Common carriers have a higher duty of care when they are transporting people.

If someone goes into business with the purpose of moving passengers, they are taking on far more responsibility than the average driver does when they get behind the wheel.

If you carry passengers, you can expect that there is a greater chance that you can be held liable. However, many people do not understand the term common carrier.

When you or a loved one have been injured in an accident, there are a number of possible defendants in the lawsuit. In the best-case scenario, there is a company that can be held liable for the wrongful acts of their employees.

The legal doctrine of respondeat superior could help families recover for their injuries from a company that has deeper pockets to pay for their legal liability than an individual defendant.

The Legal Doctrine of Respondeat Superior

Obtaining a commercial driver’s license (CDL) allows the driver to operate large trucks and commercial vehicles in commerce throughout the United States. Particular commercial driver’s licenses are necessary for transporting hazardous materials (hazmat), passenger vehicles, and liquid/gas tankers.

A CDL and endorsement will require passing a written test. Some require completing eight road skills tests. Hazmat drivers must also submit fingerprints and undergo a comprehensive security threat assessment performed by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

Steps Necessary to Get a CDL License

In the United States, commercial vehicle drivers operating heavy, large, or hazardous materials vehicles in commerce must have a commercial driver’s license (CDL). A CDL is required to drive any bus, tank truck, or vehicle carrying passengers.

To obtain a license, the operator must first pass a specialized knowledge examination and perform a comprehensive driving road test. School bus drivers must also pass a background check.

Before October 1986, commercial drivers in most states can operate a large commercial vehicle using only a state-issued automobile driver’s license without proper training required. That year, Congress passed the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act making it mandatory for every commercial vehicle driver to acquire a CDL.

Multiple entities may be responsible for a semi-truck accident in the Chicago, Illinois area

A truck crash can come out of nowhere when a large trucker slams in your motor vehicle without any warning.

Serious injuries, medical expenses, and other drastic changes in life could flow in the aftermath due to the sheer size of commercial vehicles, even wrongful death.

A massive chemical spill that sent 40 people to the hospital in a far northern suburb of Chicago illustrates the extreme health hazards of exposure to anhydrous ammonia.

Police and fire crews who responded to a reported vehicle fire in Beach Park, Illinois, in the early morning hours of April 25 encountered plumes of toxic gas escaping from a tractor trailer truck hauling tanks of anhydrous ammonia, which is commonly used in fertilizer. The truck was reportedly en route from Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, to a farm in Northern Illinois.

It’s still unclear what caused the leak, but it was not believed to be the result of a vehicle crash. Forty people, including 11 firefighters and a police officer, were taken to a local hospital, all with varying degrees of respiratory distress. The injured included vehicle occupants who were traveling in the vicinity of the spill and even residents of nearby homes. While most were treated and released, seven people remained in serious to critical condition up to two days after the incident, some on artificial respirators, and their prognosis was uncertain.

On October 31, 2017, a worker at a Bedford Park UPS facility was injured just before 2:00 AM after being pinned by a trailer before first respondents freed the man and transported him via airlift to a local hospital. Jennifer Cook, a spokeswoman for UPS, confirmed that the company would conduct an in-house investigation into the matter to determine the cause of the incident and take appropriate measures to prevent accidents like this from occurring in the future.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) opened an investigation into the incident occurring in the 6700 block of W. 73rd St. in Bedford Park. The man’s current health condition is not immediately known.

A Widespread Problem

Description of Tire Regrooving for Trucks

The cement truck on the roadway can create a serious risk for traffic and pedestrians around them and for the truck’s driver. Cement trucks often involve unique issues. Accidents that involve this kind of vehicle are not like other accidents involving smaller vehicles, and can result in major injuries or death. (See also here.)

Rolling over is not uncommon for these types of trucks. The uneven weight distribution can cause a cement truck to rollover, when it is traveling at just 5 mph, while the driver is making a 90 degree turn. Normally this would sound like the truck driver could just make turns slower, but with cement that is not the case. The drivers are usually in a rush to reach their destination, with the cement wet. Cement can dry inside of the truck, which at all costs, the driver will avoid this and that raises the risk the cement truck poses on the roads.

Cement Truck Licensing