Accidents involving big trucks are, in some ways, just like other auto accidents. They’re governed by state personal injury laws just like car accidents involving residents of the state of California.
Accidents involving trucks can be further complicated, however, by the interstate nature of their travel. While there are lots of trucks that only travel from one place in California to another—it is a pretty big state, after all—many other trucks cross state lines.
Because the driver and the company employing them may not be residents of California, holding a truck driver accountable can be more complicated than other defendants in auto accident cases. This is why it’s so important to find an attorney with experience in truck accident law.
Below is a short summary of some laws that apply to California truck accidents and to all California personal injury laws.
Statute of Limitations in San Jose
California has a two-year statute of limitations on most personal injuries.
This means you have to file a personal injury case within two years of the initial injury or the date your injury is discovered—not that your case must be resolved within that period. In fact, some complicated personal injury cases can take much longer than two years to work their way through the courts.
Determining Fault in San Jose
California determines fault using a system called pure comparative negligence.
Under this approach, the court will find fault for an injury and assign a percentage of that fault to each party involved. Everyone can then recover for their damages, but is also responsible for their percentage of the overall damages.
For example, imagine an accident between a truck and a car.
- The truck driver suffers $20,000 in damages and is found to be 20% at fault.
- The car driver suffers $10,000 in damages and is found to be 80% at fault.
The court looks at the total damages, $30,000, and awards it based on need and responsibility for the accident. Under pure comparative negligence, each person is completely responsible for their percent of fault and can recover from other drivers for their individual level of fault.
In this example, the truck driver is entitled to $16,000 from the car driver. The car driver is entitled to only $2,000 from the truck driver because they can only recover 20% of their damages.
California Limits on Personal Injury Recovery
California generally doesn’t put caps on what you can recover in a trucking accident. This is different, however, if you are uninsured or intoxicated.
- Uninsured drivers can usually not recover non-economic damages like pain and suffering from a car accident regardless of who caused the accident.
- If the driver of the other vehicle is under the influence of drugs or alcohol, however, the uninsured driver can recover non-economic damages if they weren’t at fault.