Is a Trucking Company Liable for Your Accident?

Trucking accidents impact thousands of drivers and passengers in Virginia every year. The Virginia  Highway Safety Office reports almost 2,400 truck accidents in a year. Among these crashes, 717 included at least one injury, and 58 involved at least one death.

After a truck accident, your first instinct may be to assume the truck driver is responsible for the crash. But truck drivers are often only one of the parties who may be financially liable for an accident involving a tractor-trailer or other commercial truck. The trucking company that employs the driver typically shares responsibility for the accident.

Building a case to show that a trucking company is at fault for a truck accident requires an independent investigation by a knowledgeable truck accident attorney. The large insurance companies that represent truck drivers and trucking transport companies will do everything they can to prove that their client is not liable for the accident.

You’ll want help from a seasoned truck accident lawyer to stand up for your rights. The Virginia truck accident attorneys at the law firm of Lichtenstein Law Group PLC have nearly 100 years of combined experience protecting the rights of crash victims. We would be honored to represent you if your case is the type that we handle. To get started, contact our office today for a free initial consultation.

Ways the Trucking Company Can Be Held Accountable

Trucking companies have certain responsibilities under Virginia law. If a company doesn’t live up to its responsibilities, it can be held financially liable for a truck accident. The ways a trucking company can contribute to a crash include:

• Negligent hiring – Trucking companies are supposed to help keep Virginia’s roads safe by hiring careful, experienced, and fully qualified drivers. Any driver hired by a trucking company should hold a valid Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) in compliance with Virginia regulations or applicable laws in the driver’s home state. Trucking companies should strive to hire drivers without any history of safety violations or impaired driving. Unfortunately, many trucking companies either deliberately ignore these responsibilities in the name of cost or expediency, or they don’t do the necessary diligence, such as background checks, to see if a potential driver has any prior safety issues. This can lead to unsafe or inexperienced drivers behind the wheel of a tractor-trailer.
• Negligent supervision – A trucking company’s responsibility to use safe, qualified drivers doesn’t end once the driver has been hired. Trucking companies should also make sure their drivers are acting in compliance with company policies, as well as federal and state regulations. They can do this by looking at a driver’s logs and information from the truck’s electronic data recorder. This information may indicate if the driver was traveling at unsafe speeds or was going too long without rest breaks in violation of hours of service rules. Lastly, trucking companies should regularly test employees for drug and alcohol abuse. An impaired driver in a semi-truck is a major safety hazard to anyone around them.
• Incentivizing illegal conduct – Trucking companies can exert pressure on drivers that causes drivers to act in an unsafe, illegal, or negligent manner. For example, tying a driver’s compensation to how quickly they make their deliveries can encourage them to break hours of service rules. This increases the driver’s chances of being involved in a fatigued or distracted driving accident.
• Failing to maintain a safe fleet – These companies are also responsible for making sure the trucks themselves are in good working order. To that end, trucking companies should make sure drivers are adhering to required maintenance schedules and that any necessary repairs are completed in a timely manner. Trucking companies should also watch for any manufacturing or design defects in a truck that could lead to an accident.
• Vicarious liability – In Virginia, trucking companies can be held liable for any injuries caused by their employees if a driver injures or kills someone due to the driver’s negligent actions on the job. The driver must have been working when the crash occurred for a trucking company to be held liable under the vicarious liability doctrine. Additionally, the driver must have been negligent.

Do Virginia Trucking Companies Have Insurance?

Trucking companies and truck drivers must carry liability insurance that meets Virginia’s requirements when operating intrastate and meets federal requirements when they’re operating in multiple states. In fact, freight trucks may be required to carry anywhere between $750,000 to $5,000,000 in coverage, depending on the size of their truck and the type of cargo they’re carrying.

Insurance costs are expensive for trucking companies, but insurance is crucial because of the risks associated with large commercial vehicles. Insurance helps trucking companies cover any injuries suffered by other drivers as a result of a driver’s actions or the company’s negligence.

If you have been injured in a truck accident caused by a trucking company or its driver, you can file a claim with the company’s insurance company. To recover any compensation, though, you’ll have to prove that the driver, the company, or both were somehow negligent. This is something a truck accident attorney can help you navigate.

Do Semi-Truck Accidents Go to Trial?

Most semi-truck accident cases end in an insurance settlement before a trial becomes necessary. However, trucking transport companies will sometimes take cases to trial, especially if the claim against them is for an especially large amount of money.

You will want to seek the help of a truck accident lawyer who has extensive litigation experience involving catastrophic injury cases. The attorneys at the Lichtenstein Law Group PLC are highly accomplished trial lawyers who will be prepared to pursue justice in court if necessary.

Contact an Experienced Virginia Semi-Truck Accident Attorney Today

If you or a loved one have been seriously injured in a truck accident, a Virginia truck accident lawyer can investigate the crash, determine liability, negotiate with the insurance companies for a just settlement, and bring your case to court if necessary.

The truck accident lawyers at Lichtenstein Law Group PLC have helped many truck accident victims get fair compensation for their losses. Let us use our legal experience to fight for you.  Contact our office for more information.

John E. Lichtenstein

John E. Lichtenstein is a founding member of Lichtenstein Law Group, PLC, with more than three decades of experience as a trial lawyer. A graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, John has successfully resolved hundreds of cases on behalf of his clients, including some of the largest jury verdicts and settlements in Virginia history. He has also served his profession, including serving as President of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association in 2015-2016 and as Chair of the Virginia State Bar Criminal Law Section in 2007-2008.