Category: Commercial Vehicle Accidents

When determining liability in truck accidents resulting in injuries or fatalities, several factors come at play, such as the existence of negligence. Considering these factors, there are instances when the driver’s employer—the trucking company—is partially or independently responsible.

Violation of the trucking guidelines

One of the apparent ways a truck company can be liable for truck accident injuries is by violating, intentionally or not, trucking guidelines. Common violations include the following:

• Hours of service violations: There are federal regulations limiting how many hours a truck driver can be on the road without rest. If a trucking company allows or encourages drivers to exceed these hours, and an accident results from driver fatigue, the company could be responsible.
• Safety regulations violations: Trucking companies must adhere to all safety regulations, considering the gravity of potential accidents involving trucks. If an accident occurs because a company violated safety standards, they may be liable.
• Weight limit laws violations: Overloading a truck can lead to tire blowouts, brake failures and other issues that can cause accidents. If a trucking company fails to follow the weight limit laws and overloads a vehicle, it may be liable for any resulting injuries.

Hence, looking into a truck company’s compliance with guidelines and regulations is crucial in a truck accident investigation.

Management and operation negligence

Truck companies can also be responsible for damages if they negligently manage and operate their business, directly resulting in accidents. Some examples of negligent management and operation include the following:

• Negligent hiring: If a trucking company fails to properly investigate a driver’s qualifications, experience or driving record before hiring them, and this negligence contributes to an accident, the company could be liable.
• Inadequate training: Trucking companies must adequately train their drivers. The company may be liable if an accident occurs because a driver was not properly trained.
• Poor vehicle maintenance: Trucking companies must maintain their vehicles in safe working order. If an accident results from a failure to maintain the truck, such as bad brakes or worn tires, the company can be responsible.

There are multiple other ways a truck company can be liable for injuries or fatalities due to a truck accident involving one of their commercial vehicles.

If you or a loved one were involved in a truck accident and are unsure of how to proceed with your claim, seeking assistance from a skilled legal representative can help you find the answers you need.

The semi-tractor trailers that transport goods to stores and warehouses in Florida and around the country usually have 18 wheels, and each of them weighs about 100 pounds. When a wheel falls off while a truck is in motion, other road users rarely have time to get out of the way and avoid injury. Flying wheel accidents, as they are called, are often fatal, and the victims are sometimes pedestrians, cyclists, construction workers or first responders.

Causes of flying wheel accidents

Determining what caused a truck wheel to fall off is sometimes difficult, and truck inspectors, engineers and metallurgists may have to be called in to help identify the problem. If the truck crashed after losing one or more of its wheels, the investigation could be even more challenging. Some of the most common causes of flying wheel accidents are:

• Rusty or broken axles
• Wheel bearing failures
• Hub separations
• Tire defects
• Inadequate maintenance
• Botched repairs

Catastrophic injuries

A flying truck wheel can cause death or serious injury to vehicle occupants as well as pedestrians. In June 2018, a 25-year-old man was killed when a wheel flew of a truck and struck his SUV on Interstate 95 near Oakland Park. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the wheel struck the vehicle after bouncing over a concrete wall. The commercial vehicle accident was blamed on a catastrophic tire failure.

Negligence

Mechanical failures are sometimes unavoidable on a machine as large and complex as a semi-tractor trailer, but negligence is often to blame when one of these vehicles loses a wheel. Rusty axles, worn wheel bearings and defective tires are all issues that could be prevented by proper maintenance or detected during regular truck inspections. When these steps are not taken, flying wheel accidents that kill or seriously injure other road users become far more likely.

From cargo vans to 18-wheelers, delivery trucks are a common sight on the roads of Florida. An accident with one of these commercial vehicles could leave you with an unclear picture of who bears financial liability for your medical bills and other losses. Delivery vehicles can be driven by employees or independent contractors. Depending on the circumstances, you might pursue compensation from the driver, the company or both.

Employee vs. independent contractor

A delivery company that directly employs the driver may be wholly or partially responsible for settling your accident claim if you are not at fault for the crash. Usually, the company’s insurance will be your source of compensation if the driver was an employee and performing services at the time of the accident.

The picture gets muddier with an independent contractor driver because the contract places a layer of legal protection between the company and the actions of the driver. For example, Amazon, which has a multitude of branded vehicles on the roads and over 50,000 subcontracted delivery drivers, denies any liability for reckless drivers.

Accident investigation

Evidence collected at the accident scene and by the responding police officer usually points to who was at fault for the collision. Additional investigative work may need to be done to determine the driver’s status at the time of the wreck and applicable insurance policies.

Accident victims usually hope to find the delivery company responsible for damages because a commercial company will carry a larger insurance policy. In the case of an independent contractor, you may file insurance claims or lawsuits against both the driver and the contracting company. Subsequent negotiations and litigation will reveal who has to pay and how much.

The most common types of commercial truck accidents in Florida include rear-end and head-on crashes, blindspot crashes, jackknife accidents, tire blowout accidents and underride crashes. Typically, the truck driver is much safer than the occupants of a car in a highway speed crash, but commercial truck accidents can still be dangerous and harm the livelihood and career of a truck driver. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 27% of fatal truck accidents occurred on interstate highways, while 57% happened in rural areas.

Safe driving practices for commercial trucks

To avoid truck crashes, best practices for commercial trucks include obeying posted speed limits, knowing the routes and roads, calling ahead to the destination, being aware of sight lines and performing proper maintenance. Observing speed limits is obvious, but its importance cannot be overstated, as the speed of the vehicles involved contributes significantly to the severity of commercial vehicle accidents.

Knowing routes and calling ahead

A missed exit or wrong turn can increase the likelihood of a commercial truck crash. In addition, any distraction or unanticipated event can take the driver’s attention from the road; a distracted driver is a dangerous driver. Likewise, sudden corrective measures to avoid missing an exit, for example, can create dangers on the road. Calling ahead to destinations is a good way for safe commercial drivers to gain insight regarding potential road hazards or current road conditions.

Checking lines of sight and performing maintenance

Often, delivery locations can present difficulties in terms of navigating the truck to the drop-off point. Narrow drives might mean lots of traffic, tight turning angles or anything in between. It’s a good idea to park the truck and walk around the area to identify and solve problems. Regular maintenance almost goes without saying. Well-maintained brakes are reliable and will stop the truck in an emergency, though the larger and heavier the truck means more time. So with other parts of the vehicle, the engine, transmission, lights, horn, and tires, all of these should be properly maintained to keep commercial vehicles operating safely.