Truck Driver Personal Injury and Wage Attorney in Simi Valley, CA
California’s trucking industry has always been busy, with 21 interstate highways to traverse and a large economy to sustain. But with its fast-paced nature comes higher risks of trucking accidents. In 2022, the state had the second-highest number of large truck accidents in the U.S., next to Texas.
Simi Valley’s trucking industry is a microcosm of the state. According to Business Forward Ventura County, the city is among California’s top 10% of cities with promising business growth, and its trucking industry plays a big role in its continuous success.
However, liabilities from trucking accidents, hazards, unjust compensations, and other issues truck drivers face can maim the trucking industry’s future in Simi Valley. In the middle of 2024, some major accidents in the city involved and affected truck drivers.
If you are a truck driver facing liability over a road accident, getting improperly compensated for an injury you acquired while working, or receiving an unjust wage or work conditions, Truck Driver Rights is your reliable lawyer in Simi Valley.
Truck Accidents Have Silent Triggers
When you read or watch news about truck accidents, the reports often state the immediate reasons for the accident, such as a distracted driver or a faulty brake. What doesn’t make it to the news are the many reasons a truck driver may be distracted while on the road or the brakes failing mid-journey.
Here are the common causes of truck accidents in cities like Simi Valley:
- Too much workload or impossible quota placed on the truckers
- Companies failing to conduct routine vehicle checks
- Working under bad weather conditions
- Truck drivers being deprived of adequate or paid rest and meal breaks
- Pedestrians not following the traffic rules
- Emotional stress on drivers worsened by long hauls
In most cases, truck drivers get the short end of the stick when it comes to road accidents. Apart from being blamed for the accident, they also often end up injured, sometimes dead. Severe or permanent injuries may lead to the loss of their job while fatalities mean emotional and financial burdens to the truckers’ families.
A truck driver personal injury lawyer in Simi Valley upholds truckers’ rights to conducive work conditions, fair wages, and legal protection through court representation.
When Do You Need a Personal Injury Attorney in Simi Valley?
It would be crucial to seek advice from a Simi Valley truck driver injury lawyer when dealing with the complex legal landscape of trucking cases. Here are some examples of cases where a personal injury lawyer is needed:
Truck Collisions
Regardless of whether such a crash is a car-on-car collision, rollover, or single-vehicle accident, such collisions may cause serious injuries to you and damage to your truck and its parts. Truck accident attorneys can help you determine if there are third parties who should be charged with damages for being negligent, including other drivers and the trucking company or manufacturer of any of its parts.
Poor Truck Maintenance
Consider being involved in an automobile accident caused by trucking mechanics, perhaps a faulty brake or tread blow on one of the tires. In such a case, an attorney can determine whether negligent truck maintenance was a contributing cause. Class action lawsuits against your trucking company and/or maintenance provider will likely be necessary and lawyers can help with representation.
Injuries from Cargo-related Tasks
As a truck driver, you might be called to handle cargo loading and offloading. Such operations are demanding and dangerous. When you become involved in an accident while working with cargo, you might want legal advice to determine your options for compensation. A lawyer will be able to figure out liability and can file a case against the negligent party for reasons such as poor procedures for loading, faulty equipment, or inaccurate training on how to handle the cargo.
Injuries from Other Motorists
In a car crash where the fault is on another person’s part, an attorney for truck injury can advance the case of a personal injury lawsuit against the responsible party for you to be compensated with medical expenses among other damages.
Slip and Fall Accidents
If you slip and fall in one of the properties you’re working in as a trucker, this may lead to injuries. If the root cause of the injury is negligence, such as poor maintenance or failure to correct any known danger, a truck driver injury attorney can assist in your claim for premises liability against the owner of the property or any responsible party.
Overwork and Fatigue
You may often feel tired due to difficult schedules and many hours spent driving on the road, making trucking accidents more likely. In cases in which the cause of an accident is driver fatigue, a truck driver personal injury lawyer will attempt to discern if the scheduling imposed by your employer or the stress of deadlines caused the accident.
Negligence by the Employer
Trucking companies hold a responsibility to provide you and other truck driver employees with a safe working environment as well as adequate training to allow you to operate a truck safely. In the event you get injured due to your employer’s neglect – for instance, failure to provide mandated safety equipment and training – a lawyer will assist you in getting compensation from the company.
Workers’ Compensation Claims
Truck drivers are entitled to worker’s compensation benefits in case of injury on the job. You must get the benefits you’re entitled to have in full. You can consult a truck driver wage attorney to know if you are being treated fairly. The lawyer can also represent you in disputes with your employer and their workers’ compensation insurance provider.
Insurance Claim Delay or Denial
When an insurance company denies or delays your injury claims, a truck driver injury lawyer can guide you through the claims process, negotiate with insurers, and take legal action to secure the benefits and compensation you deserve.
Wrongful Termination or Retaliation
In some cases, a truck driver who reported illegal safety violations or workplace injuries was wrongfully terminated as retaliation by the employer. It is best for a truck driver personal injury attorney to intervene at this point to protect the driver’s rights and subsequently present his case to court, seeking damages and reinstatement if the trucker so wishes.
Fair Compensation
Many truck drivers, especially the ones on a “piece rate” arrangement, might be working extensively long hours without getting the equivalent compensation. In a piece rate arrangement, the trucker is either paid per load, per percentage of the load, or per mile. In some cases, the trucker might not be given paid rest/meal breaks or paid non-driving time for non-driving tasks related to their work, potentially risking their safety and health.
A truck driver wage lawyer can advocate for your right to have 10-minute paid rest breaks and paid non-driving work-related tasks such as pre- and post-trip inspections and training meetings under California laws.
Know Your Rights in a Personal Injury Case
With a deep understanding of the challenges truck drivers face, Truck Driver Rights by Atty Joshua Haffner aims to provide truckers with the legal services they need before or during court trials.
Whether you want to file claims for personal injury or you are faced with such claims, our truck driver personal injury attorneys will help you navigate the judicial processes and exercise your rights.
Consult our truck driver personal injury lawyers today!
Other Truck Driver Concerns That Lead to Distracted Driving
Ideally, the truck driver has to bother with nothing but driving and getting to their destination fast and safely. But the reality is many truck drivers are distracted by problems that have nothing to do with driving, such as:
- Salary concerns with their employer
- Failure to operate within regulation hours
- Lack of training
- Failure of the employer to act on driver requests and refusal to protect their rights
Truck drivers who have endured these wage and HR issues for decades can finally change their situation by working with employment and labor attorneys. These lawyers will examine clients’ details, identify which regions of improvement are legally required, and initiate legal actions that will make employers offer truck drivers the benefits they deserve.
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Truck Driver Rights aims to protect our clients’ rights and, by extension, preserve California’s trucking industry. We believe that more people will be encouraged to take on the job when truck drivers are justly treated, properly compensated, and protected against personal injury and unlawful policies.
Are you a truck driver in need of legal services against personal injury, unfair wages, deprived compensation, and poor working conditions? Truck Driver Rights offers free consultation to help you out.
Contact us today at 877-700-0009 or visit our contact page to schedule an appointment.