When a semi-trailer causes an accident, issues arise that aren’t usually seen in car accidents. A personal injury or wrongful death case might involve several different entities and insurance companies. Some of those entities and insurance companies might be sharing liability.
Who Might Be Held Liable?
Making a determination of who was responsible for a truck crash can be difficult. Of course, all possible defendants are going to be pointing their respective fingers at each other. There is also the issue of whether the driver of the truck was an employee of a trucking company or an independent contractor. Aside from driver issues, depending on the facts surrounding a truck accident, here are some entities that might also be held liable in a truck crash:
- The trucking company that the driver is hauling for.
- The entity that owns the trailer that the driver was pulling.
- The entity that maintained and repaired the truck.
- The loader of the truck.
- The shipper of the load.
- The truck or trailer’s manufacturer.
A Case in Point
Here’s an example of how more than one defendant might be liable for a truck accident. Goods being hauled in a trailer might have been top heavy and improperly loaded. The driver could feel that something wasn’t right, but he ignored checking the load and kept going in order to meet his deadline. On a curve, the load shifted drastically and caused the truck and trailer to roll over onto a passenger vehicle. The driver and the passenger of that vehicle were killed. At least two possible defendants are shown in this scenario. A third or fourth might also figure into the liability equation. Of course, more than one insurance company will be involved too.
Preparation and Pressure
An experienced and effective truck accident attorney in Phoenix is pivotal in these types of cases. That attorney must be continually preparing and pressuring the case to a trial setting if the insurance companies are unable to agree on what amount each should pay as damages. That’s the only way that the case might ultimately be resolved.
You’re cautioned about talking to any insurer other than your own. They won’t be looking after your best interests. Call us at 480-898-9700 about any truck accident in or around Phoenix to arrange for a free consultation and case review. We want to know what happened and how it has affected you. Then, we’ll map out a litigation strategy.