Why Are Tractor-Trailers so Dangerous?
Tractor-trailers are long, thin vehicles with a high center of gravity, so they are vulnerable to instability and rolling over. However, either the truck driver or other personnel can contribute to an accident:
- The driver might be going too fast, which increases the odds of a rollover.
- The driver might allow one side of the vehicle to rise or fall quickly, which can lead to a rollover.
- Cargo could be loaded improperly, which increases the trailer’s instability.
Truck drivers are trained on how to make turns properly, but excessive speed and unsafe steering can lead to accidents. For example, a driver might “overcorrect” too quickly, which can lead to a crash.
Drivers are typically not responsible for how cargo is loaded. If the load is sealed, then the driver might never inspect it before driving. In other accidents, the driver could have sped through his checklist too quickly and failed to account for how the load will impact his driving.
Who Can Be Held Accountable for a Crash Involving a Truck?
The party we sue will depend on who is responsible for the truck becoming unstable. If the driver made some error—taking a turn too fast, for example—then the driver can be held personally liable. Under Florida law, an employer is also automatically liable when an employee injures someone negligently while working.
In other situations, the trucking company might have its own individual liability. For example, it might not have trained drivers property or not fixed trucks with a defect.
The loading company might be to blame if an unbalanced load contributed to the rollover. They must perform their job with sufficient care, otherwise they are on the hook for compensation.
Many victims have no idea who is to blame for their truck accident. All they know is that the truck rolled over and they were hurt. Let your attorney carefully sift through the evidence to apportion fault. In some accidents, multiple parties might share blame, and we can sue them all.
