Trucking accidents are, unfortunately, mostly always fatal. Statistics show that the majority of people involved in trucking accidents do not live to tell the tale, and if they do, they are seriously injured. It is largely because of the size of trucks, and the fact that most of these accidents take place on motorways or A-roads, where cars are traveling at very fast speeds. Trucking accidents are devastating, and if you have lived through one then you will want to know who is at fault, and that is exactly what this page will hope to tell you.
It is not always the case, however, that the truck driver was the one responsible for the accident, and rather, the blame may lie on other users sharing the road, or things out of the driver’s control. Because of this, it is essential that a proper investigation into who is at fault is undertaken so that the culprit behind a trucking accident can be punished. We automatically tend to blame truck drivers after accidents of this nature, but this is wrong, and we must look more carefully at all of the details to establish what really happened.
Trucking accidents. Who’s at fault? Here’s how you can find out.
Legal Advice
It is important to add this in, almost as a disclaimer, that should you have found yourself the victim of a trucking accident, rather than reading this, contact an attorney. The attorneys from blumenshinelawgroup.com/illinois-truck-accident-attorneys/ explain that truck accidents have a huge potential to be fatal and that if you have survived one, you are terribly lucky. Just because you have survived a trucking accident, however, does not mean you will not suffer consequences afterward. It is important that you seek legal aid so that you can see justice.
Establishing Who’s at Fault
To establish who is at fault after a trucking accident, it is important to consider the many factors involved. Firstly, of course, you will want to replay the accident in your mind, and if necessary, find camera footage that captured the accident taking place. The first step is this. You will want to carefully sieve through the events and establish what really took place. It is easy to cast judgment and assume people to be at fault when they are not. In fact, a study has proven that humans manufacture memories that have never taken place and replace real events with them. But establishing who’s at fault is far more than remembering or watching CCTV – and rather, this is how you can establish who is guilty:
Negligent Driving
The most obvious reason for a truck accident to take place is negligent driving. Quite frequently, trucks drive recklessly on our roads, and anyone who has driven behind one on a motorway will attest to them being prone to random and sudden movements, as well as forcing their way through the lanes. This is negligent, especially since we consider that they are driving a truck that has the power to destroy every car on the road with it. If the truck driver was driving negligently, then it is very simple and you can quickly establish that they were in fact at fault.
Negligent driving, however, is not resigned to truck drivers, and maybe you were driving negligently, or another driver. If anyone else on the road was driving recklessly at the time of the accident, there is a very good chance that they, in fact, are responsible for having caused the accident, and because of that, should be blamed and held accountable for their actions.
Mechanical Problems
Occasionally, truck accidents are caused by the truck not having been serviced properly. Trucks are very large vehicles, and because of that, they require frequent mechanical adjustment and aid. If a truck is not serviced properly, nor has it been repaired properly, it may be prone to causing accidents or breaking down (which will inevitably cause an accident). If the truck has not been serviced or repaired properly, then the fault does not lie with the driver himself, and rather, lies with his employers and the people who serviced the truck. An investigation in the aftermath of the accident will be able to identify whether or not the truck was faulty, which if it is, you will be able to claim compensation from the company, and as will the truck driver. It is not always the driver’s fault, you see, and we must remember there are many parties involved in the maintenance of a truck.
With the help of this page, you may be a little better equipped to establish and identify who is at fault in the wake of a car accident. Truck accidents are a nightmare. Hopefully, you never find yourself involved in one.