Trucker, truck owner and driver named in lawsuit

 Posted on May 27, 2014 in Firm News

In the aftermath of any accident, victims are often scared, hurt and very confused. The first priority should be to get the necessary medical attention for any injuries that have been suffered. Once that has been secured and people are on the road to recovery, they often start focusing on what happened to cause the crash and who may be to blame.

These questions can come with some very complex answers. Parties may try to avoid taking responsibility or conceal pieces of information that may have played a role in the accident. This can be extremely frustrating for victims, especially when there are multiple parties who may have contributed to a crash. However, taking legal action can be an effective way of identifying negligence and holding the appropriate people accountable.

It is often the case in truck accidents that there is more than one party named in a legal claim. This is because truck drivers do not always own their vehicles and they are generally hired by an outside company. That means there may be negligence on the part of the trucker, the owner and the employer. Each of these parties is often investigated after a truck accident.

For instance, a man recently filed suit in Illinois against a truck driver and the driver's employer, who also owned the truck, after a crash left him with serious injuries. The man is also pursuing a legal claim against a driver of a passenger vehicle.

According to reports, the truck driver lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a passenger vehicle that then crashed into the victim's car. The victim's claim against the trucker and the other driver cites negligence including speeding, failing to keep proper lookout, and failing to yield to another vehicle.

In this case, the victim argues that the truck driver should not have been on the road. Citing the trucker's inexperience and inadequate training, the injured man says that the trucker's employer was negligent in hiring the trucker.

This is just one example of how complicated an accident involving large semi trucks, and multiple vehicles, can get. Victims of these crashes in Illinois have the right to speak with an attorney and take steps to identify and hold every negligent party accountable for damages.

Source: The Madison-St. Clair Record, "Tractor trailer driver sued over I-64 accident," May 27, 2014