If you are the victim of a crash with an overloaded big rig, you may suffer devastating injuries.
Your legal team will begin an investigation. But determining responsibility for the crash will likely become a complex effort. Why is this?
Preventable accidents
Those who monitor large truck accidents acknowledge that several factors cause crashes: longer routes; fatigue; newer drivers with less experience and distractions with cell phones. Overloaded cargo is also a leading cause of truck-related crashes. Many such accidents are preventable, but when they occur, determining responsibility requires time and a careful investigation.
Overloading safety issues
Overloading a large truck is not only a violation of state and federal regulations, it is also a serious safety issue. Ill-positioned, heavier than normal cargo can shift, which makes the truck more difficult to control, especially for an inexperienced driver. Control problems are more pronounced and dangerous when the truck is going downhill. Overloading means that the braking distance will be longer than usual and stopping the truck will require more braking force.
Shared responsibility
The case of a crash involving an overloaded truck can become complex because liability may fall to various parties. The truck driver, the trucking firm, the company that maintains the vehicle and the company that loaded the cargo may all share responsibility for the crash and the associated injuries. The injured victim of a truck-car crash has a right to expect maximum compensation to cover current and future medical expenses, property damage and more. Once the case settles with liability determined, compensation may come from multiple insurance companies.
