Can You Sue a Trucking Company for Hiring an Unqualified Driver?

Being seriously injured in a truck accident is bad enough on its own. But learning that the driver who hit you may never have been qualified to operate a commercial vehicle in the first place? That is another level of frustration entirely. You’re dealing with real injuries, mounting medical bills, and the growing realization that your crash may have been preventable. The trucking company had a job to do before that driver ever got behind the wheel, and you deserve to know whether they did it.

At Lafferty, Gallagher & Scott, LLC, we have been representing truck accident victims since 1973. We know from decades of experience that trucking companies are often a significant contributing factor in these crashes, not just the drivers themselves.

If you suspect the trucking company failed to properly screen or qualify the driver who injured you, here is what you need to know:

• Yes, you may be able to sue a trucking company if it negligently hired an unqualified driver who caused your crash.
• Federal regulations set requirements for trucking companies when hiring drivers, including rules about driver qualifications and safety records.
• Negligent hiring can take several forms, such as failing to investigate a driver’s background, qualifications, or driving history.
• Proving negligent hiring requires evidence showing what the trucking company knew or should have known before putting that driver on the road.
• The trucking company may be liable in addition to the driver, depending on what an investigation reveals.

Understanding how negligent hiring works, what it looks like in practice, and how it can be proven are all central to building a strong truck accident claim.

What Federal Regulations Must Trucking Companies Follow When Hiring Drivers?

Trucking companies do not get to simply hand someone a set of keys and send them out on the road. Before a driver can legally operate a commercial motor vehicle, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) requires trucking companies to take specific steps to verify that the driver is qualified.

Those requirements include:

• Reviewing the driver’s driving record from every state in which the driver held a license in the past three years.
• Examining employment history for the preceding three years, including contacting previous motor carrier employers.
• Verifying that the driver holds a valid commercial driver’s license (CDL) with any required endorsements for the type of vehicle or cargo involved.
• Confirming that the driver meets medical qualification standards, including having a valid medical examiner’s certificate on file.
• Conducting pre-employment drug and alcohol testing and obtaining records of prior violations from previous employers.
• Maintaining a driver qualification file for each driver that contains all of this documentation.

A trucking company’s responsibility does not end at confirming a driver holds a CDL. The FMCSA framework requires a meaningful review of whether that driver is actually safe to put on the road. Companies that treat this process as a formality, or skip it altogether, may be held legally responsible when that oversight causes harm.

What Does Negligent Hiring Look Like in a Trucking Accident Case?

Negligent hiring occurs when a trucking company fails to conduct a reasonable investigation into a driver’s qualifications before putting that person behind the wheel of a commercial vehicle. The specific failure matters, because not every truck accident means the company was negligent in its hiring process.

That said, there are several ways negligent hiring commonly appears in these cases:

• Failing to investigate a history of serious traffic violations or prior crashes.
• Ignoring previous license suspensions or revocations.
• Hiring a driver who did not meet applicable FMCSA qualification requirements at the time of hiring.
• Failing to verify that the driver’s CDL covered the type of vehicle being operated.
• Skipping required drug and alcohol testing or disregarding prior violations.
• Neglecting to review employment history with past motor carriers.
• Failing to keep a complete driver qualification file as required by federal regulations.

To be clear: the fact that a truck driver was involved in a crash does not, by itself, mean the trucking company was negligent in hiring that person. The facts surrounding the hiring process, specifically what the company did and did not do, are what determines whether a negligent hiring claim can be supported.

How Can You Prove a Trucking Company Negligently Hired the Driver Who Injured You?

Proving negligent hiring requires a close examination of the trucking company’s records and a careful analysis of what the company knew, or reasonably should have known, about the driver before bringing that person on.

The evidence in these cases typically comes from:

• The driver’s personnel and qualification files, which should contain all FMCSA-required documentation.
• Motor vehicle records, showing the driver’s history of violations, suspensions, or crashes.
• Employment history and previous employer contacts, which may reveal red flags the company failed to follow up on.
• Drug and alcohol testing records, including pre-employment tests and records obtained from prior employers.
• CDL verification records, showing whether the license was confirmed and whether it included the required endorsements.
• Training and safety records, showing what the company knew about the driver’s capabilities.
• The company’s own hiring policies and procedures, which can reveal whether the company followed its own standards.

These records can show a clear picture of what the company discovered during the hiring process, and just as importantly, what it failed to discover because it did not look. When warning signs were present and ignored, or when required background steps were simply not taken, that failure can form the foundation of a negligent hiring claim.

Can Both the Trucking Company and the Driver Be Found Liable?

Pursuing a claim against the trucking company does not mean the driver walks away without accountability. Under Ohio law, multiple parties can share responsibility for the same crash.

Here is how that typically breaks down:

• The driver may be directly liable for the conduct that caused the crash, such as speeding, distracted driving, following too closely, or violating traffic laws.
• The trucking company may be liable under respondeat superior, an Ohio legal doctrine that holds employers responsible for an employee’s conduct when that employee was acting within the scope of their employment at the time of the crash.
• The trucking company may also face direct liability for its own independent negligence, including negligent hiring, negligent supervision, or negligently retaining a driver it knew or should have known was unqualified.

A thorough truck accident investigation uncovers what happened, who is responsible, and to what degree their actions contributed to the crash.

Don’t Let the Trucking Company Avoid Responsibility

You did not choose to share the road with an unqualified truck driver. If the trucking company failed to properly screen or verify the person it put behind the wheel of a massive commercial vehicle, that failure may be a significant part of your claim.

The attorneys at Lafferty, Gallagher & Scott, LLC have spent more than 50 years helping truck accident victims in Ohio hold negligent parties accountable. We know how to investigate the hiring process, obtain the records that matter, and build a case that reflects the full picture of what went wrong. If you suspect the driver who injured you should never have been on the road in the first place, contact us today for a free consultation.