Most drivers know that they must take good care of the vehicles they drive if they want them to remain safe. If you think about what can happen if you don’t maintain your vehicle properly, you can probably imagine the horror of what can happen if a semitruck isn’t properly maintained. The accidents that could occur because of equipment failure due to lack of maintenance could be horrible. But, that is only one possible cause of semitruck accidents.
If you are planning to seek compensation after a truck accident, you will need to determine what led to the accident so that you can determine what parties to name in the claim. In some cases, the police report will have the information you need to get you started. In other cases, looking at the maintenance records on the truck and checking the driving log for the trucker will be necessary.
As you go through the records, you should look at how the long the driver was on the road. There are guidelines that govern how long truckers can drive per day. The logbook can provide information about this.
You can also check the maintenance log for some basic information. If the trucker claims that he or she couldn’t stop, find out when the truck had the brakes changed last. If the maintenance log seems to be in order, you might have to find out if a component failed because of an incorrect installation or a defective product. That information could be useful in your lawsuit.
Determining what led to a semitruck accident can be difficult. Fatigued drivers, reckless driving, distracted driving and rushed drivers are all possible, but other causes are possible too. Learning how to present the cause of the accident in your compensation claim is crucial once you know the cause.
Source: Stop Unsafe Trucks, “Common Causes of Truck Accidents,” accessed Sep. 16, 2016
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