Mountain View Truck Accident Injuries
An 18-wheeler collision can cause devastating injuries and leave you facing months or years of medical treatment, lost income, and uncertainty about what happens next. Commercial truck accident claims can also be more complicated than ordinary car accident cases because multiple people and companies may share responsibility for a crash.
If you were injured in an 18-wheeler accident in Mountain View, San Jose Personal Injury Attorneys can help you investigate what happened, identify potentially responsible parties, preserve important evidence, and pursue compensation for your injuries and losses.
Why Are 18-Wheeler Accident Claims More Complicated?
A collision involving a large commercial truck may involve more than just the driver.
Depending on how the crash occurred, potentially responsible parties can include:
- Truck driver: Speeding, distracted driving, fatigue, impairment, unsafe lane changes, or other negligent conduct
- Trucking company: Negligent hiring, inadequate training, improper supervision, or pressure to meet unsafe delivery schedules
- Cargo loader or shipper: Improper loading, overloading, or inadequate cargo securement
- Maintenance provider: Failure to properly inspect, repair, or maintain brakes, tires, steering systems, or other safety equipment
- Vehicle owner or leasing company: Problems involving the truck's condition, equipment, or maintenance responsibilities
- Manufacturer or parts supplier: A defective component that contributed to the crash
Determining who may be legally responsible requires examining the circumstances of the collision and the evidence available from the driver, carrier, vehicle, cargo, and other parties.
What Should You Do After an 18-Wheeler Accident?
The first priority is your safety and health. After that, taking the right steps can help preserve evidence and protect your potential insurance claim.
1. Get to a Safe Location and Call 911
If you can safely move away from traffic, do so. Do not attempt to confront the truck driver or investigate the crash while standing in an active roadway.
Mountain View is crossed by major transportation routes, including U.S. 101, State Route 85, Central Expressway, and El Camino Real. If the collision occurred on or near one of these roadways, exercise particular caution around passing traffic.
Call 911 and report the collision. Depending on where the crash occurred, the response may involve the Mountain View Police Department, California Highway Patrol, fire personnel, or other emergency responders.
2. Get Medical Attention
Seek medical attention as soon as possible, even if your injuries initially seem minor.
Truck collisions can cause serious injuries that are not always obvious immediately, including:
If you receive treatment, keep copies of your medical records, bills, prescriptions, and other documentation related to your care.
3. Document the Crash Scene
If you can safely do so, photograph or record:
This evidence can help establish how the collision occurred and identify the parties involved.
4. Identify Witnesses and Potential Video Evidence
Get the names and contact information of anyone who witnessed the crash.
Also look for nearby sources of video, including:
Evidence can become more difficult to obtain as time passes, particularly when surveillance systems automatically overwrite older recordings.
5. Preserve Commercial Trucking Evidence
Commercial trucks can generate extensive records that may help establish what happened before and during a collision.
Depending on the circumstances, relevant evidence may include:
- Electronic logging device (ELD) records
- Driver duty-status records
- GPS and telematics data
- Vehicle inspection and maintenance records
- Driver qualification records
- Dispatch records
- Cargo and loading records
- Electronic Control Module data
- Photographs and post-crash inspection records
- Dashcam or other onboard video
An attorney may send a preservation or spoliation letter to the trucking company and other potentially responsible parties requesting that relevant evidence be preserved.
This can be particularly important because different types of commercial trucking records have different retention requirements. For example, FMCSA guidance states that motor carriers generally must retain ELD records of duty status and supporting documents for six months.
Who May Be Liable for a Mountain View Truck Accident?
Commercial truck accident investigations often require looking beyond the driver.
Truck Driver
A driver may be responsible if the crash resulted from conduct such as:
Trucking Company
A motor carrier may potentially be responsible for its own negligence, depending on the circumstances. An investigation may examine hiring practices, training, supervision, dispatch records, safety history, and whether the company complied with applicable regulations.
Maintenance Company
Federal regulations require motor carriers to systematically inspect, repair, and maintain vehicles and equipment under their control. Maintenance records can therefore be important when a crash involves brake problems, tire failures, steering issues, or other mechanical defects.
Cargo Loader or Shipper
Improperly loaded or secured cargo can affect a truck's stability, braking, and handling. Bills of lading, loading records, photographs, and other documentation may help determine whether cargo contributed to the collision.
Truck or Parts Manufacturer
If a defective component contributed to the crash, a product liability claim may be possible against the manufacturer or another party involved in the distribution of the defective product.
Federal Trucking Regulations That May Matter
Commercial trucking is governed by extensive federal regulations administered by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). The specific regulations that apply depend on the type of vehicle, driver, carrier, cargo, and operation involved.
49 CFR Part 395: Hours of Service
Hours-of-service regulations limit how long property-carrying commercial drivers may drive and remain on duty.
Under 49 CFR § 395.3, a property-carrying driver generally must have 10 consecutive hours off duty before beginning a new driving period and may drive up to 11 hours within a 14-hour on-duty window. Additional limits apply to cumulative on-duty time.
If driver fatigue is suspected, ELD records and other hours-of-service documentation may become important evidence.
49 CFR Part 396: Inspection, Repair, and Maintenance
Federal regulations require motor carriers to systematically inspect, repair, and maintain commercial motor vehicles under their control. The rules address safety-related components and require certain inspection, repair, and maintenance records.
These records may be particularly important when a collision involves alleged brake failure, tire problems, steering defects, or another mechanical issue.
49 CFR Part 383: Commercial Driver's License Standards
Part 383 establishes federal commercial driver's license standards, including requirements involving licensing, testing, endorsements, disqualifications, and penalties.
A truck accident investigation may examine whether the driver was properly licensed and qualified to operate the commercial vehicle involved.
