Legal Responsibility for Trucking Accidents: Learn Your Rights

If you’ve been involved in a trucking accident on the road, you may wonder who has legal responsibility for these types of accidents. Learn your rights when a truck and other vehicles get into a collision. Also, learn why it’s a good idea to find an experienced personal injury lawyer to help you with your case.

Trucking Accidents: Who Is Legally Responsible?

Determining who is legally responsible may become a complex issue when a truck and other vehicles collide. Possible people or businesses who could be liable in trucking accidents include any of the following:

  • The truck driver
  • The trucking company
  • The drivers of the other vehicles involved
  • The truck’s owner
  • The cargo’s owner
  • Whoever loaded the cargo
  • The truck’s manufacturer

Many trucking companies hire drivers who the companies consider to be independent contractors. The companies do this in an attempt to sidestep liability since they do not pay the drivers as employees. They aim to make it more difficult to attribute fault to the trucking companies, instead placing the blame on the “independent contractor” truck drivers. Drivers considered independent contractors by trucking companies must often purchase or already own semi tractor cabs. As a result, the driver may own the tractor cab, while a trucking company owns the trailer. An additional liability issue arises when the person driving the truck when an accident occurs is not the tractor cab’s owner or the trailer’s owner. Moreover, cargo owners and loaders or truck manufacturers could have some liability in a collision. For example, the cargo company could have loaded the truck incorrectly, causing its contents to fall off the truck and cause an accident. Or the manufacturer may have made a mistake in its truck design that led to an accident.

Trucking Accidents: Which Insurance Company Pays?

Because attributing liability in trucking accidents can become complicated, determining which insurance company should pay is often complicated. For example, the truck driver may be only partially at fault, while one of the other drivers and the cargo loader also share fault. In Oregon, drivers may receive damages as long as they are less than 50% at fault for an accident. However, insurance company settlement offers do not always reflect this method of apportioning fault. So, how much should each insurance company pay to a driver who was seriously injured in a trucking crash? A complicated collision like this is not easy to sort out.

Many drivers injured in trucking accidents seek legal representation for this very reason. A lawyer can navigate the legal apportionment system for fault and negligence in the state where your accident occurred (the system of apportioning fault varies by state). Moreover, a lawyer can handle the competing arguments of different insurance companies and parties involved. When liability and apportionment of fault are disputed, the case could involve prolonged settlement negotiations or even a court trial. A lawyer can develop legal arguments supporting entitlement to damages from the various parties involved and develop factual evidence using medical evaluation, accident reconstruction, or other methods. If a cargo loading error or manufacturing defect is at issue, then the lawyer can seek evidence regarding the loading or manufacturing process.

You have the right to hire a lawyer if you’ve been in a trucking accident. For the reasons listed above and more, it’s a good idea to get one. Many car accident victims are unfamiliar with the legal process for dealing with complex truck accident cases. They may get offered lowball settlements from trucking companies’ insurance, trying to make the cases go away. However, losses from a trucking accident can continue to mount as the years go by. Many drivers injured in trucking accidents have serious injuries that prevent them from working, reduce their wages, or require medical treatment for years to come. An insurance company’s initial settlement offer probably does not reflect the compensation you truly deserve if you were in a serious accident. With legal help, you can build a stronger case for receiving fair compensation for a trucking accident.

Need Advice about an Oregon or Washington Trucking Accident? Call the Kang Law Group

If you’ve been injured in an Oregon or Washington trucking accident involving other vehicles, you may have the right to pursue compensation from the insurance company or the other drivers who were involved. Our team of auto accident lawyers can help you evaluate your options and advise you on your rights. The Kang Law Group offers free consultations to people needing confidential legal advice. Our offices are located in Beaverton, Gresham, and Salem, OR, as well as Vancouver, WA. Contact us at (503) 646-3131 or message us online to learn more.