Due to their size and weight, trucks can lead to accidents. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), truck accidents claimed the lives of 4,965 people in 2020, which is alarming.
If you are involved in a truck accident, claiming compensation can be more complicated than other auto accident claims. Below are three reasons for this.
1. Establishing liability can be hard
When you are involved in a car accident, the chances are the driver is at fault. But this is not always the case with trucks. While the driver may be at fault, other parties may also take responsibility.
For instance, the driver may violate a traffic law to meet an employer’s unrealistic expectations and, in turn, hit you. Further, the loading company may overload the truck or fail to secure the load correctly, resulting in a driver’s loss of control. Thus, with a truck accident, you may need adequate time to collect vital information to establish liability — and you can expect the trucking company to make that difficult.
2. There may be multiple parties involved
Most truck accidents involve several vehicles. For example, if a truck wants to pass, but another driver makes a mistake, causing the truck driver to hit you.
In such a case, it can be challenging to determine who was at fault – because it could be several different parties. This is why most truck accidents go to court.
3. The evidence can be very complicated
The amount of evidence required in truck accident claims can be enormous.
In addition to the evidence used in other auto accident claims (photos, police report and medical reports), your case may need black box data, the driver’s logging data, loading information, pay statements/work schedule from the trucking company, repair and maintenance records of the truck and so on.
Truck accident claims can be challenging, but it’s possible to get a satisfactory outcome. You should obtain more information to determine the best solution for your case.