What Is a Trucking Company’s Responsibility to Keep Their Trucks Safe?

What Is a Trucking Company’s Responsibility to Keep Their Trucks Safe?

Trucking companies have a duty to protect the safety of other road users. With thousands of commercial trucks traveling across various states, negligence, like poor maintenance, can cause crashes.

Federal and state regulations require trucking companies to keep their fleets in safe working condition, properly train drivers, and follow strict maintenance schedules. You can pursue compensation if injured due to neglect, like the risk of brake failures, tire blowouts, or equipment malfunctions. However, you must create a link between negligence and your losses. At Presley and Presley Trial Lawyers, our experienced truck accident attorneys can investigate violations, uncover evidence of negligence, and fight tirelessly to maximize your recovery.

Truck Accident Responsibility -  Key Takeaways

• Federal trucking regulations require companies to maintain vehicles, train qualified drivers, and comply with safety and inspection standards.
• Semi-truck accidents cause severe injuries such as brain trauma, spinal cord injuries, fractures, and psychological distress.
• The value of a truck accident claim depends on the severity of the injury, recovery time, insurance coverage, and legal representation.
• Multiple parties, including drivers, trucking companies, loading firms, or maintenance providers, may be liable.
• A truck accident lawyer can prove negligence, handle insurers, and maximize compensation.
• Call a truck accident attorney to pursue fair and just compensation.

Federal Commercial Trucking Regulations

Federal commercial trucking regulations establish comprehensive safety standards that companies must follow to protect road users. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) enforces these rules, which cover various aspects of commercial trucking operations from driver qualifications to vehicle maintenance.

Here’s a breakdown of the regulations:

Hours of Service

Trucking companies must ensure drivers comply with strict hours-of-service limits to prevent fatigue-related accidents. Drivers cannot exceed 11 hours of driving time after 10 consecutive hours off duty, and their total workday cannot surpass 14 hours.

Weekly limits restrict driving to 60 hours over seven days or 70 hours over eight days. Companies must monitor electronic logging devices to verify compliance, and cannot pressure drivers to violate these regulations.

Vehicle Maintenance and Inspection Standards

Federal regulations mandate rigorous maintenance schedules and inspection protocols. Trucking companies must conduct pre-trip and post-trip inspections and document any defects or mechanical issues.

Trucking companies contract qualified mechanics to perform annual inspections, covering brakes, tires, lights, steering mechanisms, and other safety components. They must also maintain detailed repair and maintenance records for all vehicles.

For example, brake systems require particular attention to achieve specific performance standards. Failure to properly maintain trucks can result in catastrophic equipment failures, causing serious accidents.

Driver Qualification Requirements

Trucking companies bear responsibility for hiring qualified drivers who meet federal standards. Drivers must possess valid commercial driver’s licenses appropriate for their vehicle class, pass medical examinations certifying physical fitness, and undergo drug and alcohol testing.

Companies must verify driving histories, conduct background checks, and ensure drivers receive proper training. Drivers with specific disqualifying offenses or medical conditions cannot operate commercial vehicles.

Companies may be liable for crashes if they negligently hire unqualified drivers.

Cargo Loading and Weight Limits

Federal regulations establish maximum weight limits and proper cargo securement to prevent shifting loads that cause loss of control. Trucking companies may be liable for crashes if they don’t distribute weight evenly, fail to secure weight with appropriate restraints, or exceed axle weight limits.

Overloaded trucks require longer stopping distances and are more prone to rollovers and brake failures.

Drug and Alcohol Testing Programs

Companies must implement comprehensive drug and alcohol testing programs, including pre-employment screening, random testing, post-accident testing, and reasonable suspicion testing. Drivers who test positive must be immediately removed from service.

When trucking companies violate these federal regulations, they demonstrate negligence that can form the basis of liability in accident claims. A truck accident attorney can scrutinize compliance records to identify violations that contributed to crashes.

Injuries in a Semi-Truck Accident

Semi-truck accidents cause devastating injuries due to the massive size and weight disparity between commercial trucks and passenger vehicles. These collisions often result in life-altering trauma that requires extensive medical treatment and long-term care.

Here are examples of injuries in semi-truck crashes:

• Traumatic Brain Injuries: Head trauma from impact or airbag deployment can cause concussions, skull fractures, or severe brain damage. The effects of traumatic brain injuries include cognitive impairment, memory loss, and personality changes.
• Spinal Cord Injuries: Victims of truck crashes suffer back and neck injuries ranging from herniated discs to complete spinal cord severance. Spinal cord injuries can cause paralysis, loss of sensation, and permanent disability requiring lifelong assistance.
• Broken Bones and Fractures: The force of a truck collision can cause multiple fractures, crushed bones, and compound fractures.
• Internal Organ Damage: The blunt force trauma in a truck crash can rupture organs, cause internal bleeding, and damage organs like the liver, spleen, kidneys, and lungs.
• Severe Lacerations and Burns: Shattered glass, twisted metal, and vehicle fires cause deep cuts, disfiguring scars, and third-degree burns.
• Amputations: Victims may suffer crushed limbs from the impact, whose recovery requires surgical amputation. In some instances, it can permanently alter the victims’ lives and require prosthetics and extensive physical therapy.
• Psychological Trauma: Survivors often experience post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and driving phobias that require ongoing mental health treatment.

How Much Is My Truck Accident Worth

There is no average value for a truck accident claim. Determining your truck accident case’s worth involves analyzing multiple factors to establish your claim’s value. Here are the factors that influence the value of a truck accident:

Availability of Evidence

Evidence can increase the value of your case. Clear documentation proving the truck driver’s or trucking company’s negligence, including police reports, surveillance footage, black box data, and maintenance records, strengthens your negotiating position.

When evidence establishes liability without ambiguity, insurance companies recognize the risk of losing at trial and offer higher settlements. Conversely, cases with limited or conflicting evidence may result in lower valuations, as insurers exploit weaknesses to minimize payouts.

A truck accident attorney can use photographic evidence of the accident scene or vehicle damage as visual proof that reinforces your claim’s credibility and value.

Shared Fault

Your degree of responsibility directly impacts your case’s worth. If investigations reveal you contributed to the accident through speeding, distracted driving, or traffic violations, your compensation decreases proportionally.

States that apply shared liability rules reduce recovery by fault percentage, with others barring recovery if you bear any responsibility. You may receive a higher settlement value in cases where you’re completely blameless and the truck driver clearly violated safety regulations.

Insurance Coverage of the At-fault Party

The negligent party’s insurance policy limits can affect your potential recovery. Commercial trucks typically carry substantial policies ranging from hundreds of thousands to several million dollars, providing adequate coverage for serious injuries.

However, your compensation cannot exceed available policy limits unless you identify additional liable parties with separate coverage. Cases involving large trucking corporations with high-limit policies offer greater recovery potential than those involving independent operators with minimal insurance.

A truck accident attorney can explore additional sources of compensation, including a lawsuit or uninsured/underinsured coverage.

Legal Representation

Hiring an experienced truck accident attorney can increase the value of your case.

A truck accident attorney understands how to value damages, including future medical expenses and lost earning capacity that unrepresented victims often overlook. They can negotiate aggressively and have the skills to face corporate legal teams in court.

Severity of Injury

The severity of your injury can determine if you’ll receive a higher or lower settlement value. Minor injuries like bruises or sprains result in lower compensation due to limited medical treatment and quick recovery.

Catastrophic injuries like traumatic brain injuries or severe burns warrant substantially higher compensation. Further, permanent disabilities requiring ongoing medical care, multiple surgeries, or preventing you from working generate the highest valuations.

A truck accident lawyer can use evidence to prove the need for current and future medical expenses. They can also make the case for rehabilitation costs, assistive devices, home modifications, and lost earning capacity, increasing the value of your claim.

Duration of Recovery Period

A lengthy recovery period is directly proportional to the injury severity and the value of losses. Brief recoveries suggest less serious injuries, while months or years of treatment indicate significant trauma requiring substantial compensation.

Lengthy recoveries also translate to prolonged pain and suffering, extended income loss, and greater medical expenses. Permanent injuries requiring lifelong treatment command maximum compensation, as they affect every aspect of your future life and financial security.

Who Is Liable in a Truck Accident

Truck accident liability often extends beyond the driver to multiple parties within the commercial trucking industry. A truck accident attorney can identify different responsible parties, increasing potential recovery.

Truck Driver

The driver bears direct liability when their negligence causes the accident. A driver may be liable for violations like speeding, distracted driving, driving under the influence, aggressive maneuvers, or failing to follow traffic laws.

Drivers who falsify logbooks, exceed hours-of-service limits, or operate while fatigued are personally liable for resulting crashes.

Trucking Company

Companies face liability through various legal theories. Under respondeat superior, employers are responsible for the driver’s actions within the employment scope. Companies that negligently hire unqualified drivers, fail to conduct proper background checks, or inadequately train employees bear direct liability.

Trucking companies that pressure drivers to violate hours-of-service regulations, skip rest breaks, or meet unrealistic delivery schedules demonstrate negligence. They may be liable if they fail to maintain vehicles or conduct required inspections.

Cargo Loading Companies

Third-party loading companies may be liable when improperly secured or unbalanced cargo causes accidents. Overloaded trucks, shifting cargo, or loads exceeding weight limits create dangerous conditions leading to rollovers, jackknifes, or loss of control.

Loading companies must follow federal cargo securement regulations. A truck accident attorney can prove liability by investigating loading records, expert reports, and cargo securement violations causing the crash.

Maintenance and Repair Providers

Independent shops that perform substandard repairs or fail to address known mechanical issues may share liability when equipment failures cause accidents. Brake malfunctions, tire blowouts, or steering failures resulting from negligent maintenance create actionable claims against repair facilities.

Truck Leasing Companies

Leasing companies may bear partial responsibility for accidents, particularly if they retain maintenance responsibilities or control over safety compliance.

Government Entities

Government agencies responsible for roadway maintenance can be liable in a truck crash. They may bear blame due to missing signage, dangerous intersections, or defective traffic signals, which may contribute to truck accidents.

Let Our Truck Accident Lawyers Support You After a Crash

After a truck crash, you shouldn’t have to face the physical, emotional, and financial challenges alone. Our dedicated truck accident lawyers at Presley and Presley Trial Lawyers understand the impact of injuries and are committed to holding negligent trucking companies accountable for their safety failures.

We’ll thoroughly investigate your case, uncover maintenance violations, and fight aggressively to prove negligence. We can provide legal advice, handle insurance negotiations, and litigation for a fair and just settlement.

Contact our office at (816) 931-4611 for a free consultation.

Trucking Company Responsibilities: FAQs