A loaded commercial truck can weigh twenty to thirty times what a passenger car weighs. When one is involved in a crash on the I-880 freight corridor, the I-580 climb over the Altamont, or the surface routes serving the Port of Oakland’s warehouses, the people in the smaller vehicle absorb the harm. Truck cases are not just bigger car cases. They involve federal safety rules, company records, and insurers who send investigators to the scene quickly.
Mirador Law’s trial attorneys know how to move just as fast. Led by former San Francisco public defenders Megan Burns and Emily Dahm, the firm brings more than 40 years of combined experience and close to a hundred jury trials, including two of California’s Top 50 plaintiff verdicts for 2024.
Why truck cases are different
Liability in a truck crash can reach beyond the driver to the trucking company, the company that loaded the cargo, a maintenance contractor, or a vehicle parts maker. Critical evidence such as the electronic logging device, driver hours, inspection and maintenance records, and the truck’s own data can be lost if no one acts to preserve it. We work to send preservation demands early and to bring in the right experts before the trail goes cold.
What a claim can cover
Truck collisions tend to cause severe injuries: spinal damage, traumatic brain injury, internal injuries, and amputations. A claim can pursue the cost of emergency and long-term medical care, lost income and future earning capacity, the help you need at home, and the human cost of a life-changing injury. Where a crash is fatal, the family may bring a wrongful death claim.
Deadlines and fault
The general deadline to file is two years from the date of the crash under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. California’s pure comparative negligence rule means partial fault reduces, but does not bar, recovery. If a public agency vehicle is involved, the six-month claim deadline under Government Code section 911.2 can apply.
A look at how these cases unfold
The following hypothetical examples illustrate how these cases can unfold. They are not based on any specific client and are provided for educational purposes only. A commuter on I-880 is hit by a delivery truck that changed lanes without clearing the blind spot. An early demand to preserve the truck’s logs and data shows the driver had exceeded allowed hours. That record, secured before it could be overwritten, becomes central to proving the company’s responsibility.
Truck accident lawyers by location: Pleasanton | Oakland | Fremont & Newark