Who is Liable in a Delivery Truck Accident?

Who is liable in a delivery truck accident? Depending on the circumstances of your case, the truck driver or the delivery truck company may be liable. 

To protect the integrity of your case and your best interests, contact a New Orleans delivery truck accident lawyer.

Ways in Which a Delivery Truck Company Can Be Held Liable

While a company is not a corporeal human capable of driving a delivery truck, the fact that it was their delivery truck leaves potential paths to liability open. These are mostly when the operations of the company caused the conditions of the accident, aside from anything the driver did themselves. Regulations and company policies all exist to help everything run smoothly and safely.

If a company operates outside these normal guidelines, accidents can happen, as they have already many times. A qualified New Orleans truck accident lawyer can check out the factors involved in your accident to see if this is indeed the case. There are a few ways this can happen.

Neglecting Proper Background Checks

Any above-board job anywhere needs to do background checks on their potential new hires before they begin performing their duties.

This helps companies know if their new employee has a history of any potentially harmful habits or behaviors that may cause future risk. The delivery truck company can be held liable if it did not perform the necessary checks.

Leaving Delivery Trucks in Disrepair

It is up to the company to make sure its delivery trucks operate safely as intended. Regular maintenance and repairs are needed, just the same as any vehicle. If a company does not keep up with these necessities, your delivery truck accident may have been caused by faulty vehicle parts that easily could have been fixed.

Ignoring Federal Regulations

A delivery truck carries property, so it is driven by a Property Carrying Driver according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). This means that the rules found in their summary of hours of service regulations need to be followed to maintain safe working conditions. Since this should be part of a company’s policy, a delivery truck company can be held liable for skirting these regulations.

Simple guidelines like these are meant to keep everyone safe. So if your attorney finds out that your delivery truck driver operated outside of the short-haul exception by working more than 14 hours straight or outside of 150 miles of their main workplace, we can argue to hold the delivery truck company liable. Do not assume your accident is as simple as it may seem at first.

Delivery Truck Drivers Can Be Liable for Your Accident

It does not matter in most cases whether someone was driving a small sedan or a large delivery truck–a driver is a driver. If they cause an accident, they can be held liable in court for the damages they caused. Just because they were on the clock or wearing a uniform does not somehow grant them immunity.

When laying the groundwork for your case, we will want to find out if the delivery truck driver in your accident was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, driving distracted, or acted with gross negligence in disobeying basic traffic laws. We can find this information through police reports, traffic cameras, your own observations, or witness testimony. A New Orleans truck accident lawyer can help with this.

As long as you or others are not to blame for any part of the accident, the delivery truck driver can be held fully liable. Louisiana law Art. 2323.  Comparative fault says that liability can be proportionately split between multiple at-fault parties. Make sure your attorney knows if they need to look at this.

You have a Case No Matter What Company’s Truck Hit You

There is not just one delivery company out there. UPS, Amazon, DHL, and FedEx, among others, all operate delivery trucks on Louisiana roads. It should not matter which logo you see on the side of the delivery truck that hit you, since the driver and company can both be held liable by any of our attorneys.

• New Orleans Amazon Truck Accident Lawyer: We can represent you if an Amazon truck driver hit you while on the job.
• New Orleans DHL Truck Accident Lawyer: Our team will help you secure compensation from the liable party in a DHL truck accident.
• New Orleans UPS Truck Accident Lawyer: A UPS driver, the corporation, or another party can hold liabilty and be responsible for your damages.
• New Orleans FedEx Truck Accident Lawyer: Our team can represent you if you were harmed in an accident with a FedEx truck driver.

These may be the most common ones, but there are plenty more that a New Orleans delivery truck accident attorney can help you with. Scott Vicknair Injury Lawyers have over 3 decades of experience taking these kinds of cases. Let us help you find out how you can hold both the delivery truck company and the delivery truck driver liable.

Navigate the Nuances of Liability with a New Orleans Delivery Truck Accident Lawyer

Gathering evidence and saying what happened in your accident are absolutely parts of building and arguing your case for holding delivery truck companies and delivery truck drivers liable, but they are not the whole lawsuit. There is potential that things could go all the way to the vehicle’s manufacturer or to the city or state for improperly maintained roads. Liability may sound simple, but it quickly expands.

Every piece of evidence will help us determine what direction to take when handling your delivery truck accident case. Anything like pictures, videos, or witness testimony can paint a picture of just how we can hold the delivery truck driver or the delivery truck company liable. If that needs to include any other liable parties, make sure to consult with a New Orleans delivery truck accident lawyer today.