Large commercial trucks have blind spots all around the vehicle: in the front and back as well as on the driver’s and passenger’s side. When a car or smaller truck moves into one of those blind spots, severe accidents can occur.
The size and shape of a commercial vehicle—high and wide, with an elevated cab—creates blind spots. Although truckers are trained to check their mirrors every five seconds and mentally keep track of surrounding vehicles, other drivers must avoid a truck’s blind spot if possible.
There is a blind spot immediately in front of the cab, below the driver’s line of vision and extending outward for three times the length of most cars. The blind spot on the right extends across three traffic lanes. The trucker cannot see anything behind for a distance at least twice the length of the trailer. The driver is blind to any vehicle over two lanes to the left of the cab and back the length of the trailer. These areas are called “no-zones.”
California follows a fault-based scheme for settling vehicle accident claims. The insurance company for the at-fault driver is responsible for paying the losses, or damages, of anyone injured in the crash. The injured person must prove the at-fault driver was negligent and their negligence was the direct cause of the injury.
Several factors go into determining responsibility for an accident. The police report and the statements of the involved drivers and any witnesses are important evidence. Most trucks and many passenger vehicles have on-board camera systems that provide evidence of what occurred to cause a crash.
A San Mateo attorney could use this information, plus the truck driver’s cell phone records, employment history, driving record, and any other relevant evidence to prove the trucker’s negligence caused the blind spot accident. Armed with proof the trucker or trucking company did not use the utmost care to avoid an accident, an injured person could claim damages against the trucker and the trucking company. In some situations, an injured person could also sue groups such as the school that trained the driver and the manufacturer of the truck’s safety equipment, if it was faulty.
The standard a truck driver must meet to avoid being negligent is higher than that for drivers of passenger vehicles. A trucker must use the utmost care to avoid harm to others while driving the rig. However, if the accident was partially the responsibility of the injured party—for example, if the accident happened because an injured driver passed on the right or was following too closely—they might not collect all their damages.
When a driver was traveling in the no-zone when an accident happened, the trucking company’s insurer will argue that the driver caused the accident by being in the truck’s blind spot. A skillful San Mateo attorney could ensure that a driver does not bear an unfair portion of the blame for the no-zone accident.
Blind spot truck accidents are challenging because there is often vigorous debate about who was primarily responsible. Insurance companies for trucking companies aggressively defend their clients and might not offer a reasonable sum even if you suffered severe injuries.
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