If you are hit by a truck, your first reaction may be to blame the truck driver. Seeking compensation from their insurer would usually be your first plan. However, the driver may not bear full responsibility.
Because semi-trucks are driven for professional purposes, there may also be others who bear some responsibility for compensating you.
The driver’s employer
Unless a truck driver is an owner-operator, someone else provides them with the truck and tells them where and when to drive it. These employers, whether a small business or a large company, generally want to get the most out of their vehicles and drivers.
Some push drivers to skip breaks or take extra shifts preventing them from getting adequate rest. They might also hire drivers without sufficient experience or fail to provide adequate training.
Those who worked on and loaded the truck
Someone maintains that truck, and it’s probably not the driver. As you may know from experience, not all mechanics or garages are reliable. Some can do sloppy work or take shortcuts, and that can be catastrophic when a vehicle as large as a semi-truck is concerned.
The truck driver is probably not the person who loads the truck either, at least not all the time. Many places they pick up cargo from have staff to load the trailer for them, and a lapse by one of them could leave the vehicle unstable and lead to an accident when the driver is down the road.
Truck crashes tend to result in serious injuries, so the medical bills can be much larger than in the average collision. Investigating all options for seeking compensation is crucial. Having legal guidance can help.
