Single-Vehicle Truck Accidents & Potential Legal Claims
Most people expect truck accidents to involve at least two vehicles, generally a truck and a passenger car, but some accidents do not involve any vehicles other than the truck. A single-vehicle truck accident may occur when a truck rolls over, or when a truck strikes a barrier or another obstacle. Severe single-vehicle truck accidents may result in a truck leaving the road entirely, which may cause catastrophic injuries.
If driver error caused a single-vehicle truck accident, any passengers in the truck sometimes may have claims against the driver. These crashes may result from the use of alcohol or drugs, excessive fatigue, distracted driving, or speeding, among other factors. However, a truck passenger probably cannot sue the driver of the truck if they are both employed by the same company. Workers’ compensation is the sole remedy for victims injured in accidents caused by a coworker.
Some single-vehicle accidents arise from causes other than driver errors. These may include defective truck parts produced by a manufacturer or reckless driving by other drivers that forces the truck driver into evasive maneuvers. When this happens, a truck driver could bring a claim against a truck manufacturer or another driver. In more unusual cases, they may have a claim against a government entity based on defective road design or poor road maintenance.
Personal Injury Claims After Single-Vehicle Truck Accidents
Claims arising from driver errors generally are based on a theory of negligence, as are claims involving road design or maintenance. In the context of driver errors, negligence means a failure to operate a vehicle with reasonable care under the circumstances. A violation of a safety law or regulation usually indicates negligence, but a claim does not need to rely on a violation. Proving liability based on problems with road design or maintenance may be more complex. A victim may need to prove more specific elements to overcome government immunity.
On the other hand, claims against a truck manufacturer often rely on a theory of strict liability. This means that the truck or one of its components contained a manufacturing or design defect, which caused the accident. A manufacturing defect involves an error in making the product, while a design defect involves a problem with the inherent design of the product. Manufacturing defects are usually isolated incidents, while design defects affect all the products of that type.
Workers’ Compensation Benefits After Single-Vehicle Truck Accidents
If only the truck driver was injured in the accident, and nobody else played a role in causing it, the truck driver likely will be limited to workers’ compensation benefits. These are provided regardless of fault in most cases, so a truck driver can potentially recover these benefits even if they caused a single-vehicle accident. State laws governing this system vary, but generally an injured trucker can recover compensation for their medical costs and partial wage replacement. Wage benefits will depend on the extent of the disability resulting from the accident, which may be classified as temporary or permanent and as partial or total.
One of the main differences between personal injury lawsuits and workers’ compensation claims is that workers’ compensation does not provide non-economic damages for harm such as pain and suffering and emotional distress. A victim can recover non-economic damages in a personal injury claim, and these may be substantial after a serious accident. Thus, their total recovery likely will be significantly greater if they can hold a third party liable for the crash.
