Riverside Commercial Driver Accident Lawyer
The Riverside car accident lawyers at Ochoa & Calderón have years of experience helping injured clients and their families recover the compensation they deserve from negligent defendants of all sorts. We stand by our clients from day one until we secure the best outcome possible, and we’re ready to go toe-to-toe with the biggest freight companies, delivery companies, corporations, and insurance providers.
If you were involved in an accident with a long-haul truck, a livery vehicle, a delivery driver, or any other commercial driver, we’re ready to fight for your rights. We fight to make sure our clients are compensated for their medical bills, their lost wages, and their pain and suffering. Call the Southern California commercial vehicle accident legal team at Ochoa & Calderón to find out how we can help you get the money you are owed.
What is a Commercial Driver Accident?
A commercial driver crash is any accident involving a professional driver. Commercial drivers may be operating large trucks–semi-trucks, tractor-trailers, eighteen-wheelers, etc.–delivery vans, limousines, or other professional vehicles. If you’re involved in an accident with a commercial driver, your case will be substantially different than if you had been hit by a private driver. Your case may involve questions of corporate liability or regulatory violations, and the defense is likely to have a lot more money to spend on powerful lawyers.
If your accident involved a commercial driver, you need an experienced car accident attorney on your side to ensure that you are not pressured into accepting a lowball settlement or bullied into dropping your claim entirely. The seasoned personal injury law firm Ochoa & Calderón is ready to stand up for your rights and make sure you get the compensation you are owed, regardless of who is liable.
Establishing Liability After a Commercial Vehicle Accident
Accidents involving commercial drivers can quickly become more complex than your standard car accident case. Companies are typically liable for the actions of their employees taken during the course of business; that means that if you were hit by a commercial driver in the midst of a delivery, you likely have a claim against their employer. In many cases, moreover, the employers themselves were actually negligent, and that negligence contributed to the likelihood of an accident.
In addition to the typical grounds for negligence in a car crash case (drunk driving, distracted driving, ignoring traffic signals, etc.), commercial driver accidents may involve consideration of special grounds for liability, including the following:
- Failure to maintain vehicles
- Lack of proper training, supervision, and safety education
- Hiring untrained and unqualified drivers
- Failing to install or maintain the latest safety equipment
- Violating hours of service regulations
- Hiring drivers without the proper licenses
- Hiring drivers without conducting background checks
Freight companies and other companies involved in commercial driving are subject to a host of safety rules and regulations imposed by state and federal law. Violating these safety rules is strong proof of negligence. If the driver’s employer committed any of the fouls listed above, the employer may be directly liable for the resulting accident. Depending upon how egregious their conduct was, they may even be liable for punitive damages, which can be given on top of the other damages awarded to compensate the plaintiff for the actual harm they suffered.
Talk to a knowledgeable car accident attorney at Ochoa & Calderón to find out how you can bolster your claim for damages against a negligent commercial driver or freight company.
Call Our Riverside Commercial Driver Accident Lawyers Today
If you’ve been hurt in a Riverside commercial vehicle accident with a large truck, limousine, Uber, Lyft, taxi, delivery van, or other commercial driver, call the Southern California car and truck accident attorneys at Ochoa & Calderón for a free consultation on your claims. We only charge a fee after we are successful in recovering compensation for you. No recovery, no fee.
