When someone has been involved in a truck accident, they are suddenly faced with the realization that they don’t know what to do and that they have immediate needs, such as figuring out how they will pay their bills if they are unable to work.
Industry Safety Standards Exist
The trucking industry is regulated by federal and state law because the highways are connected to different states. For example, there is a 14 hour daily driving limit that truck drivers are not allowed to exceed in a 24-hour period.
Only A Personal Injury Attorney Has Your Back
Truck accident lawyer Timothy J. Ryan reminds victims of truck accidents to be wary of what they say and who they talk to after a truck accident. Immediately following your truck accident, the insurance company that has sold a policy to the trucking company will reach out to you to get a statement. More specifically, they will try to get you to say something that could harm your case.
The average person might not understand the insurance company’s wording when asking questions and may not know what type of wording to use when responding. The agents of the insurance company know this, and that is why they do it.
They are tasked with serving their employer by minimizing how much they pay in settlements. They may also be concerned with the reputation of the trucking company, which certainly would not want the public to know about an accident one of their workers caused that led to someone being injured.
Determining Fault
Determining fault in a commercial truck accident will depend on the specifics of your case and many other factors. Your personal injury attorney will conduct a thorough investigation to find out who caused your accident. There are a number of parties that could be legally responsible for an accident.
The Trucking Company
The trucking company can be held liable for myriad reasons, from not conducting a proper background check on a driver before offering them employment to encouraging drivers to make unsafe decisions such as driving longer hours to make faster deliveries.
Trucking companies do not want to upset their clients, which may be other major corporations. They may not see what the big deal is in telling a truck driver to spend more hours behind the wheel than they should in order to reach a destination faster.
The Truck Driver
If it is discovered that the truck driver was negligent in their duty to operate a vehicle safely, then they may be financially liable for your injuries.
The Truck Manufacturer
Sometimes trucks are manufactured properly according to the design specifications, but if the design specifications are faulty, that could lead to a dangerous situation.
Let’s say that the truck was properly designed, but when it went through the assembly line, there was a breach in how it was assembled. In this case, the design is not faulty, but the manufacturing process was.
So whether the accident was caused by faulty design or faulty manufacturing, the company will be held liable for this gross negligence
