Hurt in a Truck Accident on Highway 99? Talk With a Bakersfield Truck Accident Lawyer

If you need a Highway 99 truck accident lawyer in the Central Valley, start with one question: who besides the driver may be responsible? Crashes with semi trucks and big rigs can involve the trucking company, a freight broker, a maintenance provider and others. Colvin Accident Lawyers is based in Bakersfield and serves accident victims and families in Kern County, Fresno, Visalia and Delano.

This page explains who may be responsible, what evidence needs protecting, how the claim process works, and why timing matters.

What a Highway 99 Truck Accident Lawyer Handles

A Highway 99 truck accident lawyer represents people hurt in collisions with semi trucks, big rigs and other commercial vehicles. Highway 99 runs through Bakersfield, Delano, Visalia and Fresno, and these crashes can happen on it or on connecting roads.

• Who this is for: drivers and passengers in cars, motorcyclists, bicyclists and pedestrians hit by trucks, and families of people killed in a crash.
• Common crash types: rear-end and lane-change collisions, jackknifing, rollovers and underride collisions.
• Serious injuries: catastrophic injury claims involving long-term care or permanent impairment.
• Bus crashes: commercial bus collisions, which fall under the firm’s bus accident practice.

Colvin Accident Lawyers is a personal injury firm based in Bakersfield. Its practice also covers car, motorcycle, bicycle, pedestrian, dog bite, premises liability and wrongful death cases. Donald Norman Colvin is the responsible lawyer for this page.

Who Can Be Held Responsible in a Highway 99 Truck Crash

More than one party may share responsibility in a truck crash. The driver is often only the starting point.

• The driver: Vehicle Code § 22350 says no one may drive faster than is reasonable or prudent for weather, visibility, traffic and the road.
• The trucking company: A carrier can face claims over its own choices. Examples include how it hired, trained, supervised and dispatched the driver, including pressure to meet delivery schedules.
• Hours-of-service limits: 49 CFR § 395.3 limits driving time. A driver may drive 11 hours within 14 hours after coming on duty, following 10 hours off duty.
• Maintenance and equipment: Brake, tire, steering and lighting defects can point to a repair shop, an inspector or the carrier.

Evidence to Protect After a Highway 99 Truck Collision

The trucking company’s records are often the most time-sensitive evidence. Federal rules require a motor carrier to keep driver records of duty status and supporting documents for at least six months from the date of receipt (49 CFR § 395.8).

• Electronic logging device (ELD) data: Driving-hour records can be one source of evidence in a truck accident case.
• Dispatch and carrier records: Dispatch messages, bills of lading and communications between the driver and carrier.
• Driver files: Qualification files, training records, prior citations and inspection reports.
• Post-accident testing: 49 CFR § 382.303 requires the employer to test surviving drivers for alcohol and controlled substances after certain crashes. Testing follows a crash involving a death. It also follows a crash with bodily injury requiring immediate medical treatment away from the scene, or a tow-away crash with disabling damage, when the driver receives a moving-violation citation within set time limits.
• Your own evidence: The police report, photos, dashcam or traffic camera video, witness names, medical records and bills.

Waiting too long can cost you records the carrier keeps only for a limited time. Acting early helps protect them.

How the Claim Process Works, Step by Step

A truck claim usually moves through five stages, from first call to lawsuit if a fair resolution isn’t reached.

1. Free, confidential first consultation. You describe the crash, your injuries and any papers you have. The first consultation is free, confidential and comes with no obligation to continue.
2. Evidence requests. Letters can go to the carrier and other parties asking them to preserve logs, vehicle data and records.
3. Investigation. Police reports, medical records and vehicle data are reviewed. Accident reconstruction professionals or medical reviewers may be consulted when the facts call for it.
4. Damages documentation. Medical bills, lost wages, future care needs and property damage are organized. In a wrongful death case, funeral costs and other family losses are documented too.
5. Negotiation, then a lawsuit if needed. Your lawyer negotiates with insurers and carriers. If a fair resolution isn’t reached, a lawsuit can be filed.

The length of each stage depends on the facts: your injuries, the number of parties and how the other side responds. No one can set a firm timeline at the start.

Why Colvin Accident Lawyers for a Highway 99 Truck Crash

Colvin Accident Lawyers is a Bakersfield personal injury firm. Here is what you can expect when you reach out.

• Local base: The firm is based in Bakersfield and serves accident victims and families in Kern County, Fresno, Visalia, Delano, Tehachapi, Lancaster and Palmdale.
• Named responsible lawyer: Donald Norman Colvin is the responsible lawyer for this page.
• Support staff: Our team includes assistants and office staff who help with records and client updates.
• Clear next steps: You can ask questions at each stage. The consultation covers what the firm would do next on your facts.
• Honest limits: No lawyer can know the result of a case in advance. Each case turns on its own facts.

Filing Deadlines and Why Timing Matters

In California, the general deadline to sue for injury or death is two years. Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1 sets a two-year period for an action for injury to, or death of, an individual caused by another person’s wrongful act or neglect.

Claims against a public entity can have a much shorter deadline. If a city, county, state or transit agency may be responsible, a claim must be presented no later than six months after the cause of action accrues for death or injury (Government Code § 911.2).

Records and memories fade on their own clock. Early medical treatment records also help link the crash to your injuries.

Common Questions About Highway 99 Truck Accident Claims

Colvin Accident Lawyers, Bakersfield, California — responsible for this site.