How You Should Handle a Truck Accident in Orange County
Being involved in any kind of accident can be the start of months and sometimes years of legal complications. When the accident involves a truck, however, that can take the complication factor to a whole new level.
WHY TRUCK ACCIDENTS ARE SO COMPLICATED
Trucks are heavier, which means they cause more damage
Commercial trucks can weigh up to 30-40 times what a standard passenger vehicle does. This means that anyone involved in an accident with a commercial truck is far more likely to sustain serious injury as well as a greater level of damage to their vehicle. It is rare to ever have a simple fender-bender with a commercial truck but even if you did, the damage is likely to be far more severe than getting into the same accident with a smaller passenger vehicle. Even when traveling at slow speeds, trucks are capable of completely totaling a passenger vehicle and causing extensive injuries.
More parties are involved
When you are involved in an accident with another passenger vehicle or multiple passenger vehicles, the only people involved in settling any claims are the drivers and various insurance companies. When you become involved in a truck accident, however, the number of involved parties increases. The majority of commercial truck drivers drive for a company that owns the truck and in some cases, they may even be carrying cargo for an entirely different company. Since the cargo they are carrying affects the weight of the truck, the cargo may even be a contributing factor to an accident.
WHY YOU NEED A TRUCK ACCIDENT LAWYER IN ORANGE COUNTY
Truck accidents are costly, so no one wants to be held liable for them. They can immediately become shell games in which all parties begin trying to place liability on another party. Drivers are also subject to more stringent regulations, so when an accident occurs, it is not uncommon for insurance companies to try and place responsibility for the accident on the driver. If that happens, you will be left trying to seek compensation from the driver rather than the company they were working for.
Commercial trucking companies have the resources to hire a fleet of lawyers to try and avoid taking responsibility for the accident. If you have been involved in a truck accident in Orange County, you need a truck accident lawyer in Orange County to give you the muscle you need to get the compensation you deserve.