Who May Be Held Liable in a Truck Accident?

Seeking compensation for injuries in an accident involving a tractor-trailer or other large truck can become complicated because the truck is part of a commercial enterprise. Multiple parties have a hand in putting a truck on the road, and one or more of them may be found liable for an accident.

A truck accident claim is more complex than an auto accident case. It also provides the potential for a larger total recovery. Commercial truck drivers and trucking companies are required to carry higher amounts of liability insurance than automobile owners. If multiple parties are liable for a truck accident, each may be compelled to compensate the accident victim.

The Kentucky truck accident lawyers of Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer can conduct a thorough investigation of the truck accident you were in to identify all parties responsible for your injuries. Our attorneys have the experience and Kentucky Courage to stand up to deep-pocketed trucking firms and other companies involved in a truck accident claim. We’ll aggressively pursue every possible claim to recover the maximum compensation available for the painful ordeal that you or your loved ones have endured.

Who May Be Responsible for a Truck Accident?

Liability in an accident claim is based on proof that the negligence or recklessness of a party involved in the accident either caused or contributed to the accident and your injuries. The potential for multiple parties to be liable in a truck accident is one of the primary reasons that truck accidents are more complex.

After a crash involving a commercial truck, we look into the potential for a claim against the:

• Truck driver. Typically, we look for negligence on the part of the truck driver first when we investigate a truck accident. We often find that the trucker was breaking a traffic law by speeding, driving too fast for conditions, following too closely or not paying adequate attention. In other instances, a driver may have disregarded a trucking industry regulation, such as Hours of Service restrictions. A driver may have spent too much time behind the wheel without a rest break, and drowsy driving may have contributed to the crash.
• Trucking company. The trucking company is responsible for the drivers they hire and the trucks they put on the road. The trucking company may be named in a claim because of a negligent driver or a truck’s mechanical failure. The trucking company may also be held responsible for failing to remove an unsafe driver from the road or for failing to ensure their drivers are trained properly.
• Truck owner. The trucking company or another party may own the truck that crashed. If an accident was caused by a mechanical problem on the truck, such as misadjusted brakes, the owner of the truck may ultimately be held liable.
• Truck or truck parts manufacturer. When a mechanical failure on the truck leads to a crash and the truck is found to have had a defect from the start, we may seek compensation from the manufacturer that made the defective part.
• Truck garage. Sometimes a mechanical failure that led to a crash is due to maintenance and/or repairs that were not performed properly. Many motor carriers outsource maintenance work, in which case the negligent repair shop may be liable.
• Cargo owner and/or shipping company. Many transfer trucks carry cargo on a contract basis. Other companies own and load the cargo. If a truck’s cargo is not loaded and secured properly, it can shift or spill and cause the truck driver to lose control and crash. When this happens, the company responsible for loading the cargo may be liable for injuries.
• Local government and its contractors. Local governments and/or their contractors may be held liable for an accident if a roadway defect contributed to a truck accident. This might be failed design, construction or maintenance of the roadway, such as a crumbling roadbed or an area of pooled rainwater runoff, or roadside issues, such as structures or flora that obscured a truck driver’s view. The improper design of a road or an unsafe design of a construction work zone may contribute to a truck accident.

How Liability is Shared Among Parties in a Truck Accident

When our investigation shows that multiple parties have liability for an accident, they may all be found to be responsible for our client’s losses.

An advantage of multiple defendants in a claim is that if, for example, the trucker’s insurance does not cover the full extent of our client’s losses, compensation available from the motor carrier or a third-party vendor may add to the total amount recovered. A disadvantage is that multiple defendants may try to blame each other.

In most truck accident cases, the driver and their employer are defendants. Usually, the truck accident has happened within the scope of the truck driver’s job duties, so the motor carrier is responsible for the actions of their employee. Even when a truck or a driver’s services are contracted, the trucking company is often held liable for the driver’s negligence.

In the end, the apportionment of damages that must be paid by multiple parties found liable for a truck accident is based on Kentucky’s application of the doctrine of comparative fault. This requires a jury to consider how much each party is at fault for an accident and to assign them a percentage of the whole. According to the law, “In determining the percentages of fault, the judge or jury shall consider the nature of the conduct of each party at fault and the causal relationship between the conduct and the damages claimed.”

Contact a KY Truck Accident Lawyer Today

If you have been injured in a truck accident, we urge you to seek the help of an experienced truck accident lawyer to investigate the accident and advise you about pursuing a truck accident claim.

In Kentucky, the truck accident lawyers of Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer have the experience and Kentucky Courage you need to pursue the maximum compensation available by law.

Contact us today for your free consultation about giving accident victims the Kentucky Courage they need to fight for justice. Phone (877) 809-5352 or reach out online.

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How Do You Prove Negligence in a Slip and Fall?

If you have been significantly injured in a slip and fall accident caused by someone else’s negligence, you may seek compensation. But to obtain it, you must prove the accident was someone else’s fault. The Kentucky slip and fall lawyers of Morgan Collins, Yeast & Salyer can help you make your case.

