Construction projects require the services of large, powerful construction vehicles and trucks, often grouped together into a category called heavy trucks, heavy equipment, and heavy machines. When fully loaded, these vehicles can weigh up to 80,000 pounds and are responsible for transporting and dumping most items on construction sites including lumber, steel, and raw materials like sand, gravel, concrete and water. When these powerful vehicles collide with passenger vehicles or are involved in other construction accidents, the injuries can be catastrophic and even lead to wrongful death.
If you need immediate assistance after an accident involving a construction truck in Los Angeles or anywhere in the state of California, Los Angeles construction truck accident lawyer David Azizi and team are standing by 24/7 to chat or take your call at 800-991-5292 and provide a free review of your case. If you were injured at work, we can provide you assistance by visiting our on the job construction site accident page.
Construction Truck Accidents In Los Angeles Are Common
According to the Federal Highway Administration’s Work Zone Management Program, across the U.S. — just in 2015 — there were “96,626 crashes in work zones and a work zone crash occurred once every 5.4 minutes. Every day, 70 work zone crashes occurred that resulted in at least one injury, and every week and 12 work zone crashes occurred that resulted in at least one fatality.”
Driving and walking in proximity to these work zones is unavoidable for drivers in California, many of whom must interact with road barriers and construction trucks and vehicles, like the multi-billion dollar expansion and earthquake retrofit project of the Interstate 5 Freeway that is slated to continue for another five years.
Types of Construction Trucks and Vehicles
Many construction trucks and vehicles cannot operate on regular passenger roads. Before they begin their work on construction sites, they must be transported by a larger vehicle, typically a semi truck or big rig with a flat bed.
The most common types of construction trucks and vehicles include:
- Dump Trucks – typically for hauling in materials and hauling out waste
- Excavators – known as diggers or mechanical shovels, these use a hydraulic lift to move materials for construction
- Concrete & Cement Mixer Trucks – the familiar cylinder-shaped drum attached to this vehicle mixes concrete
- Bulldozers – a continuous tracked tractor (instead of wheels) that pushes materials with its blade
- Front Loaders – type of tractor usually with a mounted bucket on front of vehicle
- Backhoe Loaders – type of tractor with backward moving shovel on one end and front loader on other
- Fuel Trucks – also called a tank truck or tanker, these carry liquid cargo
- Truck Mounted Cranes – usually has two components, the upper: the lifting device and the lower: the carrier. These vehicles can normally driver on highways
- Road Rollers – historically called steam rollers, these vehicle are compactors, often used to compact asphalt in highway projects.
- Cherry Pickers – also called a “boom lift,” this is a vehicle with a hydraulic crane that lifts and lowers people
- Graders – vehicle with long blade for flattening services during the grading process
With many of these heavy equipment construction trucks and vehicles, the danger of accidents and injuries increases because of the additional moving attachments and mechanisms like buckets, forklifts, cranes, and and of course the heavy materials these vehicles haul, load and dump using the hydraulic lifted open-box bed.
Types Of Construction Truck and Vehicle Accidents
The most common ways accidents with construction trucks happen include:
- Lack of vehicle inspection and maintenance leading to dangerous equipment failure
- Misuse of equipment leading to a person or vehicle being struck by moving parts
- Driver and operator error despite rigid training and certification requirements
- Improper loading and loading beyond weight limits leading to tipping of vehicle
- Spilling of cargo (including hazardous materials) causing injury and damage to a person and/or vehicle
- Bad weather and road conditions ignored by driver
- Poor driver and operator decisions including lack of sleep, driver under the influence of alcohol or drugs (DUI), speeding, overly aggressive driving, and choosing illegal or inaccessible routes
- Other causes like carriage underride accidents common to 18 wheeler wrecks, steel trucks and logging truck accidents.
All of the above causes of construction truck accidents can amount to one major area of law, the most popular reason our Los Angeles construction accident law firm files ongoing lawsuits against these construction truckers and companies: negligence.
Construction Truck Accident Lawyer Discusses Next Steps After Accident
Attorney David Azizi answers the most important legal and safety steps after a truck crash in this audio conversation. Play the podcast below.
L.A. Construction Truck Accident Lawyer Proves Negligence
The California Department of Transportation is one of the major bodies regulating rules and regulations for construction truck drivers and the companies that contract or employ them. When a driver fails to live up to the very high trucking standards designated by law, these failures often mean the driver has acted negligently. In other words, they owed other drivers and passengers a certain duty and standard of safety on the roads, and they did not meet that standard.
When construction truck drivers and companies commit acts of negligence like those listed in the section above, and those choices cause an accident or injury, they become liable (responsible) for their actions. It is the job of a truck accident lawyer to prove liability of the trucker and company, and then to make a calculation with the injured parties for what payment — known as money damages — should be made to “right the wrong” and restore justice.
Recovering Wages With A Construction Truck Lawyer
It is very common for our injured clients to miss work due to their injuries resulting from a California construction truck accident. When this happens, it’s not just the lack of paycheck that affects victims, but injuries can also impact job promotion and raise opportunities, bonus check payments, retirement account contributions that are never allocated, and even a significant reduction in overall earning capacity if your injuries require you to shift careers altogether.
A California construction truck accident lawyer will fight to recover your lost income, even when you are self-employed. The most significant actions you can take in the legal process is to honor all doctor visits (which may be tracked by the trucking companies) and to work closely with a truck crash team that knows construction laws and has a proven track record of recovering damages for clients.
Filing A Lawsuit Against A Construction Truck Driver
A construction truck accident compensation attorney will fight for victims injured in a trucking construction incident by taking the following steps:
- Sending a letter of representation to the construction truck company and trucker notifying them that you have a construction truck accident lawyer
- Filing a legal complaint with the court against the trucker and company – the very first step in the lawsuit process
- Obtaining an answer from the trucking company – their official response to your claims and financial demands
- Moving forward with filing a lawsuit when negotiations have not resulted in a favorable settlement
When needed, our construction truck and vehicle accident law firm in Los Angeles will take your claim against the trucker and company all the way to trial where a judge and jury will issue a verdict based on the investigations and evidence presented.
A Proven Los Angeles Construction Truck Accident Law Firm
The Law Offices of David Azizi have been serving victims harmed in car and truck wreck cases and other personal injury cases for nearly 20 years with a 98 percent success rate in recovering financial compensation and obtaining justice for our injured clients.
We urge all victims injured in a construction truck accident in Los Angeles and across California to take immediate legal action by contacting a proven commercial vehicle law firm. The deadline for filing your claim in court — known as the statute of limitations — details the timeline for initiating a lawsuit. In California, that deadline is anywhere from six months after your accident (for government entities) to two years (for most other entities).
David and the Los Angeles construction truck crash team are standing by 24/7 to chat or take your call at 800-991-5292. We work with our injured clients on a contingency fee basis. That’s the “you don’t pay until we win” structure that allows us to take on all of your costs for investigation and legal expenses. Only in the event that we win financial compensation for you do you pay anything. If we do not recover money damages for your case, you pay nothing.
If you or your loved ones have been injured in a construction truck accident, reach out and let us begin taking action for your justice and the money you and your loved ones deserve.
