More and more trucks share our highways with cars and other motor vehicles, resulting in an increased risk of crashes between trucks and other vehicles. These accidents often involve multiple vehicles and serious injuries or deaths, as the weight and size of a truck in comparison to a smaller vehicle renders the occupants of smaller vehicles particularly vulnerable to damage from the impact of a truck. Traffic accidents between trucks and other vehicles are often caused by the negligence of a truck driver, the negligence of a truck driver’s employer, and/or a defect in the truck itself.
If you have been injured or a loved one has been killed in an accident between a truck and your vehicle due to driver negligence or a defect in a truck or other motor vehicle, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries or loved one’s death. The Killino Firm’s Miami, Florida, truck accident attorneys can assist you in obtaining the compensation you deserve from those who have caused your injuries or loved one’s death. Contact The Killino Firm at 305-559-6340 for a cost-free evaluation of your case and additional information about your legal rights and options.
Legal Liability for Truck Accident Injuries or Deaths
When a traffic accident is caused by the negligence of one or more drivers, the negligence of a driver’s employer, or a defect in one or more vehicles, accident victims who have been injured or killed in such accidents may be entitled to compensation through legal action against the responsible parties.
Liability for Injuries or Deaths Caused by Truck Driver Negligence
A truck driver’s negligence is often determined to have been a cause of the injury or death of the victim of a crash between a truck and the motor vehicle occupied by the victim. Truck drivers have a duty to exercise due care for the safety of other drivers while they are on a street, highway, or road. This duty includes the duty to obey speed limits, traffic signals, lane changing rules, and any other applicable traffic laws and rules of the road or federal and other regulations related to the safe operation of trucks. A truck driver’s breach of this duty of care may be found to constitute negligence on the part of the truck driver and result in the driver’s liability for injuries or deaths found to have been caused by the driver’s negligence.
Truck drivers may also be found negligent for driving for too long a time without a break or rest, for driving while fatigued, or for driving in areas where trucks are prohibited. When such negligence is found to have been causal of an accident victim’s injury or death, the driver may be found liable for the damages suffered by the victim or victim’s family as a result.
Liability of Truck Drivers’ Employers for Truck Accident Injuries or Deaths
When a truck driver who is employed by a company or individual is found to have negligently caused an accident victim’s injury or death while working for the employer, the driver’s employer may be held vicariously, or indirectly, liable for the injuries or death caused by the negligence of its driver employee. A driver’s employer may also be held directly liable for injuries or deaths caused by the negligence of its employee if, for example, the employer was negligent in screening, hiring, training, monitoring, and/or retaining the negligent employee driver. In addition, a truck driver’s employer may be held directly liable for injuries or deaths of accident victims if the employer required the driver to drive while fatigued or without taking sufficient breaks or rests, paid the employee in a manner that induced the employee to drive in this manner and/or to drive at excessive speeds, or allowed or required the driver to use a truck the employer knew to be defective or otherwise unsafe.
Liability for Injuries and Deaths Caused by Defective Trucks and Other Vehicles
Accidents between trucks and other motor vehicles may be caused by a defect in the truck or in one or more of the other vehicles involved in a crash. In some cases, a defect in a truck or other vehicle can combine with a driver’s negligence to cause an accident victim’s injury or death. In these cases, the negligent driver, the driver’s employer, and the manufacturer of the defective vehicle as well as others in the chain of the vehicle’s distribution could all be found liable, under certain circumstances, for an accident victim’s injury or death.
Actions brought to recover damages for injuries and deaths caused by defective trucks and other motor vehicles are generally brought as product liability actions against the manufacturer and others involved in the production and sale of the defective vehicle. Though product liability actions may be brought as breach of warranty, negligence, or strict liability claims, the strict liability form of action is usually preferred, as it relieves the plaintiff of the burden of having to establish negligence or other fault on the part of any of the defendants.
Contact Us
If you have been injured or one of your family members has been killed in a truck and other vehicle crash and you suspect that your injuries or family member’s death was caused by the negligence of the truck driver or a defect in the truck involved in the accident, The Killino Firm’s Miami, Florida, truck accident attorneys can help you obtain the compensation you deserve. Contact The Killino Firm at 305-559-6340 for expert and experienced assistance with your truck accident case.
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