What Is Trucking Accidents Law?

Trucking accidents can be particularly traumatic since they involve commercial vehicles 20 to 30 times heavier than passenger cars. An auto accident with a semi-truck (also called an 18-wheeler or big rig) can leave you with serious injuries, extensive medical bills, and property damage.

Truck accident law provides accident victims a path to compensation for their injuries and expenses. Here is a brief overview of what you need to know about trucking accident lawsuits and getting legal help.

What Is Trucking Accidents Law?

Truck accident law is an area of personal injury law that covers car accidents involving commercial trucks. It determines questions of liability and compensation for truck accident victims.

Both state and federal laws regulate the commercial trucking industry. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is an agency under the U.S. Department of Transportation that enforces federal regulations, and states have their own trucking regulations and agencies.

What Are Common Causes of Truck Accidents?

Truck accidents can result from one or more factors working together, including:

• Excessive speed
• Truck driver fatigue
• Inattention or distractions
• Failure to check blind spots
• Misjudging braking distances
• Impairment due to alcohol or drug use
• Brake failure or other mechanical malfunctions
• Weather or road conditions causing poor visibility or slippery surfaces
• Improperly loaded cargo resulting in cargo shifts, causing the truck to lose stability
• Improper maintenance of tractor-trailer equipment resulting in rollovers or jackknifes

Trucking accident injuries can include broken bones, fractures, and traumatic brain injuries.

Determining liability in commercial accident cases can be somewhat more complex than other car accident cases. Liable parties can go beyond the truck driver and include the freight broker, the shipper, or the company the truck driver works for.

What To Do After a Truck Accident

The first priority after any auto accident is to ensure that everyone is safe and to seek immediate medical attention. You should call law enforcement and stay at the accident scene until officers arrive and you have exchanged information with the other parties.

If possible, gather evidence at the scene of the accident while it’s still available and untampered with. Photos and/or videos of the scene, witness statements, and police reports are all types of evidence that help determine how the accident occurred and establish liability. Later on, “You can also request an accident report from the FMCSA,” says Amy Bradley, a personal injury lawyer in Fairfax, Virginia, specializing in auto and trucking accident cases. “There’s actually a lot of information even available on the FMCSA’s website.”

How Do You Prove a Truck Accident Claim?

Depending on the facts of your case, various legal claims could be available. For example, if the accident was caused by truck equipment malfunctioning, you might argue product liability. In the worst cases, family members may file a wrongful death claim for their deceased loved one. However, in most cases, truck accident victims will bring a personal injury claim based on a theory of negligence.

In lawsuits against the truck driver, you will need to show four things to prove negligence:

1. Duty of care. The truck driver had a duty to operate the truck safely;
2. Breach of duty. The truck driver failed to operate the vehicle in a reasonably safe way;
3. Causation. The truck driver’s breach of duty directly caused your injuries;
4. Damages. You suffered harm, such as personal injuries or property damage.

To establish the duty of care, your lawyer will likely bring in expert witnesses to testify about the trucking industry’s professional standards. Their testimony can help you establish what a reasonably prudent trucker would have done in a similar situation to your accident—and that the truck driver did not act act in that reasonable way.

Who Is Liable in a Truck Accident Case?

“Determining liability in commercial accident cases can be somewhat more complex than other car accident cases,” says Bradley. “Liable parties can go beyond the truck driver and include the freight broker, the shipper, or the company the truck driver works for.”

Naming all potentially liable parties is a key step in your personal injury case and is one of the areas in which a motor vehicle accident lawyer can help you.

Establishing Vicarious Liability for Truck Driver Employers

Vicarious liability is a legal theory that holds an employer liable for their employee’s negligent actions. You may hear this legal theory called respondeat superior, Latin for “let the master answer.” It can hold an employer liable regardless of whether the employer was monitoring the employee.

To sue the employer under this theory, you must establish that the commercial truck driver was acting “within the scope” of their employment when the accident occurred. This usually requires showing that the trucking company employed the driver.

Standards for applying vicarious liability vary by state law, but most jurisdictions either use the benefits test or the characteristics test:

• The benefits test looks at whether the employer endorsed the employee’s actions or if the actions were of some benefit to the employer. If so, courts in these jurisdictions will apply vicarious liability.
• Using the characteristics test, courts will apply vicarious liability if the employee’s actions are common for the job and can fairly be deemed to be a characteristic of the job.

Proving that the driver is an employee of the trucking company is an important part of your truck accident claim because vicarious liability will not apply if the driver is not an employee. This is a fact-specific inquiry, but it primarily looks at the company’s level of control over the driver. No one fact will turn a worker into an employee, though companies usually exercise more control over employees than independent contractors.

Find the Right Attorney for Your Needs

You can be sure that the truck driver and trucking company will have truck accident lawyers and insurance companies working on their truck accident case. Those lawyers and insurance agents will conduct thorough investigations, sometimes even at the scene of the accident. You may want to consider hiring an experienced attorney to level the playing field. Your lawyer can help you get copies of the other side’s records and copies of your medical records to prove your damages.

An experienced truck accident lawyer will also be able to anticipate potential problems with your case and give legal advice on how to approach them. They will keep track of deadlines and file all the paperwork with the necessary courts and agencies, giving you one less thing to worry about.

Visit the Super Lawyers directory to find an attorney with experience in commercial trucking accident cases.

Truck Accident Attorney FAQs

Many personal injury lawyers provide free case evaluations to learn about your case. Below are some common questions you might want to consider when meeting with a trucking accident attorney for the first time.

How are attorney’s fees charged in a truck accident case?

Most personal injury attorneys charge on a contingency fee basis, meaning they are paid a percentage from the settlement or judgment awarded in your case, typically 25 to 40 percent. Contingency fees mean you don’t pay any upfront legal fees, letting you get the legal help your need. The attorney only gets paid if you settle or win the case. It’s important to discuss attorney’s fees with your lawyer upfront.

What kinds of damages can I recover in a truck accident lawsuit?

Plaintiffs in a truck accident lawsuit can potentially recover several types of compensation, including economic damages for costs such as medical expenses and property damage; non-economic damages for reasons such as pain and suffering or loss of enjoyment of life; and, in some cases of recklessness or gross negligence, punitive damages that aim to punish and deter the person from future conduct.

What is the statute of limitations for bringing a truck accident claim?

The statute of limitations or deadline for filing a truck accident claim varies by state and has exceptions for various circumstances. It’s critical to consult with an attorney soon after your accident or when you notice injuries to ensure that you file a claim within the time frame. If you miss the statute of limitations, you are barred from seeking compensation through a lawsuit.

How do I prove the truck driver was at fault for my injuries?

To prove fault in a truck accident, you’ll have to show that the truck driver, their employer, or another party (such as the truck manufacturer) was negligent. Various types of evidence are helpful to establish your case, including photos or videos of the scene of the accident, physical evidence from the accident, eyewitness testimony, truck driver or company records, and expert testimony.

Can I get compensation if I was partly at fault for the accident?

You may be able to receive compensation if you were partially at fault for the accident, depending on whether your state uses comparative negligence, modified comparative negligence, or contributory negligence to determine fault. A lawyer will know how your jurisdiction determines liability and its apportionment and how that will affect your ability to recover compensation.