As is true in most California personal injury cases involving vehicle accidents, the primary legal theory of liability in commercial truck accident cases is "negligence." In other words, there was some breach of due care owed to you (the other injured car driver) by the commercial truck driver. In a nutshell, a person or business entity (the defendant) is negligent if they failed in their duty to exercise reasonable care under the circumstances, and the plaintiff's injuries result from that failure. So, a person injured in a commercial truck accident must show that:
- Defendant (driver, trucking company, commercial party, or other party) owed the plaintiff (injured driver) the duty to exercise a reasonable degree of care to avoid injury under the circumstances. This element is almost always automatically met by virtue of the fact that all drivers on the road owe a legal duty of reasonable care to fellow drivers, passengers, and pedestrians;
- Defendant failed to exercise such reasonable care, or in legal terms, "breached" the duty of reasonable care;
- Defendant's failure to exercise reasonable care was the cause of the injury suffered by the plaintiff.
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Mark C. Blane is a San Diego Commercial Vehicle Accident Attorney and the managing lawyer of the Law Offices of Mark C. Blane, a San Diego, California Personal Injury Law Firm dedicated to representing families of people injured in trucking accidents. If you or a loved one has been killed or injured in big-rig accident in San Diego, please order your free copy of Mr. Blane's book, The 10 Secrets You Need To Know About Your Injury Case, BEFORE You Call A Lawyer. It is full of helpful information that will help you protect your legal rights and it normally sells for $16.95. However, it is free to all California residents, or those injured in an California accident.