Allendale, SC Truck Accident Lawyer
Truck accident cases can involve serious injury to multiple drivers and passengers, given the huge size and massive weight of tractor-trailers. These accident cases often involve direct fault from the truck driver, as well as fault on the part of the transportation and trucking companies that operate these vehicles.
Our lawyers can stand up against trucking companies, their legal teams, and their insurance companies in our fight to get you the compensation you need. It is vital not to trust these companies or parties and to always have your own lawyer represent you to help maximize compensation, avoid any self-defeating disclosures, and protect your right to file a claim.
Call Burriss Ridgeway Injury Lawyers today at (803) 451-4000 for a free case evaluation with our truck accident attorneys.
Are Truckers or Trucking Companies at Fault for Truck Accidents in Allendale, SC?
Truck accidents can be sort of complex, legally speaking, because of the multiple parties involved. Even when the crash is just between you and a truck, there are still at least three parties involved in the case in many instances: you, the trucker who hit you, and the trucker’s employer.
Many employer-employee relationships create grounds for a legal principle called “respondeat superior” to take effect. In these cases, an employer should be held to answer for negligence their employees commit while working for them. In the trucking industry, truckers are often beholden to their employers in a few ways that could make the trucking company liable not only for the trucker’s errors but also for its own mistakes.
Vicarious Liability
Under respondeat superior rules, the trucking company is often liable for a crash the trucker caused by accident. This is the same principle that allows you to sue a store for its worker’s mistake that causes a slip and fall or a restaurant for its cook’s mistake that makes you sick. Here, the trucker is an employee and just one part of the bigger company, which should be held vicariously responsible for what the trucker did wrong.
Trucking and transportation companies often try to get around these rules by hiring truckers as independent contractors who are not controlled by them. This is common with “owner-operators” who often own their trucks and do jobs on contracts instead of as employees. However, when the trucker is an employee, our truck accident lawyers can often hold their employer responsible in their place.
Vehicle/Equipment Issues
Trucks are often owned by the trucking company rather than the driver. The company is responsible for the upkeep of its fleet, and mechanical issues can be a serious cause of injury. There are many state and federal regulations concerning what equipment a truck must have and what maintenance schedules the owner must follow when participating in commercial shipping. Failing to meet these schedules and requirements can make the owner responsible for crashes caused by missing equipment or dangerous trucks.
Negligent Hiring and Retention
A trucking company can be directly on the hook for a crash by hiring dangerous drivers. Failing to perform background checks or driving record checks – or failing to check that the driver is licensed – could be the company’s fault when their mistake hurts others on the road.
The same is true for trucking companies that knew about a driver’s current or past dangers but kept putting the driver on the road anyway.
Common Ways that Trucking Accidents Happen in Allendale, SC
Trucks can often weigh up to 80,000 pounds. Contrast that with the 3,000-5,000 pounds of a typical sedan, and you can see the vast size and weight disparity between these vehicles. When a truck hits a car – or even a larger SUV or truck – it can cause extreme damage to the vehicle and substantial injuries to those inside. These crashes often happen because of drivers’ mistakes and other avoidable situations.
Overweight Vehicles
Overweight trucks and tractor-trailers are harder to stop and turn in an emergency. If the fact that a truck was overloaded contributes to the crash, that could be directly on the trucking company or the driver.
Tired Driving
Truckers spend hours upon hours on the road. Federal regulations limit how long commercial truck drivers can spend on the road in a given drive, a single day and a workweek, and violating these hours of service rules can make the driver and their trucking company at fault for a crash. Even while following these regulations, tired driving is patently dangerous.
Driver Inattention
Hours of driving can also hurt your concentration, causing truckers to drift their attention elsewhere. This can lead to crashes when the driver gets too comfortable or stops being vigilant in performing their job duties.
Traffic Violations
While truckers often have more experience on the road than everyday commuters and non-commercial drivers, that does not mean they necessarily follow the rules. Truckers can be held liable for crashes they cause by running red lights, blowing stop signs, violating speed limits, and failing to yield while merging or changing lanes.
Improper Lookout
Failing to check blind spots, changing lanes without looking, drifting out of their lane, and simply ignoring other vehicles around them can also make truckers responsible for crashes. This is, in fact, one of the most common contributing causes of truck accidents in the country.
Filing Claims Against Trucking Companies for Injuries in Allendale, SC
When a truck driver causes a crash, you can often file with their insurance company. South Carolina law uses the at-fault driver’s insurance for coverage, potentially getting your damages paid in an insurance claim. However, you also have the right to sue, potentially taking the driver, their insurance company, and their employer to court to pay for your injuries. As truck drivers often cannot pay for damages out of pocket, it will likely be important to your case to have our lawyers consider whether the insurance company or the trucking company can pay your damages instead.
Call Our Truck Accident Injury Lawyers in Allendale, SC Today
Call (803) 451-4000 for a free case analysis with the truck accident attorneys at Burriss Ridgeway Injury Lawyers.