Truck accidents happen in the blink of an eye. Many times, the car that is struck doesn’t even see the collision coming. In blind spot accidents, however, the only car that can see the accident coming is the car that is struck.
Blind spot accidents happen frequently around San Diego. Whether cruising through your neighborhood or stuck in traffic on I-15, blind spot accidents can happen in an instant and can cause serious property damage and severe injuries.
If you or a loved one has suffered injuries in a blind spot accident, you need to speak with a skilled San Diego truck accident lawyer as soon as possible. An experienced legal team can help those injured in San Diego blind spot accidents recover from their injuries and pursue compensation for their losses.
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We Fight for You
For over fifteen years, Gomez Trial Attorneys has helped San Diego accident victims recover from injuries sustained in all types of accidents, including car accidents. Our experienced team can help you determine the cause of your blind spot accident and work toward recovering maximum compensation on your behalf from the liable party.
Many San Diego law firms simply lack the ability and resources to take on complex blind spot accident injury cases. Our legal team strives to achieve the best results possible in a given situation and will work diligently to stay on top of constantly changing laws and regulations. Through our regular training and practice, we can better serve victims like you.
Our priority is to give back to the San Diego community using our skills as personal injury lawyers. We show our clients how they can recover compensation after suffering injuries in a blind spot accident. With the resources necessary to help you investigate your accident, we set ourselves apart from other law firms. We combine the legal network of a large, national firm with the compassionate representation of a local firm. Our results speak for themselves.
Common Blind Spot Accidents
Human error causes blind spot accidents. In fact, most vehicle accidents result from some form of human error. Blind spots can make accidents worse because the driver making the error cannot see the vehicle with which they are about to collide. Drivers may not have sufficient time to slow down or to try to avoid the accident. When this happens at highway speeds, like on I-15 or the 805, the results can be catastrophic.
When drivers fail to check their blind spots, they can cause many types of accidents, including:
The severity of the accident depends on many factors. For instance, if an eighteen-wheeler moves into your lane on I-5, it could crush your car, causing life-threatening injuries. If another car moved into your lane on the same freeway, the consequences might not be as severe, but could still be serious.
Blind Spot Truck Accidents
Blind spot truck accidents cause some of the most serious injuries of all motor vehicle accidents. Because trucks are such massive vehicles, they can destroy a passenger car. Trucks’ large size also makes for large blind spots, which means a larger zone in which truck drivers cannot see what’s around them. These large blind spots are called “no-zones” and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) estimates that one-third of all crashes involving a truck and a car occur in no-zones.
San Diego is an important transit hub for commercial trucking. Vehicles coming in from Mexico and the port create congestion and additional traffic on our streets and freeways. Even when trucks are simply passing through, you may encounter these vehicles daily. It’s not only important that you’re aware of a large truck’s presence, but also that the truck driver is aware of your positioning. Otherwise, the results could be deadly.
Most people think of blind spots as being on the sides of vehicles. While this is commonly true for passenger cars, commercial trucks are larger and sit higher. Trucks’ blind spots are all around the vehicle, on the sides, in front, and the back. So even if you’re in front of a truck, don’t assume that the truck driver can see you. Stay safe on the road, but know that if you are injured in a blind spot accident with a truck, the legal team at Gomez Trial Attorneys has your back.
Injuries You May Suffer
When you get into a blind spot accident in San Diego, your first concern is your health. You may not feel any pain immediately after your accident, but your adrenaline may mask certain injuries. To make sure that you are healthy and that you get the medical attention you need, let the emergency medical personnel evaluate you at the scene. If you continue to feel pain after the incident, continue to seek medical treatment to make sure you get the proper care. You do not want to let your injuries go unattended.
Depending on the vehicles involved in your accident, you may suffer injuries that range from mild to fatal.
Some of the most common injuries sustained in blind spot accidents include:
- Cuts and scrapes
- Bruising
- Whiplash
- Concussions and other traumatic brain injuries
- Broken bones
- Strains and sprains
- Internal organ damage
- Road rash
- Paralysis
- Amputation
Drivers who fail to check their blind spots before making a move may cause serious accidents. Understanding the exact cause of your accident can help you collect maximum compensation for your blind spot injuries.
Collecting Compensation
To try to achieve the goal of recovering maximum compensation, you should speak with a knowledgeable San Diego blind spot injury lawyer. Whether your accident happened downtown, Mission Hills, Old Town, or anywhere else around San Diego, having an experienced legal advocate at your side, fighting to protect your rights, will be beneficial. That’s what you get Gomez Trial Attorneys; we always strive to recover maximum compensation for our clients.
