How Trucking Company Negligence Leads to Accidents
Trucking is a crucial industry in Montana and an essential link in the nation’s supply chain. As necessary as large commercial trucks are to Montana residents, they also tower over average family vehicles and outweigh them by as much as 76,000 pounds. This size and weight discrepancy leaves other motorists vulnerable to severe injuries in accidents. Unfortunately, truck accidents in Montana sometimes occur due to a trucking company’s negligence.
Understanding FMCSA Regulations and Reasonable Care
Freight-carrying trucks cross state lines and international borders, leaving the trucking industry subject to federal regulations. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) puts regulations in place to minimize the risk of truck accidents on the nation’s roadways. These regulations apply to many aspects of trucking, including:
- Driver qualifications and training requirements
- Initial and ongoing random drug testing for drivers
- Hours of service (HOS) regulations to limit driving hours and require break times
- Truck maintenance and repairs
- Meticulous logging of truck maintenance and driving hours
- Proper truck loading and cargo securing
Trucking companies must carefully adhere to these and other federal regulations. They must also ensure that drivers follow additional state regulations when driving into other states. Unfortunately, sometimes trucking companies cut corners, overlook deviations from regulatory standards, or fail to take reasonable care to prevent an accident.
Trucking companies have a legal obligation to uphold their duty of reasonable care to prevent accidents. Failing to uphold the duty of care is trucking company negligence, leaving the company liable for damages after an accident.
Common Truck Accidents Attributable to Trucking Company Negligence
When a trucking company fails to follow regulations and take reasonable care in their hiring, training, maintenance, or monitoring practices, the following types of truck accidents occur:
- Distracted driving accidents
- Fatigued driver accidents
- Intersection accidents
- T-bone accidents
- Head-on collisions
- Sideswipes
- Tire blowouts
- Jackknife accidents
- Rollover accidents
- Accidents caused by mechanical failures
- Drunk driving accidents
- Accidents caused by suddenly shifting or unbalanced loads
Even when a negligent driver causes a truck accident, the trucking company may be held liable for damages if their negligent hiring or training practices caused or contributed to the accident and the driver is an employee and not an independent contractor.
Understanding Trucking Company Duty of Care
Proving a trucking company’s negligence and violation of their duty of care requires evidence that demonstrates the following legal standards of liability:
- The trucking company owed a duty of care to others on the road, including the injury victim
- They breached their duty of care through negligence
- The breach of duty directly caused the accident and injury
- The injury victim suffered damages from the injury
Proving that a trucking company’s negligence caused an accident and injuries allows the injury victim to recover compensation for their damages, such as total past and future medical expenses, total income loss, compensation for pain and suffering, and compensation for catastrophic permanent injury or wrongful death. Depending on the circumstances, multiple parties could be held liable for damages. For instance, besides the trucking company itself, a truck maintenance company or negligent freight loading company could be held liable for damages in proportion to their percentage of fault.