Santa Monica Truck Accident Attorneys

Kermani’s Santa Monica Truck Accident Attorneys Can Help You Obtain Compensation

We are Santa Monica truck accident attorneys. Commercial trucks like tractor-trailers or big rigs can weigh up to 30 times the weight of a passenger car and can cause serious injury or death when involved in accidents. Smaller vehicles involved in commercial truck accidents are often severely damaged in a truck accident. Moreover, victims of truck accidents are more likely to be killed or sustain serious injuries. Truck accident cases are more complex than those involving car accidents and victims are often severely under-compensated by insurance companies.

If you’ve been injured in an accident involving a truck or any other commercial vehicle, you should contact an experienced team of Santa Monica personal injury attorneys like the one at Kermani LLP for a free case evaluation. An experienced member of our Santa Monica truck accident law firm will explain how to protect your rights to compensation under California Law. We handle all truck accident cases on a contingency basis. You won’t pay any fees until we win your case.

Santa Monica Truck Accident Statistics

California has one of the highest numbers of fatal truck accidents every year. Here are some staggering truck accident statistics:

• Over 2,000 injury truck accidents occur every year in Los Angeles County in and around the area of Santa Monica, with over 130,000 injured across the U.S.
• Los Angeles County has more truck accidents than any other California county.
• Every hour, four persons are either killed or injured in a truck accident.
• About 15% of all vehicle fatalities involve large commercial trucks every year.
• Large trucks can weigh four to 30 times the average weight of a passenger car!
• Over the past ten years, California has seen an increase of 40% in fatal accidents involving large trucks.

Deadliest Intersections and Freeways in Santa Monica

Truck accidents are common along the I-5, I-10 and I-405 freeways near Santa Monica with Los Angeles county ranked the highest number for truck accident fatalities and injuries in the state.

• Over 2,500 fatalities and injuries occur each year in Los Angeles County.
• Los Angeles County sees the highest amount of truck-related traffic in the State of California.
• The I-5 is considered one of the most dangerous highways in the U.S.
• Every year, over $1 trillion in goods are shipped, mostly by truck, to and from sites in and around the Santa Monica area.
• An estimated 5 million tons of freight is moved throughout California every day.

Common Truck Accident Injuries

Nearly three-fourths of truck-related crashes are due to driver error. The most common causes of truck accidents in Santa Monica and the surrounding areas include:

• Driver fatigue – High fatigue interferes with the driver’s ability to focus on the road. Fatigued driving is just as dangerous as driving under the influence.
• Driving Under the Influence – Being under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol severely impairs the judgment of drivers.
• Speeding – Reduces the time a driver has to react to hazardous conditions.
• Unsafe Driving – Large trucks making sudden maneuvers can result in rollovers.
• Distracted driving – Eating, drinking, and texting while driving is dangerous.
• Inexperienced drivers – Lack of proper training and experience driving a commercial vehicle.
• Maintenance negligence – Inadequately maintained equipment.
• Overloaded trucks – Pulling heavier loads than what is safe.
• Slippery roads or other dangerous weather conditions.

Common Types of Truck Accidents in Santa Monica

Common types of truck accidents in Santa Monica include:

• Jackknife – when a truck folds itself so that the cab forms a 90-degree angle with the trailer.
• Truck Rollovers – when a truck slides and roll over onto its side.
• Tire Blowout – tire blowouts often force trucks to become uncontrollable.
• Wide Turn – when a truck driver steers left to make a right turn it is known as a wide turn.
• Blind Spots – when a truck driver can’t see other vehicles it puts adjacent vehicles in danger of being hit.
• Rear-end – rear-end trucking accidents can cause serious damage.
• Lost Load – improper loading of freight causing it to fall out.
• Head-On – often the most devastating, causing serious injury and even death.
• T-Bone –when a truck driver runs a red light and hits another vehicle perpendicularly.

Determining Who is at Fault for the Truck Accident

California is a “Comparative Fault Law State” meaning a person can be partially at fault for a truck accident. Determining fault in a truck accident can be difficult and requires demonstrating each of the following:

• The at-fault driver breached the duty of operating his or her truck/vehicle safely
• The actions of the other driver caused the accident
• The accident directly caused injuries, property damage, pain and suffering and/or other financial losses.

