Truck accidents and failure to maintain the the truck are responsible for a small but significant number of trucking accidents that occur around the country every year. In truck accidents where someone is injured or killed, the Department of Transportation initiates a detailed inspection. These government investigations track the causes of truck accidents, and failure to maintain the truck is a needless and irresponsible cause of too many accidents. As a result of these investigations, the DOT has compiled a list of regulations pertaining to maintenance and inspection, and liability can rest with many parties.
*Note: If you or someone close to you has suffered personal injury in a truck accident, then a Houston18 Wheeler truck accident attorney can generate a case on your behalf to procure the compensation you need.
Failure to Maintain the Truck can Cause Truck Accidents
Failure to maintain a large truck can and does cause serious accidents every year. Preventable failures cause large truck crashes that typically lead to serious injury or wrongful death. These types of preventable maintenance issues include:
- Failure to maintain the brakes properly;
- Failure to inspect and notice problems with the tires;
- Lights that aren’t working properly;
- Missing or obscured reflectors;
- Improper or insufficient load strapping;
- Problems with wiring, fuel systems, frames, emergency equipment, windows or other aspects of the truck.
If these elements of the truck aren’t maintained properly and cause an accident, you’re looking at a clear negligence case, and many parties could share liability.
Who is Liable in Failure to Maintain the Truck Accidents?
Government regulations state that a truck must be regularly inspected and maintained, and records must be kept of these inspections. A good attorney will review all maintenance-related documents to determine liability, including:
- The driver’s daily vehicle condition report;
- The driver’s vehicle inspection record;
- GPS and phone records;
- Company records that live on the truck’s onboard computer;
- Any other maintenance and operating records.
Depending on the lapse in maintenance, liability rest with the driver, the truck owner or even a third-party mechanic or parts vendor. Every element of an accident must be carefully investigated to determine where liability resides, and whether an accident was a result of failure to maintain the truck.