Truck Company Safety Ratings (Comprehensive Information on Large Trucking Companies)

Establishing Corporate Responsibility in Illinois Trucking Accidents

The latest statistics from the U.S. DOT (Department of Transportation) show that approximately 500,000 big-rig commercial truck accidents occur each year in America. Sadly, trucking accidents with the highest majority of fatalities involve collisions with passenger vehicles.

The sheer size and weight of semi-trucks, flatbed vehicles, and tanker trucks can cause catastrophic damage when the large commercial vehicle is improperly operated or maintained.

The truck accident injury attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC represent injured victims involved in tractor-trailer crashes. We work on behalf of clients to ensure they receive adequate financial compensation to pay their hospitalization costs, medical bills, lost wages, pain, and suffering.

Strict Schedules to Meet Delivery Deadlines

Trucking companies often place strict demands on their truck, driving employees to meet deadlines and commitments when moving cargo across the nation. The unreasonable expectations often lead truckers to drive at excessive speeds when tired and attempting to reach the destination on time.

Alternatively, independent contractors are usually paid "by the mile," which often creates dangerous and negligent behavior and excessive fatigue, to generate enough income to make independent truck driving profitable. These careless actions often lead to recklessness and an increased potential of catastrophic accidents with serious injuries or wrongful death.

Determining Parties Responsible for a Truck Crash

Truckers involved in accidents are usually cited as responsible for catastrophic injuries or wrongful death through mishap or negligence. However, the truck driver is not always solely at fault, although attempting to determine responsibility and legal liability can be challenging.

Investigators might determine that the truck line's responsibility for an accident is valid because the commercial vehicle was maintained improperly. The company might have never trained the trucker on how to transport cargo safely.

Alternatively, some independent contractors own and operate their commercial trucks and furnish the oil, gas, and liability insurance. However, if the trucking company controls the operator's schedule and details of how to move the cargo on the independent contractor's truck, the company might still be at least partially at fault.

The truck company's responsibility for accidents usually starts with the company owner and extends to subordinates that include managers, supervisors, dispatchers, maintenance crews, mechanics, and truck operators.

All commercial motor vehicle truck drivers must maintain an active CDL (Commercial Driver's License) before applying and accepting a truck driving job. Additionally, the truckload carrier must provide ongoing supervision to ensure that the trucker follows all applicable federal and state rules of the road.

Large Truck Companies FAQs

Implicating the Company for Driver Driver Negligence

Commercial vehicle operators can cause accidents through their negligence when fatigue, aggression, excessive speed, and using alcohol or drugs are involved. Commercial vehicle drivers can also be at fault when eating while operating the truck or talking/texting on a mobile phone.

Additionally, maneuvering the truck through adverse weather conditions, unsafe driving decisions, and failing to follow federal and state regulations can place the driver, vehicle, and other motorists and passengers sharing the road at risk of great peril.

A personal injury attorney might pursue the truck line as a party (defendant) in a truck accident lawsuit when a trucker is an actual or apparent agent for the trucking corporation. Naming the company as a corporate defendant in the civil lawsuit is crucial for the injured party.

A corporate defendant usually has ample insurance coverage to pay a large settlement or judgment at an amount necessary to compensate a victim with significant injuries.

Evident Involvement of Corporate Responsibility for an Accident

Many commercial truck accidents are directly or indirectly the fault of truck company negligence when mechanics, maintenance crews, supervisors, and management keep the vehicles maintained poorly. Also, dock crews that overload or improperly load the vehicle potentially increase the severity of accidents when the load shifts during transport.

Many truck companies place unreasonable deadlines on the trucker, forcing them to make unwise decisions that place all motorists on the road at risk. Overloaded tractor-trailers could cause the braking system to fail due to the extra weight.

The leading trucking companies that offer trucking jobs in the United States and throughout North America include:

• Con-Way
• CR England
• Crete Carrier
• CRST
• Estes Express Lines
• FedEx
• J.B. Hunt Transport Services (J.B. Hunt)
• Landstar
• New England Motor Freight (NEMF)
• Old Dominion
• Roehl
• Schneider National
• Swift Transportation
• U.S. Xpress
• Walmart
• Werner Enterprises
• XPO Logistics
• YRC Worldwide

Many shippers and transporters in the trucking industry's supply chain offer LTL (less than load truckload), intermodal (various transportation modes), long-haul, and local transport services. Some truckers work for the transporter as an employee, and others are owner-operators working with the country's largest trucking companies and small motor carriers.

Third-Party Negligence in Trucking Cases: The Silent Parties

Large commercial trucks are often involved in accidents due to the negligence of other motorists, defective equipment, or lack of maintenance. Faulty tires, defective axles, worn-out brake pads, broken braking systems, and other substandard components can cause accidents with serious injuries and death when the operator loses control of the large truck traveling at high speeds.

Determining any business or entity possibly responsible for the accident and pursuing them might require a thorough investigation of the collision.

An accident investigator or mechanic might need to review the truck accident data recorder or the crash debris to determine how and why an incident occurred. Retaining a truck collision attorney promptly could ensure that all available evidence to build a case is gathered and secured.

Filing a Lawsuit for Personal Injuries Related to a Truck Crash

Victims who have suffered injuries or families that have lost a loved one in an accident involving a large commercial truck can sue the party at fault for the damage. Illinois tort law involving commercial truck accidents is complicated.

Often, victims file lawsuits to recover the enormous loss through litigation or negotiation with insurance companies that hold the policy for trucking companies.

Trucking accident lawsuits allow victims to obtain financial compensation for many of the damages incurred, including:

• Extensive medical expenses
• Lost income due to missed work
• Financial expenses associated with the accident
• Physical damages to passenger vehicles
• Mental and emotional anguish
• Pain and suffering

Hiring a Truck Accident Injury Attorney

Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC has successfully handled many truck accident cases for clients injured by large commercial trucks. The law firm maintains an aggressive position in developing effective strategies to combat large trucking companies fighting to avoid legal liability for serious, and sometimes deadly, accidents.

The attorneys at (888) 424-5757 work on a contingency fee basis, which means no upfront fees are required. All legal services are paid from an award at trial or through an out-of-court settlement. Contact us today!

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