Bakersfield Truck Accident Lawyer
After frightening Bakersfield truck accidents, victims can be left holding the bag on their growing medical bills and the paychecks they must forfeit because they can’t work.
Not every victim understands that truck drivers and trucking companies must have insurance coverage that provides help to accident victims.
Maison Law Accident & Injury Lawyers of Bakersfield offers a free, no-obligation consultation for all truck accident victims in Kern County.
It’s a chance to help determine who is to blame and to find out how to hold insurance companies and trucking companies fully accountable.
How Do I Decide If I Need a Lawyer for My Truck Accident Case?
If you are seriously injured in a collision caused by a truck driver, you will probably need the help of a skilled lawyer to get fair treatment during the claims process. A neck injury, broken bones, or brain trauma will all require more expensive hospital care. Those expenses only make truck insurers less likely to accept blame and provide immediate help.
You might need a Bakersfield truck accident lawyer as protection when insurers and lawyers for trucking companies try to pin the blame on someone else…maybe you. They’ll also attempt to diagnose your injuries as “not a big deal” to get away with providing you little in support or nothing at all.
An experienced lawyer should also power up your settlement earnings potential. Our attorneys are often able to win you much more for your injury than if you took on insurers and company lawyers yourself.
Who Is Responsible for an Accident Involving a Truck?
An accident involving a big rig or a delivery van is different from a normal accident. The person behind the wheel is on the clock. They also aren’t probably the owners of the commercial vehicle they are driving.
Does the responsibility come down to the truck driver or the company that the at-fault person drives for? A skilled Bakersfield attorney can help you sort this out. In some cases, it’s both, but there’s definitely a difference between the insurance a truck driver would carry and a major transportation employer would provide.
Seeking Support from a Truck Driver After an Accident
Some truck drivers are on the road working for themselves. They may haul payloads for their own businesses or farms or contract out their truck to other companies.
These truck drivers are known as owner/operators. They may own their semi-trucks. If this is the case, they’d have to pay premiums on their own commercial truck insurance.
Because the business is likely very small or just one person, the insurance coverage would likely be the bare minimum. This means the coverage would have low limits that victims would hit after only a few days in the hospital. Basically, the insurance money runs out, and victims would need to pay for any further recovery costs out of their own pockets.
It’s why a skilled attorney would file claims with all parties that shared blame in an accident. This might include a truck manufacturer that contributed to an accident by designing, manufacturing, and selling an unsafe vehicle.
Seeking Support from a Trucking Company or Corporation After an Accident
If it turns out the driver isn’t in business for themselves, but represents a transportation company, it’s often better for victims to sue the larger business, with better insurance, instead. Companies and corporations make their profits from hauling goods on public roads, and they should absolutely accept full responsibility for the mistakes of their drivers.
Local farms and packing plants will generally have bigger insurance policies on their drivers. Manufacturers and delivery companies like Amazon will have policies with higher limits to protect the victims of accidents.
Unfortunately, a larger business will have the resources to hire its own lawyers, perhaps teams of lawyers. You may have to go up against a corporate legal team to seek support after an accident. These lawyers will be asked to poke holes in your case, perhaps find ways to blame you for what happened, or find a doctor who will say that your injury isn’t as bad as you say. It’s all an effort to save the trucking company money. It’s why the protection of a skilled Bakersfield lawyer is a necessary safeguard in many cases.
Trucking Accident Dangers in Bakersfield
Bakersfield drivers can come alongside giant tractor-trailers at almost any time of the day or night. These large vehicles and their sometimes careless drivers can present road hazards. They may meet a big rig on Highway 99, trying to merge into a lane with no room to spare. It may also be the risk of a loaded delivery truck speeding through a neighborhood off of Pacheco Road that causes a collision.
California’s Transportation Injury Mapping System (TIMS) records the truck accidents across the state each year.
- In 2024, Bakersfield saw 63 truck accidents involving injury, including two tragic deaths.
- Highway 99 through Kern County was the scene for 46 serious truck accidents and at least 2 fatalities.
There are many reasons why there are so many devastating truck accidents each year. They have to do with the size and weight of big rigs, and in some cases, the carelessness of truck drivers.
- Truck Driver Distraction – Drivers can play with their phones while dealing with traffic. They may receive new instructions from their employers, leaving them distracted. They can try to eat lunch behind the wheel or even watch a movie.
