Liability in truck accidents involves many complexities and requires comprehensive investigation, quick evidence collection and preservation, and consultation with industry experts to pinpoint who is liable for a truck accident. Multiple liability is commonplace, involving communications and negotiations with multiple insurance companies before receiving a settlement. Truck collision claims can quickly overwhelm injured parties who should and need to focus on their medical treatment and recovery.
If you or a loved one suffered injuries in a truck accident, you need an experienced truck accident attorney to represent your claim and potential litigation. Schedule a free consultation to discuss your legal options to secure a fair settlement for your injuries and compensatory damages.
Who Is Liable for a Truck Accident?
Determining who is liable for a truck accident involves identifying the exact cause of the collision. A truck accident attorney thoroughly investigates the cause by visiting and documenting the accident scene and examining the truck for mechanical failures or defects. It is important to promptly gather evidence from the truck accident, as this aids in establishing liability. After analyzing the evidence, attorneys can pinpoint all liable parties and ensure each one is held accountable for your accident and the resulting injuries. Negligence can arise at various levels concerning truck accident liability, from the driver to the trucking and truck maintenance companies.
Truck Drivers
Truck drivers have a reasonable duty of care to drive safely and avoid harming others, including motorists, pedestrians, and bicyclists. When a trucker’s actions fall below this standard and result in a collision, injuries, wrongful death, or property damages, they may be liable. Common examples of truck driver negligence are as follows:
- Distracted Driving: Distracted driving is the number one cause of truck driver negligence, and cell phone use is significant. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s driver distraction studies demonstrate that truckers who dial a phone are six times more likely to cause a collision. When texting and driving, they become 23 times more likely to cause an accident.
- Impaired Driving: Driver impairment is another considerable cause of truck accidents. Impairment can mean drunk driving or driving while under the influence of cannabis or illicit, prescription, and certain over-the-counter drugs. Driving while fatigued also constitutes impairment.
- Failure to Follow Traffic Laws: Failing to adhere to traffic laws when operating a commercial truck is standard driver negligence. Truckers who speed or drive too fast for road conditions, tailgate, make unsafe lane changes, and fail to check blind spots are liable for truck accidents.
Truck drivers must adhere to strict federal trucking regulations regarding the number of hours per day and week they can operate their tractor-trailers and big rigs. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration enforces Hours of Service (HOS) regulations to prevent drivers from operating while drowsy or fatigued, which can result in serious truck accidents. Truckers who breach their HOS may be held liable for a truck accident.
Trucking Companies
Trucking companies are responsible for thoroughly vetting their employees to ensure they are licensed, safe, trained, and responsible drivers. They are also liable for inspecting and maintaining their trucks to ensure their safety on the road with other motorists and pedestrians. Failing to do so makes them liable for a truck accident. Trucking companies may be liable in the following ways:
- Failing to perform comprehensive background checks
- Inadequate truck driver training
- Inadequate supervision of drivers
- Pressuring truckers to violate safety regulations, such as HOS
- Failing to have trucks inspected
- Failing to maintain trucks after inspections
Whether the trucking company’s direct negligence caused the collision or not, it may still be liable under vicarious liability laws. Vicarious or imputed liability derives from the respondeat superior legal doctrine, which holds an employer responsible when an employee acts negligently within the scope of their employment. Often, truck accident liability involves filing claims against the trucking company’s insurance provider.
Truck and Parts Manufacturers
The manufacturer could be liable if a defect in the truck’s design or manufacturing contributed to the truck accident. For example, the Large Truck Crash Causation Study examined what causes truck accidents and determined that vehicle issues cause 10 percent of collisions. Of that, 29 percent are caused by vehicle brake problems, and 6 percent involve tire problems. In these cases, an experienced truck accident attorney may pursue compensation for injuries and damages from the manufacturing company.
Cargo Loading Companies
Trucking companies commonly collaborate with third-party cargo-loading companies to load their commercial trucks. Cargo loading companies must also comply with strict regulations and trucking industry standards for loading and securing cargo. They can be held liable for any accidents if they violate these regulations. Examples of cargo loading negligence include the following:
- Overloading and exceeding legal weight limits
- Uneven weight distribution
- Improper tie-downs
- Improper blocking and bracing
- Failing to package cargo properly
- Providing insufficient instructions or labels
- Obstructing the truck driver’s view
Cargo-loading companies may also be vicariously liable for their employee’s negligence. Improper cargo loading can lead to cargo shifts, often resulting in rollover accidents. A cargo loading company may also be negligent for failing to conduct drug and alcohol testing when an employee’s impairment contributed to their negligence and subsequent truck accident.
Truck Maintenance Companies
Truck maintenance companies have a reasonable duty of care to ensure vehicles are safe and roadworthy before approving their use. Failure to maintain or inspect trucks properly can lead to preventable issues, such as mechanical failures that cause collisions. Failing to repair or replace faulty parts, like tires, brakes, and other vital components, also makes a truck maintenance company liable.
