Last Updated on February 7, 2023 by CCAR Staff
While commercial trucking companies are legally required to safely operate their vehicles, California traffic fatalities in 2022 jumped to a record level, as inexperienced truck drivers take to the state’s highways in unprecedented numbers.
The 944 men, women and children killed on California highways and streets in the first three months of 2022, comes as commuters return to in-person work and traffic congestion climbs back to pre-pandemic levels, according to the California Office of Traffic Safety.
The difference now is the addition of inexperienced truck drivers – in numbers never before seen – hired rapidly to meet the pandemic-driven demand for shipping products that were purchased online. These truck drivers posed a safety threat on the far less crowded highways, when many folks were still working from home.
Now those novice truck drivers are killing and injuring thousands of Californians.
Fortunately, truck-accident victims and their surviving family members can seek compensation for medical expenses, wage losses, and their pain and suffering.
But what amount of compensation can injured motorists realistically expect? The answer is specific to each and every commercial-truck accident case with some general guidelines that we’ll expand on here.
If you or your family were involved in a collision with a commercial truck, you can obtain a free evaluation of your case from the legal team at Rafii & Associates, P.C. Headquartered in Beverly Hills, the law firm has a reputation for emerging from contentious litigation with multi-million dollar verdicts for its clients.
Semi-Trucks Carry More Insurance
In California, every driver in a vehicle is required to have insurance. The minimum coverage is $15,000 per person, or $30,000 per incident.
But a semi-truck carries liability insurance with higher limits, because semi-trucks cause more serious injuries.
The limits of insurance for semi-trucks is often several hundred thousand dollars with some policies carrying limits of a million dollars or more.
Compensation Factors for a Tractor-Trailer Crash
If you file a civil action you may claim compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, as well as pain and suffering.
California splits damages into two categories: general and special. Damages that are special have the price of a tangible item. This includes medical bills and any wages you might not earn during your recovery. General damages are the intangible costs, including diminished quality of life.
There isn’t a definitive method to determine a fair amount of compensation for your general losses.
Parties in a case examine how the incident impacts your relationships with friends and family and household chores. Witnesses, including family members, and evidence of your need for psychotherapy to deal with the emotional stress of an accident, can be used to demonstrate the extent of your damages.
Other elements that can affect the settlement amount are:
- If you received medical attention promptly after the incident
- The degree, if any, of your fault in the accident
- Medical bills
- The amount of lost earnings
- Expenses for future medical treatments
- How much evidence you are able to present to demonstrate the extent of your losses
If you don’t have well-organized, thorough documents that demonstrate the your losses, it will be challenging to obtain a full and fair settlement.
Under California law, you have the legal right to hold the guilty party legally accountable for the total value of your losses.
Obtaining the right amount of compensation following an accident with a commercial truck, however, is a notoriously complicated process, even for experienced lawyers.
The major insurance companies that represent trucking firms are determined to pay the least amount of money possible, often, without any regard for your well being or a sense of fairness.
They will try to move fast, quickly settling cases for pennies on the dollar or no compensation at all.
Rafii & Associates, P.C. can help
The legal professionals at Rafii & Associates, P.C. are seasoned experts at negotiating and litigating tractor trailer accident and personal injury cases. With 15 years of experience defeating insurance goliaths, the 11 trial attorneys and dozens of support staff at Rafii & Associates, P.C. is ready to:
- Conduct a no cost, thorough analysis of your vehicle accident case
- Investigate the accident and make sure all evidence is collected
- Gather all your treatment information and medical documentation to establish expenses and other damages
- Highlight financial documents and records that reveal your economic damage
- Compose a complete and reasonable settlement offer for the insurance company
- Conduct mediated negotiations to reach a settlement agreement
- Win at trial in cases where negotiations failed
Rafii & Associates, P.C. expertise litigating complex commercial-trucking cases, ensures our clients collect the highest amount permitted by California law. In a majority of cases, the insurance companies settle before trial, expediting payouts for our clients.
However, we’re always prepared to win your case at trial, in the event the trucking company or its insurer fails to reach a settlement that recognizes the harm caused.
Because at Rafii & Associates, P.C., you can rest assured that your team has the expertise and knowledge necessary to hold trucking companies and their insurers accountable.
