Primarily, trucks and semi-trucks are designed to haul massive loads. As such, they require a lot of driving experience and skills to ensure the safety of the load, the driver, and other road users.
Despite all the safety measures, truck accidents still occur. In fact, truck accidents are known to have significant damage and injuries to every party involved.
As such, it would help to get a truck accident lawyer before filing a truck accident claim seeking compensation for injuries and damages you sustained. A truck accident lawyer helps you file the correct claim, collect evidence in the correct manner, and argue (represent you) your case in court.
Inherently, you need to establish liability before you file a truck accident claim. Establishing blame in a truck accident claim is more challenging compared to a medical malpractice claim. This article will discuss some of the parties who bear the blame in most truck accident lawsuits.
Truck Drivers
Primarily, most truck accident claims often point the blame finger to the truck driver. It is indeed true that the truck driver should be on a high alert than any other motorists, considering the size of the vehicle they are driving.
However, most truck drivers find themselves on the receiving end of the law due to gross traffic negligence or misbehaving. Some of the major causes of truck accidents where the truck driver is to blame include:
- Reckless Driving
Many truck drivers who cause truck accidents exhibit unbecoming behaviors on the road, such as cutting-off other cars, overlapping, running traffic lights, and disregarding other vehicles on the road.
- Over Speeding
It would help a truck driver to understand that an 18-wheeler is not as agile as a sedan car.
Driving a loaded truck at an extremely high speed puts the truck driver and other motorists at significant risk in case the truck runs out of control. The faster the truck moves, the harder it is for the truck driver to control it.
- Driving Under the Influence
The law prohibits any form of driving while the driver is under the influence of an intoxicant, such as alcohol.
In general, intoxicants impair the driver’s judgment and lead to irrational decision-making, which may have catastrophic repercussions.
It would be best to contact a truck accident lawyer Michigan if you intend to file a truck accident claim. Your attorney will help you establish the truck driver’s fault and increase your chances of receiving monetary compensation.
The Loading Company
Loading a truck calls for precision and accuracy to balance the load and distribute the weight evenly across the truck’s chassis.
For example, steel coils must be loaded properly to prevent rolling during transportation. The loading company will be at fault when steel coils rolls and causes damage to the truck or other vehicles on the road.
The Service Center
Trucks require regular maintenance and repairs. Intrinsically, the truck’s brake system needs to be at optimal working conditions every time. Any mechanic’s negligence exposes the truck to significant accident-causing risks.
Therefore, the trucking company can sue the mechanic or the service station if the truck accident was caused by the mechanic’s negligence during repair and maintenance.
The Trucking Company
Most truck drivers are hired directly by a trucking company to transport cargo on a contract basis. As such, the employer bears responsibility for any damage and injuries that the driver may cause.
Essentially, the trucking company requires the driver to be operating within the scope of his work when the accident occurs. Nevertheless, it would be best if your truck accident lawyer did some digging to establish the nature of the working contract that is binding the driver and the trucking company.
Furthermore, your attorney may unveil some additional malpractices that directly or indirectly caused the truck accident such as inadequate testing—leaving a room for drivers to use intoxicants when on the road.
Conclusion
You can sustain life-threatening injuries from a truck accident. Hence, it would be best to have an experienced truck accident attorney file the compensatory claim on your behalf as you focus on getting better.
