Find Out Who Can Be Responsible in a Truck Accident Situation
Many factors are analyzed while deciding who is liable for the injuries sustained by victims in a truck accident. Establishing the liability of who will pay for the damages in a truck accident is challenging because it involves more than one party. Our expert truck accident lawyers can help you understand what happens when a truck driver has an accident and who you can sue for compensation after a work truck accident. Do truck drivers get fired for accidents? Find out who can be held responsible in a truck accident, and the consequences for the driver. Learn more about what happens when a truck driver has an accident. Don’t wait, get your free legal consultation today!
Who Can Be Liable in a Truck Accident?
Are truck drivers responsible for damages? Well, it depends on the circumstances of the case. In a company truck accident, the truck accident lawyers have to analyze who are the responsible parties.
The potential parties who can be liable to pay compensation to the injured party in a truck crash are;
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- Truck drivers: Truck drivers have a legal duty to maintain a logbook and a record of duty in which they note their work hours, sleeping time, and other activities to avoid liability in case of an accident. If the truck drivers fail to comply with any of the regulations and a truck accident happens due to their own negligence, they are liable.
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- Truck driver employers: The truck driver employers can also be liable for a truck accident if they do not comply with safety and maintenance laws provided for the trucking companies. Sometimes, the tracking companies temper with the driver’s logbooks and truck driver’s Records of Duty so the drivers can work some extra hours. These drivers end up having accidents due to sleep deprivation or fatigue.
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- Truck owners/trucking business: When the trucking companies lease out the truck to drivers who are also independent contractors, they are responsible to comply with the minimum working hours law and carry out proper maintenance of the trucks to avoid a truck accident. If they fail to comply, they are liable in the personal injury claim for compensation.
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- Trucking industry contractors: Many Independent contractors who are cargo companies lease trucks from trucking companies and fail to properly execute the safety of the cargo, and its spills over the road causing square truck accidents.
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- Automotive manufactures: The inherent effects on the trucks by the truck manufacturers is also one of the main cause of truck accidents on the road. If there is a manufacturing defect in the truck, the truck manufacturers are liable to pay compensation to the victims in case of a truck accident.
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- Government agencies and contractors: Sometimes, government agencies also make legislations that are detrimental to public safety. If a truck accident happens due to compliance with a legislative defect, government agencies and contractors can also be held liable to pay compensation.
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- Other parties: Any other third party who has a direct or indirect contribution in the occurrence of a truck accident is also added as a defendant who will pay compensation to the injured party in a personal injury claim.
How to Prove Liability in a Truck Accident?
To establish liability, the injured party must prove that the party at fault had a duty of care towards them and they failed to perform their duty. The trucking companies, drivers, independent contractors, and the general public must comply with traffic laws to ensure the safety of everybody on the road. To prove the liability of a party at fault, the truck accident lawyer has to analyze various documents. They can be police reports, driver’s logbook, driver’s Record of Duties, maintenance report of the vehicle, expert opinions, CCTV footage of the accident, statement of the eyewitnesses, internal policies and regulations of the trucking company, previous civil and criminal record of the truck driver, etc.
What Are the Recoverable Damages in a Truck Accident Case?
The recoverable damages in a truck accident can be;
- Medical expenses
- Financial losses such as damage to the vehicle, loss of wages due to temporary disability, loss of future financial prospects in cases of permanent disability, etc
- Compensation for mental agony and PTSD
- Loss of life
- Punitive damages for habitual offenders
- Any other damages that the court of law deems appropriate
Can a truck driver be fired for an accident? The punitive damages deal with this question. Often the court revokes the truck driver’s license for a certain time as a punishment for repeated offenses.
Insurance Company Problems Following a Truck Accident
Liability takes time to establish, and during that time, the insurance companies try to settle with compensation that is way below the fair compensation they owe to the injured party. As discussed before, many parties are involved in a truck accident in terms of liability, and there is a lot of evidence to be analyzed before establishing who will be responsible for paying the compensation. This is a time-consuming endeavor. The difference in rules and regulations observed in contracts between these various parties also complicates the matter. The best way to deal with this problem? — don’t accept right away what the insurance companies offer as compensation, and consult with a truck accident lawyer or a personal injury lawyer immediately so they can help you understand who is liable to pay compensation. Most truck accident victims come under the pressure of insurance companies to accept an unfair compensation amount because they have to meet medical expenses because of the injuries.
Bottom Line
Our truck accident lawyers at Royce Injury have extensive expertise to resolve liability complexities as soon as possible so that you can get the fair composition you deserve without any unnecessary delays. If you have suffered injuries in a truck accident, don’t waste your time with the insurance company or settle for less before consulting a truck accident attorney. Consult our Kansas City accident lawyer right now!
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