As the dust settles after your truck accident and you begin to put the pieces of an injury claim together, you will likely realize quickly that these types of claims are much more complicated than accidents that occur between two or more consumer drivers. While any car accident can grow complicated in a number of ways, truck accidents often involve multiple defendants, and may vary greatly depending the truck driver’s relationship with the company that hires him or her.
If you recently experienced a truck accident, make it a priority to carefully examine the specifics of the matter to make sure that your claim fully addresses all the parties who may hold liability. This may take some extra time and diligence, but ultimately serves to make your claim stronger and more likely to obtain full, fair compensation for your injuries and other losses.
The driver’s relationship with the hiring party
Whereas consumer drivers are generally responsible for their own part in an accident, a commercial driver may or may not hold personal liability depending on how the hiring party classifies their relationship. If the driver operates as an independent contractor, then the hiring party may have limited liability, while the driver may hold most of the liability.
However, if the driver operates as an employee of a larger company, then the company itself may hold the liability. It is important to understand this relationship clearly when building your claim, to ensure that you assign liability properly.
Other potentially liable parties
The driver and the hiring party are not the only ones who may hold liability, depending on what caused the accident. It is worth noting that not all truck accidents are actually the fault of the truck or its driver, if another driver or some external factor caused the accident, not the driver’s error. In some cases, a consumer driver is responsible, which may prove very difficult to pursue, legally. In such a case, the expenses of the accident may far exceed the liability limits of the consumer driver’s insurance.
It is also possible that the party that loaded the truck’s trailer may hold responsibility, if the load moved around in transit, causing the accident. Similarly, if the accident occurred because of some malfunction in a component of the truck, or because of poor maintenance and repairs, the provider of the component or the party that made the faulty repairs may hold liability.
Build a strong, thorough claim
Do not waste time before beginning to build your claim, even if you expect the process to be straightforward. The longer you wait, the less time you have to carefully research your claim and the longer you must wait before receiving fair compensation for your losses and injuries.
Your recovery may take the place of a full-time occupation, especially in the early stages, so be sure to use all the tools you have to pursue a strong claim while focusing on your own recovery.