With so many farms and orchards in Kern County, semi-trucks and box trucks hauling fruits and vegetables can end up causing collisions and serious accidents. Victims are empowered to hold farms and agricultural corporations liable for their medical bills and the time they must miss at work. But large businesses and farms can also be unhelpful and try to deny responsibility.
Maison Law Accident & Injury Lawyers of Bakersfield offers a free, no-obligation consultation for all accident victims in Kern County. It’s a chance to make sure that farms, large and small, are held accountable for their drivers, and that victims receive everything needed to make a full recovery.
Should I Have a Lawyer When Asking Agricultural Companies for Help After a Truck Accident?
If a produce truck hits you and your injuries are serious, it’s a good idea to speak to a skilled Bakersfield truck accident lawyer. An injury claim filed against a local farming operation can leave you reliant on an insurance company to help you pay for recovery. But farm owners and operators can fight back.
A skilled lawyer can protect you when insurance adjusters try to blame you for an accident you didn’t cause. Your lawyer also fights to boost your settlement amount, so you are never left to pay for any part of your recovery. A good lawyer can often earn you much more for your claim than you could win by handling it yourself.
Produce Truck Accident Dangers in Kern County
Kern County is home to many great farms that grow produce and send out their harvests every season. Their trucks can be large and tough to slow down, especially when they are stacked with boxes or baskets of fruit.
Bakersfield motorists can meet giant vehicles from places like Grimmway Farms or Cal-Organic Farms on highways like Route 58. A careless driver can veer over into their lanes and also run them off the roads when truck drivers aren’t careful.
These are just a few of the reasons a produce truck can be dangerous for local traffic:
- Produce Truck Driver Distraction. Drivers can be looking at their phones or in contact with their companies, getting their latest delivery instructions. It’s all time they may take their eyes off the roads. Fully loaded produce trucks can veer across a center line to ram another vehicle head-on. The extra weight behind the farm truck lends additional force to the impact, making traumatic injuries more likely.
- Truck Driver Recklessness. Farm truck drivers can exceed a safe speed and end up without time to react or room to slow down for an intersection, a stop sign, or construction traffic. Truck drivers can also feel deadline pressure to get someone quickly and decide to drive aggressively. A produce truck may ram a vehicle from behind or run a red light to ram a car or SUV in a T-Bone collision.
- Unbalanced Loads. Workers at loading docks may be the culprit when an unbalanced load causes a box truck to tip over on another car or in front of a vehicle going full speed.
- Maintenance Issues. Heavy trucks will see more frequent tire blowouts and more wear on brake pads. Agricultural companies are supposed to keep their truck fleets up and make sure they are safe for the road.
It’s up to your Maison Law Accident & Injury Lawyers representative to collect evidence showing a truck driver’s negligence and ensure blame sticks to the person or business that was at fault. Then it’s a matter of determining who is responsible for that driver’s actions. Usually, it’s the employer and the employer’s commercial insurance provider.
What Insurance Is Involved If a Produce Truck Hits Me?
This can be a tricky question for accident victims to figure out. Some farms hire full-time drivers and back them all with accident coverage. Some farms contract their transportation needs out to local trucking companies or to owner/operator truck drivers.
Sorting the question of liability out can be key to filing a successful accident claim and receiving full compensation in a settlement check or checks.
Owner/Operator Produce Truck Drivers. Some drivers work for themselves and are hired by farms and orchards to haul apricots, pistachios, and all other manner of crops. These truck drivers should have their own commercial truck insurance, but their policies may provide as much recovery support as policies carried by big companies and corporations.
Local Trucking Companies. These companies may be contracted out by area farms and agricultural companies to handle the point-to-point deliveries to and from packing and canning factories. These companies should have commercial accident insurance to cover all full-time drivers.
Farms and Agricultural Corporations – Farms and corporate owners may maintain their own drivers and trucks. Businesses will have to cover their employees with commercial insurance in most cases.
A lawyer can identify the drivers and farms that bear some fault in your accident and file multiple claims if necessary. This allows you to secure money from several insurers and hopefully get coverage to pay all of your medical bills.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long can I wait to file an injury claim after a produce truck accident?
California’s statute of limitations on traffic accident injury claims allows victims up to two years to file. Waiting months or years can hurt a case. Contact a lawyer as soon as possible when the evidence is still fresh, and witnesses are easier to track down.
What kinds of things are paid for in a truck accident settlement claim?
Accident victims should receive reimbursement for any medical bills they’ve already had to cover and get support for any follow-up care they may need in the future. Repair costs for a damaged vehicle or full replacement money should be a part of the settlement. The paychecks victims lose while missing work must be reimbursed. A skilled lawyer would also demand support for the victim’s physical pain and the emotional trauma victims must cope with.
What if I can’t afford to pay a truck accident lawyer?
You won’t be charged anything upfront for our services. Maison Law Accident & Injury Lawyers works under a contingency agreement for you. It means we don’t get paid unless your case is successful. Then our fee comes out of the settlement check that an insurance company sends you.
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 or a negligent farm owner. Those costs are 100% the responsibility of those at fault. Our attorneys are ready to get aggressive with agricultural businesses and trucking companies to make sure you have what you need to return your life to normal.
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 truck accident lawyer.