When you’re cruising down the highway, the last thing you want to do is swerve to avoid a mattress, lumber, or other cargo that just spilled off a truck in front of you. Or worse, you had no way to avoid it and now you have crashed into debris causing you serious injuries, expensive vehicle damages, and a possible pile-up with everyone on the highway!
These frightening incidents often referred to as lost load truck accidents can lead to all sorts of difficult questions about who is ultimately liable and which insurance company is going to be on the hook for damages. Is it the truck driver’s fault for not checking the load? Or the trucking company for not providing proper training? What about the people that loaded the cargo at the originating terminal?
Understanding who is liable when cargo falls off a truck is extremely important when trying to obtain damages for injuries or damages caused by this type of accident. Here is what drivers and accident victims need to know about the complexity of these types of cases.
Common Reasons for Lost Load Truck Accidents
Most lost load truck accidents happen simply because the cargo was not secured. This could be using the incorrect type of straps/tie-downs, not using enough secured points, or failing to tighten everything down adequately before driving off.
Overweight trucks that violate weight restrictions are another significant source of lost load incidents; when a truck is overloaded, it puts significant stress on securing equipment and substantially increases the likelihood of cargo shifting or breaking free mid-transport.
Failures of securing equipment such as broken straps, malfunctioning bungee cords, or broken trailer doors can also lead to loads being lost. In some cases the securing equipment does not fail during an initial inspection, but instead fails during transport due to wear, pre-existing damages, or usage over the equipment’s intended tolerances.
Immediate Hazards and Types of Damage
Debris that has become detached from a vehicle creates immediate collision hazards to other drivers, who may not have time to safely avoid objects that they now see in their path that have suddenly appeared. When loads lost on the roadway are large items such as large appliances or building commodities, besides the crash potential, damage and injury potential are significant.
Lost loads can often lead drivers to either brake violently or to swerve from their lane air pollution distress avoidance of lost loads that can lead to multi-vehicle crashes. The potential for damage and injury occurs both when debris strikes another vehicle or person, and either impacts other vehicles as they shock that hazard, or leads to an imaginary multi-car accident, albeit would be collateral if such debris did not exist.
Road closures or massive lane obstructions are common occurrences after lost load incidents; especially when old and large things blocking multiple lanes takes time relatively for cleanup with specialized equipment. Lost load incidents can cause several thousand setbacks to other commuters in the traffic flow, also creating latent lost load incidents due to secondary accidents.
Who Can Be Held Liable for Lost Load Accidents
Truck drivers, while doing their job, are legally responsible for inspecting their loads and ensuring the cargo is properly secured before they start driving. Even while driving, the driver is required to periodically check their loads and verify that they have not shifted or come undone, especially on long trips or after a stop.
The trucking company could be liable if the trucking company did not properly train the driver regarding securing their load, provided inadequate equipment to secure their load, or pressured the driver to forego the inspection and load securing process to meet unrealistically tight delivery time frames.
Depending on the circumstances, manufacturers of equipment used to secure the load could be liable if defective straps, tie downs, or other securing equipment caused and/or contributed to the lost load. Manufacturers could be subject to product liability claims if equipment broke because of defects in design or manufacturing.
What To Do If You Are Involved in a Lost Load Accident
If you are involved in a lost load accident, pull your vehicle into a safe location if you can and call 911 as soon as possible. Lost loads create ongoing hazards for other vehicles on the road, so it is important for you to have law enforcement and emergency crews to the scene as soon as possible for everyone’s safety.
Document the accident scene with photographs and detailed notes about what you observed. Document photographs of the lost load, damage to your vehicle, the truck that lost the load, the overall accident scene in general. Documentation is critical for your insurance claim and potential lawsuits.
Record or collect contact information from any witnesses that saw the lost cargo fall or the accident occur. Independent witnesses can offer useful information regarding what they saw about how the collision happened and who may be responsible if the truck driver denies it was their fault.
Seeking Compensation After A Lost Load Accident
Claims against trucking companies and their insurers are often complicated because a multitude of potential liable parties may be involved. Depending on the circumstances, you may have to bring claims against the trucking company, cargo shipper, or even equipment manufacturers based on which party caused the cargo to become lost.
Pursuing claims for lost cargo is difficult because to prove liability it must be shown that a party did not follow basic procedures or that equipment defects resulted in lost cargo. Litigation of lost cargo liability will often take experts and an in-depth inquiry into the securing techniques and employed equipment.
Types of compensable damages typically include medical expenses, expenses related to the repair or replacement of a vehicle, wages lost due to missing work, and pain and suffering damages, and in extreme and severe cases that involved a permanent injury, you may even be able to recover damages related to future medical costs and lost earning capacity.
Protecting Your Rights After Lost Load Accidents
In seconds, lost cargo can quite literally turn highways into obstacle courses that can result in injurious accidents or damaging property and years of agonizing injuries. Figuring out at least who is responsible in lost load cases can be incredibly complicated and convoluted, with the potential of involving the truck drivers, trucking companies, cargo handlers, or even manufacturers of equipment used to secure the load.
By knowing how accidents occur and potential parties that may be responsible, you will be better capable of managing the accounting and aftermath of the accident to ensure that you are compensated fairly for the financial losses and personal suffering that you have incurred.
Apart from that, if you want to know about What to Do If You’ve Been in an Uber Accident then please visit our Accidents Law category
