Who can be held liable for a truck accident?
Multiple parties — not just the truck driver — may be liable for injuries suffered in a truck accident. If you have been hurt in a collision with a large commercial vehicle, then all of the parties that might be responsible should be identified and then notified of your injuries.
People who have been injured in trucking accidents may be entitled to compensation from truck drivers, trucking companies, insurance companies, employers of independent contractors and manufacturers of hazardous materials transported in large trucks. When making an injury claim against any of these parties, it is important to show that they breached their duty of reasonable care to prevent your injuries. Every driver is legally obliged to exercise reasonable care to avoid injuring other motorists.
For good reason, truck drivers and trucking companies have to comply with high safety standards. The immense payloads carried by large commercial vehicles pose an inherent risk of injury, and the trucking industry is subject to strict regulations. However, failure to comply with regulations results in thousands of accidents each year, and the occupants of passenger vehicles are often left with life-altering injuries.
Because the actions of a number of parties may have contributed to the crash, truck accident investigations tend to be complicated. For example, a person may have suffered injuries because of truck driver fatigue and because of the hazardous chemicals carried in the truck. The truck driver, the trucking company and the chemical manufacturer could be held liable for damages.
It is important, then, that your injury claim takes into account all of the potentially liable parties, as well as the long- and short-term costs of your injury. A lawyer with experience in handling truck accident cases can gather the evidence needed to prove liability.
Our personal injury website has more on truck accident claims in Louisiana.
Source: FindLaw.com, “Truck Accident Overview,” 2014
Tags: liability, personal injury, Truck accident, truck driver fatigue
