I was involved in a truck driving accident with a semi where the driver was new to trucking. Is his company liable?

Question: My car was involved in a multi-vehicle pile-up on an interstate highway.  It happened after a huge tractor trailer moving truck jack-knifed on a curve because it was going too fast.  The driver of one of the cars in the front of the accident told me he heard the truck driver tell the police that this was his first run after graduating from trucking school.  I’m going to sue the moving company – how can I prove the driver may not have been properly trained?

Response: I hope you have retained a personal injury attorney experienced in litigating multi-vehicle accidents, particularly those involving interstate trucking.  In general, the main legal theory of liability in a truck accident case, or any other motor vehicle accident case, is negligence.  A negligence claim has several elements but, among other things, as a plaintiff you have to prove that the trucking company defendant breached a duty to exercise reasonable care under the circumstances.  You are correct that evidence of the company’s failure to adequately train its new drivers could be a  breach of its duty of reasonable care.

Your attorney will be able to use the discovery process to obtain information about the driver’s and the company’s training histories.  S/he can also make use of state and federal regulations governing the training of new commercial truck drivers – for example, the Federal Motor Safety Administration has promulgated regulations governing entry-level driver training requirements.  Although it would not be dispositive proof of negligence, if the trucking company violated state or federal training or registration requirements your fact-finding jury or judge could view that misconduct as tending to prove that the company breached its duty of care in other training areas.

Answered by Jamilla Moore

Additional Resources: Federal Motor Safety Administration Regulations                     

Disclaimer: This site does not provide legal advice and users of this site should not interpret any of the information presented here as legal advice. The information provided merely conveys general information related to commonly asked legal questions. We are not a law firm and the employees responding to questions are not acting as your legal attorney. You should ultimately consult with a Lawyer for your case.