Negligent Hiring of Drivers
Often, liability extends beyond the driver to those responsible for placing the trucker behind the wheel, though truck and insurance companies will do everything they can to toss the driver “under the truck,” even when negligent hiring by the truck company occurred. Companies do this to avoid paying expensive damage claims that often include permanent disability and wrongful death.
Additional Paths to Find Compensation in Truck Accidents
Negligent hiring by a truck company – Sometimes, companies are guilty of hiring drivers with poor driving records or a history of incomplete or inaccurate log books. Other bad employee traits include criminal convictions, drug or alcohol abuse histories, or other issues that would raise normal concerns for a reasonable employer. Trucking companies must be diligent in checking the backgrounds of their drivers. When they fail, negligent hiring could be the avenue to compensation through respondeat superior.
Negligent entrustment – The theory of negligent entrustment is that the entrustor (trucking company) negligently provided the entrustee (truck driver) with a dangerous vehicle that caused injury to a third person or multiple third parties. Failing to maintain the truck in timely or proper fashion, ignoring warnings from manufacturers of defective parts to replace them, and causing an accident because the part malfunctioned are a few of the many possible negligent entrustment examples.
Negligent supervision – This involves the fact that the trucking company knew, or should have reasonably known, of its employee’s negligent conduct. Failing to conduct regular alcohol and drug testing, review or maintain driver logs or inspection reports, provide necessary training, impose sanctions on drivers for committing safety violations or log book violations, and other normal supervisory responsibilities to assure their drivers will not pose unnecessary dangers to the public can be grounds for a negligent supervision claim.
Some might wonder the difference between negligent supervision and negligent entrustment. It is subtle, which is why an experienced truck accident injury attorney is vital because identifying the correct “breach” of the trucking company’s duty is essential to successful negligence compensation.
Damages Available to Successful Semi-Truck Injury Claimants
Accidents involving commercial trucks tend to be much more expensive than many other injury claims, often totaling six figures and sometimes more. So the insurers of these companies will do all they can to protect their policyholders from the following damages:
- Medical expenses: These damages can be astronomical, especially if long-term physical and mental disabilities or wrongful death are the result.
- Pain and suffering: Many truck accidents are traumatic, resulting in broken bones, lost limbs, spine and nerve damage, and multiple surgeries. Emotional suffering (PTSD) also can arise from a serious truck wreck.
- Lost income: With long recuperative periods, most victims are unable to work.
- Wrongful death: This includes medical expenses of the victim prior to death, funeral expenses and emotional suffering to the survivors, commonly referred to as “loss of consortium.”
- Punitive Damages: If the trucking company was grossly negligent or acted willfully in its breach of respondeat superior, the judge or jury may take it upon themselves to award punitive damages over and above those requested by the injured victim(s) as additional punishment to the defendant(s).
Gallon, Takacs & Boissoneault Can Help You
For more than 60 years, Gallon, Takacs & Boissoneault has protected the rights of all commercial truck accident victims. If you or your family have been injured in a truck accident, contact us for a free consultation at 5419-843-6663 or fill out our online contact form.