- Drowsy Truck Drivers – Truck drivers may feel the pressure to take fewer breaks and get less sleep to deliver their payloads. This can put drivers and passengers in smaller cars at risk. Tired truck drivers have delayed reaction times and can fall asleep at the wheel.
- Reckless Driving – Truck drivers can go too fast, making it very hard to control a large vehicle. They might change lanes without checking mirrors. They can drive aggressively under deadline pressure.
- Heavier Vehicles, Harder to Stop – Fully loaded tractor-trailers and cabs can weigh up to 80,000lbs. These vehicles need a longer roadway to stop. A driver who doesn’t see a red light or a traffic slowdown right away may not have the time or space to bring a vehicle to a stop. Heavier blue delivery vans have the same issue. A heavier vehicle carries more impact force into an impact as well.
These situations and others pop up too often for local riders. They show up in local bike accident statistics, too.
California’s Transportation Injury Mapping System (TIMS) finds that the most recent collision figures show a shocking jump in bicycle accidents and injuries.
- 2023 – 70 bicycle accidents involving injury in Bakersfield, along with 2 tragic fatalities
- 2024 – 90 serious bicycle accidents causing at least 4 tragic deaths
When serious injuries bring higher medical bills, insurance adjusters are instructed to limit what you receive. They may try to blame you for a collision or attempt to discount your injuries, saying they aren’t that significant. Your attorney fights back on your behalf, investigating your accident and securing evidence that keeps the facts from changing. The experience of a great attorney often means you’ll be getting much more for your injury than if you decide to handle your claim yourself.
What Can I Earn in a Truck Accident Settlement?
Truck accident victims must get support for their economic damages, like hospital bills and physical therapy costs. The loss of income while they can work must also be factored in.
They should also receive full support for the pain and the emotional trauma that a frightening accident and serious injury can lead to.
Maison Law Accident & Injury Lawyers of Bakersfield ensures that every physical, emotional, and financial difficulty the victim endures is documented in an accident claim.
These are a few of the factors that our attorneys demand compensation for on behalf of our clients:
- Support to cover all of your medical bills for as long as care is necessary.
- Support for a lifetime if your injuries result in a permanent disability.
- Support for the pain you experience and that you may suffer with for months or years.
- Support for the emotional trauma you experience after a traumatic truck collision and through a difficult recovery.
- Support to replace the job income and benefits you have to go without while you are in injury recovery.
- Support to cover the costs of travel to make doctor’s appointments and to see out-of-town specialists.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long should I wait before filing a personal injury claim?
You shouldn’t wait longer than two years, because that’s the statute of limitations on personal injury claims in California. And actually, you should move as soon as possible on your case. Waiting can make it harder to secure valuable evidence and to locate witnesses who have moved away.
How will I afford to pay a personal injury lawyer while trying to cover my hospital bills?
We understand that accidents leave victims both physically and financially devastated. It’s why our Bakersfield lawyers work under contingency agreements. It’s a contract that states the lawyer doesn’t earn anything unless the case is won. If the case is lost, you don’t owe Maison Law Accident & Injury Lawyers of Bakersfield any money. If the case is successful, you still don’t have to find the money to pay us. Our fee is covered out of the settlement check that an insurance company must provide for you.
Can my family and I seek support If a loved one Is killed in a truck accident?
Yes. Trucking companies would be responsible for helping families during such a difficult time. A wrongful death claim seeks money to help with burial costs and to pay off any medical bills built up before the victim passed on. Families should get assistance in supporting themselves in the future when the income the deceased may have contributed each month won’t be available. Families also need support for the guidance and care they won’t be able to rely on in the future. This can include the special moments in the future that have been lost, such as on wedding days, during the holidays, and with the birth of children and grandchildren.
Contact a Truck Accident Attorney Who Backs Your Claim with Evidence and Fights to Earn You More
Our attorneys never want to see you struggling to pay medical bills after an accident caused by a truck driver. Those costs are the responsibility of the truck driver, the trucking company, and their insurance providers. Our Bakersfield truck accident attorneys are ready to get aggressive with companies and corporations that don’t immediately accept blame for the mistakes of their employees.
If you have a serious injury, and a careless truck driver caused your accident, contact Maison Law Accident & Injury Lawyers of Bakersfield to schedule a free consultation. It’s a confidential, no-obligation review of your case with a real car accident lawyer.
We don’t stop fighting until you are healthy again, you have a vehicle that you can depend on, and your financial worries are a thing of the past.