Who is Liable if You’re Hit by Cargo Falling Off a Truck?

Trucking cargo accidents are among the most frightening of all accidents. Falling cargo and truck debris can shatter windshields and result in catastrophic injury, sometimes even death. Truck accident cargo claims can become surprisingly complex, however, if two or more parties share liability.

Possible defendants

Below is a list of potentially liable parties.

The truck driver

The truck driver is the obvious first-choice defendant. The truck driver might bear liability for improperly securing the load, for example, or by driving an overloaded or improperly balanced truck. The idea is that any competent truck driver would know if they were driving an overloaded or unbalanced truck.

The trucking company

You might assert one of the following bases for liability against a trucking company.

Negligent hiring

Perhaps the truck driver had been convicted of two previous DUIs and was intoxicated at the time of the accident. The driver would bear liability if their intoxication caused the accident. This might not be the case if, for example, the cargo loading company improperly loaded the cargo and falling cargo is what caused the accident.

If the driver is liable, however, you could also come after the trucking company for negligently hiring the driver. After all, a DUI is a public record, and the company should have checked the truck driver’s driving record before hiring him.

Negligent training

Did the trucking company train whoever fastened the cargo to the trailer? If the company failed to adequately train this person (whether it was the driver or someone else), you can potentially sue them.

Negligent supervision

You might have a claim for negligent supervision if the company failed to ensure that the driver was performing pre-trip, en route, and post-trip inspections of their cargo and securing devices. You might also have a negligent supervision claim if they regularly failed to check the logs of the driver’s inspections. In this case, the driver would likely get careless, knowing that the trucking company would never inspect their logs.

Respondeat superior

“Respondeat superior” is a principle that literally means, “Let the master answer.” If the truck driver was an employee of the trucking company, and the driver was acting within the scope of their employment at the time of the accident; then the trucking company bears legal responsibility for the consequences of the truck driver’s misconduct, even if the trucking company itself committed no misconduct. In most cases, however, the truck driver is an independent contractor, not an employee, and respondeat superior does not apply. If the truck driver drives their own truck, they are probably an independent contractor.

The cargo loading company

Smaller trucking companies often hire third-party cargo loading companies to load the cargo. A trucking company might also hire a third party if cargo loading requires specialized expertise to prevent falling cargo. Heavy machinery, hazardous materials, or perishable goods often require specialized expertise. If a third party loaded the cargo, they bear liability for any loading errors that operated as a foreseeable cause of the accident.

The manufacturer

Suppose the accident was caused by a mechanical defect in the truck itself—a blowout occurred, for instance. Under such circumstances, an accident victim might file a product liability claim against the manufacturer of the tires (assuming that defective tires caused the blowout).

The maintenance company

The maintenance company might bear liability if they failed to properly inspect or repair the truck, and a resulting mechanical failure caused a falling cargo accident. They might also bear liability if they violated industry standards concerning truck maintenance and these violations caused the accident.

The shipper

You might file a claim against the shipper if they provided incorrect information about the cargo’s weight or dimensions. This incorrect information could have caused improper loading of the cargo, thereby leading to the accident.

Shared liability

More than one of these parties might bear liability for a trucking cargo accident. The trucking company and the cargo loading company might share liability, for example. Nevertheless, under Virginia’s harsh contributory negligence rule, the injured party cannot recover if they were even 1% at fault. Although damages might be apportioned among defendants if the injured party was 0% at fault.

Evidence collection

Relevant information might include:

• The police report for the accident.
• Data from the truck’s “black box” (event data recorder).
• Photographs of the scene of the accident.
• The truck’s maintenance and inspection records.
• Any other evidence that might be relevant.

Some of this information should be useful even if it is inadmissible. The police report, for example, is useful in settlement negotiations even if it is inadmissible in court. The opposing party knows you can always call the police officer who wrote the report to the witness stand.

Document analysis

Your lawyer will need to thoroughly review shipping documents, cargo loading manifests, and driver logs to put together a persuasive description of the accident. These documents can reveal any failure to comply with trucking regulations. If these regulatory violations caused the accident, you can use them to win your claim.

Subpoenaing records

If you file a lawsuit, you can gain access to the pretrial discovery process. That doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll go to trial. You can always drop your lawsuit in exchange for a settlement. During the discovery phase, you can subpoena records such as telephone records, GPS data, and even the defendant’s internal company documents. Remember that the opposing party can use the same process to subpoena evidence in your possession.

Contact a Virginia truck accident lawyer at your earliest convenience

If you were injured in a falling cargo accident, or if your loved one died that way, you might feel unprepared to face an insurance adjuster or a lawyer representing the at-fault party. Indeed, you are probably not ready to negotiate a fair settlement on your own.

That’s OK, because Phelan Petty Injury Lawyers is a Virginia truck accident law firm with an outstanding track record at the negotiating table and in the courtroom. Contact us today to see how we can help you.