Truck-involved motor vehicle crashes remain a prevalent problem on California roads.
In fact, according to a report published by the California Highway Patrol (CHP), there were 6,897 truck crashes within the state resulting in injuries in 2017, and a staggering 327 resulted in death.
Due to a variety of factors, accidents involving trucks can result in devastating injuries, often even more so than accidents involving passenger vehicles.
In many cases, these types of accidents can result in physical injuries and emotional trauma, both of which can require significant time and expense to recover from.
When a truck accident turns your world upside down, know that you are not alone.
Contact the Law Office of Chuck Geerhart to speak with a qualified truck accident lawyer in San Francisco and see how we can help you fight for your rights.
Do I Really Need a San Francisco Truck Accident Attorney for My Case?
There’s no legal requirement stating that you must have a San Francisco truck accident lawyer to pursue your legal claim.
In reality, however, having competent legal counsel in your corner is one of the best things you can do to increase your chances of a successful outcome.
Every accident involving a truck, and particularly long-haul and heavy-equipment-moving trucks, requires special attention.
This is because truck accidents usually involve subcontracting of drivers, driving records, permits, route approvals, weight limits, and other details that may mean the difference between winning and losing the case.
But with so much on your plate already as you work toward recovering from your injuries, keeping up with these and other factors can be time-consuming and overwhelming.
This is especially true if you’ve never had to navigate a legal claim before.
But by hiring a lawyer to do the heavy lifting and legal legwork for you, you can get back to focusing on what matters most—your recovery.
We do deep investigation, depositions, and document analysis to prove negligence by the truck companies and provide compensation to our clients.
In one of the most horrific truck accidents in the Bay Area in recent years, in which a runaway cement truck crashed into several cars and a house.
The Law Office of Chuck Geerhart was able to recover compensation for the most seriously injured victim, and for his nephew who was a passenger in our client’s car, by identifying and using all the responsible defendants in the case.
This included several layers of subcontractors and the municipality responsible for permitting the truck to travel a route that turned a peaceful neighborhood into a burning accident scene.
Recent Case Settlement
Legal Accountability Runs All the Way to the Top A tow truck driver accidentally lost control of a car, which rolled downhill and killed a young mother. Seems like an open and shut case, doesn’t it? But in every personal injury case, you need a source of monetary recovery. The tow company only had a $1 million insurance policy, which is woefully under insured for a wrongful death case. So I began to look up the ladder of responsibility. Who hired the tow company? It depends on whom you ask. The whole chain of events began when a proverbial “little old lady” (age 96!) had car trouble, so she called her auto insurance carrier, a mega company whose logo you see in commercials every day, especially at major sporting events. The insurance company routed her call to a middleman, another huge company specializing in emergency roadway assistance. That middleman then hired the tow company. The big insurance carrier and the middleman company both said this accident was not their responsibility– the tow company was an “independent contractor” that they had no control over. This was complete hogwash! They exercised lots of control over the tow company– everything from how fast they had to respond to calls to what kind of uniforms the drivers had to wear. But as a legal matter, they had some decent defenses. Both the insurance company and its middleman refused to pay a dime in settlement. I filed suit against the tow company, the insurance company and its middleman. I took about 20 depositions of various witnesses and company representatives. I got public record documents showing the tow company’s license had been suspended a bunch of times. I also found that the driver had been poorly trained, but I already knew he was negligent simply by virtue of dropping a car during a routine tow. The documents produced by the big insurance carrier and the middleman showed how much control they both exercised over the tow company. Amazingly, the big insurance carrier retained the right to fire the small tow company for any reason, including poor customer service. The ability to terminate is a key indicator of control under the California Supreme Court decision of Malloy v. Fong (1951) 37 Cal.2d 356. What this all added up to is that the huge insurance company and its middleman were both legally liable for the bad conduct of the tow company under the legal principle of respondeat superior. Under this principle, the principal (big company) is responsible for harm caused by its agent (little tow company). The reason for this is loss spreading– innocent injured people should have a remedy. Injury accidents are a cost of doing business. The big players can protect themselves by buying insurance. And the big players in our case had something like $50 million in insurance. But the huge insurance company and its middleman still wanted to scurry from responsibility, like cockroaches from bright light. They tried every trick in the book, including trying to get a court order (summary judgment) letting them out of the case completely. I filed what I consider one of the best briefs I have ever written, which certainly would have defeated their misguided motions. And they knew it! On the day before the motions were to be heard in court, the defendants agreed to pay a combined $9 million to settle the wrongful death claim. This was the biggest settlement of my career. It felt great, because it had been a long two year road. I became the premier expert on agency law. Most important, I helped this grieving family. I remain good friends with all of the family members who help me pursue justice for them and their mother/daughter.Why Choose the Law Office of Chuck Geerhart As Your San Francisco Truck Accident Lawyer
A quick internet search for “truck accident lawyer in San Francisco” will likely yield more results than you can count.
Thus, you might be wondering how to narrow down your search to find the right attorney for your case.
Here are a few reasons why we think the Law Office of Chuck Geerhart is the best firm for your truck accident case:
- Lead attorney and firm founder Chuck Geerhart has a San Francisco-based attorney with more than 30 years of experience;
- Our firm focuses exclusively on serious personal injury cases, so you can rest assured knowing we have the experience necessary to take on your case;
- We handle only up to 20 cases at a time to ensure that each client gets the undivided attention their case deserves;
- We’ve helped our clients recover millions of dollars in well-deserved compensation through both settlements and trial verdicts; and
- We are honored to have received many 5-star reviews from our past clients.
Of course, if you’re not ready to move forward with our team just yet, we understand. We know how important it is to find an attorney that is the right fit for you.
In the meantime, we encourage you to browse our website and learn more about our practice and successes.
When you’re ready to get started, we will be too.
Contact a San Francisco Truck Accident Lawyer Today
If you’ve suffered serious injuries in a truck accident in or near San Francisco, CA, contact the Law Office of Chuck Geerhart today.
Please call us at (415) 577-4992 or contact us online if you would like to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with attorney Chuck Geerhart.
