Posted in Aggressive Driving,Distracted Driving,Personal Injury,Truck Wreck on November 25, 2014
Who is Responsible for Truck Accidents?
At Matt Hardin Law, our top priority when presented with a truck accident claim is to determine who is responsible for the victim’s accident-related expenses, such as medical bills and lost wages.
Unlike car accidents where responsibility due to negligence is often clear-cut and easily determined, responsibility in truck accident cases is much more difficult to ascertain because it can be split among several different parties. That’s why it’s so important for truck accident victims to get an experienced Lebanon truck accident attorney to investigate all of the details of their case and determine the level of responsibility of each party involved.
5 Parties Who Can Be Held Liable
Five of the most common parties that can be held responsible for the damages caused by truck accidents include:
Like drivers in car accident cases, truck drivers can often be held responsible for causing injuries in victims who share the roadway. Negligence in truck drivers can be due to behaviors like speeding, driving recklessly, running stop signs or stop lights, following too closely, driving while intoxicated, and driving while fatigued.
Trucking companies are ultimately responsible for everything about the trucks they use to transport goods and the truck drivers they employ. Trucking companies can be considered negligent if they knowingly use poorly maintained trucks or don’t thoroughly inspect trucks, if they overschedule drivers and force them to drive beyond their limits, or if they load trucks beyond capacity.
Truck manufacturers are required to ensure that the trucks they produce use safe components that aren’t prone to failure. Manufacturing and selling trucks with faulty steering columns, brakes, transmissions, lights, and other critical components necessary for safe operation can lead to serious accidents and negligence on the part of the truck manufacturer.
Truck owners can range from truck drivers and trucking companies to rental agencies and truck brokers. These entities are responsible for making sure their trucks are road-worthy and well maintained for any commercial purpose, including the hauling of large amounts of goods. If a truck isn’t in acceptable condition for commercial purposes and is involved in a serious accident, the truck owner can be held liable for victims’ damages.
Trucks often change hands several times in the course of a single job, and they may be left at a warehouse where they are loaded over the course of hours or several days. It’s up to the supervisors and workers tasked with loading the truck to make sure the truck is loaded evenly and that the cargo doesn’t exceed the weight limit of the truck. If the truck’s trailer is improperly loaded, it can cause the truck to be difficult or impossible to steer, brake, and turn without causing a serious accident.
The Lebanon truck accident lawyers at Matt Hardin Law know that proving responsibility in truck accidents is rarely straightforward. But with our years of experience in handling cases like these, we can break down the evidence to determine the level of negligence and liability of each party involved in causing the accident.
If you were injured in a truck accident that wasn’t your fault, get in touch with our Lebanon truck accident attorneys today. We’re ready to fight for your rights—just dial (615) 200-1111 or complete our free online form.
