As personal injury attorneys, we know how to prove fault in a Pennsylvania truck accident case. However, the exact strategy required varies a lot from one case to the next.
You’ll need evidence of the at-fault party’s wrongdoing, but this wrongdoing can take various forms. In one case, it might be improper loading practices on the part of the trucking company; in another, it might be the City of Philadelphia’s failure to maintain safe roadways. As you might imagine, those two cases will look very different.
If you've been injured in a collision with a truck in Pennsylvania, proving fault is essential to securing the compensation you need. Truck accidents can be complicated, often involving multiple parties, specialized regulations, and powerful corporate defendants. If you’re wondering how best to navigate all this following a crash, you should consider scheduling a free initial consultation with a truck accident attorney.
In most Pennsylvania truck accident cases, liability hinges on negligence (the only exception occurs in cases involving intentional wrongdoing, which is rare in road accident cases). Negligence occurs when someone fails to act reasonably and causes harm as a result.
There are four essential elements to a finding of negligence.
Every driver on the road owes a duty of care to others, so this is generally easy to prove in truck crash cases.
A breach of duty might occur if, for example, a truck driver ignores federal hours-of-service regulations and drives for 14 hours straight, causing an accident as a result. Similarly, a trucking company that skips routine brake inspections would be in breach of its duty to maintain safe vehicles.
For your case to be successful, you must show that the defendant’s breach of duty caused your injuries. This is often more difficult than you might think; it’s possible for a truck driver to engage in clearly reckless behavior and escape liability if it’s not obvious that this behavior directly caused you to have an accident. Capable defense attorneys are often able to create enough doubt here to get their clients off the hook. This is one reason why you need a top-class Philadelphia truck accident lawyer in your corner.
Finally, you’ll need to prove that you suffered compensable losses due to your accident, such as medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
In truck accident cases, various forms of evidence can be useful, depending on the circumstances of the crash.
You’re legally obliged to contact the police regarding any crash that causes significant injuries or property damage. If you don’t wait for the police to arrive on the scene following an accident like this, you may be criminally liable for a hit-and-run offense (even if you weren’t at fault for your accident).
However, you shouldn’t view this as a chore; the report the police file on your collision will become useful if you decide to pursue legal action. The police will detail all relevant information about the incident and indicate what party they believe was at fault. This will hold a lot of weight in settlement negotiations.
You should note, however, that police reports are not generally admissible as evidence in civil trials. Because the police arrive on the scene after an accident has happened, their submissions (particularly their opinions regarding liability) are technically considered hearsay.
Eyewitness accounts from other drivers, pedestrians, or passengers can help establish how the accident occurred. Witnesses may confirm details regarding reckless driving, road conditions, or other relevant factors.
For this reason, you should always speak to anyone at the scene of an accident who may be able to testify about what happened. Ask them to share their contact details and, if possible, to remain at the scene long enough to contribute to the police report. Once you get an attorney working on your case, they will contact all potentially useful witnesses and record their statements about your accident.
If video footage of your crash exists, it will often serve as conclusive evidence of the at-fault party’s liability. Cameras do not suffer from bias, nor do they misinterpret or forget important details.
Many commercial trucks are equipped with dashcams, as are a growing number of passenger cars. Surveillance cameras on businesses and residences are also becoming more common all the time.
Federal law requires most commercial trucks to have ELDs installed. These devices can show where a truck was at a given time and how many hours its driver had spent behind the wheel at the time of an accident.
You should note, however, that these devices are not legally required to collect and store data regarding a truck’s speed. So, if you believe a truck driver’s flouting of speed limits was a factor in your case, you’ll need to look elsewhere for evidence of this. ELDs are only required to collect information that’s relevant to hours of service (HOS) regulations.
Trucking companies are required to keep detailed records regarding the maintenance of their vehicles. If there is a noted issue with the brakes, tires, or steering system of the vehicle involved in your crash, this can make it much easier for your lawyer to establish negligence on the part of the company. Additionally, if the records are clearly faulty or incomplete, this can help your case as well.
Depending on the circumstances of your crash, your attorney may enlist the help of an accident reconstruction expert to provide insight on how it came about. These can be useful in more complex cases, particularly those involving multiple vehicles. Multi-vehicle crashes are more common when trucks are involved, because their sheer size often causes several road users to get caught up in the accident.
Accident reconstruction consultants use advanced computer modeling techniques to make sense of the available physical evidence and demonstrate fault.
Truck accidents pose a serious threat to our public safety; according to National Safety Council (NSC) data, over 5,800 large trucks were involved in fatal accidents nationwide in 2022. Because of the extreme weather and poor road quality in Pennsylvania, the risk posed by these devastating accidents is particularly potent here.
If you’ve been injured in a truck accident, you need to do everything possible to seek compensation and get your life back on track. That process starts when you hire the right attorney for the job.
Contact the Cochran Firm in Philadelphia today to schedule a free initial consultation about your case. You can reach us via the form on our website or by calling 800-969-4400.
