Phoenix residents who find themselves operating their vehicles near semi-trucks can wind up nervous. This is usually because they know that one minor mistake on a trucker’s part can cause serious damage, leaving them with serious injuries. All too often this fear becomes a reality. In these situations, car accident victims can struggle to find a way to overcome their injuries, regain their physical capabilities, recover their financial losses, ease their emotional trauma and obtain a sense of justice.
Fortunately, a personal injury lawsuit could help achieve all of these goals. Yet, when a car accident involves a semi-truck, matters can quickly become complicated. One reason is because it is often difficult to determine which parties can be held accountable. Although an errant trucker is almost always on the hook, it may be unclear as to whether a truck company can be held liable. While the legal theory of “vicarious liability” says yes, with some exceptions, those lines can become blurred when truckers are owners and operators, or when they are carrying a load that belongs to a party separate from the truck company.
Evidentiary issues can arise in these cases, too. Even though truckers keep logs, truck companies retain maintenance records and truck data including speed is stored, this evidence can and sometimes does conflict with other evidence. This can present problems that can be challenging to overcome if a victim doesn’t know how to utilize the law to his or her advantage.
To best develop a legal claim against a trucker and/or truck company, accident victims need to thoroughly prepare their legal arguments while anticipating the defense’s strategy and objections. This can be a daunting process. This is why many accident victims get further legal information to assist them in their fight for compensation.