California truck accident attorney

May 29, 2020

What Steps Should I Take After a Poway Truck Accident?

Whether you are driving on one of the major highways surrounding Poway or you are on a local road, a serious truck accident can happen without warning. Trucking accidents can happen for many different reasons, and it is important to work with an experienced truck accident attorney who can help you move forward with a claim and determine who may be liable for your injuries. Although every case has its own set of facts, the following are the general steps you should take if you have been injured in a Poway trucking crash.

Gather Evidence at the Scene of the Truck Accident

Many truck accidents result in life-threatening and deadly injuries. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), large trucks usually weigh anywhere from 20 to 30 times as much as a smaller passenger vehicle, and they have a much higher ground clearance. As a result, a collision with a passenger car or light truck can mean that any occupants of those smaller vehicles sustain debilitating injuries. If you are physically and mentally able to do so, you should gather as much information as you can at the scene of the truck accident. You should take photos, and you should make sure to record the names and contact information of anyone else involved in the collision and anyone who witnessed it.

March 20, 2020

New FMCSA Truck Accident Causation Study to Begin

by Walton Law Firm

If you or someone you love got hurt in a truck accident in Carlsbad, it is extremely important to know about your options for filing a claim and proving that the trucking company is responsible for your injuries. Even in cases in which a truck driver’s error caused the collision, as is true in many trucking collisions, plaintiffs will want to learn more about causation and liability to determine whether the trucking company itself or the owner of the truck may also bear responsibility for the crash. Generally speaking, truck companies have much deeper pockets than truck drivers themselves, and thus they may be able to provide an injured plaintiff or her family with full compensation for losses. Yet first, a plaintiff will need to prove causation and liability.

What causes most truck accidents? The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) conducted a study about trucking accident causation more than 15 years ago. According to a recent report in Transport Topics, the FMCSA has plans to conduct a new crash causation study that will help to reveal the extent to which issues like smartphone usage and distracted driving play a role in truck collisions.

Details of the FMCSA Planned Study

April 18, 2014

California Bus Crash Report

by Walton Law Firm

FedEx Truck Causes Deadly Bus Accident

A fatal automobile accident in Northern California left 10 people dead, including five high school students, according to an article in the Los Angeles Times. The crash occurred when a FedEx truck driver veered across a median on the I-5 freeway and collided head-on with a bus transporting high school students. The cause of the tragic trucking accident remains unknown, but the FedEx truck driver was reported as being among those killed in the crash. Scott Frederick, a California Highway Patrol (CHP) lieutenant, said authorities aren’t yet sure whether the driver “had fallen asleep, whether his freight truck had some type of mechanical failure or if it was involved in a separate collision that preceded the fiery crash.”

What happened? Currently, all the California Highway Patrol knows is that, by the time emergency medical responders arrived at the scene of the bus accident, the vehicle was “already engulfed in flames,” according to CHP Commander Bruce Carpenter. He explained that “31 people were transported to seven hospitals with injuries ranging from minor to critical.” Nine victims died at the scene of the accident, and another person passed away later from fatal burn injuries. The driver of the FedEx truck, Tim Evans, and the driver of the bus, Talalelei Lealao-Taio, were among the ten victims of the deadly accident. Five students and three adult chaperones also died from injuries sustained in the crash.