Rollover Truck Accidents in Victorville
Any rollover accident creates a risk of serious harm. When the rollover involves a large truck, the risk becomes even more significant. Many truckers will not walk away from this type of accident. The destruction can go well beyond the truck and the trucker. The rollover can impact other vehicles, causing multi-car accidents and significant injuries.
If you are injured in a rollover semi-truck wreck, you may have extensive injuries. Recovering for them depends on discovering who was at fault in the accident. In a rollover, the cause could be the trucker, poor maintenance by the truck’s owner, poorly maintained roads, an improperly loaded vehicle, and more. One role of an attorney is to help identify the parties responsible for rollover truck accidents in Victorville.
Determining Fault for a Rollover Truck Crash
California is a pure comparative negligence state. Each party can recover from an accident as long as the other party shares any part of the responsibility. However, the percentage of your recovery is proportional to the other party’s fault. This means a claim may not be beneficial if you are primarily responsible for the accident.
However, in a rollover truck accident, it is rare for the driver of a passenger vehicle to be primarily responsible. Big rig trucks have a higher center of gravity than most passenger vehicles. Any vehicle with a high center of gravity is more susceptible to rollovers. Though SUVs are at the highest risk among passenger vehicles, they are still much lower to the ground than large trucks. As a result, even when a large passenger vehicle collides with a semi-truck, it is unlikely to result in a rollover since the impact often occurs below the truck’s center of gravity.
Big trucks are vulnerable to rollovers because they are less stable than passenger vehicles. There are two main types of rollover accidents.
Tripping Accidents
Tripping occurs when a truck hits an object or irregularity in the road, causing it to trip or stumble and resulting in a rollover. Trucks can trip over large or small objects, such as other vehicles, traffic barriers, curbs, or even uneven roads.
Untripped Accidents
Untripped accidents are not because of obstacles. Instead, they happen when the driver loses control of the vehicle, resulting in a rollover. From a physics standpoint, they are because of a combination of centrifugal or centripetal forces and momentum. Taking a curve too quickly is one example of this combination. However, simply losing traction on the road can lead to the same result. Speeding is a primary underlying cause of untripped accidents. Other causes include:
- Bad tires
- Abrupt lane changes
- Improperly loaded vehicles
- Failing to slow down for a curve or turn properly.
Determining the cause of a Victorville rollover truck accident is essential to identifying the responsible parties. Frequently, multiple factors, and thus multiple parties, may contribute to the crash. For example, a driver may be speeding in a truck with bad tires and an improperly balanced load. The more risk factors present, the greater the likelihood the truck will roll over.
Proposition 213 and Recovery After a Rollover Truck Wreck
California’s Proposition 213, The Personal Responsibility Act, and California Civil Code § 3333.3 may impact your ability to recover financially from a rollover accident. The goal of these laws is to prevent wrongdoers from becoming freeloaders. They prevent uninsured motorists and at-fault motorists from recovering non-economic damages. They also prevent recovery for people committing a felony at the time of the accident.
The law does not bar recovery for economic damages, so you may still be eligible to recover medical expenses, lost wages, loss in earning capacity, and similar damages. However, it does bar recovery of non-economic damages like pain and suffering, loss of consortium, and mental anguish.
There are some exceptions to the restrictions, including people driving employer-owned and government-owned vehicles. There is even an exception allowing people who are unknowingly driving a stolen vehicle to recover. Therefore, people should never assume they are barred from financial recovery before consulting a Victorville lawyer about a rollover truck crash.
Speak With a Victorville Rollover Truck Accident Attorney
Rollover accidents involving heavy commercial vehicles have the potential to create widespread destruction and chaos. Their aftermath can be chaotic and confusing. You are expected to simultaneously deal with healing or grieving while also assessing settlement offers and making legal decisions. You are not alone. A lawyer could help guide you after a rollover truck accident in Victorville. Schedule a free consultation to get started.