Government Entities
Government entities may be liable for a truck accident if their negligence, such as regarding road design or maintenance, causes the collision. They are responsible for keeping roadways safe from dangerous debris and hazardous conditions. Poorly maintained and poorly designed road negligence that makes government entities liable for truck accidents include:
- Large potholes and cracks in the pavement
- Missing or broken road signage
- Malfunctioning traffic lights
- Faded road markings
- Drainage issues resulting in standing water
- Insufficient lighting
- Narrow lanes and blind curbs
- Inadequate overpasses
- No shoulders or eroded road shoulder
- Missing or insufficient median barriers
- Missing railings
- Inadequate pedestrian crossings
- Short exit ramps
Government entities may also be liable when a government vehicle contributes to the collision. Due to the complexity of liability concerning government entities, injured parties should seek legal counsel from an experienced truck accident lawyer. Don’t delay scheduling a free consultation to explore your legal options for recovering compensation for your injuries and damages, such as medical bills and lost income. These cases often involve shorter statutes of limitations.
Third-Party Motorists
Third-party motorists or other drivers on the road can be held liable for truck accidents. They may be directly responsible or trigger a chain of events. Examples of direct negligence include running red lights, failing to yield the right-of-way and tailgating. Sometimes, a motorist can initiate a sequence of events that results in a truck accident and be held liable, such as cutting off the truck driver. An attorney will investigate and gather witness statements to confirm third-party motorist liability when they cause a truck accident.
Proving Liability in a Truck Accident
Proving liability in a truck accident can be complex, especially if multiple liable parties are involved. In these instances, insurers often shift blame to each other to minimize their company’s losses. A truck accident lawyer may work with accident reconstruction specialists to recreate the sequence of events leading up to the collision. They visit the accident scene and examine all evidence using scientific principles to determine pertinent information, such as the speed and angle of impact.
Accident reconstruction uses computer simulations, 3D models, and compelling diagrams to demonstrate negligence, making it more challenging for insurance companies to play the blame game. Evidence an attorney may gather to help establish negligence and prove liability includes the following:
- Reports and Statements: A police or accident report may contain relevant details regarding liability. A lawyer will obtain a copy and gather witness statements that corroborate your accounting and the physical evidence at the scene.
- Visual Evidence: Photographic and video documentation of the accident scene and injuries is compelling evidence of negligence and severity. Photos showing the vehicle’s position, skid marks, road conditions, and damage may be vital in proving liability. When applicable, a truck accident attorney quickly gathers video surveillance from traffic cams, dashcams, and security cameras at surrounding businesses or residences.
- Truck Evidence: Truck evidence is essential for establishing negligence. Most commercial trucks have an event data recorder (EDR) that captures critical details, such as the vehicle’s speed and braking patterns. Truck dispatch records, inspection logs, maintenance documents, and freight or cargo manifests may also be gathered when applicable. GPS data can also be valuable.
- Driver Evidence: Depending on the nature of the collision, a truck accident lawyer may gather HOS driver logs, driver employment records, toxicology reports, and cell phone records during the crash.
Proving liability in a truck accident requires strong evidence that clearly demonstrates another person’s negligence. Most truck accident attorneys collaborate with relevant experts to strengthen the evidence in the case. For example, they may consult healthcare professionals to ensure that accurate medical records contain the necessary details to establish injuries or disability.
Potential Recoverable Damages in a Truck Accident Case
Due to the considerable size and weight differences between 18-wheelers and standard vehicles, truck accidents frequently result in severe injuries and extensive damage. Having an experienced truck accident attorney review and determine the value of the damages in your case is beneficial for maximizing compensation. A lawyer will evaluate the economic and intangible losses incurred from the collision, such as the following:
- Healthcare Costs: All injury-related medical expenses are recoverable in a truck accident claim or lawsuit. These often involve ambulance and emergency medical services, hospital stays, and surgeries. Primary care evaluations, follow-ups, rehabilitation services, medical devices, and prescription medications are also valid.
- Long-Term Medical Care: When injuries cause permanent impairment or disability, compensation for projected long-term healthcare and associated expenses may be considered. Typically, a life care planner from your attorney’s professional network and treating medical providers determine these damages.
- Property Damages: Vehicle expenses are included in the property damages you may recover after a truck accident. These encompass repairs, replacements, and modifications necessary for accommodating disabilities. Other property damages involve destruction to homes, businesses, fences, mailboxes, and landscaping. Personal property, such as cell phones and jewelry, can be reimbursed.
- Professional Damages: Your professional damages account for the income losses your injuries cause from missing work. These usually involve lost income but can also include lost overtime, bonuses, and benefits like healthcare and retirement.
- Household Services: When injuries require assistance with basic needs such as eating, dressing, bathing, cleaning, cooking, and laundry, the costs of household services can be recovered. These services may include errands like grocery shopping, banking, and managing finances.
- Pain and Suffering: Your pain and suffering are an intangible loss that encompasses physical pain, mental anguish, and other symptoms of injury. Depending on the severity of injuries, pain and suffering can involve sleep disturbances, anxiety, fear, frustration, depression, and anger. Diagnosed post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) that is appropriately documented may be compensated for following a truck accident.
This is not an exhaustive list of damages. If you are uncertain about whether something counts, ask your attorney. They may advise you on expenditures and intangible damages you wouldn’t otherwise know to file for to receive maximum compensation. Keep receipts, invoices, and bills that show your economic losses, and journal your pain and suffering. A detailed pain journal goes a long way in establishing the severity of these damages.
Consult an Experienced Truck Accident Lawyer Today
Liability in a truck accident is complex and can involve multiple parties, which adds to the challenge of securing fair compensation for injuries and damages. You need a trusted truck accident lawyer to navigate these complexities, investigate your case, assess your damages, and negotiate with insurance companies on your behalf. Schedule a free consultation to get started on your case today.