Bowling Green, Ohio Truck Accident Lawyer

Trucking companies have a number of responsibilities to the public. These responsibilities are laid out by federal law and enforced uniformly across the trucking industry. While individual states like Ohio have rules regarding tort lawsuits that will apply to your case, the rules governing the trucking industry are handed down at the federal level.

Truck company responsibilities include ensuring that their drivers are qualified, have active CDLs in good standing, are familiar with the rigs they are driving, and abide by hours of operation restrictions. Further, the truck itself must be in a roadworthy condition. When a trucking company fails to address any of those responsibilities and it results in an injury (or, as often happens, death) to another driver or pedestrian, the family or injured party may file a lawsuit against the trucking company. To learn more about your options after a semi-truck accident, talk with a Bowling Green truck accident lawyer from Lafferty, Gallagher, & Scott today.

Negligence in Truck Accident Lawsuits

Negligence is a legal concept that implies that a duty of care was violated, causing injury to another party. Trucking companies have specifically described duties of care. The majority of truck accident lawsuits will make one of the following allegations:

• Simple moving violation – A simple moving violation can be the basis of a lawsuit against a trucking company. More often than not, this is the most advanced claim that a plaintiff can make. The truck driver violated some rule of traffic that led to an accident with another vehicle. The truck driver is responsible for the accident, and his company takes liability for the damages.
• Underqualified driver – In some cases, trucking companies fail in their duty of care to adequately train drivers. When this happens, the results are often devastating. Undertrained drivers do not know the tolerances of their vehicles and will often fail to brake in time, expecting that the truck will stop earlier than it does. These accidents can be fatal and frequently occur in traffic jams or construction zones.
• Mechanical issues with the truck – Trucking companies are expected to perform diagnostics on trucks prior to deliveries. If the truck malfunctions in a way that could have been predicted by a required diagnostic, the trucking company is responsible.
• Loading issues – The trucking company is responsible for loading the trailer properly. If the trailer is not loaded properly, it can result in causing balance problems for the truck. This results in accidents more frequently than you would think.
• Gross negligence – It is more common to see multi-million and even billion-dollar verdicts against trucking companies. These companies often face allegations that they hired drivers on suspended CDLs or without any CDL at all. In those cases, the trucking company is punished for the conduct by the jury with a large damages award.

Talk to a Bowling Green, Ohio Truck Accident Lawyer

If you have been involved in a commercial truck accident in Ohio, call the attorneys at Lafferty, Gallagher, & Scott today to schedule a free consultation and discuss litigation strategy.