Can I Hold My Employer Liable For A Truck Accident?

Truck accidents cause considerable injuries and fatalities to victims. When such happens, liability may boil down to single or multiple defendants. To employees, such liability may fall on the driver himself or the employer.

If you have suffered injuries after a truck accident as an employee, your employer may be on the legal hook.

Understanding your employer’s liability while within your scope of employment would greatly assist you when obtaining your damages.

 Your Employer Liability For Your Trucking Accident

Your circumstances determine your truck accident compensation. If you have been employed as a truck driver, your employer controls what you do and where you go within business hours. As such, your employer may be liable for any injuries you may suffer after an accident. Under such circumstances, the vicarious liability concept steps in.

Any employer is bound to get on the legal hook for mistakes done by their employees that end up causing harm to others. For instance, an employer may be requested to transport workers. If an accident happens and such workers suffer injuries, the employee may be held liable for all injuries suffered.

It is not always clear whether an employer should be held liable for their employee’s mistakes in most cases. To avoid any such occurrences, it’s recommended to consult a truck accident lawyer in Bakersfield. Such a lawyer would greatly assist you to:

• Prove your employer liability: There are many ways to satisfy any settlement negotiation or court that your employer was responsible for your injuries. For instance, your employer may have delayed truck maintenance or could have allocated much work to the driver, leading to fatigue.Understanding such requires some legal representation.
• Negotiate your claim:It’s almost impossible to independently navigate a trucking accident claim, especially when dealing with a company, unlike an individual.
• Get an estimate of your claim:It’s always a lawyer’s job to ensure a victim gets a favorable outcome for their case. Getting a fair amount is not easy. Your lawyer is required to do extensive research with no guarantee of a good outcome. Such a lawyer can only give an estimate of how much your personal injury claim may be worth.

Since your lawyer has an idea of how the insurance company and court work concerning similar cases, they may have a rough idea of your compensation. The rough idea is composed of your injuries and treatment received, which breeds up other losses.

The bottom line is that you must have been involved in your accident while on the clock. While the issue of whether you were on the job seems straightforward, there are scenarios where it becomes extremely complicated and a significant issue when seeking compensation. Such times need legal representation. The investigation carried out after an accident would greatly help when seeking compensation.

The only hitch back to compensation after a trucking accident would be:

• If you’re an independent contractor.
• You engaged in misconduct when on duty, such as driving under the influence.

Getting Your Compensation

In some cases, your employer may not be liable for every action taken by an employee. Compensation is guaranteed where negligence is involved. In this case, your employer is deemed to be negligent for your accident.

As such, you must have solid evidence to demonstrate how your employer led to your injuries. Where possible, your lawyer can draft a demand letter to allow enough room for negotiations.

It’s always your lawyer’s job to prove that your employer never took reasonable steps to avoid such an accident. Whichever your case, your compensation will depend on how your lawyer will handle your case.

To get compensated for your injuries, it must be determined that:

• You suffered injuries while on the job
• You were an employee

If your case becomes successful, you can receive costs incurred for your injuries, lost wages, among other compensable losses.

While your employer has much greater insurance coverage to cater to their liability, you also need to prove you were not at fault for your won injuries. If you also contributed to your injuries, such may affect your compensation. Your compensation will be equal to your percentage of fault.

Truck accidents cases are complicated. Therefore, you will be required to adhere to certain rules and regulations before obtaining your settlement or judgment.

You could be unfortunate to have suffered severe injuries. Meaning, you need more time to recover and, at the same time, money for your medical costs and other related expenses. Therefore, it would be in your best interest to seek legal help from a truck accident lawyer.

For more information on what led to your truck accident, how to deal with truck accidents and how much compensation your claim may be worth, it would be better to consider a free case evaluation.