Elements of a Trucking Accident Case

Anytime there is an accident involving a semi-truck, the results can be devastating. On average, large truck crashes represented over 5,350 casualties, along with 133,000 injuries annually. A fully loaded large commercial truck can weigh in excess of 80,000 pounds. When you compare it to the average 3,000 pound passenger vehicle, any collision can be catastrophic.

The primary legal speculation of liability in commercial truck accident cases is “negligence.” The defendant or party responsible for the accident is “negligent” if they failed to apply “reasonable care under the circumstances,” and the plaintiff’s injuries ensued subsequent to that failure. In a commercial truck accident, the plaintiff must show:

• The defendant (driver, trucking company or responsible party) owed the plaintiff a duty to exercise a reasonable degree of care to prevent injury, under the circumstances.
• The defendant failed to exercise reasonable care, or breached the duty of reasonable care.
• The defendant’s failing to apply reasonable care, which produced the plaintiff’s injury.

The contents of the truck may have also caused secondary injuries. For instance, the truck could have been carrying hazardous or flammable materials onboard.