California Vehicle Code § 22406
California law generally prohibits a motor truck or truck tractor with three or more axles, or a motor truck or truck tractor drawing another vehicle, from traveling faster than 55 mph on a highway.
Speed evidence can be important when determining how a commercial truck collision occurred.
Meet Our Attorneys
Our semi-truck injury attorneys have extensive experience handling serious personal injury claims involving commercial trucks. We understand the unique challenges these cases can involve and are committed to helping injured clients pursue the compensation they may be entitled to.
Contact our San Jose personal injury law firm today for a free consultation. We’ll listen to what happened, review the details of your case, and explain your legal options so you can make an informed decision about what to do next.
Deon Goldschmidt
FOUNDing attorney
Kevin Retoriano
MANAGING PARTNER
Michel Shenouda
MANAGING PARTNER
What Is Black Box Evidence in a Truck Accident?
Commercial trucks may contain electronic systems that record information about vehicle operation.
Depending on the truck and equipment involved, potentially relevant electronic evidence can include:
- Electronic Control Module (ECM): May contain information relating to vehicle operation, such as speed and engine-related data
- Electronic Logging Device (ELD): Records information about a driver's duty status and hours of service
- GPS and telematics: May provide information about vehicle location, movement, and trip history
- Dashcams: May capture the roadway, driver activity, or events immediately before a collision
- Electronic inspection systems: May contain information concerning vehicle inspections or identified problems
Not every truck contains the same systems, and the type of information available depends on the vehicle and equipment.
Because electronic evidence can be subject to specific retention rules, an attorney may take steps to request preservation of relevant records shortly after a crash.
What Compensation Can You Recover After a Truck Accident?
If another party's negligence caused your injuries, you may be able to seek compensation for economic and non-economic losses.
Depending on the circumstances, damages may include:
- Medical expenses
- Future medical treatment
- Rehabilitation and therapy
- Lost wages
- Loss of future earning capacity
- Property damage
- Physical pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Permanent disability or impairment
- Disfigurement
- Loss of enjoyment of life
If a truck collision results in a death, surviving family members may also have a wrongful death claim. The damages available depend on the circumstances and applicable California law.
Common Injuries in 18-Wheeler Accidents
Because of the size and weight of commercial trucks, collisions can result in severe injuries.
Common injuries include:
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Paralysis
- Broken bones and complex fractures
- Herniated or bulging discs
- Internal bleeding and organ injuries
- Severe burns
- Amputations
- Nerve damage
- Soft-tissue injuries
- Permanent disability
- Emotional trauma
The long-term consequences of a serious truck accident can extend far beyond the initial hospital stay. Future medical care, rehabilitation, lost earning capacity, and permanent limitations may all need to be considered when evaluating a claim.
California Deadlines for Truck Accident Claims
The deadline for pursuing a truck accident claim depends on the type of claim and the parties involved.
For many California personal injury claims, Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1 provides a two-year period for an action based on injury or death caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another.
Property damage claims can be subject to a different limitations period. California Code of Civil Procedure § 338 generally provides a three-year period for actions involving injury to personal property.
Claims involving a government entity can have much shorter requirements. California Government Code § 911.2 generally requires a claim relating to injury or death to be presented within six months of accrual.
These are general rules, and exceptions can apply. Because the applicable deadline can depend on the facts and parties involved, it is important to evaluate your claim promptly.
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Frequently Asked Questions About Mountain View 18-Wheeler Accidents
Why are 18-wheeler accident claims more complicated than car accident claims?
Commercial truck claims can involve multiple potentially responsible parties, federal and state safety regulations, commercial insurance policies, electronic records, maintenance documentation, and other evidence that may not exist in an ordinary passenger-vehicle collision.
What is a truck accident spoliation letter?
A spoliation or preservation letter is a formal request that a potentially responsible party preserve evidence relevant to a potential claim or litigation. In a commercial truck case, the request may address ELD records, vehicle data, maintenance records, dispatch records, onboard video, GPS information, photographs, and other evidence.
A preservation letter does not create a universal retention period for every type of trucking evidence. Different records are governed by different requirements, which is why identifying and preserving relevant evidence promptly can matter.
How long are trucking companies required to keep ELD records?
FMCSA guidance states that motor carriers generally must retain drivers' ELD records of duty status and supporting documents for six months.
Other trucking records can have different retention periods. For example, driver qualification files generally must be retained for the duration of employment and three years afterward, while certain vehicle inspection and maintenance records have their own retention requirements.
What if the trucking company is based outside California?
A trucking company does not have to be headquartered in California for a collision occurring in Mountain View to potentially result in a California personal injury claim. Interstate carriers may also be subject to federal trucking regulations.
The appropriate court, applicable law, and parties to a claim depend on the circumstances of the accident and should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
How much insurance coverage does an 18-wheeler have?
Commercial truck insurance requirements vary depending on the type of operation, cargo, and applicable federal or state requirements. The amount of available insurance can also depend on the carrier's policies and other potentially responsible parties.
Rather than assuming a particular coverage amount, an investigation should identify all applicable policies and potential sources of recovery.
What should I do if I was seriously injured in a truck accident?
Seek medical attention, report the collision, preserve photographs and other evidence, identify witnesses, and notify your insurance company as appropriate. Avoid giving a recorded statement to another party's insurance carrier before understanding your rights and potential claims.
If the crash involved serious injuries, obtaining legal advice promptly can also help preserve evidence and identify all potentially responsible parties.
Talk to a Mountain View 18-Wheeler Accident Lawyer
A serious truck accident can affect your health, your ability to work, and your family's financial future. The trucking company and its insurers may begin investigating the collision quickly, making it important to preserve evidence and understand your legal options.