Charleston Truck Employer Negligence Attorney

At Evans Moore, LLC, our truck accident attorneys understand how devastating truck accidents can be. A truck accident often results in severe injuries, as well as damages to your vehicle that require major repairs or even replacement.

If you’ve been involved in a truck accident, then you may be concerned about the financial burden of medical bills, loss of income, and pain and suffering as a result of an injury. That’s why our team of South Carolina personal injury attorneys is committed to helping you recover any and all damages that you are entitled to.

Truck accidents can happen so quickly that it’s hard to determine who was at fault. Although it’s a common assumption that the truck driver is responsible for the accident, it is also possible that their employer neglected to offer proper truck driver training, neglected to follow trucking regulations, or failed to perform proper vehicle maintenance.

In these cases, the employer should be held responsible for their negligence. The truck accident attorneys of Evans Moore, LLC are here to help evaluate your case and determine whether the truck driver or the employer is responsible for the accident you have endured.

Our legal team is ready to help victims of truck accidents put their lives back together through the recovery of any compensation they may be entitled to. Call our office at (843) 995-5000 to speak with a lawyer today.

Common Causes of Truck Accidents

Truck drivers are required to put in a certain amount of training hours and meet certain minimum requirements before they are permitted to drive large commercial vehicles. They are also legally required to keep their trucks in excellent working condition at all times.

Unfortunately, some truck drivers do not adhere to these requirements. They may neglect to take time away from their tight delivery schedules to perform routine truck maintenance. A poorly-maintained truck driven by an inexperienced truck driver is an all-too-common cause of truck accidents.

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), there were 450,000 police-reported accidents involving large trucks in 2017. 4,237 of the accidents had fatalities and 344,000 of the accidents resulted in personal injury. One of the more common factors in these truck accidents was alcohol or drug use by the truck driver.

Regardless of whether alcohol and drugs are used while the truck driver is on the road or when the truck driver stops to rest, their judgment and coordination still may be impaired, which can significantly increase the chances of a truck accident.

Being on the road for many hours and covering such long distances can lead to boredom. To combat the boredom, some truck drivers may make phone calls, or use their phones to read or reply to text messages and even search the internet, which causes them to be distracted for significant periods of time away from their primary task, which is driving.

Others may simply look away from the road for a couple of seconds to change the radio station. No matter how brief or innocent, these distractions are dangerous for any driver, but even more so for truck drivers who are driving large vehicles that are moving at high speeds. If a truck driver takes their eyes off the road for even a second, this brief distraction is enough to cause an accident.

Additionally, employers may demand that their truck driver makes a certain amount of stops or covers a specific number of miles in a limited timeframe. If the truck driver encounters heavy traffic or bad weather, they may feel pressured to drive over the speed limit or overtake smaller vehicles that are moving slower in order to meet deadlines and make the required number of stops.

Overtaking slower drivers and driving at high rates of speed can substantially reduce reaction time. If the truck driver has to suddenly brake or change lanes while speeding, they are at a higher risk of causing a truck accident.

Deadlines and pressure from an employer may push a truck driver to drive long distances for many hours without getting adequate rest (the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration mandates that truck drivers can drive a maximum of 11 hours straight, and they must take a 30-minute break during that 11-hour time period).

Truck drivers may falsify their driving logs and push through the resulting fatigue. This compromises their coordination and concentration, and may even cause them to fall asleep while they are driving. Of all the causes of truck accidents, driver fatigue is the most common.

Understanding the common reasons for trucking accidents is helpful in determining whether the truck driver or employer negligence is responsible for the accident,.

Common Types of Employer Negligence

Although a truck driver’s behavior on the road may initially appear to be the cause of a truck accident, the employer may be legally held responsible in certain circumstances. When an employer fails to operate a safe business as it pertains to trucks and the drivers, they may be deemed the liable party after a truck accident.

If employer negligence is the cause of a truck accident, our truck accident attorneys will work to hold them responsible for any damage that results from the accident. Common forms of employer negligence include:

Careless or negligent hiring practices
Failure to abide by trucking rules and regulations
Failure to load truck trailers correctly
Improper or insufficient driver training
Incorrect or inadequate truck inspection

To ensure safety for truck drivers and other drivers on the road, trucking companies are responsible for upholding high standards. It is up to the employer to conduct appropriate truck inspections and provide comprehensive training for their drivers. If a trucking company fails to do so, they can be held liable for their negligence if their drivers are involved in a truck accident.

FAQ About Negligence Claims Against a Trucking Employer

Trucking employers must comply with all state and federal regulations regarding their employees and vehicles. If they fail to do so, and that failure results in an accident, the injured person may be able to make a negligence claim directly against the trucking employer.

Potential negligence claims against trucking employers include:

Failure to inspect, maintain, or repair the truck. Trucking companies are required to inspect and maintain their vehicles regularly. If a mechanical problem caused a trucking accident, then the injured person may be able to prove that the employer failed to comply with regulations and keep the truck in good condition, which resulted in the accident.
Negligent entrustment. Negligent entrustment claims commonly involve demonstrating that the trucking company entrusted a driver that was either inexperienced or that was unable to safely operate a large vehicle for that employer.
Negligent hiring. Trucking employers are required to take various steps when hiring and training new drivers. If the employer failed to perform a proper pre-employment background check or hired someone with a history of alcohol, drug, or traffic violations, then the employer might be held liable if that driver causes a truck accident.
Negligent retention. If a trucking employer learned that a hired driver was not competent to perform his or her duties, but continued employment of that truck driver, a negligent retention claim may be possible.
Negligent training or supervision. It is possible that the trucking employer could be found liable for any truck accident resulting from improper training or inadequate supervision of its employees.
Violation of trucking regulations. State and federal trucking regulations cover everything from the number of hours driven to cargo and weight limitations. The employer may be found liable for injuries resulting from violating, or pressuring a truck driver to violate, such regulations.

An experienced truck accident attorney can use their extensive knowledge of these trucking regulations to hold an employer accountable for violations that contributed to a truck accident.

Hire an Evans Moore, LLC Truck Company Negligence Attorney to Handle Your Case

At Evans Moore, LLC, we know that injury and damage caused by a truck accident has stressful, costly, and often painful implications. If you have been injured in a truck accident, you may be legally entitled to compensation for pain and suffering, emotional trauma, personal injuries, lost wages, and medical bills.

Navigating the legal system on your own can be overwhelming, and complicated truck accident laws make it challenging to pursue the full compensation you are entitled to. Contact the truck accident lawyers at Evans Moore, LLC and let us help you pursue compensation for the pain and suffering you have faced.

You deserve to have experienced, compassionate legal representation in your corner during such a difficult time. Our legal team has the resources and knowledge necessary to pursue your claim and hold a truck company accountable for any negligence that contributed to a truck accident.

Contact a Evans Moore, LLC Truck Company Negligence Attorney

If you or someone you love has been the victim of a truck accident, the at-fault party should be held liable for all the consequences of their negligence. The Evans Moore, LLC truck employer negligence lawyers are dedicated to providing knowledgeable counsel and helping you take legal action, so you have the financial, emotional, and physical support you need to put the pain you’ve endured behind you for good.

To learn more about your legal options, contact our office at (843) 995-5000 today.