Facing a commercial truck head-on is a terrifying experience. Knowing that you are helpless to protect yourself and that the driver behind the wheel of the truck might not even know you are there can be traumatizing; and, in the moments that follow, your life can change forever.
Nearly one third of all fatal accidents involving commercial trucks are head-on collisions. Head-on collisions account for more deaths each year than any other type of trucking accident, with an average of nearly two deaths every day nationwide according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. In serious and fatal accidents, the drivers and companies that are to blame deserve to be held accountable, and the victims and their families deserve to receive just compensation.
HEAD-ON TRUCKING COLLISIONS: WHO IS TO BLAME?
In head-on collisions involving commercial trucks, there are several parties that can potentially be held responsible for the victims’ losses. When we represent clients in cases involving head-on trucking accidents, we often pursue compensation from parties including:
- Trucking Companies – Trucking companies can be held liable for their own negligence, and they can also be held liable for their drivers’ careless mistakes. Safety violations, truck loading and maintenance issues, distracted driving, drunk driving, fatigued driving and driver errors are all common factors for which trucking companies can be held legally responsible.
- Truck Manufacturers – In many cases, head-on collisions involving large commercial trucks are the result of truck defects. Under the law of products liability, accident victims and their families can recover compensation from truck manufacturers for accidents resulting from defective brakes and other dangerous and defective truck components.
- Shipping Companies – If the truck driver lost control because the truck’s cargo was too heavy or improperly balanced, then the shipping company that loaded the cargo could be deemed at fault in the accident.
[View source.]
