It only takes a single mistake for a driver to cause a crash. Even when you make safety your top priority whenever you are on the road, you can always end up hurt in a crash caused by another vehicle. Getting hit by another vehicle typically means expensive property damage and concerning injuries.
If the other vehicle is a commercial truck, you may have life-altering injuries or may have lost a loved one in the crash. Collisions involving 18-wheelers and other commercial vehicles are often different than other crashes in a number of ways.
There are more issues that could potentially lead to a crash involving a commercial vehicle, and there are also more parties who could be to blame for the wreck. The chances are good that the smaller vehicle won’t be primarily to blame after a commercial vehicle collision. These are three or the other parties that could potentially be responsible.
1. The commercial driver
According to a large-scale analysis of commercial vehicle collisions performed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, truck drivers frequently make mistakes that lead to commercial crashes. Roughly 87% of the collisions caused by a commercial vehicle are the result of something that the driver of that vehicle did or didn’t do.
2. The transportation company
The business employing the commercial driver could be responsible for the crash for several reasons. They may have provided inadequate training or hired someone with a concerning safety record on the road. The company could also have policies that compromise driver safety, such as requirements to respond to management text messages or request to keep driving even after someone’s shift should end.
Finally, roughly 10% of the crashes caused by commercial vehicles are the results of problems with the vehicle itself. If that breaks or other maintenance issues are the underlying cause of a crash, then the company that failed to maintain its fleet may be responsible for the wreck.
3. An outside business
There are two categories of other businesses that could be to blame for a commercial driving crash. In some cases, an improperly-loaded trailer could be to blame for the crash, in which case the clients who loaded the trailer without warning the driver could be to blame. In a scenario involving defective vehicle components, it could be a manufacturer or service company that is ultimately to blame for the crash.
Those affected by commercial collisions will have the best chance of securing full compensation when they accurately identify the parties responsible for the situation. Pursuing a compensation claim after a commercial vehicle crash can cover repair costs, lost wages and other expenses.