When you think of a truck accident, you probably imagine a truck driver doing something careless. Maybe they felt drowsy from driving too many hours. They might have been speeding to meet a delivery deadline. In some cases, they might even have driven while under the influence of alcohol, illegal drugs, or prescription medication.
When a trucking company employs its truck drivers, it is vicariously liable for injuries resulting from employee negligence. It can also bear liability for its negligent practices in hiring and retaining a driver with a questionable safety record.
Anderson Injury Lawyers helps accident victims pursue negligent hiring truck accident cases in Fort Worth, TX. If you need help, contact our firm (817) 294-1900 for a free case review.
How Anderson Injury Lawyers Can Help After a Negligent Hiring Truck Accident in Fort Worth, TX
Since 2007, Anderson Injury Lawyers has assisted injured victims in Fort Worth, Texas, pursuing compensation from the people and businesses responsible for hurting them.
Our Fort Worth truck accident lawyers have several decades of experience standing up to insurers and at-fault parties on behalf of our clients. We have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation.
If you suffer an injury because of someone else’s negligent or otherwise culpable actions, our firm provides the following:
- A free initial consultation to get to know you and your case
- Legal advice explaining your rights and options for compensation
- Investigation of your accident to gather evidence supporting your case
- Aggressive pursuit of compensation through insurance claims and lawsuits
A truck crash can leave you with catastrophic injuries that require expensive medical treatment and cause permanent disabilities. Contact our Fort Worth personal injury lawyers to discuss your accident and how we can help you get the compensation you deserve under Texas law.
How Many Heavy Trucks Crash in Texas?
Heavy trucks travel millions of miles in Texas every year. Whether they are traveling from the Mexican border, the seaports, or adjacent states, each of these trucks can weigh up to 40 tons when fully loaded. Trucking companies can obtain oversized or overweight permits for even larger loads.
These trucks can cause massive damage to people, property, and the environment during a crash. In 2022, Texas recorded 38,621 total crashes involving commercial motor vehicles (CMVs).
Bear in mind that the federal government defines CMVs very broadly to include:
- Trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,001 pounds or more
- Buses configured for more than 16 total people, including the driver
- Vehicles carrying hazardous materials
As a result, the total CMV crashes include crashes involving:
- Semi-trucks with and without trailers
- Heavy construction vehicles
- Garbage trucks
- Box trucks
- Private and public buses
The vast majority of these collisions resulted in no injuries. However, according to the 2022 Texas crash statistics, nearly 28% caused injury or death.
Liability For Negligent Hiring
To prove liability for any traffic collision, including car accidents, pedestrian accidents, and bicycle accidents, the injured victim must prove negligence. Everyone injured in a collision can pursue a claim against the negligent driver who caused the crash.
In a truck accident, victims have another party they can blame for the accident. Trucking companies must exercise reasonable care when loading, operating, maintaining, and repairing their trucks. If the company is negligent in performing any of these functions, accident victims can pursue claims against it.
One of the theories accident victims can use when pursuing a claim against a trucking company is negligent hiring. A victim might use this theory when the driver is an owner/operator or independent contractor. In these cases, the trucking company might not be vicariously liable because the driver was not an employee.
A victim could also use this theory when the driver was not negligent. For example, a driver might have had a medical event that led to the crash.
The company always bears liability for its negligence in hiring the truck driver. This negligence might happen in a few situations.
Questionable Driving Record
If a driver has a history of collisions, road rage, or other dangerous driving behaviors, the trucking company probably has reasonable grounds to think that the behavior might continue. Thus, hiring the driver might expose road users to an unreasonable risk of injury or death.
Drug or Alcohol Use
Truck drivers must pass drug and alcohol tests. If a driver has a recent record of failing these tests, a trucking company has reasonable notice that the driver might drive under the influence.
This does not mean that all drivers who used drugs or alcohol in the past become unemployable. But if the driver had a recent problem or behaved in a way that might indicate current use, the company might act negligently in hiring them.
Medically Unfit
Truck drivers must pass a medical exam to drive. However, some conditions fall in a gray area where the driver can pass a medical exam but still experience medical events that could lead to a crash. Companies that hire medically unfit drivers may be negligent.
Schedule a Free Consultation With Our Fort Worth Truck Accident Attorneys To Discuss Your Case
Trucking companies and their insurers will fight hard against injury claims. Contact Anderson Injury Lawyers for a free consultation to discuss how we can stand up to these powerful companies in pursuit of full and just compensation.