Trucking Accidents
by Vaughan de Kirby,
Personal Injury Lawyer
Because of the
disproportionate size of the truck the basic laws of physics
dictate that any collision between a commercial truck and
another vehicle can have tragic often fatal consequences.
While the trucking industry argues that truck drivers are more
careful on the road than automobile drivers, thousands of
Americans suffer injuries every year directly attributable to
truck driver negligence. The numbers of severe and
fatal large truck crashes have declined, however commercial
truck accidents accounted for 5350 fatalities and 133,000
injuries in 2001.
The danger of commercial
truck accidents can be dramatically affected by the cargo
carried. All too often hazardous or flammable materials are
onboard increasing the danger to the accident victims. Serious
injuries in the form of burns and respiratory injuries can be
the tragic result.
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If you or a family member is involved in a truck accident,
you may have the right to recover money damages for your
injuries. In this article we will discuss some of the
considerations you should keep in mind. I will review some of
the actions you may need to take to protect your legal rights.
By being prepared you will be empowered with the knowledge to
protect your rights and better assist your attorney in
obtaining a just money recovery for your damages.
In California we determine fault and the obligation to pay
damages based on the law of negligence. Simply stated a person
or in this case the commercial truck and its driver will be
found negligent if they failed to exercise reasonable care
under the circumstances, and your injuries are a direct result
of that negligence.
California negligence law requires you to show that the driver
and the owner of the truck owed you the duty to exercise a
reasonable care to avoid injury under the circumstances of
your particular facts. The law virtually always places this
duty upon the trucking company and its drivers. They are
required by law to drive with reasonable care to avoid
injuring other drivers, passengers or pedestrians on the road.
If they failed to drive reasonably your attorney will say they
“breached their duty of reasonable care and this breach was
the proximate cause of your injury.
Once you and your attorney have determined that the truck
driver and or owner have been negligent you must then
determine who you are going to look to recover from for your
losses. You and your attorney will want to decide on as many
potential responsible parties as possible. This is one very
important job your attorney will do on your behalf, because
this can be a crucial factor in actually being compensated for
your injuries. The truck driver may be the bad actor or
negligent driver, but his employer can be held responsible for
this negligence.
The drivers trucking company, contractors, employers, and
insurance companies may be forced to pay you for your
injuries.
In identifying potential defendants your attorney will first
work to show that the commercial truck driver is an employee
of the trucking or shipping company. If your attorney can
show, that the driver is indeed an employee, then this truck
driver employee’s company can be held legally liable for the
truck driver's negligence. Your attorney will need to present
evidence that the trucking company had some amount of control
over the driver, and that the accident occurred while the
driver was acting in the course and scope of the employment
relationship with this trucking or shipping company.
In an attempt to avoid liability many shipping and trucking
companies try to establish that the driver is an independent
contractor and they are therefore not responsible for the
driver’s negligence. Independent contract law is a whole legal
study in itself. But, it generally boils down to the question
of “control.” How much control did the company have over this
driver? Was this drivers work an integral part of the
companies business? The answers to these questions are
generally a matter of degree. Your attorney will analyze this
issue in detail and do everything they can to establish an
employment relationship. If an employment relationship is
established the company or its insurance company may be liable
to pay you a money recovery for your injuries.
We have seen truly unique cases, where a manufacturer or a
company shipping hazardous materials carried by the truck, may
also be legally responsible for any injuries caused by the
hazardous cargo. The shipper’s liability can be for the
hazardous nature of the cargo or their failure to inform the
driver. Other legal traffic safety or interstate transport
violations can also play a factor in the court placing
liability on the shipper.
If you or a family member are involved in an accident where
you believe commercial truck driver was at fault, you may be
entitled recover money compensation for your damages. These
money damages will be for your serious physical injuries,
emotional injuries and financial losses. This can be a very
complicated area of the law, because it is very difficult to
place a dollar amount on injuries that include death,
paralysis, disfigurement, emotional distress, pain and
suffering, costs of medical treatment, lost income, and loss
of earning capacity. The law cannot take back or reverse these
injuries; all it can do is attempt to compensate the victim
and family for the losses suffered. This compensation also
acts as a deterrent to the gross negligence of some truck
drivers. Perhaps your recovery will help you and your family,
but it will also send a message to the trucking industry that
negligently endangering other drivers will not be tolerated.
Your truck accident attorney will help you recognize the
unique dangers posed by commercial trucks on the nations
highways. These unique dangers are not seen in ordinary
traffic accidents but are unique to trucking accidents. A
tragic example is jackknifing which occurs when a big-rig
vehicle, during sudden braking and turning, actually bends in
half due to its size and configuration. The fact that a truck
jackknifes by itself is not proof that the driver was
negligent, because the jackknifing may have been caused by
factors beyond the drivers control such as road conditions or
the negligence of other drivers.
We frequently see accidents that occur when a truck driver
makes a turn. Commercial vehicles are long and can be
difficult to turn. We have all seen the eighteen wheeler use
two or more lanes to make a turn. It is not always clear, but
many courts have found drivers liable for accidents that occur
because they used more than one lane in their driving.
It is always important to remember that your own driving can
play a factor in determining negligence. However, under
California law, even if you are partially at fault, you still
can recover money damages for that portion of the negligence
that belongs to the truck driver. Liability is apportioned by
the court depending on the unique factors of your case. This
is an analysis that should only be made by an experienced
truck accident attorney. There is no formula for arriving at a
precise number for a person's comparative negligence.
At this point you are probably asking yourself what you should
do now. This is a difficult time in your life, but none the
less one that requires action. That action is best taken by an
experienced truck accident attorney. A truck accident attorney
with the Law Offices of Vaughan de Kirby will provide you with
a Truck Accident Analysis™ at no cost or obligation. Learning
your rights is the first step to protecting those rights and
the rights of your family. Take action today and contact the
Law Offices of Vaughan de Kirby today and arrange for your
Truck Accident Analysis™ with an experienced truck accident
attorney. Call toll free 888-de Kirby (888)-335-4729 and have
the piece of mind that your rights are going to be protected.
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