Truck Accidents matters in Hollister
Why Trucks Crowd Hollister's Roads
San Benito County's economy is built on agriculture, and Hollister sits at the center of a steady flow of produce trucks, feed haulers, and equipment carriers. During harvest seasons, big rigs and farm trucks move crops from fields toward packing houses and on to US-101 at Gilroy by way of SR-25 and SR-156. These same two-lane state routes also carry the daily Silicon Valley commute, putting heavy commercial vehicles and passenger cars on roads that were never designed for the volume they now handle.
The long SR-25 corridor between Hollister and Gilroy is especially dangerous. With limited passing zones and frequent slow-moving agricultural equipment, frustrated drivers attempt risky passes around trucks, and a loaded big rig simply cannot stop or swerve the way a car can. Underride, wide-turn, and jackknife collisions near the SR-25 and SR-156 interchange can leave occupants of smaller vehicles with severe injuries.
Trucking Cases Are Different From Car Cases
A commercial truck crash usually involves more than one potentially responsible party. The driver, the trucking company, the company that loaded the cargo, a maintenance contractor, and the truck's owner may all share liability. Federal motor carrier rules govern driver hours, inspections, and load securement, and violations can be powerful evidence. Trucking companies often send investigators to the scene immediately, so it is important to preserve the electronic logging device data, maintenance records, and the truck's black box before they are lost.
The firm works to identify every responsible party and every available insurance policy, because commercial carriers typically have far larger coverage than ordinary drivers. That higher coverage matters when injuries require treatment at Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital and long-term care.
Valuing a Serious Truck Injury Claim
There is no fixed formula and no guaranteed result. The value of a Hollister truck accident claim depends on the severity and permanence of the injuries, medical and rehabilitation costs, lost income and lost earning capacity, and the impact on your life. California places no cap on most of these damages, and the state's pure comparative negligence rule lets you recover even if you were partly at fault, with your share reducing the award.
Deadlines You Cannot Miss
California Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1 generally gives you two years from the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit. If a public entity such as the county or a road authority is involved, Government Code section 911.2 usually requires a written claim within six months. Lawsuits that proceed are filed in the San Benito County Superior Court in Hollister, and acting early protects critical trucking evidence.
Our attorney
How Mihran M. Ghazaryan helps with truck accidents
Truck cases are won or lost in the first days, so Mihran M. Ghazaryan moves immediately to preserve the evidence — the electronic logging device, the driver's hours-of-service records, and the truck's onboard data — before it can be overwritten. He identifies every responsible party (driver, carrier, broker, and their separate insurers) and applies the federal motor-carrier rules that govern these cases, building the claim for the larger exposure a commercial policy carries.
Types of truck accidents we handle
Tractor-trailer and 18-wheeler crashes
Often involve fatigue, improper loading, or maintenance failures. We send a preservation letter immediately and pursue ELD and ECM data.
Delivery-truck and box-truck collisions
Last-mile delivery has driven a surge in inexperienced drivers under tight schedules. Liability often runs to the carrier, not just the driver.
Underride and override collisions
Catastrophic injury cases. Vehicle conspicuity, guard equipment, and applicable FMCSA standards all matter.
Damages
What compensation can cover
Every truck accident claim is different, but California law allows injured plaintiffs to seek several categories of damages. We build each one with documentation — medical records, wage statements, expert opinions — so nothing is left on the table.
Medical expenses
Emergency care, hospitalization, surgery, rehabilitation, and the future treatment your providers say you'll need.
Lost wages
Income you lost while recovering — and, where the injury affects your ability to work, diminished future earning capacity.
Pain and suffering
Compensation for physical pain, emotional distress, and the ways the injury has changed how you live day to day.
Property damage
Repair or replacement of your vehicle and other property damaged in the incident.
Out-of-pocket costs
Transportation to appointments, medical equipment, household help, and the other expenses an injury forces on you.
How we work
- 1
Free, no-pressure consultation
We listen first. We answer your questions. There is no fee for the initial conversation — and you decide whether to engage us at the end of it.
- 2
Investigation and evidence preservation
Police reports, scene photos, witness statements, vehicle data, surveillance video, medical records. The earlier we collect, the harder it is for the other side to reshape the story later.
- 3
Treatment, demand, and negotiation
We coordinate with your providers, document the full extent of damages — medical, lost income, pain — and present a demand backed by evidence. We push back firmly when an insurer lowballs.
- 4
Litigation when necessary
Most matters settle. When an insurer refuses to be reasonable, we file. Preparing every case as if it will be tried is what makes the settlement number move.
What to do right away
- Call 911 and request medical evaluation on scene.
- Photograph the truck — license plate, USDOT number, MC number, trailer markings.
- Get the trucking company's name, not just the driver's.
- Save any clothing or vehicle parts as evidence.
- Contact us before speaking with the trucking company's insurer or a 'rapid response' team.
The information on this website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.
Deadlines that matter
Most California personal-injury claims must be filed within two years of the injury (Code of Civil Procedure §335.1). Miss the window and the court will almost always dismiss the case, no matter how strong it is.
Claims against government entities are much shorter — generally a written claim within six months (Government Code §911.2). Crashes involving city vehicles, public buses, or dangerous public-road conditions can fall under this rule.
Exceptions exist in both directions — discovery rules, minors, continuing violations, out-of-state defendants — so don't assume your deadline has passed or that you have time to spare. Call (818) 539-7969 and we'll tell you exactly where you stand.