Every year, millions of people are injured in falls. Some people are disabled for life by falls caused by dangerous conditions. These are preventable hazards that should have been addressed by property owners or, at a minimum, had proper warning signs to prevent falls at stores, offices, homes, sidewalks, parking lots, and garages.

Property owners have a legal obligation to ensure the reasonable safety of anyone who might legally visit the premises. When a fall hazard exists, property owners are required to fix the unsafe condition in a timely manner or post warnings of the danger. Failure to address the hazard is negligence, which makes the property owner potentially liable because of the hazard they ignored if someone is injured.

Victims of fall accidents may suffer a variety of serious injuries, such as traumatic brain injury (TBI), back injuries, broken hips or arms, knee injuries, or shoulder dislocations. A claim against the at-fault property owner’s business liability insurance or homeowner’s insurance would seek compensation for medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, and potentially additional losses.

Typical Slip, Trip, and Fall Hazards that Lead to Injuries

• Wet floors made slippery by spilled liquids, tracked-in rain or snow, recent mopping, buffing, or waxing.
• Clutter, trash, or debris in store aisles, corridors, sidewalks, and other walkways.
•  Potholes in parking lots or overgrown lawns or lots.
• Damaged or loose flooring, carpet, rugs, mats, tile, paving stones, stair treads, or handrails.
• Poor lighting in corridors, stairwells, and parking garages.
• Elevators and escalators that start or stop abruptly or fail to align with the floor

To recover full compensation for an injury suffered in a fall caused by a property owner’s negligence, you need to present evidence to prove how the owner or property manager’s negligence led to your injury. This is where an experienced personal injury attorney at Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer can help you.

What is Necessary to Prove Negligence in a Slip and Fall Accident?

Slip and fall cases typically arise when someone has fallen on someone else’s property and been injured badly enough to require emergency medical treatment and time away from work. In some instances, the accident victim may contact the business where the accident occurred to request compensation and be turned down or offered little for their loss. The owner may dispute their fault for the accident or not understand their liability.

It’s important to contact a slip and fall lawyer who can negotiate on your behalf.

Our objective as personal injury attorneys representing a slip and fall accident victim is to calculate the full extent of our client’s losses and prove the property owner’s liability. We will present the property owner and their insurers with a demand for payment of the accident victim’s losses. This leads to either a payment, negotiations toward a settlement agreement, or a lawsuit, which asks a court or jury to order the property owner to pay the damages suffered by our client.

What to Prove Against the Property Owner?

• Caused the dangerous condition that led to our client’s accident and injury
• Should have been aware of the dangerous condition that led to the accident but was not
• Was aware of the dangerous condition that led to the accident but did nothing about it
• Was aware of the dangerous condition that led to the accident and took inadequate steps to remove or warn about the dangerous condition

A property owner’s first defense is that they must be allowed a reasonable amount of time to become aware of a hazard and to eliminate it. For example, if something falls onto the floor at a grocery and creates a wet, slippery floor, it’s reasonable to allow time for the grocery staff to find the spill and send someone to clean it up.

If a property owner cannot eliminate a hazard right away, they may post warnings and/or barriers to protect people from the danger.

In some cases, a property owner may argue that a reasonable person would have recognized the danger and avoided it. This is sometimes called the “open and obvious” rule, as in “it was an open pit, and it was obvious he should have steered clear of it to avoid falling in.” What is “reasonable” or “obvious” to an adult is open to interpretation. It may be part of negotiations with insurers or arguments before a jury.

The victim‘s own carelessness or inattention may be a valid defense if, for example, the person was looking at a phone when the fall occurred or was not adequately watching where he or she was going.

If the victim was trespassing, he or she may not have a legitimate claim. Note, however, that there are different rules for children who are too immature to understand trespassing or recognize an obvious danger.

How We Can Prove Your Slip and Fall Claim

Slip and fall claims are won by persuading a property owner, insurer, or jury that the property owner was at fault and the victim was hurt through no fault of their own.

List of Evidence Required to Prove Slip and Fall Claim

• Witness statements, which may include bystanders who saw the accident or employees who can testify about the condition of the property
• Accident reports, such as reported to the business or filed by emergency responders
• Photos or video from witnesses or security cameras footage of the accident
• Property maintenance and repair policies and records, which may indicate that needed repairs were known but put off

Evidence from a premises liability accident should be gathered immediately before the unsafe condition is corrected. Some evidence may require legal motions, such as seeking a business’s maintenance records or prior complaints about the same unsafe condition.

As in most things, sooner is better than later for contacting a personal injury attorney about a potential slip and fall accident claim. At Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer we can start investigating your claim immediately.

Talk to Our Kentucky Slip and Fall Lawyers Today

Contact Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer as soon as possible after a slip and fall accident has caused serious or catastrophic injuries. Let us get started on your case today by providing you with a free legal consultation. We serve all of Kentucky from law offices in Lexington, Somerset, Manchester, London, Hazard, Paducah, Paintsville and Prestonsburg. Contact us at (877) 809-5352 or online now.

The post How Do You Prove Negligence in a Slip and Fall? appeared first on Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer.

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