Hurt in a Truck Accident Near Tehachapi? Start With a Free Consultation.

A truck crash near Tehachapi can change your health, your job, and your finances in a single day. A truck accident lawyer can review how your crash happened and which deadlines apply. This guide covers what makes truck crashes different, the first steps to take, and how California law handles fault. Colvin Accident Lawyers, based in Bakersfield, represents accident victims and families in Tehachapi and Kern County.

Truck Accidents on the Roads Around Tehachapi

Truck crashes around Tehachapi often happen on mountain grades, in changing weather, and in heavy mixed traffic. Highway 58 and Highway 202 carry trucks and passenger cars through the area. The Tehachapi Pass grades force trucks to slow down, brake hard, and merge with cars. Wind and weather can make braking and lane control harder for a big rig and for the cars around it.

A crash here may involve one vehicle, a truck and a car, or a truck and a pedestrian or bicyclist. Each type raises different questions. A rear-end impact with a loaded trailer needs different investigation than a truck that strikes a walker at a crosswalk. Knowing which type you were in helps shape who may be responsible.

Driving rules still apply to everyone on these roads. California law says no one may drive faster than is reasonable and prudent for the weather, visibility, traffic, and condition of the road, under Vehicle Code § 22350. Speed that is safe on a flat highway may not be safe on a steep grade.

Why a Truck Crash Is Different From a Car Crash

Truck crashes usually involve federal trucking rules and more than one company. Car crashes usually do not. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration sets rules for commercial trucks, and two of them often matter in a claim.

The first rule covers driving time. Breaks are required too. Driving is limited after 8 hours without a 30-minute interruption, with some exceptions.

The second rule covers maintenance. Motor carriers must inspect, repair, and maintain every vehicle they control. Federal vehicle maintenance rules require every motor carrier and intermodal equipment provider to systematically inspect, repair, and maintain, or cause to be systematically inspected, repaired, and maintained, all motor vehicles and intermodal equipment subject to its control, and they require parts and accessories to be in safe and proper operating condition at all times, including but not limited to frame and frame assemblies, suspension systems, axles and attaching parts, wheels and rims, and steering systems. Federal vehicle maintenance rules require carriers, except private nonbusiness passenger carriers, to keep those maintenance records for one year, and for six months after the vehicle leaves their control. Asking for those records early matters.

A truck crash can involve several parties: the driver, the trucking company, the company that owns the truck, a maintenance contractor, or a company that loaded the cargo. Some trucks also carry electronic logs or event data that can show driving activity. Early requests help keep that information available.

What to Do in the First Days After a Truck Accident

Get medical care first, and keep every record that follows. Injuries from a large truck can seem minor at the scene and grow worse later. Keep treatment notes, bills, and prescriptions together in one folder.

Next, get the official crash report and write down what you can. Note the driver’s name, the trucking company’s name, and any DOT number on the truck. Photograph the scene, the vehicle damage, the road and weather conditions, and any visible injuries. Keep the clothing and personal items you had with you.

Federal rules also require a trucking company to test the surviving driver after many qualifying crashes. The employer must keep a written reason if an alcohol test is not given within two hours.

Be careful with detailed recorded statements to the other side’s insurer before you speak with a lawyer. Short, factual answers protect you while you gather your facts.

How Fault and Deadlines Work Under California Law

Most California injury lawsuits must be filed within two years. Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1 sets that two-year rule for injury or death caused by another person’s wrongful act or neglect. Exceptions can change the date, so don’t wait to find out which one applies.

Claims against a public agency follow a shorter clock. Under Government Code § 911.2, a claim for death or injury to a person must be presented no later than six months after the claim accrues. If a city, county, or state agency may be involved, that six-month clock matters now.

Who Can Be Held Responsible for a Truck Crash

The truck driver, the trucking company, and other companies can each be responsible, depending on the facts. A driver may be liable for negligent driving, such as going too fast for conditions under Vehicle Code § 22350.

A company can answer for its driver’s negligence when the driver was doing the company’s work. Under Civil Code § 2338, a principal is responsible to third persons for the negligence of its agent in the business of the agency. Cal. Civ. Code § 2338 reads: “Unless required by or under the authority of law to employ that particular agent, a principal is responsible to third persons for the negligence of his agent in the transaction of the business of the agency, including wrongful acts committed by such agent in and as a part of the transaction of such business, and for his willful omission to fulfill the obligations of the principal.”

When more than one party shares fault, each one pays its own share of pain and suffering. Under Civil Code § 1431.2, in any action for personal injury, property damage, or wrongful death based on principles of comparative fault, non-economic damages like pain, emotional distress, and loss of companionship are several only and limited to each defendant’s percentage of fault. Medical bills and lost earnings are economic damages, which are measurable money losses.

What a Free First Consultation With Colvin Accident Lawyers Covers

Colvin Accident Lawyers offers a free, confidential first consultation with no obligation to continue. It gives you a chance to talk through the facts of your own crash. Our team can also answer your questions about the process.

Bring the crash report number, any photos, medical records, insurance letters, and a short written timeline. Include the date of the crash, when you first got treatment, and every doctor visit since. A timeline helps the review move faster.

Every crash is different. Only a review of your own records and facts can show what applies to your situation. General information on a web page cannot do that work.

Colvin Accident Lawyers in Bakersfield for Tehachapi Crash Victims

Colvin Accident Lawyers is based in Bakersfield, California. The firm represents accident victims and families from Tehachapi and across Kern County. Donald Norman Colvin is the lawyer, and our team of support staff and office staff helps run the practice.

The practice handles car, truck, motorcycle, bicycle, pedestrian, bus, dog bite, premises liability, catastrophic injury, and wrongful death cases. Families who lost someone in a truck crash can also bring a wrongful death claim.

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