Truck accidents aren’t just “fender-benders.” When you’re hit by a big rig or semi-truck, the damage is often catastrophic, leaving you with severe injuries and hefty damage expenses. With the severity of the physical, emotional, and financial impact, victims have the right to seek compensation for the damages it causes, such as medical bills and lost wages. However, determining who to file the claim against is crucial when seeking compensation.
If you are involved in a truck accident in California, this article will help you determine the possible liable parties in such an incident and understand how truck accident claims work to protect your legal rights.
How Dangerous Are Truck Crashes?
Crashes with big trucks aren’t just ordinary accidents. They’re life-changing events that can leave victims with devastating injuries or even death. Here’s why collisions with trucks are so much more dangerous:
- Sheer Size and Weight: A fully loaded truck can weigh 20 to 30 times more than a regular car. When that much force slams into a smaller vehicle, the results are often catastrophic.
- Longer Stopping Distances: Even when truck drivers see danger ahead, their rigs simply can’t stop on a dime. Every second of delay can mean the difference between a close call and a deadly collision.
- Massive Blind Spots: Truck drivers can’t see everything around them. Vehicles hidden in their large “no-zones” can easily be sideswiped, trapped, or crushed without warning.
- Dangerous Cargo Loads: If cargo isn’t properly secured, it can shift, spill, or cause a truck to tip over, turning an already dangerous situation into an unstoppable disaster.
- Severe, Often Fatal Injuries: Because of the tremendous forces involved, truck crashes are far more likely to cause catastrophic injuries, like traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, amputations, or fatalities, than typical car accidents.
Unfortunately, fatal truck accidents can happen at any time, but statistics from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in 2020 show they’re far more common during daylight hours, with nearly 64.9% happening during the day and just 34.9% occurring at night.
Additionally, the National Safety Council mentions that 5,375 large trucks were involved in fatal crashes and accounted for 10% of the total vehicle miles traveled in 2023 alone.
While we think government regulations are enough to keep unsafe trucks off the road, these regulations are often overlooked and disregarded, resulting in more truck accidents. In fact:
- 1 out of every 5 commercial trucks pulled over in inspections is so dangerous that it’s immediately taken off the road.
- Inspection stations are overwhelmed and understaffed. Dangerous trucks slip through the cracks every single day.
- Some trucking companies cut corners on maintenance and push drivers to the brink of exhaustion just to protect their profits.
Understanding Liability and Your Right to Compensation
After surviving a truck accident, you’re likely facing overwhelming pain, fear, and uncertainty about the future. On top of the physical and emotional toll, you may wonder: Who will be held responsible for what happened to me?
The answer lies in proving liability, and it’s the key to securing the compensation you need to heal and rebuild.
Liability means showing who was legally at fault for the crash. It could be the truck driver, the trucking company, a vehicle manufacturer, or even another party. To successfully claim the compensation you deserve, you must prove that:
- Someone else’s negligence or wrongful actions caused the accident.
- That negligence directly led to your injuries and losses.
- You have strong evidence backing your claim.
Without solid proof, insurance companies may deny your claim, leaving you without the financial support you desperately need during recovery. However, trying to gather this evidence while dealing with serious injuries can feel impossible. That’s why it’s crucial to have an experienced truck accident attorney in California who can gather evidence to prove liability, while you take care of your health and recovery.
Is the Truck Driver Liable for a Crash?
Negligence happens when someone makes a careless choice that puts others in danger, and sadly, when that “someone” is a truck driver behind the wheel of an 80,000-pound truck, the consequences can be catastrophic.
Imagine a truck driver barreling down the highway, distracted by a text message instead of watching the road ahead. Picture a driver pushing far beyond legal driving hours, fighting off exhaustion but still speeding through a busy intersection. Think of a trucker who gets behind the wheel under the influence, ignoring the risk to everyone around them.
These reckless decisions are acts of negligence that can make truck drivers liable for a crash. When a truck driver fails to act with the care and responsibility the law demands, victims are left to pay the price in broken bones, lost futures, and unimaginable grief, and drivers are often responsible for these if their actions directly caused the accident.
When Can a Trucking Company Be Held Responsible?
While it’s often the truck driver’s actions that cause a crash, many accidents trace back to the trucking companies themselves. They can be held liable in situations like:
- Pushing Drivers Beyond Their Limits: Federal laws limit drivers to 11 hours of driving after 10 hours off duty. However, some companies create unrealistic schedules that force drivers to drive while dangerously fatigued. If exhaustion caused your crash, the company could be to blame.
- Hiring Unqualified or Poorly Trained Drivers: A trucking company must vet every driver carefully and provide proper training. If they cut corners during the hiring process or neglect to train drivers properly, they can be held responsible for any accidents caused as a result.
- Ignoring Safety Regulations: When companies overload trucks, skip maintenance, or violate safety standards, they put everyone on the road at risk. If those violations contribute to a crash, they can and should be held accountable.
Could Someone Else Be Responsible Too?
