In our experience, most truck accidents are caused by negligent truckers. Some truckers are so tired they fall asleep while the truck is in motion, while other long haulers are distracted by cell phones so they don’t see the vehicles in front of them. Still other truckers take dangerous actions behind the wheel, possibly because of drug or alcohol use. These are the main reasons that people get involved in collisions.
However, the defendant on the other side of an injury case is probably the trucking company who employs the trucker and owns the truck. There are some simple reasons why a trucking company is probably liable for your collision. Our Cedar Falls truck accident lawyer explains more in this post. Call Ball, Kirk & Holm, P.C. to schedule a consultation with a member of our team. We are always available 24/7 for our clients.
4 Reasons a Trucking Company Could Be Liable for Your Accident
Reasons #1: Respondeat Superior Liability
Respondeat superior is a Latin phrase meaning “let the master answer.” In Iowa, an employer is automatically liable for an accident when their employee hurts someone while working.
The rule makes sense. Suppose a delivery driver strikes you while out delivering packages. The driver is earning his employer money, so the employer should be responsible when its driver carelessly crashes into a pedestrian or motor vehicle.
Employers also have deeper pockets. They can pay a settlement which makes an injured victim whole. Most trucking companies should have sizable business liability policies which cover these accidents.
If you are struck by a truck driver, then you can probably sue the employer under a respondeat superior liability theory. Call Ball, Kirk & Holm, PC so we can investigate.
Reason #2: Negligent Hiring
A trucking company must use reasonable care when hiring its truckers. It’s foreseeable that a dangerous trucker could get into a crash, so trucking companies should pull up the trucker’s driving history and check with previous employers.
They should also ensure a trucker is healthy enough to get behind the wheel. Imagine a 40 ton truck racing across Iowa, only for the trucker to have a heart attack. To avoid this situation, the federal government requires that truckers pass a physical exam.
Unfortunately, the trucking industry is facing a shortage of drivers. Some companies grab anyone they can find, even people with horrible driving records or not much experience. They might also hire older drivers in terrible health.
A trucking company that cuts corners is probably liable when their dangerous trucker gets into an accident. However, don’t expect a trucking company to fess up that they failed to perform a thorough background check. Your attorney will need to request documents and employment records.
Reason #3: Negligent Supervision of Truckers
A trucking company also can’t turn a blind eye to job performance after they hire a trucker. The trucking company should:
- Comply with federal regulations regarding drug testing, including random testing.
- Suspend truckers who fail a drug test and require that a trucker follow a return to duty process.
- Offer additional training to truckers who are inexperienced.
- Avoid having truckers drive vehicles which they are not licensed to drive.
- Penalize truckers who fail to perform necessary pre-trip inspections and possibly suspend the trucker.
- Address any problem with job performance in a meaningful and timely manner.
Sadly, many trucking companies do not supervise their staff. They might be understaffed as it is. Other companies are not interested in doing anything that might result in a trucker being pulled from the road.
Call our firm. We can investigate whether the trucking company has properly supervised the trucker involved in your crash. We might find a history of negative performance evaluations but no attempt to offer additional training or support. That type of negligence is unacceptable—and can open a trucking company to liability for a wreck.
Reason #4: Failing to Maintain a Safe Fleet of Trucks
The trucking company undoubtedly owns the truck, so the company must ensure the vehicle is safe to drive. At a minimum, a trucking company should have their vehicles regularly inspected. They must also have a truck inspected if a trucker reports a problem.
Unfortunately, repairs are expensive. Some trucking companies are putting dangerous vehicles out on the road. The results are predictable. Dangerous trucks with faulty or worn-out parts end up failing to operate properly and crash into unsuspecting motorists and pedestrians.
Some common problems include:
- Worn out tires which explode;
- Brakes which fail;
- Rusted parts which break;
- Steering problems which make a truck impossible to control.
It’s entirely predictable that a malfunctioning truck will crash and hurt someone. That’s the fault of the trucking company for not spending money to service their vehicles. It doesn’t matter how expensive it is to buy parts or even a new truck. A trucking company can’t cut corners and endanger the public. They should pay compensation even if their driver was careful.
We sometimes inspect the vehicles involved after a crash to see if we can find a defect. At a minimum, we will probably request electronic data from the truck, if it exists. This data can tell us how long the truck was in motion and other critical info. By studying it, we might glean that something was wrong with the truck’s component parts and why it malfunctioned.
Call Ball, Kirk & Holm, P.C. Today for a Free Consultation
Trucking accidents are some of the worst we deal with at our firm. The consequences are traumatic, with many victims facing some of the worst injuries. Victims need help.
With offices in Iowa City and Waterloo, we can come out to meet anyone hurt in a truck accident, if the circumstances warrant. We want to hear what happened and how the accident unfolded. In most cases, a trucking company bears ultimately liability for the crash, for one of the reasons mentioned above. We can open settlement negotiations and fight for fair compensation.
Give us a call. You can schedule a consultation with one of our Cedar Falls truck accident lawyers.