How Do You Prove Liability in a Semi-Truck Collision?

Semis are huge, and when they collide with regular passenger vehicles, the smaller cars don’t have much chance. This means medical bills are often sky-high, there’s extensive property damage that needs to be paid for, and, sadly, wrongful death lawsuits aren’t uncommon. Holding the truck driver and trucking company accountable means proving liability, which can be tricky. Talk to an Orem, UT truck accident attorney for help if you’ve been injured in an accident with a semi.

Proving Liability in an Orem, UT Truck Accident

Liability always depends on negligence: who acted negligently? To prove negligence, you’ll need to prove four things.

Duty of Care

You must first prove that the driver and/or trucking company had a duty of care towards you. All drivers have certain duties on the road, like following all traffic laws, but truck drivers have more. They have to follow all federal and state regulations governing semis, which include things like limits on how long they can drive without a break, requirements for how trucks are to be loaded, and licensing regulations.

Whoever owns the truck, be it the driver or another company, must also follow rules for proper maintenance, and trucking companies have a duty to vet and train their drivers properly. Proving all this is pretty straightforward; if the truck was being driven on the road, all these duties are assumed. The main question will be whether someone other than the driver had a duty of care, like the trucking company, a loading or logistics company, a mechanic, etc.

Breach of Duty

Next, you’ll need to prove that the someone violated their duty towards you. This could be the driver, if the driver was speeding or driving recklessly. It could be the trucking company if they didn’t enforce rules or even pushed a driver to break regulations to increase efficiency. It could be the loading company if the accident was caused because the load within the truck wasn’t secured properly and shifted. Or, it could even be a third-party mechanic who didn’t do a quality job keeping the truck in good repair. It could also be a combination of these entities.

Causation

Just because someone didn’t fulfill their duty doesn’t automatically mean they are liable. You’ll also have to prove that, but for that breach, the accident would not have happened or would not have been so bad. This is trickier and requires making a clear connection between the way the accident fell out and the breach of duty you’re alleging.

Damages

Finally, you’ll have to prove the specific damages you suffered because of the accident. In a trucking accident, the economic side of this is usually pretty easy to show with medical bills, photos, police reports, video recordings, witness statements, and records of damage to your vehicle. Non-economic damages, like mental anguish and pain and suffering, are harder to calculate and more likely to be disputed, so having a lawyer here is key.

Your Truck Accident Attorney

Your lawyer will gather a lot of evidence to prove all this. In addition to all the things mentioned above, in a trucking accident you might also need “black box” data from the truck, the driver’s logs, maintenance records, training and hiring records from the company, and more. Your attorney will know how to get these and then will use them to build a convincing case for the amount you’re asking for.

For experienced help, call Johnson Livingston Attorneys in Orem, UT now at 385-275-8708 ​for a free consultation. We serve clients across ​Utah.

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