Cayce, SC Truck Accident Lawyer

Truck accidents often spell disaster for the other drivers and passengers hit by large trucks.  The massive size and weight of 18-wheelers and tractor-trailers often mean that these crashes involve huge forces that can crush and injure any car in the vehicle’s wake, at the same time protecting the driver inside the truck from consequences.  However, our job as injury attorneys is to hold them and their employers accountable on behalf of injured victims.

You could be entitled to a substantial financial award from the negligent driver, the trucking company they work for, and their insurance companies.  For help getting your damages compensated, however, you should work with a lawyer.  Insurance companies and trucking companies are always looking to save money and avoid payouts, and a difference of even a few thousand dollars could make all the difference to you.

For a free evaluation of your injury case, reach out to our truck accident attorneys at Burriss Ridgeway Injury Lawyers by calling (803) 451-4000.

How to Sue a Trucking Company for Truck Accident Injuries in Cayce, SC

When you get hit by another driver, you usually file a lawsuit or auto liability insurance claim against them personally.  However, South Carolina law allows you to sue the employer of a commercial driver if they hit you while working.  These laws can help you and your truck accident lawyer get compensation from a trucking company – which is often more able to pay you for your injuries than the individual trucker.

Negligence

In order to sue anyone for an auto accident, you first need to show that they hit you intentionally or that the crash only occurred because that driver violated a traffic law or general reasonableness standard.  For example, if a driver was speeding (explicitly a traffic violation) or reading a book while driving (objectively unreasonable), and they hit you because of it, you can hold them accountable.

Suing for a Trucker’s Negligence

In trucking accidents, the commercial truck driver is often an employee of a trucking or transportation company hired to do the job at hand.  In some cases, the driver will be an independent contractor or an owner-operator working under contract and not as an employee.  This might make them legally self-employed, so there is no employer to speak of.

However, when working as an employee during the crash, their employer can be held accountable for their negligence.  This legal principle, known as “respondeat superior,” allows your lawsuit to be filed against the employee and their employer so that the boss can pay for the worker’s mistakes.  These cases are, however, blocked if the driver’s conduct was outside the scope of their job duties, such as if they took the truck for a joyride during their personal time or if they were off course on some kind of jaunt or “frolic,” as the law calls it.

Suing a Trucking Company Directly

Trucking companies can also be sued if the truck they own and look after had maintenance or equipment issues that caused the crash.  They can also be sued for negligent hiring and retention of dangerous drivers.

Common Examples of Fault in a Trucking Accident in Cayce, SC

Truckers often cause crashes through their own negligence and mistakes on the road.  However, accidents can also be caused by problems with the truck’s equipment or loading.  The following are all common causes of truck crashes:

Speeding

Truckers need to make deliveries on time, and much of the cargo they carry is important to our economy.  None of that gives them any excuse to cut corners or break laws to get the cargo there on time.  With trucking companies enforcing stricter and stricter deadlines for fast shipping, it is no surprise that speeding is a common cause of truck accidents.

Some companies use speed limiters in their trucks, but national speed limiter requirements that would make everyone safer have been rejected.  This puts the onus of preventing speeding accidents on the drivers and their employers.

Drunk and Drugged Driving

With long hours, many truckers turn to illicit substances to keep alert on the road.  They may also turn to alcohol for a “buzz,” which can actually depress their nervous system and make it harder to make good decisions and stop quickly in an emergency.  Other drugs, even legal ones like caffeine, can make drivers jittery, nervous, and ineffective.  Many drugs also mask tiredness rather than making drivers less tired.

Tired Driving

Truckers and other commercial drivers have specific driving restrictions on the hours they can spend on the road to help prevent driver fatigue and tired driving.  Along with years of driving while tired or taking caffeine to mask the symptoms of tired driving, many drivers are unaware of how tired they really are.  Tired driving can be as dangerous as drunk driving, or even more so since it is so underappreciated as a dangerous risk.

In some cases on record, trucking companies have required drivers to drive beyond the required time limits and even falsify their logs or else face withheld pay.

Truck Loading Issues

Whether a truck is loaded without the proper balance of cargo, cargo is loaded without proper tiedowns, or the truck is overweight, the driver and the trucking company are likely violating trucking regulations.  These rules are in place to make cargo transportation safer, but when truckers and their companies violate these laws, they put other drivers at risk.

Overweight trucks can cause more damage in a crash and be harder to control.  Improper cargo loading can cause shifting during transit, trailer sway, and even jackknife crashes.

Truck Equipment Issues

One of the most common violations for truckers is lighting malfunctions.  While this is unlikely to cause an accident, other violations involving dangerous tires or malfunctioning systems are certainly more likely to be dangerous.  Tires that have been illegally or improperly retreaded can be quite dangerous, as can vehicles on the road without proper safety inspections.  This could lead to both the trucker and the other people hit by the truck all being victims of the trucking company’s negligence in failing to carry out proper equipment inspections.

Call Our Trucking Accident Attorneys in Cayce, SC Today

For a free analysis of your potential case, call our truck accident lawyers at Burriss Ridgeway Injury Lawyers at (803) 451-4000 today.