Sharing the road with semitrucks is something people do on a daily basis. Most people assume that the truckers will drive safely, so everyone can make it to their destination without any issues. Unfortunately, the likelihood of a crash doesn’t depend solely on the trucker.
When a trucking wreck occurs, the victim can opt to seek compensation for the financial damages. One step in doing this is determining who to hold liable for the crash. Doing this means looking into the cause of the crash. These three considerations may help to find the root cause.
Hours of service compliance
The hours of service regulations are set so that truckers don’t spend too much time behind the wheel. Electronic logs are one way to determine if a trucker was in compliance with these regulations at the time of the crash.
Trucking company policies
Trucking company policies can sometimes contribute to crashes, particularly if the policies are lax when it comes to safety. Failure to verify truckers before employment, subpar training, lack of monitoring and tight deadlines are some of the issues that can lead to wrecks that are the fault of the trucking company.
Maintenance records
Maintenance that isn’t handled properly or on time can leave the semitruck in a condition that’s unsafe for the road. Things like brake failure or a weak hitching system could have been caught by proper maintenance.
Victims of semitruck crashes often need to get intense medical care for catastrophic injuries. They will likely face significant medical care expenses and may have to deal with a loss of income. Some may opt to pursue a compensation claim for the crash, but the time to do this is limited. Filing the claim swiftly is critical, so working with someone familiar with these matters is beneficial.