Big Rig Accident Claims in Bakersfield: How They Work

Short answer: how truck crash claims are handled in Bakersfield

A big rig accident claim in Bakersfield is built in a set order. The order is evidence, every party who may be responsible, the trucking rules that apply, shared fault, and filing deadlines. Colvin Accident Lawyers helps injured people and families work through that path. Donald Norman Colvin is the responsible lawyer for this page. Colvin Accident Lawyers offers a free, confidential initial consultation, with no obligation to continue.

This page walks through each step in order. A semi truck crash usually involves more people, more companies, and more records than a typical car crash. That is why the first steps matter so much. Each section builds on the one before it.

Why a big rig crash follows a different claim path

A big rig crash is not like a crash between two passenger cars. Semi trucks weigh far more than cars, and many carry heavy loads. The impact is often more severe, so injuries and vehicle damage can be serious.

Federal rules reach many commercial trucks and the companies that run them. Those rules cover driving time, driver files, testing after a crash, vehicle maintenance, and cargo. Later sections explain the rules that matter most to a claim.

Many trucks are run by a company, not only by the driver. The driver may work for a motor carrier that owns, leases, or dispatches the truck. That company’s role can change who may be responsible for the crash.

Records also set trucking cases apart. Driver logs, maintenance files, inspection reports, and driver qualification files all exist for commercial trucks. These records can become central to showing what happened.

A common mistake is to assume the driver is the only party involved. In many truck crashes, more than one company or person played a role. Looking at the whole chain early gives a clearer picture.

The first days: evidence and preservation

The evidence that matters most often comes from the first days after a crash. Some of it disappears quickly. Useful evidence includes:

• Photos of the scene, the vehicle damage, road conditions, skid marks, and where the truck stopped.
• Names and contact details for witnesses, plus any dashcam or nearby surveillance video.
• The police or California Highway Patrol report, and the information exchanged at the scene.
• Medical records and a full treatment history, starting from the first emergency visit.

Trucking companies keep records under their own practices. Federal rules also set minimum keep periods for some of them. For example, a motor carrier, except for a private motor carrier of passengers (nonbusiness), must keep inspection, repair, and maintenance records for one year. It must also keep them for six months after the truck leaves its control, under 49 CFR § 396.3. It must also keep them for six months after the truck leaves its control, under 49 CFR § 396.3.

Electronic logging device data, dispatch messages, and maintenance files can also be central to a claim. A written request to preserve these records, sent early, helps keep them from being lost.

Identifying every party that may be liable

A truck crash can involve several potentially responsible parties. Identifying each one early is a standard step. Parties may include:

• The truck driver, whose conduct at the time of the crash is examined.
• The motor carrier or employer, which may answer for a driver’s negligence on the job.
• The truck owner or lessor, when the owner is a different company from the carrier.
• The cargo loader or shipper, when poor loading or securing contributed to the crash.
• The maintenance contractor, when inspection or repair failures contributed to a brake, tire, or steering problem.

The key question is not only who held the wheel. It is who chose, loaded, maintained, and dispatched the truck.

Federal and California trucking rules that shape a claim

Federal trucking rules set specific limits. A violation can be an important fact in a claim. Several rules are worth knowing.

Driving time. Under 49 CFR § 395.3, a driver may not drive without first taking 10 consecutive hours off duty. A driver also may not drive after 14 consecutive hours following that rest. The federal hours-of-service rule at 49 C.F.R. § 395.3 allows a driver of a property-carrying commercial motor vehicle to drive a total of 11 hours during the period specified in paragraph (a)(2) of that section. Driving is not allowed once more than 8 hours of driving time pass without a 30-minute break, with exceptions for some short-haul drivers. Carriers that run every day of the week face a separate limit of 70 hours on duty in any 8 consecutive days.

Testing after a crash. Under 49 CFR § 382.303, an employer must test surviving drivers for alcohol and controlled substances as soon as practicable after certain crashes. Under 49 CFR § 382.303, after an occurrence involving a commercial motor vehicle operating on a public road in commerce, each employer shall test for alcohol, as soon as practicable, each of its surviving drivers who was performing safety-sensitive functions with respect to the vehicle if the accident involved the loss of human life, or who receives a citation within 8 hours of the occurrence under State or local law for a moving traffic violation arising from the accident if the accident involved bodily injury to any person who immediately receives medical treatment away from the scene of the accident, or one or more motor vehicles incurring disabling damage requiring the motor vehicle to be transported away from the scene by a tow truck or other motor vehicle. The controlled-substance test follows the same structure, with the citation window set at thirty-two hours. If an alcohol test is not given within two hours, the employer must keep a record of why. After eight hours, the employer must stop trying to give it.

Driver files. A motor carrier must keep a driver qualification file for as long as the driver works for it, and for three years afterward, under 49 CFR § 391.51.

Maintenance. Under 49 CFR § 396.3, a carrier must keep parts that affect safe operation in safe and proper condition at all times. That includes suspension systems, axles, wheels and rims, and steering systems.

A rule violation is a fact to investigate. It does not decide a claim by itself.

