While any form of motor vehicle accident can result fatalities, the unique features of commercial big-rigs make collisions, such as jackknife crashes, carriage under-ride accidents, rollovers collisions and other trucking accidents particularly likely to cause wrongful death to occupants of other vehicles, motorcyclists, bicyclists and pedestrians. Big-rigs cause over 4,200 fatalities per year, which amounts to about one in nine traffic related fatalities despite the fact that these massive vehicles account for a very small percentage of total motor vehicles on the road. If you lose a loved in a fatal big-rig collision, you must not only deal with the pain and grief of losing the companionship of a family member but also the potentially devastating financial impact.
Families coping with the grief of losing a loved one typically do not turn their attention first and foremost to filing insurance claims and ensuring compliance with legal requirements. While families need time to grieve from the shock and pain of losing a family member in a fatal commercial big-rig collision, the effective handling of a trucking accident in San Francisco requires immediate action following a tractor-trailer crash. Successful litigation of a trucking accident claim involves prompt investigation of the accident scene, vehicles, truck driver logbook, black box data recorder, receipts for fuel and lodging and other critical evidence.
When investigations are delayed critical evidence may become unavailable. Damage to the tractor-trailer may be repaired, limiting the ability of accident reconstruction experts to establish key facts about the collision. When the investigation is not conducted in a timely fashion, important evidence on the issues of causation and negligence by both the truck driver and trucking company may be lost. Trucking companies often have teams available that can get to an accident scene while the collision is still being investigated by law enforcement so it is important to have a litigation team ready to investigate and protect your interest as soon as possible.
Wrongful death cases that stem from fatal Bay Area big-rig accidents actually involve two related but independent claims. One claim is the survival claim brought for the damages that are actually suffered by the person killed in the big-rig crash. This claim is based on the legal theory that a personal injury victim’s right to be compensated for injury and loss “survives” the death of the victim. It is brought by the estate of the person who is killed by the negligent trucking driver, trucking company or other negligent party. Damages that may be recovered include lost wages up to the time of death, reimbursement for medical expenses and punitive damages in cases of reckless conduct that exhibits a conscious disregard for the safety of others.
The other claim in a fatal trucking accident case is the wrongful death claim brought by immediate family members of the person who suffers wrongful death in the Bay Area big-rig accident. Immediate family members authorized by statute to pursue a wrongful death claim may recover burial/funeral expenses, lost financial support reduced to present value and value of lost comfort, support and society depending on the specific facts of the case.
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The statute of limitations for a wrongful death lawsuit arising out of a big-rig accident in the Bay Area generally is two years from the date of death. This means that if you lose a loved on because of the negligence of a truck driver or commercial carrier it is important to seek legal advice promptly. If your are injured in a San Francisco big-rig collision, our experienced San Francisco semi-truck accident lawyers at Zimmerman Law may be able to help. If you or someone you love has been injured or a loved one has died in a San Francisco big-rig accident, you should contact us as soon as possible because critical deadlines apply. We invite you to contact The Law Office of Ian Zimmerman for your free initial consultation. We are open 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., speak Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese, and are available for weekend, evening, home and hospital meetings and visits. We also offer free initial consultations and work exclusively on a contingency fee basis so that you pay nothing if we don’t win your case.