The trucking industry is complex and requires multiple entities working together to take all reasonable measures to prevent accidents. Drivers must follow traffic laws and avoid distractions, maintenance companies have a duty to perform skilled and adequate repairs, and freight loaders must load trailers in a way that ensures a well-balanced and secure load to prevent sudden shifts. One of the most important aspects of safety in trucking begins at the top—with a trucking company’s hiring practices for drivers.
How Does Negligent Hiring Practices Cause Truck Accidents?
The Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration (FMCSA) has meticulous regulations in place outlining the requirements an applicant must meet before a trucking company may hire them as a driver. The regulations also include disqualifying characteristics, such as a history of traffic violations or drunk driving. Trucking companies must perform routine background checks, examine a driver’s qualifications, perform drug tests, and require medical clearance or evidence that a potential driver is physically capable of performing necessary tasks. Failure to adhere to hiring regulations is an act of negligence. This negligence leaves a trucking company liable for damages to a truck accident victim in Cherry Hill after a truck accident caused by a negligent, reckless, or intoxicated driver.
When unqualified drivers get behind the wheel of massive trucks that outweigh standard vehicles by as much as 76,000 pounds, the results can be devastating to vulnerable motorists in a collision. Truck accidents cause far more than property damage to involved vehicles, they also result in injuries ranging from mild to catastrophic or fatal.
Seeking Damages From a Trucking Company Based on Negligent Hiring
Injury victims who’ve suffered harm in a truck accident often suffer severe injuries with long-ranging consequences for the injury victim and their family. A successful claim against a trucking company for negligent hiring holds the company financially accountable for the victim’s personal injury damages. Most claims end in a settlement from the trucking company’s insurance provider. If the insurance company doesn’t offer an acceptable settlement amount, the injury victim can seek a jury award for their damages through a lawsuit with litigation in court. The common damages recovered in truck accident claims after a negligent hiring case include any or all of the following:
- Medical expenses
- Future medical care costs for ongoing treatment or rehabilitation
- Lost income
- Future income loss
- Lowered future earning capacity (in cases of disability)
- Compensation for pain and suffering
- Compensation for other non-economic damages that sometimes apply, such as disfigurement, diminished quality of life, traumatic limb loss, the loss of one of the senses, PTSD, or loss of enjoyment of life
If a truck accident results in a fatality, close family members may recover compensation for their loss through a truck accident wrongful death claim.
How Can a Truck Accident Attorney Help?
Injury victims in New Jersey truck accidents must prove negligence through a preponderance of the evidence. It takes a skilled investigation into all aspects of the accident to determine the cause and identify the liable party or multiple parties that contributed to an accident—including trucking companies with negligent hiring practices. If you’ve suffered an injury in a truck accident, insurance companies have an incentive to protect their profits at your expense. Call the assertive, compassionate New Jersey truck accident lawyers at Cuneo & Leonetti today so we can take action defending your rights and best interests throughout your claim.