Moreno Valley Truck Accident Lawyer

If a collision with a commercial truck injures you in the Moreno Valley area, Moreno Valley truck accident attorney Eric Paris can investigate the crash, determine which party was at fault, and fight for the compensation an injured victim of negligence needs and deserves.

If you are injured because a truck driver (or another party) was negligent, California law entitles you to pursue compensation for your lost wages, medical bills, and your other injury-related losses and damages.

But to recover that compensation, you and your Moreno Valley truck accident lawyer may have to prove that you were injured and that another party’s negligence was the reason for your injury.

Commercial trucks carry products we need. They’re essential to our Southern California lifestyle, but they also place drivers, passengers, and pedestrians at risk. If you’re injured in a truck accident, you must have legal counsel as soon as you’ve been treated by a medical provider.

What’s Different About Truck Accidents?

A commercial truck’s mass and momentum can cause devastating, catastrophic injuries in a crash. Every traffic collision is potentially fatal, but statistically, a commercial truck accident is the most disastrous type of traffic accident.

Fully loaded, a commercial truck’s weight may exceed forty tons; a passenger car usually weighs about 3,000 pounds. If a car and a truck collide at high speed, the truck will do considerably more damage to the car than the car will do to the truck.

Accidents involving trucks are often far more complicated than those involving only automobiles. One complication is overlapping jurisdictions. Trucks are governed by both state and federal laws, rules, and regulations.

Another complication in many truck accident cases is the presence of multiple defendants. Drivers are not the only parties who may be deemed liable for truck collisions.

Who May Be Liable for a Truck Accident?

When a commercial truck is involved in a traffic accident, even if the driver of the truck was clearly at fault, other parties may share liability. If you become a client of The Paris Firm, Moreno Valley truck accident attorney Eric Paris can identify those liable parties and take action to hold them accountable.

Trucking companies may be held responsible for the negligence of their truck drivers under the legal doctrine of vicarious liability, provided the negligence happened within the “course and scope” of a truck driver’s employment duties.

Who Else May Be Liable?

Truck manufacturers, parts manufacturers, cargo companies, leasing companies, contractors, and subcontractors could potentially share liability for a truck accident.

If the cargo on a truck isn’t loaded properly, if a truck’s brakes or tires were manufactured defectively, or if a truck has been neglected or improperly maintained, multiple defendants may share liability for a truck accident and the resulting injuries.

How is Liability Determined?

Determining liability for a truck collision requires a painstaking review of toxicology, medical, and police reports, video, witness statements, and photos from the accident scene.

It’s a challenging process, but if you’ve been catastrophically injured or permanently disabled in a collision with a commercial truck, a personal injury claim that identifies more than one defendant may enable you to recover the compensation you deserve.

Fatigued drivers are the number one cause of truck accidents, but accidents also occur when drivers are distracted or impaired, when trucks exceed their weight limits, when cargo is improperly loaded, and when truck parts, such as brakes or tires, are defective.

What Injuries Are Common in Truck Accidents?

Catastrophic injuries, life-long disabilities, and tragic wrongful deaths are the typical consequences of truck accidents. The injuries commonly suffered in these collisions include, but are not limited to:

1. traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
2. spinal cord injuries
3. tissue injuries
4. bone fractures
5. limb injuries that require amputations

If you lose an arm or leg, suffer a spinal cord injury, or sustain a TBI because a truck driver or a third party was responsible for a truck accident, you’ll need to pursue the maximum available compensation amount for your long-term treatment and care. The Paris Firm can help.

What Evidence Can Help You?

Unlike most cars, commercial trucks are equipped with devices that may provide evidence after a truck accident. We can know how long a driver worked without a break and how fast a truck was moving when an accident happened.

A truck’s black box (an event data recorder or electronic logging device) can tell investigators a truck’s speed, whether brakes were used, and more. A GPS device can pinpoint a truck’s location moments before a crash, and an inclinometer measures the slope at which the truck was moving.

Were You Partially Responsible for a Truck Accident?

California is a pure comparative negligence state. This means that if you’ve been injured in a truck accident in Moreno Valley and you were partially responsible, you can still recover some damages.

In California, you may be up to 99% at fault and still recover a percentage of compensation. If a jury determines you were 49% at fault for an accident, the maximum compensation you can recover is 51% of your total damages.

What Else Should You Know About Truck Accidents?

Trucking is extensively regulated in all fifty states. The weight a truck may carry, the hours a driver may work, and the training requirements for drivers are only a few of the matters regulated by state and federal law.

Any violation of a state or federal trucking regulation by either the driver or the trucking company is evidence of negligence in a truck accident case.

How Are Truck Accident Claims Handled?

At The Paris Firm, Moreno Valley truck accident lawyer Eric Paris can handle every aspect of your truck accident injury claim. He can help you gather and preserve key evidence, and he can negotiate on your behalf with the defendants’ insurance companies.

Attorney Eric Paris can build a strong case on your behalf. Most truck accident claims are resolved out of court through private negotiations between the opposing lawyers. Truck accident cases go to trial only if liability is in dispute or if no acceptable settlement offer is forthcoming.

Call to Schedule a Free Consultation

You have two years to take action after a California truck accident, but don’t wait to schedule a meeting with attorney Eric Paris. Evidence can deteriorate, and memories can fade quickly, so call The Paris Firm as soon as a medical provider has treated you after a truck accident.

Attorney Eric Paris represents injured truck accident victims on a contingency fee basis. Your first legal consultation is free, and if you proceed with legal action, you pay no attorney’s fee until The Paris Firm can recover your compensation.

If you or someone you love has been injured by negligence in a truck accident in the Moreno Valley area, or if you are injured this way in the future, schedule your free first consultation by calling The Paris Firm at 909-325-6185.