So, generally, truck accident cases involve an employee-employer type of relationship. As a general matter, employers are vicariously liable for the wrongful acts of their employees that are committed during the course of their employment. A lot of times, trucking companies try to categorize their drivers not as their employee but as an independent contractor.
Under traditional state law, this might limit the trucking company’s liability for any negligence on the part of the truck driver. However, there is a whole set of federal regulations that apply to trucking cases that are generally favorable to plaintiffs. These regulations allow any truck driver to pretty much be considered an employee of the trucking company.
So, generally, when we’re handling a trucking case, we look at the driver and we look at the trucking company. And, possibly, any entity that was involved in brokering any type of load or freight to an unreputable trucking company sometimes could be involved as well.
