Delivery Truck Accidents

Drivers and passengers in passenger cars or on motorcycles are likely to suffer catastrophic injuries or even death after colliding with a much larger and heavier delivery truck. These accidents are often caused by delivery truck drivers who engage in negligent or reckless behavior while hurrying from one delivery to the next. If you suffered injuries or lost a loved one in a delivery vehicle crash, Knoxville truck accident attorney Mark C. Hartsoe and the staff at the Hartsoe Law Firm may be able to help you recover compensation.

It is critical to take immediate steps to preserve evidence in order to assert a claim for damages against a trucking company. Insurance companies that insure the trucking company will usually send an accident reconstructionist to the crash site to document physical evidence in order to attempt to defeat your claim. Wrecks are caused by speeding in order to meet a deadline, driving distractedly due to searching for an address or using a cell phone, failing to check behind the truck before backing up, or making a quick and unexpected movement due to not knowing the location around the address very well.

Trucking companies will be held vicariously (indirectly) liable for a driver's negligence in the course and scope of employment. In these cases, recovering damages from the company depends on proving that the employee was negligent. Sometimes other sources of insurance coverage may be available, depending upon the specific facts of your case.

Sometimes employers send delivery drivers out with insufficient training or without doing a background check to make sure that their driving record is clear. Many interstate commercial drivers are coerced into violating the FMCSA hours of service limitations and are insufficiently rested. Trucking companies may intimidate them with threats of termination, reductions in hours, or pay cuts if they refuse to violate the rules. The FMCSA civilly penalizes many trucking companies each year for violations of federal laws. If a delivery truck company negligently hired, trained, or supervised a driver who caused an accident, it may be held directly liable for the damages arising out of the accident.

In some cases, there may be equipment failure on a delivery truck, such as faulty brakes, or a defective road condition. If there was equipment failure, we may look into the feasibility of a product liability lawsuit. If there was a defective road that played a role in the accident, we may be able to hold a municipality or a state governmental entity liable under a premises liability theory.

If you were hurt in a delivery truck accident, you should consult a motor vehicle collision attorney who knows the special rules that commercial drivers must follow, as well as how the trucking industry works. Not all attorneys understand the nuances of these challenging types of cases. Knoxville truck accident lawyer Mark C. Hartsoe does. Call the Hartsoe Law Firm at 865-804-1011 or contact us via our online form to set up your free appointment. We represent victims throughout East Tennessee, including in Knox, Blount, Monroe, Loudon, Jefferson, Grainger, Cocke, Campbell, Hamblen, Greene, Anderson, Cumberland, and Fentress Counties.