Additionally, it is important to note that there are important deadlines in a civil lawsuit. This is called a statute of limitations, and it is a California law that limits the amount of time that injured individuals have after an accident to file a lawsuit. In California, this is usually two years from the date of the incident. To make sure that you do not miss this important deadline and miss out on your chance to recover maximum compensation from the negligent driver, contact a lawyer at Gomez Trial Attorneys today.
Depending on the specific circumstances of your accident, your lawyer may try to recover compensation for your economic and non-economic damages, including:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Lost income
- Lost earning potential
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Loss of companionship
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Rehabilitation costs
Your ability to collect compensation may depend on the lawyer you choose to represent you. It is vital to the success of your lawsuit and your physical recovery that you choose a lawyer with proven experience helping blind spot accident victims like you. Gomez Trial Attorneys stands out among San Diego law firms, as we are not afraid to go to court. While our goal is to help you settle your case quickly, some insurance companies refuse to settle for a fair and reasonable amount, in which case we will not hesitate to proceed to trial.
If your blind spot accident case goes to trial, you don’t want your trial to be your lawyer’s first. That’s why you need to partner with a law firm that has blind spot accident trial experience and can show you the path to recovery.
Proving Fault
When you sue another driver for your blind spot accident injuries in San Diego, you need to prove that the other driver acted negligently and caused the accident resulting in your injuries.
Specifically, you need to prove:
- The other driver owed you a duty of care to drive safely and check all blind spots.
- The other driver breached the duty of care to you by failing to check one or more blind spots.
- The other driver’s breach of the duty of care caused a collision with your vehicle.
- You suffered injuries in the collision.
All of these elements may seem obvious to you, but you must provide a court with legal evidence of negligence. You were there and may have watched the entire event occur, but you need to prove this in court. When you sue another driver for negligence, that driver’s auto insurance company will likely represent the at-fault driver. Usually, the insurance company will pay out the settlement amount instead of the at-fault driver paying from his or her own assets.
The insurance company will strive to show that you played a role in the accident to avoid having to pay out the claim. This is just one of the many reasons why you need an experienced blind spot accident injury attorney guiding you through the complex legal procedures. You should focus all of your efforts on your mental and physical recovery. Let your legal team worry about the legal complexities of your case.
Protecting Your Rights
You have a legal right to collect compensation from a negligent driver. However, the insurance company representing that driver might try to persuade you otherwise. Just days after your accident, you may receive a call from an insurance adjuster telling you that the insurance company wants to offer you a settlement. This might excite you and give you hope that the legal issues might soon be in the past, in which case you can get on with your life.
However, the insurance company is not looking out for your best interests. All insurance companies care about is making you go away for as little money as possible. They often pressure you to take initial settlement offers because they know you may not have not had time to speak with a lawyer, and therefore may not truly understand how much money you will need to cover all of your medical expenses and lost income.
If your injuries are severe, you may not return to work for a long time, if at all. This seriously affects your ability to earn a living and provide for your basic needs. Depending on the severity of your injuries, your lost income might amount to a substantial portion of your total compensation.
If you take the initial settlement offer without first speaking to a lawyer, you risk missing out on your chance to collect full compensation. You even risk financial hardship. If you sign the settlement offer, you will waive your right to bring any future claims against the insurance company for this blind spot accident. That means that when you still have medical bills to pay and lost income to cover, you won’t have any legal recourse to collect additional compensation. When the money runs out, you will have to start covering those expenses out of your own pocket.
Do not let this happen to you. Work with a trusted San Diego blind spot injury lawyer who can help you understand your legal options and then chart a path to try to reach the goal of collecting compensation for the full cost of your injuries.
Contact a Truck Accident Lawyer Today
The lawyer you choose can make a difference in your ability to recover compensation for your blind spot accident injuries. You need a lawyer who understands what you are going through and who has proven experience helping other victims like you recover.
Your lawyer needs the resources necessary to fully investigate your blind spot accident. This may require the use of accident reconstruction experts who can work to determine the exact cause of your crash. These experts may review the police report and may also visit the accident scene, speak with witnesses, and recreate the accident to show exactly how the other person caused the crash and should be held responsible for your injuries.
Your lawyer may also need to partner with medical experts. The more severe your injuries, the more challenging it is to accurately determine how much money you will need to recover. Medical experts can provide an accurate prognosis and help estimate how much your medical recovery will require. In the most serious cases, you may require a lifetime of medical care and that does not come cheap. Under no circumstances, however, should you be on the hook to shoulder the substantial burden of these astronomical medical bills.
Look for a truck accident lawyer with many years of experience working with accident reconstruction experts, teaming up with medical experts, and negotiating with insurance companies. You have enough on your plate right now, dealing with constant pain and wondering if you will ever get back to your regular life. It’s time to let your legal team handle the complex negotiations and legal challenges ahead.
Contact a truck accident lawyer at Gomez Trial Attorneys today to learn how we can help you with your San Diego blind spot accident claim.
