If you’ve been injured in a truck accident, you’ve probably noticed that your case is taking much longer to resolve than a typical car accident claim. This extended timeline isn’t due to lawyer delays or insurance company stalling tactics – truck accident cases are genuinely more complicated and require significantly more investigation and preparation than standard vehicle crashes.
Multiple Parties Create Investigation Challenges
Our Ventura, CA truck accident lawyer understands how these accidents often involve several potentially liable parties, each with their own insurance companies and legal teams. You might have claims against the truck driver, the trucking company, the cargo loading company, the truck manufacturer, or the maintenance contractor. Each party will try to shift blame to the others, creating a web of finger-pointing that takes time to untangle.
We need to investigate each potential defendant separately, gathering employment records, maintenance logs, driver qualification files, and corporate policies. This process can’t be rushed because missing a liable party early in the case might mean losing the opportunity to hold them accountable later.
The trucking company alone might have multiple insurance policies with different carriers covering different aspects of their operations. Figuring out which policies apply and their coverage limits requires detailed investigation that adds weeks or months to the case timeline.
Federal Regulations Require Detailed Analysis
Commercial trucks are subject to extensive federal regulations that don’t apply to regular passenger vehicles. These rules cover driver qualifications, hours of service, vehicle maintenance, cargo loading, and dozens of other safety requirements. Investigating whether violations of these regulations contributed to your accident takes considerable time and resources.
We often need to request the truck’s electronic logging device data, maintenance records going back months or years, and the driver’s complete qualification file. Trucking companies are required to maintain these records, but getting access to them often requires formal legal procedures that extend the investigation timeline.
At Cohen Injury Law Group, P.C., we’ve found that thorough investigation of federal regulation compliance often reveals violations that significantly strengthen our clients’ cases. However, this analysis can’t be completed in the weeks or months typical of car accident cases.
Severe Injuries Require Extended Medical Treatment
Truck accidents typically cause more serious injuries than car crashes due to the massive size and weight differences between trucks and passenger vehicles. These severe injuries often require extensive medical treatment that can continue for months or years after the accident.
We can’t accurately assess the full value of your case until your medical condition stabilizes and doctors can provide reliable prognoses about your long-term recovery. Rushing to settle before understanding the complete scope of your injuries often results in inadequate compensation that doesn’t cover future medical needs.
Some truck accident victims require multiple surgeries, lengthy rehabilitation, or permanent care assistance. The financial impact of these long-term needs must be carefully calculated with input from medical professionals, life care planners, and economists.
Higher Stakes Mean More Resistance
Truck accident cases often involve much larger potential settlements than typical car accidents. When millions of dollars are at stake, insurance companies and trucking companies fight much harder to avoid liability or minimize damages.
They typically hire teams of lawyers, accident reconstruction specialists, and medical reviewers to challenge every aspect of your claim. This aggressive defense requires more time to counter with our own investigation and preparation.
Corporate defendants also have more resources to drag out litigation, hoping that injured victims will accept lower settlements rather than wait for full compensation. We’ve seen trucking companies spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on defense costs to avoid paying fair settlements.
Evidence Preservation Takes Time
Trucks generate vast amounts of electronic data through GPS systems, electronic logging devices, onboard cameras, and engine control modules. Preserving and analyzing this evidence requires formal legal procedures and technical analysis that adds time to the case.
We often need to work with accident reconstruction specialists who can interpret the electronic data and explain how it demonstrates the truck driver’s or trucking company’s negligence. This analysis is crucial for building strong cases but requires months of work by qualified professionals.
Physical evidence from the truck itself, including brake systems, tires, and cargo securement equipment, may need to be preserved and inspected by engineering professionals. Coordinating these inspections while the evidence is still available requires quick action and careful planning.
Settlement Negotiations Are More Complex
With multiple insurance companies and potentially liable parties, settlement negotiations in truck cases resemble multi-party business deals rather than simple insurance claims. Each party wants to minimize their contribution, leading to extended negotiations about how to allocate responsibility and costs.
These negotiations often involve multiple rounds of offers and counteroffers as we work to maximize recovery from all available sources. The process takes much longer than typical car accident settlements but often results in significantly higher compensation for our clients.
While the extended timeline can be frustrating when you’re dealing with injuries and financial pressures, rushing truck accident cases typically results in leaving money on the table. The additional time invested in thorough investigation and preparation usually pays off in substantially higher settlements or verdicts.
If you’ve been injured in a truck accident and are concerned about how long your case is taking, remember that the additional time is necessary to build the strongest possible case. Contact our experienced Ventura, CA truck accident lawyer team at Cohen Injury Law Group, P.C. today for a free consultation to discuss your case timeline and what we’re doing to maximize your compensation.