There are several people who may be responsible for a victim’s injuries in the event of a semi truck accident. These include the driver of the truck, the owner of the truck (or the trailer it’s hauling) and the manufacturer of the vehicle (or a faulty component of the vehicle) that caused the accident. The individual or company that leased the trailer or truck from it’s original owner and the shipper or loader of the cargo may be responsible as well, depending on the situation.
Often all of these entities will end up in a dispute with each other when an auto accident attorney goes after them for a client. A truck company could claim that a crash was caused by poor loading, and the loading company could blame the crash on a poorly-made or faulty trailer. When the blame starts getting tossed around, it’s important to have a good semi truck accident attorney on hand to sort through the confusion.
Trucking companies used to jump through countless hoops avoid liability in the event of a truck accident. Essentially, they’d do everything they could to distance themselves from the vehicle, the equipment and the driver involved in the crash.
Trucking companies obtain permits to operate trucks, but they don’t always own the truck, trailer and other equipment associated with hauling goods and equipment. They lease these materials instead. They also hire independent contractors instead of employees to drive their vehicles.
At this point the trucking company provides the owner of the equipment with a placard that includes the name of the trucker, the trucking company and the permit number to make it look like they’ve gone through all the steps of buying trucks and hiring employees. Unfortunately, as soon as an auto accident attorney comes around, they point out that the trucker wasn’t their employee and they didn’t own the equipment.
Fortunately, federal laws have adapted to these arguments, and any company with a trucking permit is now responsible for accidents involving trucks with their placard or name displayed. Still, victims should contact a auto accident attorney or truck accident lawyer as soon as they can after an accident to ensure they get the compensation they deserve. Ger more information on this topic here.