Truck Accidents Caused By Truck Maintenance Negligence

Commercial trucking is a heavily regulated industry. Many federal laws control the safety of the trucking industry, including laws requiring companies to maintain a certain level of truck upkeep. Every truck company in the U.S. must adequately maintain its fleet, while drivers must inspect their big rigs before each drive. Truck maintenance negligence can lead to preventable accidents, injuries and deaths.

Truck maintenance is an integral part of the industry. Every truck company, owner and driver has a legal responsibility to keep up with adequate vehicle maintenance. This involves obeying regulations by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) for truck inspections, maintenance and repairs. The FMCSA states that all trucking companies must regularly maintain their trucks to keep them in safe operating condition. While it does not give specifically required intervals, the law requires regular enough maintenance to ensure proper functioning. Motor carriers must also keep maintenance logs for at least the last 30 days.

According to federal law, all parts and accessories of a commercial truck must be in safe and proper working condition at all times. Failing to meet this expectation is a breach of duty on the part of the motor carrier. Unfortunately, many trucking companies, truck owners and operators skip maintenance requirements to save time or money. This act of negligence could lead to a preventable truck accident if the defective part breaks down or malfunctions in transit. Operating a truck in poor condition is a dangerous breach of federal law.

The total number of truck-related fatal accidents in 2017 was 4,657, according to the FMCSA. In 2017, 5% of the large trucks involved in fatal accidents (233 trucks) experienced vehicle-related issues that caused the accidents. The most common vehicle problems had to do with truck tires. These may include tire blowouts or flats from lack of proper truck maintenance. It can be difficult for even an experienced truck driver to control a truck that has a tire blowout. Loss of truck control could lead to catastrophic or fatal accidents. Other common truck parts that contribute to accidents include brakes, fluids, engines, wheel bearings, starters and U-joints.

If negligent truck maintenance causes or contributes to an auto accident, the truck company could be liable for victims’ damages. The company will be vicariously responsible for the negligence of its drivers, staff members and hired mechanics, in most cases. If a truck driver skipped a daily inspection to save time, for example, and this led to a maintenance-related accident, the company would be vicariously liable. Even if the driver or worker was a hired contractor, the trucking company could be liable under federal law.

The trucking company could also be financially responsible if it contributed to the accident more directly. If it was the company that engaged in negligent maintenance practices, for instance, and this caused the crash, the company could be liable. A trucking company may pay for low-quality repairs, ignore federal maintenance requirements, skip fleet inspections or engage in many other acts of negligence that could contribute to a truck part breaking down.

In other cases, the part malfunction may trace back to a product defect rather than truck maintenance negligence. If the part that malfunctioned contained a defect, the manufacturer may be liable instead of the truck company. A truck part manufacturer or distributor could be accountable if the part contained a manufacturing, design or marketing defect that contributed to the crash. Strict product liability laws may apply to these cases, removing the burden to prove negligence from the claimant. Identifying the source of a truck breakdown and related truck accident may take help from an attorney.

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