Moving Truck Accident Attorney

Nearly three million people across the country will move each year. Moving requires a large truck because it involves packing furniture and possessions and moving it to a new location.

Large trucks are dangerous to the other driver in a car when they cause a crash. It is even more true when the large truck is rented to anyone with a valid driver’s license and with little to no experience in maneuvering a large truck.

Were you injured in a moving truck accident? If so, you may be eligible for financial compensation. The personal injury attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, LLC have years of experience helping victims injured due to another’s negligence.

Contact our truck accident lawyers at (888) 424-5757 to schedule your free consultation.

Moving Truck Accidents

Legal responsibility for a moving truck accident depends on the status of the truck driver. There are two different ways that people move:

• They rent a vehicle from a truck rental company and move themselves
• They hire a moving truck company to make a move for them

Surprisingly, only a small percentage of the people who move will hire a moving company. Most will try a DIY approach to save money because movers can add a large expense to your relocation.

Moving Trucks Are Large Vehicles

A moving truck is far larger than the average passenger vehicle. U-Haul moving vehicles have gross weights between 8,000 and 26,000 pounds. Commercial moving trucks can be even larger. When moving trucks are tractor-trailers, they can be even larger.

The disparity in size between the moving truck and the passenger car they hit will lead to serious injuries for the other motorists. More often than not, the other drivers will not walk away from a crash unharmed.

The Most Common Causes of Moving Truck Accidents

Here are some of the common reasons for accidents involving moving trucks:

• The moving truck driver fails to adjust their driving to account for road conditions
• Brake failure keeps the driver from being able to come to a complete stop in time
• The truck driver was distracted and had their eyes off the road at the time of the accident
• These vehicles have much larger blind spots and due to their sheer size and weight, the driver cannot brake as quickly

Proving Negligence in a Moving Truck Accident

The standard in any moving truck accident is negligence. You must prove that someone else did not uphold the duty of care expected of them under the circumstances.

The first thing is to figure out the proper defendant to sue. In truck accidents, there could be several defendants. Your lawyer will first investigate the crash to determine the responsible party.

Your attorney must gather the necessary evidence to prove liability as the first step. Before discussing actual dollar figures, you must show that someone else was negligent.

One of the classic examples of truck driver negligence is when the driver does not look into their blind spot and hits a motorist in the next lane.

Suing Moving Businesses for Rental Truck Accidents

If someone has hired a moving company, that company is liable for accidents caused by their large trucks.

As the truck driver’s employer, moving companies are held liable for the driver’s actions. So long as the truck driver was on the job when the accident happened, their employer must pay for the damage they caused.

Moving companies will have large insurance policies that can fully cover all the damages. If the rental company lacks insurance, you can go after their assets.

Accidents Involving Rental Trucks

Rental truck companies allow practically anyone of a certain age with a driver’s license to get a truck. They do not care how good of a driver the renter is because the rental company is not usually responsible.

Companies that rent trucks to consumers don’t talk about how difficult it is to drive the vehicles they offer, and there’s no special licensing required to operate one.

They will rent to experienced and inexperienced drivers just the same. Many people who get behind the wheel of moving trucks may have never driven such a large vehicle before and are getting used to it while driving.

Moving truck companies offer drivers extra insurance when they rent a vehicle. A renter would be smart to take the extra coverage, especially considering that they are behind the wheel of a large and unfamiliar truck.

Liability For Rental Vehicle Collision

When a Truck Rental Company Is Held Liable

When their moving trucks have a mechanical defect, rental truck companies can be held responsible. There must be some mechanical failure with the truck that caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle.

Here are some situations where the company bears the liability:

• U-Haul is supposed to fix mechanical defects before the truck goes onto the road.
• Negligent entrustment is when the company knowingly rented the vehicle to an incompetent or unlicensed driver.
• The rental truck company must regularly inspect the brakes on the rented vehicles before renting them.

The Truck Manufacturer Can Be Held Liable

Defective equipment may not just be the fault of the truck rental company. The company that designed and manufactured the moving truck could be held liable if you can prove the truck was defective or unreasonably dangerous.

The Vehicle Motorist

However, it is essential to note that while fault for the accident lies with the motorist of the moving truck, it might not always mean that operator is liable for your damages. For example, if the motorist of the moving truck works for a moving truck rental company, his or her employer might be vicariously liable for its employees’ neglect.

If the motorist of the moving truck that hit you was renting the truck from a company, that company might not be liable for your damages. Instead, the driver’s insurance would be held liable. It is because federal law allows rental car businesses to avoid liability for damages caused by motorists who leased their vehicles, including truck rentals.

Most of these rental companies require that motorists at least provide proof of liability insurance, as it is state law. If a negligent driver injures you in a moving truck, you can pursue compensation from the at-fault driver’s insurance company.

Damages in a Moving Truck Collision

Here are some of the damages that you are legally entitled to receive after truck accidents:

• The total costs of medical care
• Lost wages
• Pain and suffering
• Property damage

When dealing with an insurance company, you need an experienced truck accident attorney to work on your behalf.

What Happens If Someone in a UHaul Hits Me?

If you are injured in a car accident involving someone driving a UHaul, several potential sources of compensation may be available to you.

Depending on the circumstances of the crash, it may be possible to seek reparations from the driver’s insurance company, the UHaul company itself, or even from your policy if you have coverage for this type of accident.

It’s essential not to admit fault at any time and contact your lawyer before doing anything. They will be able to get the police report and assess property damage.

Which State Has the Most Rental Trucking Accidents?

According to statistics, California has the highest number of rental truck-related accidents in the United States. The state’s busy highways and vast roadways pose an ever-increasing risk for rental truck drivers, keeping the police busy.

Unfamiliarity with the area combined with heavier-than-usual traffic increases the chances of an accident. Drivers must be extra cautious when navigating California’s roads to reduce their likelihood of being involved in a rental trucking accident.

Which Moving Truck Rental Companies Have the Most Accidents?

According to data, some of the significant moving truck rental companies that have seen the highest occurrences of accidents include U-Haul, Budget Truck Rental, Penske, and Enterprise.

These companies have large fleets of vehicles on the roads

with inexperienced drivers that can increase their chances of being involved in an accident.

Hire Personal Injury Lawyers to Resolve a Compensation Claim | Free Consultation

If you or a loved one have suffered a personal injury in a crash involving a moving truck, our personal injury lawyers can help.

Contact the Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers law firm at (888) 424-5757 or call us online to schedule your free consultation. We will work to hold the at-fault party liable for the injuries that they caused you.

Our truck accident lawyers have a long track record of helping injury victims get results.

Resources:

• Truck and Bus Accidents Analysis | FMCSA
• Road Accident Deaths Increase in 2021 | NHTSA