Truck accidents tend to be far more devastating than your everyday car accidents in Mount Prospect. To deal with mounting damages, our attorneys can help you file a lawsuit against those responsible.
You will usually have a few parties you can recover compensation from for these types of accidents. The truck driver is almost always sued, but we can also typically name the trucking company they work for in your lawsuit, as well. Most importantly, we can determine if anyone else contributed to your crash when we review your case. Turck accidents tend to involve several vehicles, so it is likely that other drivers played a part in bringing your accident about. With our help, you can obtain the evidence you need and file your case before time runs out.
Call (312) 578-8502 to set up a free and private review of your case with our truck accident attorneys at the Rhatigan Law Offices.
Those Who Can Be Held Responsible for a Truck Accident in Mount Prospect, IL
Truck accident lawsuits are known for their complexity because of the number of parties that could be involved. Fortunately, this can give our truck accident attorneys multiple paths to recover the compensation you are entitled to. When we review your case, we will start by analyzing the truck driver for liability. We can also usually add the trucking company that employs them to your lawsuit. However, our team also has the necessary experience to identify other parties who might have contributed to the collision, like cargo loaders or the truck’s manufacturer.
Truck Drivers
The truck driver in the accident is typically the first person named in a lawsuit. Truckers are the ones handling the highly-complex and large vehicles and are assumed to have the professional training to operate them safely. Truck drivers have all the same duties as an average driver, like driving the speed limit and following traffic laws. However, truckers have many other duties that could be evidence of negligence when violated.
For instance, truckers must abide by hours of operation regulations set down by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Trucks carrying commercial property should not be on the road for more than 11 to 14 hours a day without being off duty for 10 hours. Truckers must also take a 30-minute break every eight hours of driving.
With these strict operating times, speeding and fatigued truck drivers are a common cause of these accidents. Some truckers cause accidents because they are trying to beat the clock and deliver their cargo as quickly as possible. Others push themselves too long and fall asleep behind the wheel. The truck driver’s logs and trucking company records can show us if any of these regulations were broken, leading to your crash.
Trucking Companies
When we sue the truck driver in a lawsuit, we will most likely name the trucking company as a defendant, as well. Most trucking companies in Mount Prospect are vicariously liable for the acts of their employees while they are performing their job duties, even the negligent ones. It does not matter if the trucking company did nothing wrong itself, they can still be sued. This legal rule is also referred to as respondeat superior.
Of course, there are times when a trucking company needs to be held accountable for its own carelessness. Trucking companies must also abide by numerous FMCSA regulations, like conducting drug and alcohol testing for drivers. This also includes background checks to make sure the truckers they are hiring do not have a history of reckless driving. We could also sue a trucking company if they are hauling hazardous materials improperly, fail to train their drivers sufficiently, or should not be transporting them at all.
Other Parties
Many truck accidents happen on highways and other busy roads in Mount Prospect, so it is quite possible that another driver contributed to your accident or initiated it. Perhaps the other driver did not check their blind spots before cutting off the truck, or both drivers were speeding when the crash occurred.
In other cases, the trucker might not have been negligent, but instead, a system or part on the truck could have been defective. For instance, the air brake system might not have responded when the truck driver tried to stop and avoid the crash. In these cases, we would file a claim against the designer or manufacturer of the truck or the defective part.
Some truck accidents are caused because the cargo inside the trailer was improperly loaded. It is common for a company to have its own cargo loaders put a shipment on a truck rather than the trucker as a matter of policy. If the cargo is loaded so that the weight is not distributed evenly, it could cause the truck’s trailer to jackknife or tip over.
In rarer situations, we might discover that a state or local government agency contributed to your accident. This typically happens when poor road conditions or government-contracted construction causes a truck to crash. However, there are additional challenges to suing the government, like shorter filing times, so you will want to discuss your case with our team as soon as you are able.
Proving a Truck Accident Lawsuit in Mount Prospect, IL
Besides the number of defendants that could be involved, the evidence needed to prove truck accident claims also makes these cases complex. Further, 735 I.L.C.S. 5/13-202 only gives you two years from the date of your accident to file your lawsuit under the state’s “statute of limitations.” Thus, you will want to contact our team so we can start gathering evidence immediately.
We will typically start by locating and speaking with any witnesses who saw your accident. Considering the devastation involved in many truck accidents, it is likely people witnessed it. However, people’s memories fade quickly, even of events like truck accidents. The sooner we are able to talk to witnesses, the more information about the accident we can gather and use in your case.
During litigation, our team will demand the trucking company turn over records relevant to the case. This could include employee records, maintenance logs, driver’s trip logs, and any other business records we deem necessary to decide the issues in your lawsuit. If the defendants refuse to turn over the evidence because it is incriminating, we can file an order with the court requesting that it direct them to deliver the evidence or be in contempt.
If the truck was equipped with a black box, it could tell us a great deal about the accident, such as the speed of the truck at the time of the collision and how long the truck had been in operation.
Our Mount Prospect, IL Truck Accident Lawyers Can Help
For a free case assessment with our truck accident attorneys, call Rhatigan Law Offices at (312) 578-8502.
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