Keep in mind, proving fault and the degree at which a party is at fault has a substantial impact on the potential compensation in a truck accident case. If you were injured in a truck accident, we highly recommend contacting a reputable truck accident law firm like Kermani LLP to protect your rights to compensation.

California Daily and Weekly Truck Driving Limitations

The FMCSA imposes sleeper berth rules that require truck drivers to take certain breaks in their sleeper berths after so many hours driven. If a truck driver ignores the hours of service restrictions, it could lead to driver fatigue. Driver fatigue is a major cause of truck accidents. If a trucking company encourages its drivers to break the rules the company could be held liable.

The number of hours a trucker can drive per shift will depend on his or her schedule and whether the truck is carrying property or passengers.

• Property-carrying drivers have an 11-hour driving maximum after 10 consecutive hours off the clock.
• Passenger-carrying drivers have a 10-hour maximum after 8 consecutive hours off duty.
• Property-carrying drivers cannot drive for longer than 14 consecutive hours after ten consecutive hours off-duty.
• Passenger-carrying drivers have a 15-hour limit after 8 hours off-duty.
• Off-duty time does not extend into the 14- or 15-hour periods.
• Neither type of driver may operate a truck for more than 60 hours over seven consecutive days or 70 hours over 8 consecutive days.

Obtaining Compensation for Your Santa Monica Truck Accident

The settlement you recover from a personal injury lawsuit can make the transition easier by reimbursing you for the pain and losses you suffered due to the negligence of another person or company.

Here is a breakdown of the types of compensation and the methods of calculating their value:

Special Damages

Special damages are damages whose dollar value is known such as:

• Medical Expenses
• Lost Wages
• Lost Earning Capacity
• Property Damage

General Damages

General damages compensate you for subjective losses for which you cannot place a monetary value, they include:

• Loss of parental care and guidance
• Loss of consortium
• Loss of love, care, protection, and assistance provided

Punitive Damages

Punitive damages are available to select cases. They are not compensatory damages instead they serve the purpose of punishing the defendant and warning other people of engaging in similar conduct.

Filing a Truck Accident Claim in Santa Monica

After a truck accident, injured victims often face expensive medical bills, loss of income, extensive damage to their vehicle, and ongoing pain and suffering. California personal injury law allows victims who have been harmed in accidents to demand compensation for these losses. However, filing a truck accident injury claim can be a complex process.

Our Santa Monica truck accident attorneys will walk you through the steps for filing a personal injury claim and discuss how best to protect your rights to compensation. In order to protect your right to compensation, it is important that you never say or agree to anything that casts blame on you as a victim or downplays the extent of your losses. Insurance companies can and do use such statements against truck accident victims during the claims process.

After a serious truck accident, you and any other victims involved should:

• Seek immediate medical care.
• Report the accident to 911.
• Gather information.
• Contact your insurance company.
• Get free legal advice about your truck accident claim from Kermani LLP.

How to Deal With The Truck Driver’s Insurance Company

In California, a person can be partially at fault for a truck accident and insurance companies use this to their advantage to reduce their liability. Insurance companies aggressively try to underpay and under settle injury cases of victims with no or inexperienced legal representation.

Kermani LLP takes an aggressive, no-nonsense approach to our negotiations with insurance companies. We are often able to get fast, out-of-court settlements that bring our clients full and fair compensation. And, if we can’t reach a settlement through negotiations, we’re ready to fight in court. We’ve litigated over 100 trials in the past five years alone.

Contact Our Santa Monica Truck Accident Attorneys

Kermani’s Santa Monica truck accident attorneys can fight on your behalf to get the compensation you deserve for personal injury, pain and suffering, loss of income and loss of property that you may have sustained due to a truck accident. Kermani truck accident attorneys offer free truck accident case evaluations with no obligation. We take all truck accident cases on a contingency fee basis. We do not charge any legal fees unless we win your case.

Call Kermani now to speak with an experienced and highly-rated truck accident lawyer. What sets us apart is our vast trial experience. We’ve litigated over 100 trials in the past five years alone, with one of the highest personal injury success rates in the country.