A truck accident in Southern Illinois can cause devastating injuries or, in especially tragic cases, can lead to a death. Those who are injured in a truck accident or who lose their family member to a truck crash may be worried about how they are going to pay for their medical bills and costs and how they are going to cope with the tremendous losses that they endure.
The law protects victims and their family members, but it is important to know how your legal rights work and who you can take action against. A number of potential people and companies may be held legally liable for your truck accident and you thus may be able to sue several different defendants depending upon the circumstances. An experienced truck accident lawyer in Southern Illinois can assist you in making a determination regarding who you may sue in your truck accident claim.
Trucking Accident in Southern Illinois: Who Can Be Sued in a Truck Accident Case?
Under the law, anyone whose negligence or wrongdoing causes an accident or injury can potentially be sued. You will need to prove that the person or company had a duty to you or to the general public to be careful to prevent accidents. You’ll also need to show that the person/entity fell short of fulfilling that duty and was unreasonably careless or negligent. Provided you can prove these two elements of your case and provided you can show you were damaged, you can bring a successful lawsuit to recover compensation.
Some of the different people and entities that you may be able to bring a claim against in a truck accident case in Southern Illinois include:
- The driver of the truck. The driver can be held liable if he broke any rules of the road; if he violated FMCSA regulations that apply to trucks, or if he was unreasonably careless in the way he loaded, maintained or drove his truck.
- The trucking company that employs the truck driver. Trucking companies can be held legally responsible for wrongful or negligent acts committed by their employees. Trucking companies may also be held legally liable and sued if the company fell short of its own obligations, such as by failing to enforce safety regulations.
- The company that manufactured the truck. If there was a problem with the truck’s design, then the trucking company could potentially be held legally responsible through a product liability lawsuit.
- The person or company responsible for truck maintenance. If the truck part’s malfunctioned because the maintenance person did a poor job in keeping the truck repaired, then the maintenance person could potentially be considered responsible for a crash that occurred.
- The government entity responsible for road design or maintenance. If there was a defect in the road that led to the truck crash, then the government agency responsible could potentially be sued. These cases can be tricky because sovereign immunity rules make it harder to bring a claim against government agencies.
It is important to understand all of the different parties who could potentially be responsible for your truck crash so you will have the very best chance of being fully compensated. An attorney can help you to know who is to blame and who you should pursue a lawsuit against.
