The Los Angeles County Department of Public Works is among the largest municipal public work agencies in the country. It provides both infrastructure and essential services to over 10 million people. It services a 4,000-square-mile area. The Department of Public Works (DPW) provides sanitation services among other services. Most of us are familiar with the sanitation trucks (or trash trucks) that empty out our trash bins once a week. These vehicles can potentially be involved in a number of incidents.
Were you involved in an incident with a Los Angeles County DPW sanitation truck? If you were involve in an incident with a LA County trash truck, you should explore your legal options – as you might have grounds to sue. If you are interested in learning more about your right to pursue an injury claim after being involved in a vehicle accident involving a county trash truck, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with the experts at our firm as soon as possible.
The experts at Normandie Law Firm are ready to evaluate your claim and provide you with the guidance that you need to take legal action against the Department of Public Works. Normandie Law Firm is a firm specializing in all types of auto accidents, including accidents involving county vehicles like trash trucks. If you are interested in learning more about your right to file an accident lawsuit, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with the lawyers at our firm as soon as possible.
The Causes of Trash Truck Incidents
In general, sanitation truck accidents or accidents involving any other type of vehicle are associated with the negligent actions of drivers. Drivers fail follow traffic rules and safety guidelines to prevent incidents from occurring. Some examples of the negligent actions that could ultimately contribute to vehicle accidents include the following:
- Driving while sleepy, fatigued, or drowsy (which can result in falling asleep being the wheel)
- Driving distracted (which can result in placing attention elsewhere instead of on the road)
- Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol (which significantly impairs judgement and driving abilities)
- Driving recklessly (e.g., speeding, tailgating, weaving in and out of traffic, ignoring traffic signals, etc.)
Regardless of the cause of the incident, affected parties could suffer injuries just the same.
Potential Injuries that Victims Could Suffer
Were you injured in an incident with a trash truck? If so, you might have suffered some of the following injuries:
- Head injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Neck injuries
- Back injuries
- Shoulder injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Fractures
- Nerve injuries
- Ligament injuries
- Muscle injuries
- Burns
- Road rash
- Severed limbs
- Punctured organs
- Lacerations
- Scrapes and bruises
- Sprains and strains
Regardless of the extent of the injuries suffered as a direct result of an auto accident, you should explore your legal options as you might have grounds to pursue a claim.
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Can I Sue?
Can I sue after being injured in an accident with a county trash truck? Based on the details surrounding the incident with the sanitation truck, you might have grounds to sue. More specifically, you might have grounds to sue the L.A. County Department of Public Works. Your right to sue after any sort of auto accident is based on the fact that all drivers owe all other parties on the road a duty of care (they must be safe and follow all traffic rules while behind the wheel). When drivers are negligent in any way (i.e., they are driving drunk, driving distracted, speeding, etc.), they are breaching the duty of care owed to other drivers on the road and putting innocent drivers at risk of suffering harm. If a driver’s negligence directly contributes to an incident that harms another driver, the injured driver could sue the at-fault driver.
What if the at-fault driver is a L.A. County DPW employee driving a trash or sanitation truck? If this is the case, liability for the incident could actually be transferred to the L.A. County Department of Public Works based on the concept of vicarious liability. What does this mean? If you were injured in an incident with a trash truck, you could file a claim against the DPW. In fact, if you were involved in an incident with a trash truck, you will need to file a government claim against the county DPW. If you are interested in learning more about your right to file a government claim after your incident, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with a lawyer with experience in government claims against public work agencies.
Recovering Compensation
Could you recover monetary compensation for the harm that you or a member of your family suffered in an incident with a sanitation truck? Based on the details surrounding your claim against the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, you could be eligible to recover monetary compensation. What could you recover? Some of the categories of compensation typically available for injury claims include the following:
- Medical expenses
- Lost earnings
- Pain and suffering
- Property damage
- Funeral and burial expenses
- Loss of consortium
- Punitive damages
- Legal expenses
Are you interested in learning about the type and amount of compensation that you could be eligible to receive if your claim is successful? Are you interested in learning more regarding the average settlement value? If so, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with the experts at our firm as soon as possible. Our lawyers will help you understand how much your case could be worth as well as help you get a better understanding of average case values. If you allow the experts at our firm to handle your claim, you can be sure that our lawyers will not rest until you are rightfully compensated for the harm that you suffered in the incident with the trash truck.
What Should You Do?
After being injured in any sort of vehicle accident, there are a number of things that you should do to prepare to pursue an injury claim. Consider some of the recommended steps that affected parties should take:
- Seek medical assistance as soon as possible
- Take photos of all injuries sustained in the incident
- Take photos of all property damage resulting from the crash
- Collect all relevant insurance information
- File an accident report with the authorities
- File an accident report with the government entity
- Speak to witnesses and collect their contact information
- Gather any video footage that captured the incident
- Collect medical records
- Collect records of lost earnings
- Collect records of property damage
- Seek the guidance of an experienced attorney as soon as possible
Filing a Government Claim on Time
Without a doubt, you have the right to sue. However, you must act quickly to preserve your right to sue. All claims are subject to a statute of limitations which determines the time that claimants have to sue. If claimants do not file their claims on time, they could lose the right to file their claims. As mentioned above, to file a claim against the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, you will need to file a government claim. Government claims are typically subject to a stricter deadline than other claims. How long do you have to sue? Government claims must be filed within 6 months. After filing with the government entity, the government entity will have 45 days to respond to the claim. If the entity responds and denies the claim, claimants will have 6 months to file the claim in court. However, it is possible for the entity to not respond; if claimants do not receive a response from the entity, they will have 2 years to file their claim in court. You shouldn’t risk losing your right to sue. To ensure that you have a thorough understanding of the deadline that applies to your claim, contact us today.
Contact Normandie Law Firm Today
Were you injured in an accident involving a DPW trash truck? If so, you might have grounds to pursue an injury claim. If you are interested in learning more about your right to file an injury claim for the harm that you suffered in an accident involving an L.A. County Department of Public Works trash truck, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with the experts at our firm immediately. At Normandie Law Firm, our accident attorneys are ready to evaluate your claim and provide you with the guidance that you need to reach a successful claim outcome. Our lawyers have many years of experience handling all sorts of claims and are ready to help you sue the Department of Public Works. If you are interested in discussing your claim with the experts at our firm, contact us today.
At our firm, we recognize the difficulties that come with suffering harm and trying to pursue an injury claim. To make things easier for affected parties, we offer free legal services. Our free legal services include free consultations and free second opinions. During these free legal services, our lawyers will be available to answer all your questions, address all your concerns, and provide you with the guidance that you need to pursue your claim and reach a successful claim outcome. Are you interested in benefiting from our free legal services? If so, contact us today.
We offer a Zero-Fee guarantee, meaning that our clients will not be required to pay anything until after reaching a positive claim outcome. In addition, our firm is strictly based on contingency; therefore, our clients will not be responsible for paying legal fees until after reaching a positive claim outcome.
Are you ready to speak with our expert attorneys? If so, contact us today.
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