Enterprise Truck Accidents

Tractor-Trailer Crash Lawyers Serving the Los Angeles Area

Rental trucks are difficult to drive. They are large and take longer to stop than passenger vehicles do. They can become dangerous if they are improperly loaded. In most cases, people who drive rental trucks are not experienced at handling such large trucks. If you are injured in an Enterprise truck accident, you may be able to recover compensation. At Sharifi Firm, our Los Angeles truck accident attorneys may be able to help you.

Claims Based on an Enterprise Truck Accident

Truck accidents can cause significant devastation. Yet rental truck companies do not ensure that drivers are capable of handling a difficult-to-maneuver truck. You may be able to hold a rental truck driver liable for an accident. You will need to show certain points by a preponderance of the evidence: the duty of the Enterprise truck driver toward you, a breach of duty, causation, and actual damages. An Enterprise truck driver may breach the duty of care that all drivers owe toward others in many different ways: distracted driving, texting, taking turns too fast, speeding, failing to obey traffic signals and signs, or not leaving enough room between the truck and the vehicle in front of it.

Unfortunately, some people who rent Enterprise trucks do not have insurance. In this situation, it may be necessary to look for others whose fault may have contributed to the accident. This can require investigation and accident reconstruction.

Many people who are injured in rental truck accidents want to sue the rental truck company. In most cases, this is not possible. Rental truck liability is usually limited by a waiver in the terms and conditions signed by the renter of the truck. However, it may be possible to hold a rental truck company liable for its own negligence. For example, if the renter had no driving license, and the rental company failed to check his driver’s license before renting the vehicle to him, it may be possible to hold the rental company liable for its negligence in not checking the driver’s license. However, this is a narrow situation. In a case in which a driver presented the rental company with a valid driver’s license, and he did not seem unfit at the time of rental, the court did not find the rental company negligent for renting to someone with two DWIs, noting that there is no requirement for rental companies to check driving history.

In other situations, it may be possible for your attorney to look at whether a defect in the rental truck contributed to the accident. For example, if the brakes were defective in a rental truck, and it rear-ended you, it might be appropriate to sue the manufacturer of the brakes for a manufacturing or design defect. Other truck defects could include defective tires or a defective hitch. Manufacturers can be held strictly liable for defects that cause injuries to someone else.

In other situations in which someone else does not have insurance to cover your damages, it may be necessary to turn to your own uninsurance or underinsurance coverage to recover compensation. In this situation, you are potentially at odds with your own insurer. It can be important to have an experienced Los Angeles attorney to help you through this process.

Damages that you may be able to recover if you are able to establish liability include economic and noneconomic losses. Generally, economic losses are documented and tangible losses, such as replacement services, hospital bills, costs of therapy, property damage, and out-of-pocket expenses. Noneconomic losses are intangible and can include mental anguish, pain and suffering, loss of consortium, and scarring and disfigurement.

Retain an Experienced Truck Accident Lawyer in Los Angeles

If you are injured or a loved one is killed due to an Enterprise truck accident, you should contact an experienced attorney so that you can obtain the compensation that you need. At Sharifi Firm, APC, our experienced attorneys can provide knowledgeable legal representation. Contact us at (866) 422-7222 or via our online form. We also represent people in Temecula, San Bernardino, Rancho Cucamonga, Glendale, Covina, and Riverside.