hidden.

At Dreyer Babich Buccola Wood Campora, LLP, we have built a reputation as trusted advocates and tough litigators who can stand up to corporations of any size. We have the resources to handle your case and a personalized approach that helps ensure your claim is as strong as possible.

Working with us also gives you access to resources that ordinary victims may not have on their own, ensuring a well-rounded legal offensive. By pinpointing discrepancies in the opposing team's claims and materials, we shore up indisputable strategies that standout.

Record-Setting Verdicts & Settlements in Truck Accident Cases

With a passion for helping people both financially and physically recover, our lawyers have achieved recognition in many truck accident cases. Here are just a few:

  • Young girl run over by truck — A semi-truck ran over a 9-year-old girl, resulting in extensive pelvic degloving injuries and broken bones. Although she was able to go back to school five months later, she will likely require multiple future surgeries and experience a lifetime of physical limitations. Our law firm obtained a record-breaking verdict of $24.3 million for her.
  • Woman paralyzed in semi-truck collision — A 56-year-old bus driver suffered paralysis and a head injury when her bus was struck by a tractor-trailer. The truck crossed into oncoming traffic and crashed head-on into the other vehicle. Our law firm won a record-breaking $34.9 million for the woman and her husband.
  • Semi-Truck strikes 80-year-old couple — A semi-truck lost control on ice and struck an 80-year-old couple in their vehicle, causing a brain injury to the driver. The case settled for $10 million.
  • 18-wheeler forces SUV off the road — As an 18-wheel UPS truck changed lanes on Interstate 5, it crossed directly in front of a woman in a Ford Explorer. Whether the UPS vehicle struck the Explorer or simply caused the woman to swerve, the resulting crash was fatal. We obtained a $2.9 million verdict on behalf of her family.
  • Semi-truck collision causes traumatic brain injury — $10 million jury verdict obtained in Fresno County for traumatic brain injury caused by semi-truck collision.

These significant verdicts and settlements not only highlight our team's dedication but also reflect the detailed research, precision, and determination we bring to each claim. By securing these outcomes, Dreyer Babich Buccola Wood Campora, LLP reinforces its position as a leader in pursuing and achieving justice for clients impacted by catastrophic accidents.

Through tenacious work and unwavering advocacy, we maintain our focus on providing exceptional representation to injury victims, both in negotiations and, when necessary, across courtroom proceedings.

Contact Our Sacramento Truck Accident Lawyers for a Free Consultation

If you are dealing with a serious injury or the loss of a loved one, our team can provide the support you need. We take pride in getting to know each of our clients individually, asking about their hopes, plans, and needs, so we can craft a strategy geared toward meeting them. We can take on the work of making phone calls, gathering evidence, and submitting paperwork to keep your claim moving forward while you can devote your energy to recovering and spending time with your loved ones.

Get a free consultation for your trucking accident claim by calling our Sacramento attorneys at (916) 999-9132 or sending us a message. From our California offices, we serve clients throughout the nation.

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