By: In California, sharing the road with all kinds of vehicles can be a challenging proposition. This is especially true whether you’re caught in rush hour gridlock or find yourself speeding along at 70 miles per hour. Regardless of the conditions, when you are sharing the road with big rigs, there is always the possibility that a minor lapse in judgment on the part of the driver could have serious repercussions for you and your passengers. Unfortunately, big rig accidents tend to be more horrific due to the wide disparities of size and weight between the vehicles involved in an accident.
An experienced big rig attorney will need to focus on negligent or reckless actions on the part of the driver as a starting point to help a victim win a personal injury lawsuit. But unlike accidents involving just passenger vehicles, a case involving a big rig can be much more complicated.
More than Just a Big Rig Driver May Be at Fault
In a big rig accident, it is obvious that the actions of the driver will be heavily scrutinized. But a driver may not be the only party at fault in a big rig accident, and the more fault an attorney can find with others who may have had a direct or indirect cause of the accident, the stronger a victim’s case will be.
For example, it is common to also look at the owner of a big rig if a driver is an employee. Trucking firms have a responsibility to make sure their rigs are serviced and maintained on a regular basis so that equipment failure is minimized in all instances. Trucking firms also have an obligation to make sure that they do not schedule drivers in such a way that they will be driving too many hours and will be fatigued on the road. In addition, if the big rig driver is carrying a special type of load or other unique conditions are present, an attorney will also look at whether or not a driver received adequate training and instructions.
There are many reasons why big rig accidents occur, and it is up to an attorney to explore all possible responsible parties to make sure a victim receives the maximum amount they may be due from their injuries.
Roberts Law Firm serves clients in the California cities of Newport Beach, Orange, Santa Ana, Irvine, Anaheim, and Riverside as well as serving clients throughout Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside counties.