Trucking accidents might be caused by truckers who haven’t had enough sleep or who make mistakes on the road, but they can also be brought against the companies that send them out, in many cases. This can include a trucking company, but can it allow you to sue a freight broker?
Freight brokers do not typically act as the drivers’ employers, nor do they typically own or operate the trucks or order the drivers around. Instead, they are responsible for connecting shippers with the carriers who will deliver their freight. As such, their role is limited enough that they are not usually responsible for crashes, but there are some narrow exceptions where they would be liable when they set up a shipper with an inappropriate carrier.
For help suing a trucker or trucking company after a crash, call the Columbia, SC truck accident lawyers at Burriss Ridgeway Injury Lawyers at (803) 451-4000 today.
Who is Responsible for a Truck Crash?
Typically, the parties responsible for a crash would be the driver and the company that hired them. There are specific grounds for these lawsuits that usually do not reach freight brokers, but there is one common exception that might make a freight broker liable.
Truckers
The drivers who make mistakes and dangerous decisions behind the wheel are responsible in their own right for crashes. Some truckers are independent owner-operators and have no trucking company behind them, so the case would be filed against them directly and paid through their insurance.
The Trucker’s Employer
If the trucker is employed by a trucking company, that company can be held responsible for a crash under a principle called “respondeat superior.” This allows employers to be sued for
- Negligence
- By an employee (not an independent contractor)
- That occurs within the scope of the employee’s duties.
Truckers are hired to drive and transport freight, so any crashes they cause while driving could be the trucking company’s liability.
Employers can also be sued directly for negligent hiring or retention if they hire a driver they should have known was dangerous or keep a dangerous trucker on staff. Similarly, they could also be liable for regulatory violations.
Other Drivers
Not every truck accident is caused by a trucker. If another driver caused the crash, you can sue them.
The Truck’s Owner
If the crash happened because of dangerous problems with the truck, then that might be on the owner. Trucking companies are often responsible for maintenance and upkeep issues or dangerous vehicles that cause crashes.
Freight Broker
Suing a freight broker means finding some link between what the broker did and the crash itself. They are not usually the driver’s employer, they aren’t the one behind the wheel, and they do not touch the trucks, so then how could they be responsible?
If a freight broker negligently selects a carrier that they should have known would not be able to safely perform the job, then they could be liable for the damage and accidents that result. This must involve negligence or worse on their part.
What Constitutes Negligence for a Freight Broker?
Freight brokers select carriers for shippers to use, and they must do so carefully, or else they are responsible for the effects of their mistakes. This involves four elements:
- The freight broker owes the victim a duty to use reasonable care and skill when selecting a carrier to ship freight. This could involve reasonably considering factors like the carrier’s experience with hazardous materials or whether the carrier has enough trucks to safely transport the freight without overworking its drivers or overloading its vehicles.
- The freight broker breached that duty. This could involve using a carrier that they knew (or should have known) had previous regulatory violations, a high number of crashes, or missing licensure.
- That breach of duty caused the crash. It does not have to be the only contributing cause, and you can sue multiple parties for fault.
- The crash resulted in injuries and damages the victim can sue for.
FAQs for Suing a Freight Broker for a Truck Crash in South Carolina
Is a Freight Broker Always Involved?
Not every delivery goes through a freight broker, and those that do typically don’t go through a dangerous one! It is much more likely that the crash was caused by the driver or the trucking company they work for, or perhaps even another driver.
Can I Sue Freight Brokers and Other Parties at Once?
Our Allendale, SC truck accident lawyers can sue every at-fault party in one case. When you do so, the jury can assign partial fault to each party involved as a whole-number percentage, then make them pay that percentage of the total damages.
When freight brokers are involved in a truck accident case, there is also usually shared negligence from the driver or the carrier that hired the driver.
What About Freight Forwarders?
Freight brokers and freight forwarders perform similar roles in the trucking industry and supply chains. If they were responsible for selecting the carrier that ended up causing a crash, and they made that selection without using reasonable care or skill, then they could be responsible for the crash in the same way a freight broker would be.
How Do I Know Which Freight Broker was Involved?
Businesses keep track of all of the freight, payments, and decisions made in supply chains and shipping, so the trucker, trucking company, or other carrier will have paperwork showing which freight broker they worked with. We can obtain that as part of your truck accident case and look into the freight broker’s actions and how/if they contributed to your cash.
Is it Worth Suing a Freight Broker?
Not always! There must be proof that the freight broker actually committed some kind of negligence to hold them responsible. In some cases, the trucker is the only one at fault, or their employer shares fault, and we can stop with them.
In other cases, suing freight brokers might be vital because we cannot get damages for their negligence from any other party. Our attorneys would need to investigate the specific facts of your case to find out whether to add them to your lawsuit or not.
Call Our Trucking Accident Attorneys in South Carolina Today
Call (803) 451-4000 for a free case review with Burriss Ridgeway Injury Lawyers’ Florence, SC truck accident lawyers today.
