Attorney Fees in Truck Accident Cases

Truck drivers are not the only potential defendants in a truck accident lawsuit. Usually, it is important to look closely at the circumstances surrounding a truck accident in the Asheville area, Greenville area, or elsewhere in North Carolina or South Carolina to determine whether other parties were potentially to blame. Other parties that may have contributed to a truck accident include the trucking company, a third-party loader, a mechanic, the truck manufacturer, a manufacturer of a truck component, and other drivers. Your lawyer should bring all potentially responsible parties into the lawsuit to improve the likelihood of recovering your full scope of damages.

The theory of liability will depend on the defendant’s role and the surrounding facts. It may be possible to hold a trucking company vicariously liable for a truck driver’s negligence by showing that the truck driver was in the course and scope of their employment with the trucking company. It may also be possible to hold a trucking company directly liable for negligently hiring, training, or supervising a driver.

Generally, commercial vehicles have commercial liability insurance policies with significant liability coverage. Trucking companies and insurers have teams of lawyers, investigators and adjusters whose job it is to protect the company from risk and avoid paying out large settlements or verdicts. The greater the potential damages, the more that they resist their obligation to victims. Accordingly, insurers for truck drivers and trucking companies may try to look for ways in which you were at fault, even when the liability of their insured is clear. They may ignore harmful evidence or may stall on turning over important evidence, such as black box records. Often, they investigate immediately after an accident. You should make sure to retain an attorney to represent you soon after an accident so that your attorney has a chance to investigate the scene promptly as well.