Northern California Wide Turn Truck Accident Attorneys
Maneuvering a commercial truck around a turn requires focus and skill. Inexperienced truck drivers often miscalculate how much space they need to turn left or right and can end up on the curb or crash into another vehicle. Even highly trained truckers can make mistakes and cause an accident.
The Northern California truck accident lawyers of Tiemann Law Firm understand the devastating injuries that can occur when a passenger car and tractor-trailer collide. The smaller vehicle occupants typically suffer more significant physical harm and property damage than the truck driver.
Our Northern California wide turn truck accident attorneys have over 25 years of experience pursuing compensation for our clients and holding truck drivers and trucking companies liable for their negligence. You can depend on us to be your advocate and fight for the justice you deserve.
For a free same-day consultation or to learn more about our legal services, call Tiemann Law Firm at (916) 999-9000 today.
Why Are Wide Turns Complicated for Commercial Trucks?
It’s relatively easy to turn in a compact car or small truck. However, tractor-trailers can be up to 60 feet in length and weigh up to 80,000 pounds. It’s much harder to navigate this type of vehicle, especially on narrow roads and around sharp turns.
A wide turn happens when a truck driver must occupy more than one lane to turn safely. They must avoid crashing into pedestrians, other vehicles, the curb, and stationary objects, such as traffic signs, while making this maneuver.
Turning right requires the trucker to veer into the lane to their left first, so they can avoid a head-on collision with oncoming traffic in the opposing lanes they’re turning into. Turning left means cutting the wheel at the right moment, so they don’t end up on the curb or sideswipe cars that are also turning.
Poor techniques while attempting to turn right or left can lead to wide turn accidents. Examples include:
- Needing to back up to complete the turn
- Failing to use the appropriate turn signals
- Swinging the vehicle out of the lane, leaving space for cars to travel in the blind spot
- Failing to use mirrors to monitor the distance from curbs and other vehicles
- Turning right with the front cab in the opposite lane heading towards oncoming traffic
- Entering a turning lane too quickly without checking blind spots first
Other common causes of wide turn truck accidents include:
- Fatigued driving
- Lack of experience or training
- Malfunctioning turn signals
- Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs
- Driver distraction
- Missing or damaged mirrors
If the truck driver’s error resulted in your injuries during a collision, you might be able to hold them liable for your medical bills and other expenses. Tiemann Law Firm could assist you with your case and gather the necessary evidence to prove who was at fault.
Options for Seeking Compensation Following a Wide Turn Truck Accident
At Tiemann Law Firm, our legal team is familiar with the different options for pursuing compensation from the at-fault party. We can review the facts of your case and determine which strategy we believe would work best for you.
The first option is to file a claim. Federal law requires trucking companies to buy and maintain liability insurance with minimum coverage limits for their drivers. These limits are:
- $300,000 – Non-hazardous materials on trucks weighing under 10,001 pounds
- $750,000 – Non-hazardous cargo on vehicles weighing over 10,000 pounds
- $1 million – Trucks containing oil and hazardous freight
- $5 million – Trucks transporting other hazardous freight
These limits are significantly higher than the standard auto policy for non-commercial drivers. That’s because tractor-trailers tend to cause more severe injuries and damage than passenger vehicles when they’re involved in a collision. If the truck driver or trucking company is to blame for the crash, the liability coverage they have should be sufficient to compensate for your injuries and the related costs.
Accident victims can suffer various losses. When you file an insurance claim, you can pursue compensation for your emotional, physical, and economic losses, such as:
- Medical bills
- Emotional distress
- Pain and suffering
- Inconvenience
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Property damage
- Lost wages
- Lost earning capacity
- Physical impairment or disfigurement
The second option for seeking compensation from the at-fault party is to file a lawsuit. Many insurance companies look out for their own interests over the interests of claimants. They want to avoid large settlement payouts to save money. If they can find a reason to deny your claim, they will.
What most people don’t realize is that they can file a lawsuit after a denied insurance claim. There’s a strict timeframe you must follow called a statute of limitations. California has a two-year statute of limitations for truck accident cases. That means you need to initiate your lawsuit within two years of the crash date if you want to sue the truck driver or trucking company.
One major rule you should know and understand during a lawsuit of this type is pure comparative negligence. If a jury determines your actions partially contributed to the accident, they could diminish the amount of compensation you may recover for your losses by the percentage of fault they assign.
For example, if you have $100,000 in losses, but the jury finds that you were 20% at fault, you wouldn’t be allowed to seek $100,000 in compensation. Instead, you could only pursue up to $80,000. This rule applies even if you were 99% responsible for the accident.
Contact Tiemann Law Firm for a Free Consultation
Since 1998, the Northern California wide turn truck accident attorneys of Tiemann Law Firm have been fighting against insurance companies and negligent truck drivers on behalf of our clients. We understand the complexities of personal injury cases and how to handle any obstacles that get in our way. We’re not afraid to aggressively pursue the maximum available settlement in an insurance claim or take the at-fault party to court if necessary.
Our legal team will treat you as a priority and provide the support and guidance you need to get through this traumatic time in your life. Do not hesitate to call Tiemann Law Firm for a free consultation at (916) 999-9000 if you sustained injuries in a wide turn accident involving a commercial truck. We take cases on contingency, so you only have to pay our legal fees if we secure compensation for you. Call today, and let us help you.
