Who Is Liable When a Trucker Causes a Crash?

In California, the question of who is liable for damages after a truck accident depends on who is at fault. If a truck driver’s negligence or carelessness caused a crash, they bear responsibility for the resulting damages.

But in most truck-involved crashes, that’s not the end of the story:

• Only two parties are involved in a typical car accident—the drivers of the two cars.
• But in a trucking accident, it’s common for there to be additional parties involved. For example, the trucker’s employer, the owner of the tractor or trailer, or those who loaded the trailer may all be partly to blame for the accident and liable for damages.

In short, in California—including Bakersfield and Kern County—truck crash liability falls on all parties who are at least partially at fault.

In the remainder of this FAQ, we’ll look more closely at liability in truck crashes.

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Injured in a Truck Accident? Get a Free Consultation

If you were injured or lost a family member in an accident with a big rig, a couple of factors put you at a distinct disadvantage in claiming damages:

• Complexity. You’re not just dealing with one other driver and their insurance company. You may be dealing with a driver, their employer, and other parties—plus, each party may have its own insurer.
• High stakes. For commercial drivers and their employers, an accident impacts their livelihood and reputation. Drivers and other parties involved—along with their insurers—will rigorously defend against damage claims.

The experienced truck accident lawyers at Chain | Cohn | Clark can tip the odds in your favor. We know how to investigate truck accidents and collect evidence to establish who’s at fault. We’ll negotiate to secure the compensation you deserve or argue the case in court if necessary.

Contact us today for a free, no-obligation review of your case.

Responsibility for Truck Accidents: A Complex Picture

Unraveling who is liable for a truck accident in Kern County is not a simple task. Yes, the truck driver may be at fault—especially if they were the direct cause of an accident. But liability may extend to the trucking company, the driver’s employer, and others.

Let’s look at some of the factors involved.

Driver Qualifications

Licensing requirements for commercial drivers are more demanding than the requirements for being able to drive the family sedan. A truck driver must:

• Be at least 21 years old
• Pass a physical exam every two years
• Undergo random drug and alcohol testing
• Hold a commercial driver’s license
• Have sufficient training to safely operate their vehicle
• Receive special training for transporting hazardous materials

Employer Responsibilities

Drivers must meet these requirements—but trucking companies are also responsible for making sure their employees meet the requirements.

For example, suppose a driver hasn’t been adequately trained to operate a certain size truck. Their employer sends them out anyway, and the driver’s inexperience results in an accident. Both the driver and the employer are at fault.

Employers are also responsible for investigating the safety records of anyone they hire going back three years. They must also keep detailed records of driver requirements and violations. An employer may be liable for a truck accident if they:

• Failed to investigate a driver’s safety history
• Knowingly hired an unsafe driver
• Didn’t take appropriate action after certain driving violations

State and Federal Regulations

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is the national government agency tasked with keeping the commercial trucking industry safe. The FMCSA establishes rules like the ones mentioned above for drivers and employers.

Other FMCSA regulations apply to commercial trucking operations. For example:

• Hours of service (HoS). HoS regulations determine how many hours drivers can be on the road daily and weekly and when they need to take breaks. This information is collected in electronic driver logs. Both drivers and companies must comply with these rules.
• Pre-trip inspections. Drivers must complete detailed pre-trip inspections.
• Maintenance. Trucking companies must plan and carry out sufficient maintenance to ensure their fleets are in good working order.
• Load and weight requirements. Freight must be balanced and properly secured within a trailer. If cargo shifts in transit, it can cause an accident. There are also specific weight limits per trailer and per axle. An overweight trailer may have tires blow out, leading to an accident.

California has its own restrictions for commercial trucking in addition to FMCSA rules. For example, the blood alcohol limit for commercial drivers is 0.04—much stricter than the 0.08 limit for other drivers (California Vehicle Code Section 23152).

Other Parties

Violations of any of the rules of safe operation open violators—whoever they are—up to liability for a commercial vehicle accident.

For example:

• A manufacturer (the shipper) hires a trucking company to move a load of goods. The shipper overloads the trailer. The driver sees this and checks with their boss at the trucking company, who says to go ahead with the job. If there’s an accident, all three parties—driver, employer, and shipper—are liable.
• A transportation company hires a maintenance company with a track record of cutting corners by using inferior parts. When a truck’s brakes fail, and there’s an accident, there may be multiple liable parties:
  • The transportation company for knowingly using a shoddy mechanic
  • The mechanic for knowingly using inferior parts
  • Possibly, the manufacturer of the inferior parts

There are additional scenarios in which other parties may be liable—for example, a government agency that doesn’t adequately maintain roadways or a construction company that fails to put up warning signs for a lane shift in a construction zone.

What Does a Truck Accident Lawyer Do for Me?

Anyone who is injured, loses a family member, or has property damaged in a truck accident can sue for compensation. You may be entitled to:

• Economic damages cover quantifiable expenses like medical bills, surgery, rehab, or monetary losses like lost wages.
• Noneconomic damages cover intangible harm caused by an accident, like pain, suffering, or disfigurement.
• Punitive damages are awarded by a judge or jury to punish particularly negligent, reckless, or malicious defendants.

The Bakersfield truck accident lawyers at Chain | Cohn | Clark can unburden you from trying to navigate the intricacies of a truck accident case on your own.

We’ll take care of . . .

• Investigating the accident to reconstruct what happened
• Collecting information from sources like:
  • Event data recorders, which record vehicle data immediately before and after a crash
  • Electronic logging devices, where commercial drivers track their hours of service
  • Driver qualification and safety records
  • Trailer load plans
• Determining liability for the accident—the parties who are responsible
• Retaining expert witnesses to corroborate the accident reconstruction
• Negotiating with insurance companies and opposing lawyers
• Litigating your case in court if a settlement can’t be reached

Don’t try to wade through a trucking accident case by yourself. Chain | Cohn | Clark’s Kern County big rig attorneys work on contingency—you pay nothing up front. Instead, our fee is a pre-agreed percentage of the compensation we win for you.

Contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation.