Who is liable for a truck accident? Victims of a truck accident must use evidence and additional resources to determine liability, which could include the driver, the trucking company employing the driver, third parties such as cargo companies, and even the vehicle manufacturer in some situations.
Speak with an Arlington truck accident lawyer about your case today.
Common Causes of a Truck Accident
One of the first steps in this process is to understand the underlying cause of the accident. Once your truck accident attorney fully understands the cause of the accident, it is then possible to evaluate the negligence of each involved party. Some of the most common causes of truck accidents include:
- Distracted driving due to navigational device use, smartphone use, watching podcasts, or eating behind the wheel
- Impairment due to drug, alcohol, or prescription medication use (call an Arlington drunk driver car accident lawyer)
- Fatigue due to long hours worked
- Truck mechanical failures and breakdowns
- Cargo loading accidents
- Defective truck design
- Unsafe road conditions, weather, or poor lighting
Gathering this information from police reports, commercial truck logs, and witnesses can help your lawyer to better understand all factors that contributed to the accident. Using that information, it is then possible to build a strong case to address all parties that could be held responsible.
This is just one of the first steps your attorney will take to start building your case and determining who is liable for a truck accident.
How to Prove Liability in a Truck Accident
After learning the cause, your lawyer must then analyze the level of fault and negligence for each party identified. Ultimately, it is critical to prove the at-fault party is responsible by demonstrating all components of negligence. This includes:
- Duty of care: Establishment of duty of care is often direct in a truck accident case. The driver behind the wheel of a vehicle on the roadway owes every other driver on the road the right to safe passage.
- Breach of duty of care: It is then necessary to prove that the party did something to breach that duty of care, such as speeding, not maintaining the vehicle, or violations of cargo loading requirements and regulations.
- Causation: The third step is to show that the specific breach is what directly caused the accident to occur. For example, the driver speeding is what directly led to the accident.
- Loss: The victim must have substantial losses, such as financial and physical losses from the accident.
In each situation, your lawyer will consider all factors related to the accident and the evidence to back up any claims. It is essential to have a solid understanding of these details since they can directly play a role in the outcome of your claim, including who is liable for a truck accident and the extent to which they should pay for your losses. The experience of a truck accident lawyer can make an incredible difference in these situations.
Potential Parties that Could be Liable for Your Accident Injuries and Losses
Truck accident details can make it clear that you have the right to seek compensation from multiple parties. As a victim of such accidents, you can expect your car accident lawyers to explore all potential avenues for maximizing your compensation recovery. Some examples of this include:
- Truck driver: The truck driver is often a common party associated with liability. They are often responsible in situations where the driver is operating the vehicle recklessly, such as speeding or running a red light. Other driver-specific liability may include impairment, fatigue, or driving in unsafe conditions.
- Truck companies: The truck company that employs the truck driver may be responsible for that driver’s actions, as well as maintaining all rules and regulations put in place through the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration related to driver hours of service, vehicle maintenance, and licensed drivers. If the truck company knew the driver was a high risk and allowed that driver to operate a vehicle, they could be held responsible for the losses incurred.
- Cargo loading companies: Many companies use a third-party organization to load and secure cargo onto trailers, and these parties must follow very specific rules to ensure that cargo does not shift. If a shift in cargo causes the accident, this company could be held responsible.
- Maintenance companies: If maintenance technicians fail to maintain the vehicle or make mistakes when handling repairs, and that specifically causes the accident and losses you have, those maintenance technicians could be held responsible.
- Truck manufacturers: In situations where numerous people have suffered serious injuries from the same type of accident, it may be helpful to investigate whether a large-scale incident caused the accident due to a defective part or a poor design. Evidence of other parties suffering similar accident outcomes could help to establish this.
- Cities: In some situations, a city that fails to maintain safe road conditions could be held accountable for the injuries and losses resulting. For example, if a truck overturns due to unrepaired potholes causing an accident or there is poor lighting on a roadway that causes the accident, the city may hold some level of liability in the accident.
These examples of potential parties of who is liable for a truck accident are just that – examples and do not always apply in every situation. This is why it is critical for victims to seek the guidance of an experienced lawyer who can help recover fair compensation in these accidents, no matter who may be responsible for them.
By seeking a full investigation through the help of an experienced truck accident lawyer, it becomes possible to recover full and fair compensation for the losses you have incurred from anyone who should be held accountable. Review our FAQs to learn more.
Seeking Additional Legal Support is Critical
Do not assume that a police report stating a single party is responsible for an accident is the entire view of who could be responsible. Instead, seek out the guidance of an Arlington truck accident lawyer from The Texas Law Dog who can work to pursue additional parties, increasing the opportunity for recovery of fair damages.
Liability in a truck accident is not always a simple process when asking who is liable for a truck accident.
