How liability is different for commercial vehicle accidents
Cars today have many safety features that are designed to protect occupants in the event of an accident. Airbags and other improvements have no doubt saved thousands of lives.
Unfortunately, there’s only so much these features can do. When high speeds and high mass are involved, the laws of physics dictate that a vehicle will carry tremendous force into any collision.
This is why accidents involving large trucks are so much more dangerous than typical accidents involving smaller vehicles. Because they are so much bigger and heavier than passenger cars, large trucks can do tremendous damage to a smaller vehicle even at moderate speeds.
Negligence
Most truckers are well-trained and careful drivers, but they can make mistakes. Unfortunately, when someone makes a mistake behind the wheel of an 80,000-pound semitrailer, the consequences can be disastrous for others on the road.
In one recent case, a Florida truck driver was arrested after he allegedly fled the scene of an accident in which four people were injured and a 6-month-old baby was killed. However, most of the legal work concerning truck accidents does not involve criminal charges. Instead, truck accident litigation involves civil lawsuits alleging personal injury or wrongful death. These cases hinge on the legal theory of negligence.
Liability
While a negligent truck driver can be held liable for damages they caused, the driver may not be the only liable party in the case. If the trucker was driving in the course of their employment, their employer may also be held liable. It’s also important to note that a number of state and federal laws impose safety restrictions and other regulations on the trucking industry.
These liability and regulatory issues can make any lawsuit involving a trucking accident complex. However, they can also help maximize the chances that the injured will recover the full amount of compensation they and their families need as they deal with the long-term consequences of a terrible accident.
