San Mateo Truck Accident Lawyer

Numerous commercial trucks carry goods on the city streets of San Mateo and the congested freeways of Northern California. It's a dangerous mix, especially when the truck drivers who share the road with passenger cars are fatigued, in a hurry, or driving poorly maintained 18-wheelers and other large trucks.

If you or a family member sustained major injuries in a truck accident a negligent truck driver caused, contact one of our San Mateo truck accident attorneys at Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos, LLP by calling (650) 345-8484 or emailing us today for a free initial consultation.

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WE ASSIST Truck Accident Victims IN SAN MATEO

The law firm of Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos is a powerful advocate if you were injured or a family member was killed in a trucking accident in San Mateo. Our legal team has more than 75 years of collective experience handling complex truck accident claims, and we have the resources to hold trucking companies and their insurance carriers accountable for the devastation they caused.

Time is of the essence when taking legal action against a truck driver or trucking company, so you need to get started right away. We can review your claim at no cost and advise you of your rights and options for seeking compensation. We are fully committed to serving your best interests and helping you navigate the complex legal process to increase your chances of getting fair compensation for your injuries and losses.

Contact us today for a free consultation.

TRUCK Accidents on Major Highways & Freeways AROUND SAN MATEO

Our San Mateo truck accident lawyers not only represent clients who have been seriously injured in a trucking accident on regular streets and roads, but our attorneys also help victims who have been in a truck accident on any major highway, freeway, tunnel, or bridge in the Bay Area such as:

• 101 – North & South (Bay Shore Freeway)
• 280 – North & South (Junipero Serra Freeway)
• 82 – El Camino Real North & South
• 80 – East & West
  • Including the Bay Bridge
• 92 – East & West
  • Including San Mateo Bridge Car Accidents
• 84 – East & West
  • Including Dumbarton Bridge Car Accidents
• 880 – North & South (Nimitz Freeway)
• 24 – East & West (Grove Shafter Freeway)
  • Including the Caldecott Tunnel
• The MacArthur Maze
• 580, 85, 237 and more

No matter where the truck accident happened that injured you in San Mateo, you can rely on the legal team at Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos to help hold the responsible parties accountable and increase your chances of getting maximum compensation.

Fast Action NEEDED to Prove the Negligence of Truck Drivers

At Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos, we pride ourselves on prompt action in truck accident cases, and we start by conducting a thorough investigation of a trucking accident. We get investigators and experts to the site to take photos of the wreckage, measurements, and witness statements, and to examine the vehicles for clues to what caused the crash:

• Driver fatigue or inattention
• Speeding or unsafe lane changes
• Wide or illegal turns
• Overloaded or poorly secured freight
• Bad brakes, tires, mirrors or lights

We obtain the driver’s logs to determine if they violated federal regulations on driving without rest. In one case, we showed that a trucker who started his day at 5 a.m. and had no lunch break was fatigued (or fell asleep) when he caused a crash at 6 p.m. If we suspect mechanical problems, we obtain the company’s maintenance records and have the truck inspected before the evidence is scrapped or repaired.

SAN MATEO Truck Accidents CAUSE Serious Injuries & Fatalities

Our firm is familiar with the fatal truck accidents and catastrophic injuries common to those who survive a semi-truck crash. Truck accident victims often suffer mangled limbs, disfiguring facial injuries, head or spinal injuries, and more. 

Our San Mateo personal injury lawyers connect clients with doctors who can offer hope for recovery, and we work closely to document the treatment and prognosis so that victims are fully compensated for the long-term economic and personal impact of the crash.

Truck accident cases require a team of truck crash professionals, such as accident reconstructionists and human error/biomechanical experts, to prove liability. They also require testimony from doctors, surgeons, vocational rehabilitation specialists, economists and others to calculate rightful damages. Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos takes tractor trailer cases on a contingency fee basis. This means we charge our clients nothing upfront to represent them and absorb the substantial costs of hiring these experts to strengthen our clients' cases. We recover these expenses and our attorney's fees only if we secure compensation for the client.

You should always seek medical attention for any injuries you sustain in a truck accident, no matter how minor. Some internal injuries may not manifest symptoms right away, and you will need documentation you sustained an injury and received treatment to file an injury claim.

