Being involved in a semitruck crash is a traumatic experience for the people in the passenger car that was struck. The immediate priority is getting the medical care for the injuries they face. Once this is done, they might turn to building a case to seek compensation for the financial damages they are dealing with now. One factor that matters in these cases is the cause of the wreck. While it is possible for this to be a single cause, there is also a chance that there will be more than one reason for the accident.
You might automatically think about the actions of the trucker when you are trying to determine what happened. Sometimes, fatigue, distractions and other factors might mean that the trucker didn’t operate the rig in a safe manner. This type of negligence is unacceptable, but the rig operator might not be the only liable party.
Even in these cases, you might have to drill down even more to figure out what really happened. In the instance of trucker fatigue, you might have to ask the following questions:
- Was the fatigue caused by a push to make a tight deadline?
- Was the trucker still within the limitations of the Hours of Service regulations?
- Did the trucking company’s contribute to the fatigue?
Some of the other possible causes of these big-rig wrecks include equipment failure, defective components, improperly secured cargo and other drivers. Sorting through these might take time. Once you know what happened and who is liable for the accident, you can move forward with your claim with the appropriate individuals named as defendants in the matter.