Truck accidents are often more complicated than they first appear. Besides the truck driver and the company, other parties might also share responsibility, such as:
- Truck Manufacturers – for defective brakes, tires, or other parts.
- Maintenance Providers – if poor repairs or missed inspections caused mechanical failure.
- Government Entities – if poor road conditions or missing signage contributed to the accident.
- Other Drivers – if another road user’s reckless behavior helped trigger the crash.
What Damages Can I Recover After a Truck Accident?
A truck crash can change the course of your entire life, robbing you of the career you worked hard for, the hobbies you loved, and even the relationships you treasure. With the significant impact of a truck accident on a victim’s life, they are often given the right and opportunity to sue for compensation for the damages they incur physically and emotionally.
Economic Damages: These cover the financial costs of your injuries, such as:
- Medical bills, including future treatments and therapy.
- Lost wages and reduced ability to earn a living.
- Costs to repair or replace your vehicle.
Non-Economic Damages: These reflect the emotional impact of a truck collision, including:
- Pain, suffering, and emotional trauma.
- Loss of enjoyment of life.
- Damage to your personal relationships or companionship.
Punitive Damages: In cases of extreme negligence, such as willful violation of safety laws by truck companies, courts may award punitive damages to punish wrongdoers and discourage future misconduct.
Unfortunately, most victims overlook non-economic damages and often accept settlements that only cover their existing medical bills and expenses, especially if they don’t have legal experts to determine their total damages. This is why it is crucial to hire a truck accident lawyer who can assess your situation and calculate the total losses you incur, ensuring you secure a settlement that can help you fully recover.
Trucking Companies Hide Their Dangerous Histories, and We Know How to Find Them
A substantial proportion of accidents involving tractor-trailers result in deadly or life-threatening injuries. However, not all of them are reported due to business reasons. If trucking companies’ safety records are made public, the government may be more responsive to safety concerns.
The Safe and Fitness Electronic Records system, or SAFER, currently makes some safety information available to the public. Only law enforcement officers and other authorized individuals have access to the majority of the data. The SAFER system keeps track of a trucking company’s history and safety records, including inspections, accidents, and the trucking company’s overall safety and fitness score.
When investigating an accident involving a big rig, a skilled truck accident attorney in California can use this safety record to show that the trucking company had a history of violations. However, in an ideal world, trucks and trucking companies with a history of violations would simply be kept off the road entirely, putting people at risk.
You Can’t Afford to Wait, and You Don’t Have to Fight Alone
When you’re living through the aftermath of a truck crash, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and powerless. You are suddenly recovering from severe injuries, facing mounting medical bills, losing wages from missed work, and taking care of the insurance claim.
But you are not powerless. And you are not alone.
At The Law Offices of Larry H. Parker, we have a 95% success rate, and we fight tooth and nail to get truck crash victims every dollar they are owed. You pay nothing unless we win.
Call 562-620-5912 or fill out our contact form for your free case review.
Don’t wait another day wondering who will help you. Let our truck accident lawyers go after the people who did this, and make them pay.
What Our Clients Say About Us
While many personal injury lawyers may accept your case and build a legal defense, none will champion your cause as fiercely as we do. Our California truck accident lawyers are exceptionally well-equipped to create a flawless claim, as affirmed by our previous clients:
“There was absolutely no hassle for me. They kept me up to date and checked in on me throughout the case. They took care of everything and were able to clearly explain the process, and it was all definitely worth it in the end!
Geronimo was the assistant who was working on our case. He was friendly, informative, patient, and thorough with any questions that I had.” – Marcos R.
Injured in a recent collision? Call our car accident attorneys today for a free case evaluation and clear next steps.
Frequently Asked Questions
Accidents may be upsetting and complicated, leaving everyone involved with questions about their rights, obligations, and legal alternatives. Understanding the aftermath of an accident is crucial for protecting your rights and obtaining proper compensation, regardless of whether you are the driver, passenger, or pedestrian.
If you have further questions, we have answered some of the most frequently asked questions about road accidents.
- Top 5 Legal Challenges Of Commercial Truck Accident Claims
- Can I Switch California Personal Injury Lawyers?
- What is the Difference Between Hit-and-run and Leaving the Scene of the Accident?
- How Can a San Jose Truck Accident Lawyer Help Me?
References
Crashes Table 24. Crashes Involving Large Trucks by Light Conditions and Crash Severity, 2020. (n.d.). Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety/data-and-statistics/crashes-table-24-crashes-involving-large-trucks-light-conditions-and-6
Large Trucks – Injury Facts. (n.d.). Injury Facts. Retrieved April 28, 2025, from https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/motor-vehicle/road-users/large-trucks/
Safety and Fitness Electronic Records (SAFER) | US Department of Transportation. (2018, October 17). Department of Transportation. Retrieved September 11, 2025, from https://www.transportation.gov/individuals/privacy/safety-and-fitness-electronic-records-safer
Summary of Hours of Service Regulations | FMCSA. (2022, March 28). Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Retrieved September 11, 2025, from https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/hours-service/summary-hours-service-regulations
