Who May Be Held Liable for a Truck Accident in Illinois?

Truck accidents are life-changing incidents, leading to disabilities and long-term injuries, emotional scars and high financial costs. Calculating the degree of harm and determining liability in an accident can be challenging since there are several factors at play. Knowing who is at fault is tricky, especially when there may be multiple parties who are potentially at fault, but determining liability is necessary to recover a settlement. Our truck accident lawyers at Brassfield & Krueger, LTD provide insight into your specific situation at a consultation: call today. 

What Is Liability In a Truck Accident?

Liability is a term for the legal obligation to provide compensation after causing an injury. In general, the party at fault may be an individual person, a trucking company or a governmental agency. Sometimes, liability may fall between multiple parties. 

Who Can Be Considered Liable For a Truck Accident?

In most cases, liability is determined based on who is at fault for the accident. However, there are certain theories of liability that may complicate how fault is determined based on factors at play. Parties that may be held liable in a truck accident include the following: 

• Truck Driver. Truck drivers may be liable for an accident if they are found to have been speeding, driving while impaired, driving recklessly and other dangerous behaviors. While the trucking company may be found liable for the driver’s actions, such may not be true if the driver works independently or if the accident occured outside of employment-related duties. 

• Trucking Company. Trucking companies often push their drivers to do long hours, which can increase the risk of fatigue-related crashes. As a result, the company may be held liable in an injury case if they failed to provide adequate training for drivers or did not complete thorough background checks. These factors may be found to have contributed to the accident.

• Truck Manufacturer. Truck accidents sometimes happen to defects in the parts of the vehicle. If this is the cause of an accident, the manufacturer or distributor of the vehicle parts can be found liable for damages due to the defective truck.  

• Cargo Shipper or Loader. Cargo inside of a truck can sometimes increase the risk of an accident if those items are not properly loaded or secured. If the cargo moves around or even explodes, an accident can occur. In this scenario, a cargo-related incident can be attributed to the cargo loader or shipper. 

• Another Third Party. The above parties aren’t the only entities that may be liable for a truck accident. An accident can also happen due to negligence by a third party, such as other drivers, those responsible for maintaining road conditions and others. That’s why you need to contact an attorney at the soonest opportunity to determine who is at fault in your accident case. 

Contact Our Firm for a Consultation

Several parties may be held liable for a truck accident depending on the factors specific to your case. Your first step after an accident should be to get in touch with a knowledgeable lawyer. Call to discuss your situation with a McHenry County truck accident attorney at Brassfield & Krueger, LTD.