Of all motor vehicle accidents, truck accidents are the most lethal. When smaller cars or motorcycles are involved in a collision with a large truck, the results can be deadly.  The weight of most trucks is substantial and is often the reason that people involved in truck accidents sustain significant, and sometimes fatal, injuries.

People who are lucky enough to escape a life-threatening truck accident may be critically injured. It is very common for people to incur catastrophic head injuries, neck injuries, spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, and/or burn injuries while involved in a truck accident.

If you or a family member is involved in an accident with a truck, you should consider consulting an experienced personal injury attorney as soon as possible. As with other personal injury cases, there are time limits as to when you must file a claim or file a lawsuit, usually from six months to two years after the accident. Irrespective of those deadlines, it is important to consult an attorney sooner than that, while the evidence is still fresh. It is important to be able to gather physical evidence and locate and talk to witnesses as soon after an event as possible.

Statute of Limitations in Truck Accident Cases

The term Statute of Limitations refers to the amount of time a person has to sue for their injury. In California, the Statute of Limitations, generally, is two years from the date of the accident. This means that if a personal injury claim cannot be resolved without a lawsuit, the lawsuit must be filed within two years of the date of the accident. Otherwise, the opportunity for a recovery is lost altogether.

If a claim or lawsuit is against a public entity (such as a City, the State of California, or a School District), there must be filed a governmental entity claim within six months of the date of the accident. As with the Statute of Limitations discussed above, if such a claim is not filed within six months, it means that the possibility of making a recovery against a governmental entity will be lost.