Cargo loading, tanker, and underride crash issues

Cargo that is loaded or secured poorly can shift, spill, or fall. Federal rules require cargo on a commercial truck to be secured so it cannot leak, spill, blow, or fall. The cargo must also be contained so shifting does not hurt the vehicle’s stability or maneuverability (49 CFR § 393.100). When that fails, a loader, shipper, or carrier may be part of the claim.

Tanker trucks raise their own questions. The type of cargo and the vehicle’s construction can change both the injuries and the parties involved. These claims often need a closer look at the load and the equipment.

Underride crashes happen when a passenger vehicle slides under the back of a trailer. Federal standards set requirements for rear impact guards on trailers. Under 49 CFR § 571.223, a guard must have a horizontal member at least 100 mm high across its width. Under 49 CFR § 571.223, when a uniform distributed load is applied in testing, a rear impact guard on a trailer or semitrailer, other than a hydraulic guard or one installed on a tanker trailer, must absorb by plastic deformation at least 20,000 J of energy within the first 125 mm of deflection without eliminating any load path that existed before the test began, and must have a ground clearance not exceeding 560 mm at each support to which the horizontal member is attached after completion of the load application. A guard that demonstrates resistance to a uniform distributed load greater than 700,000 N need not meet the energy absorption requirement, but it must still have a ground clearance not exceeding 560 mm at each vertical support after completion of the 700,000 N load application. Whether a particular guard met those standards is a question the guard and its records help answer.

When more than one driver shares fault

Many truck crashes involve more than one vehicle. On busy roads, several drivers may each contribute to what happened. The investigation looks at each driver’s conduct, not only the driver of the truck.

Shared fault can change how a claim is built. Scene evidence, vehicle data, and witness accounts help show how the crash unfolded and who did what. Good early records make that picture clearer.

An injured person may also be partly responsible for a crash. Fault can be shared among several people. Those facts shape the claim, so they should be reviewed carefully rather than guessed at.

A frequent mistake is saying “I think I was partly to blame” at the scene or in a recorded statement. Keep early words short and factual. Statements made in the first hours can be used later in the claim. Talking with a lawyer before giving a detailed statement can help you avoid that trap.

Filing deadlines: two years and six months

Most California injury lawsuits must be filed within two years (Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1). Claims against a public entity start with a shorter step.

Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1 gives a two-year period for actions for injury to an individual caused by another’s wrongful act or neglect. The California Courts Self-Help Guide explains that personal injury lawsuits, including those from truck accidents, generally must be filed within two years of the injury. That guide also notes exceptions and tolling.

A claim against a public entity, such as a city or county, has a shorter first step. Under Gov. Code § 911.2, a claim for injury to a person must be presented not later than six months after the cause of action accrues. Because that six-month period is shorter, it can run first.

A public entity can also be liable for an employee’s act within the scope of employment. Under Gov. Code § 815.2, that liability applies when the act would have given rise to a claim against the employee, and, except as otherwise provided by statute, a public entity is not liable for an injury resulting from an act or omission of an employee who is immune from liability. Deadlines depend on the facts of each claim, including who is involved and when the injury occurred. Timing should be reviewed soon after a crash.

Crashes on Highway 99, the Grapevine, and public roads

Highway 99 through the Central Valley and the Grapevine section of Interstate 5 carry a lot of truck traffic. Road, weather, and grade conditions on these routes can differ from city streets. A crash investigation on these routes should account for those conditions.

Those limits can matter when a truck is overloaded or oversized.

A crash can also involve a public road defect, a city or county vehicle, or a public transit bus. Those cases can bring a public entity into the claim. That is why the six-month claim period discussed above matters.

Colvin Accident Lawyers is based in Bakersfield. The firm works with injured people in Kern County and nearby communities, including Fresno, Visalia, Delano, Tehachapi, Lancaster, and Palmdale.

How damages are documented in a truck crash claim

Damages are the losses a claim seeks to cover. For harm from a breach of an obligation that does not come from a contract, Cal. Civ. Code § 3333 measures damages as the amount that compensates for all the detriment proximately caused. That applies even if the harm could not have been anticipated.

In a truck crash claim, losses often include past and future medical care, lost income, reduced ability to earn, and pain and suffering. Each category needs proof.

Documentation is the foundation. Bills, wage records, treatment notes, and a record of how the injury limits daily life all matter. Keep them in one place from the start.

Each injury and each set of losses is different. No single figure fits every truck crash.

Talking with Colvin Accident Lawyers about your truck crash

Picture this. A semi hit your car on a Bakersfield street or on Highway 99. You are still in treatment. You don’t yet know who is responsible, and a filing deadline may already be running. Sorting out those questions early can make the next steps clearer.

If this sounds like your situation, reach out to Colvin Accident Lawyers. We can talk through the crash, the records you already have, and the deadlines that may apply. Contact Colvin Accident Lawyers to start that conversation.

Colvin Accident Lawyers, Bakersfield, California — responsible for this site. Donald Norman Colvin is the responsible lawyer.