Causes of Truck Accidents IN SAN MATEO

Many factors may contribute to an accident involving a big commercial truck. Some of these factors include:

• Driver Fatigue. Although both federal and state laws require that truck drivers must get rest for a specified number of hours for each long haul, unscrupulous and greedy trucking companies often put pressure on their drivers to drive on even though they know the drivers are drowsy. Driver fatigue is a leading cause of accidents because a fatigued driver has poor decision-making ability and other diminished capacities.
• Excessive Speed. Truck drivers can fly just as fast as any ordinary car on the road, and those doing so are often going way past the speed limit. When a truck driver fails to comply with the posted speed limits or when they drive too fast for existing road conditions, chances for a devastating accident are very high.
• Overloading. Trucks are required under both federal and state law to adhere strictly to specified load capacities. If a truck is carrying too much weight and above what FMCSA regulations allow, braking time may increase, leading to extremely devastating truck accidents.

Truck companies and their drivers across the United States are subject to strict safety regulations by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). These rules and regulations provide strict and detailed guidelines on the maintenance of the trucks and how drivers operate them on the roads to ensure maximum safety for other drivers. Unfortunately, even the most experienced commercial truck drivers or established trucking companies can make mistakes and lead to crashes.

Because of the sheer size of most commercial trucks, especially 18-wheelers, a loss of control caused by speeding or tired drivers can turn these trucks into masses of destruction and even lethal machines. If you suffered injuries in a San Mateo car accident involving a commercial truck, speak with a San Mateo truck accident attorney at Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos today.

How Do You Determine Fault in a San Mateo Truck Accident?

Determining who is at fault and liable for a truck accident depends on identifying who was negligent and to what extent. Generally, a party is negligent if they fail to use the level of care that a reasonable person would use in a similar situation, and they cause injuries and losses to someone else. In a commercial truck accident, both the driver and the trucking company might be negligent, and the trucking company might also have vicarious liability for the driver's negligence.

A party who is negligent in California is financially liable for any injuries he or she causes to another person.

To establish negligence in a truck accident, one must prove four elements before the truck driver or company is liable:

1. Duty: the truck driver owed the injured person a duty of care to drive the truck safely;
2. Breach: the truck driver failed to meet that duty of care;
3. Causation: the driver’s failure to meet the duty caused an accident; and
4. Damages: the victim sustained injuries as a result.

In California, if a truck driver violated federal or California law and that violation was the cause of the accident, then the truck driver could be liable under the “negligence per se” doctrine. This means that the violation alone establishes the truck driver's negligence without the need for additional evidence.

Trucking companies may also be liable for anything they did or did not do that contributed to the accident happening. This can occur in a variety of ways, including setting unreasonable goals that entice truck drivers to violate safety rules or intentionally violating federal and state transportation safety regulations. When any of these violations play any role or directly cause a trucking accident, the company may be liable for any injury or losses that occur as a result. Trucking companies can also be liable under the doctrine of respondeat superior.

What We Can Do for You as Your Truck Accident Lawyer

We can help you get the most compensation you deserve given the nature and circumstances of your accident, injuries, and losses, which includes helping you file claims to get compensation for medical bills, loss of income, and pain and suffering.

You are likely to receive a phone call from a claims adjuster from the trucker’s insurance company soon after an accident occurs. It is never a good idea to speak to a claims adjuster without first consulting with a lawyer. A claims adjuster may come across as friendly, but he or she is just implementing their training to settle your injury claim for as little money as possible.

The right thing to do is to politely decline to discuss the accident in detail and call San Mateo personal injury lawyers If you call us, we will advise you on what your options are. At the same time, we dive into your case, including gathering evidence, working with relevant expert witnesses, and strongly establishing that the commercial truck driver is liable for the accident.

We will keep you informed about these investigations. After we have thoroughly evaluated all the evidence, we will embark on negotiations with the insurance company to reach an acceptable settlement. We will also advise you whether pursuing a personal injury lawsuit is the right option for you instead of accepting the best and final offer from the insurance company.

Ideally, one should negotiate and settle with the trucker’s insurer, but this is not always possible. A decision whether to accept the best offer from the insurance company or to take the case to court is ultimately yours as the client, but we are here to make sure we provide you with all the information you need to make the right call.

Contact Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos today for a free case evaluation and assistance recovering the full and fair compensation you deserve following a San Mateo truck accident.