Truck Accident Compensation: ​Legal Insights for Families Following a Truck Accident by 30Seconds Mom

Each year, truck accidents are responsible for numerous injuries and deaths across the U.S. In 2022, 120,200 large trucks were involved in crashes that resulted in injury, while 5,837 large trucks were involved in a fatal crash.

In cases where a family member is injured or killed in a truck accident, the emotional, physical and financial toll can be overwhelming. Families can find themselves left with mounting medical bills, loss of income and the potential grief and emotional trauma of losing a loved one. Grappling with these issues can be challenging. However, the law does offer legal remedies for injured victims or their surviving family members, which may compensate them for their losses.

Let's explore some of the legal rights and options available to families following a truck accident, enabling them to seek the compensation and justice they deserve.

Personal Injury Claims

In cases where the victim is injured but not killed in a truck accident, they may have the right to bring a civil action against the party at fault by filing a personal injury claim against them. In doing so, they may be entitled to receive damages for various economic and non-economic losses attributable to their accident.

To be successful in such an action, the injured party must establish that the negligent actions or omissions of the other party directly caused their injuries. In a personal injury claim, the element of negligence is established as follows:

• Duty of Care: This refers to the legal duty owed by the defendant to the victim, which involves taking reasonable steps to ensure their safety and avoid causing them harm.

• Breach of Duty: This involves proving that the defendant, through their actions, breached their duty of care to the victim.

• Causation: The injuries sustained by the victim were a direct consequence of the defendant’s breach of duty.

• Damages: The losses suffered by the injured party must be quantifiable and capable of being compensated for under the law.

Negligence in a truck accident can often involve multiple parties, making establishing liability in these cases a complex matter. For those seeking to pursue this legal avenue, it is advisable to seek the help of a personal injury attorney who is experienced in these types of cases, such as Jimmy Doan Truck Accident Lawyer in Houston.

Establishing Liability

A truck accident may be the fault of a single party or multiple parties, and an experienced attorney will ensure all responsible parties are held accountable for their actions. Common at-fault parties in a truck accident include:

• The truck driver: The truck driver’s negligent action may have caused the accident. For example, they may have been texting, talking on their phone or distracted in some other way, or under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time.

• Trucking company: The trucking company or employer of the driver at fault may be held negligent. This may be due to their own negligent actions, such as failing to adequately inspect or maintain the truck to ensure it was roadworthy or hiring a driver who lacked the necessary training or experience to safely operate the vehicle. Under the principle of respondeat superior an employer can also hold vicarious liability for the negligent actions of its employees. This means that legal action may be brought against a truck driver’s employer for the negligent acts or omissions of the truck driver.

• Cargo loaders: Parties responsible for the loading of cargo may be held liable for an accident in cases where they failed to safely secure it. For example, liability can be attributed to them when this leads to cargo moving in transit, causing the truck to become unstable and resulting in an accident.
  

• Manufacturers: Vehicle design and manufacture are cited by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) as among the factors that can cause a truck accident. This can include the presence of a defective part, which can lead to a mechanical failure and subsequent accident. In these cases, the manufacturer of the faulty part can be held liable.

• Government agencies: In some cases, a truck accident may be the result of inadequate signage or poorly maintained roads. Here, the government agencies responsible for these matters may be found negligent and, therefore, liable for the accident.

Shared Fault

The at-fault party or parties in a truck accident may argue that liability should also lie with the victim, as they were partly responsible for the accident. In states that apply the comparative negligence rule, liability for an accident will be apportioned between the parties in accordance with their respective degree of negligence or fault. For example, a plaintiff who is found to be 40 percent responsible for the accident will receive a reduction in compensation by this amount. They will, therefore, be entitled to 60 percent of their damages.

Under the pure application of this rule, a plaintiff who was 99 percent responsible for the accident can still receive damages for the 1 percent they were not at fault. However, where the modified contributory negligence rule applies, the plaintiff will be barred from recovering damages where their degree of fault exceeds either 50 percent or 51 percent, depending on the specific rules of that state.

Wrongful Death

In cases where a truck accident results in a fatality, the family members of the deceased may have legal standing to bring a wrongful death claim against the party or parties at fault.

This legal action can help family members recover compensation for the economic and non-economic losses they have incurred, and may continue to, as a result of the negligence of another. Damages in a wrongful death claim can include the following matters:

• Medical expenses incurred by the deceased before their death.
• Funeral expenses.
• Loss of consortium.
• Loss of financial support.
• Pain and suffering of the deceased before death.
• Pain and suffering of family members.

In some cases, punitive damages also may be awarded in cases where the actions of the defendant are considered particularly egregious or grossly negligent.

While the aftermath of a truck accident can be challenging for family members to navigate, the legal remedies available can help alleviate some of the pressures that individuals may face, as well as offer some semblance of justice in tragic circumstances.

Take 30 seconds and join the 30Seconds community, and follow us on Facebook to get inspiration in your newsfeed daily. Inspire and be inspired.