Unique Challenges in Truck Accident Litigation

Unique Challenges in Truck Accident LitigationMotor vehicle accidents involve some common elements, no matter what kind of vehicles are involved. For example, no matter if the collision involves a motorcycle, passenger vehicle, or a vehicle-pedestrian accident, proving the elements of a personal injury negligence claim will be the same.

Truck accidents, however, can add some additional considerations that you will not always encounter in civil legal claims for other kinds of vehicles. In this blog post, we examine some of these unique aspects of truck accident personal injury liability from the injured plaintiff’s point of view.

Truck accidents can result in more serious injuries than car accidents

When it comes to the injury and property damage potential of a truck versus a passenger car, “Size does matter.”

Consider that the average weight of an automobile is from 2,500 pounds to 4,000 pounds, or that a sport utility vehicle averages between 3,500 to 6,000 pounds. Now, compare these figures to what a semi-truck weighs: the tractor alone comes in from 25,000 to 35,000 pounds, and with a fully-loaded trailer, this weight goes up to 80,000 pounds, the maximum weight allowed by federal regulations.

The key consideration here is kinetic energy: the more mass is put into motion, the harder it is to bring it to a stop and the greater the energy it will transfer when it hits something. What this means in a truck accident is that once the cause of an accident is set in motion, even if the truck driver is alert and attempts to avoid a collision with you, the effort may be too little, too late.

If you do a quick Internet search for images and videos of the results of truck accidents with passenger vehicles, you will see grisly evidence of this energy-based principle of physics.

A collision involving a truck and a car often results in the obliteration of the car, with tragic consequences for the car’s driver and passengers. For these victims, the resulting injuries can be catastrophic, and fatalities are common: according to 2021 data from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), in fatal accidents involving a large truck, four of every five deaths were not occupants of the trucks.

Even if you survive an accident with a truck, the injuries you can receive are often severe. Some of the more common injuries passenger car occupants suffer in truck accidents include:

  • Whiplash and relatedinjuries to the neck and spine, including soft tissue damage to muscles and ligaments.
  • Traumatic brain injuries.
  • Bone fractures and broken bones.
  • Severe burns can often be made worse if the truck is carrying a cargo of gasoline, diesel fuel, or flammable or corrosive chemicals.
  • Lacerations from broken glass, torn sheet metal, or other sharp surfaces.

These injuries are ones you can also suffer from a two-car collision; the difference when you get into an accident with a truck is that the injuries tend to be more pronounced and require more extensive medical treatment, like inpatient hospital stays, surgery, and long-term physical, occupational, and rehabilitative therapy.

In addition to physical injury, a truck accident can lead to intense emotional and mental harm from pain and suffering and emotional trauma, including post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD.

The important difference here is not that truck accident-related injuries are different from those you may experience in a car accident, but the scale and severity of these injuries.

Multiple defendants are common in truck accident cases

In a vehicle collision, an important distinction when comparing passenger car accidents and truck accidents is that trucks – including buses – are often commercial vehicles. This means that in many legal claims, the truck driver is only the first possible defendant to consider.

Truck owner liability

If the truck driver is acting in the capacity of an employee when the accident happens, then this fact will typically mean that the driver will be an agent of the company that owns the truck. Under agency law, the owner will often share in legal responsibility for physical injury and property damage caused by the truck.

Truck companies can also be found negligent for the acts of employees other than the driver. Examples include:

  • Improper cargo loading, if that causes the load to shift and leads to an accident like a rollover or a jackknife.
  • Improper maintenance, like faulty brake repairs.

Liability of contractors hired by truck owners

If the truck owner contracts maintenance services out to other companies, and those contractors are negligent in performing those services, then they can also become defendants in a truck accident related personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit.

Third-party liability in a truck accident

Although potential third-party liability is not unique to truck accidents, truck accidents can draw in companies other than the company that owns the truck.

Products liability

For example, under the legal theory of products liability, if the truck or any of its components is inherently dangerous to use as it was designed or made, then the company that designed or built the defective component is potentially liable if it contributed to the accident.

So, if the manufacturer of the truck uses a third-party supplier to provide the brakes that go into the truck, and the brakes are defective in their design, then if brake failure caused the truck accident, the truck manufacturer and the brake supplier may be additional named defendants in a legal claim.

Liability of other drivers and pedestrians

Sometimes, the act of someone other than the truck driver can contribute to a truck accident. For example, if another driver negligently changes lanes in front of a truck, causing the truck driver to swerve into your lane to avoid an accident, then the negligence of the other car’s driver may have at least partly caused the truck driver’s act that harmed you.

Similarly, if a pedestrian jaywalks in front of your car, forcing you to suddenly hit the brakes and a truck rear-ends you, then both you and the truck driver might have claims against the pedestrian based on negligence.

Public entity liability

Another form of possible third-party liability in a truck accident can be a public entity. For example, if poor road conditions contributed to the truck accident, then it may be possible to hold the public agency responsible. Public entities are often subject to different statutes of limitations and other restrictions that can affect their exposure to personal injury liability.

An experienced personal injury attorney can help you to comply with these limitations on potential liability, so you do not lose your right to make a legal claim.

Truck accidents often involve federal as well as state legal implications

In addition to this agency-based liability, large commercial trucks are subject to regulations issued by the FMCSA. These regulations impose obligations on truck operators that govern aspects including:

  • Hours of service for how long a driver can operate a commercial motor vehicle.
  • Drug and alcohol testing requirements.
  • Vehicle maintenance and inspection requirements.
  • Pre-employment checks on drivers.
  • Proper handling of hazardous materials.

If the company that owns and operates a commercial truck does not comply with FMCSA regulations, and this failure caused or contributed to an accident involving the truck, then this failure can be evidence in support of a negligence-based lawsuit against the company.

FMCSA regulations apply to trucks engaged in interstate commerce. States usually have their own commercial vehicle regulations that often mirror those of the FMCSA, and which apply to trucks that are operating on state roads and highways, even if they are not crossing state lines.

How a Phelan Petty truck accident lawyer can help you

A truck accident claim can be complicated and time-consuming to pursue. You will need to identify everyone who is potentially liable to you. The defendants may also assert that you were negligent and liable for your own injuries. They can also file cross-claims against each other and motions to dismiss your claims. You could find yourself dealing with multiple defendants, multiple defense lawyers, and multiple insurers, all arising from the same truck accident. You need to support your claims with evidence that can be testimonial, based on accident reconstruction, documentary, material, or circumstantial.

These multiple parties, claims, and pretrial motions can also involve multiple legal deadlines to keep track of. Some will relate to your claim, and others to claims that other parties may have against you.

Remember, truck crashes are often serious or catastrophic accidents because of the size and weight of the truck. The stakes are too high for you to leave your legal claims to chance.

At Phelan Petty, our Richmond truck accident attorneys fight for justice on behalf of truck accident victims. We know that successfully handling a truck accident case requires more than aggressive negotiation techniques. We have a thorough understanding of the complicated state and federal regulations that govern the industry.

When necessary, our truck accident lawyers work with expert witnesses, including physicians, accident reconstruction specialists, psychologists, and occupational therapists, to uncover all the complex factors that may have contributed to a collision.

At Phelan Petty Injury Lawyers, we know that every truck accident claim is different. That is why we carefully assess the individual strengths and challenges of each case and then craft aggressive, thoughtful legal strategies to address them and get victims the compensation they deserve.

If you have been in a Virginia truck accident or lost a loved one in a truck accident, call our law firm to speak with one of our experienced personal injury specialists and to schedule a free case evaluation.

You can also reach us through our online contact form.