Who Can I Sue If I'm In A Truck Accident? - Halvorsen Klote

Who Can I Sue If I’m In A Truck Accident?

Being in a truck accident is usually quite different than if you were to get into an accident with another car. For one, since most trucks are much larger and heavier than the average car, accidents involving 18-wheelers produce more damage, cause more injuries, and result in more fatalities on America's roads than accidents between two or more cars. In addition, unlike cars, most truck drivers are not driving their own personal vehicles on the road. With Missouri and Illinois being a hotbed for truck traffic, this means that if you are ever in a St. Louis truck accident, you may be unsure of who exactly you can recover damages from.

The law firm of Halvorsen Klote has a proven track record of getting results for their truck accident clients. Our firm knows how to fight against all the responsible parties in a truck accident lawsuit and get you the money you deserve for your injuries. Give us a call at 1-877-51-HKLAW for a free consultation.

Responsible Parties In A Truck Accident

In a typical car accident in Missouri and Illinois, there are only two entities one can sue if they are injured in the accident: the other driver, plus their insurance company. In some circumstances, such as if the driver was working for a ride-share firm like Uber or Lyft, there might be other responsible parties, but those are much less common.

However, truck accidents have a much wider number of groups one could potentially collect damages from when compared to car accidents. These include, but are not limited to:

  • The driver: over-the-road truckers must abide by much stricter standards when compared to regular motorists. They have limits on how long they can be behind the wheel and, in some cases, have a separate, lower speed limit. If they acted with any negligence or broke these rules, you have a case against them.
  • The trucking company: only a small percentage of truck drivers are what are called "owner-operators", with most being employed by a larger trucking company. Accident victims can sue trucking companies for many reasons, including not properly maintaining their equipment, being responsible for their driver's actions, providing poor driver training, or encouraging an unsafe work environment by setting unrealistic time demands for their drivers.
  • Shipping companies: in some cases, a third-party company loaded up the truck with its cargo. They could have potentially improperly loaded the cargo or overloaded it, which commonly results in roll-over accidents.
  • Mechanics: it could be that work, like the replacement of a tire or a suspension fix, was improperly performed and directly caused an accident.
  • Manufacturers: defective trucks or parts (especially tires) often can have disastrous results.

Contact A St. Louis Truck Accident Law Firm That Wins

Truck accidents are simply not the same as car accidents. If you are ever in one, you need to contact a personal injury attorney that has experience taking truck accident cases in Missouri and Illinois. Halvorsen Klote is committed to getting you the best possible results in your St. Louis commercial truck crash case. Contact us today to speak with our experienced truck crash lawyers and find out who exactly you can and should be suing after your truck accident.