Truck Accident By Defective Tires Or Brakes – Who Is Liable?

Over 400,000 cases of large truck accidents were reported in 2014, as per a recent report by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. About 70% of these accidents involved collision of a truck with another motor vehicle. Resulting causalities were reported to be over 3,000 with 82,000 injuries.

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Another study focused on the causes of these tragic accidents, including faulty brakes and defective tires. This begs the question – who will be considered liable in the case of death or injury in a truck accident caused by a defective product? Let’s examine liability in the case of truck accidents as a result of:

Who May Be Liable for Defective Brakes?

When a truck accident occurs due to defective brakes and causes injury or wrongful death, one or more parties may be liable and legally responsible for the accident. That also depends on actual issues that affect the truck’s brake system.

Liable parties include the:

o   Operator or owner of the truck

o   Brake manufacturer

o   Company that loaded the truck

o   Driver of the truck

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It’s the duty of truck owner to maintain the vehicle completely, including the truck’s brakes and tires. Only then catastrophic accidents can be prevented or minimized on the road. Similarly, it’s the driver’s responsibility to follow traffic rules to the letter and depower front brakes at the first indication of trouble.

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Who May Be Liable for Defective Tires?

Tire conditions also play an important role when it comes to commercial vehicle safety. In fact, defective tires and related problems are often linked to catastrophic truck accidents. These issues may include:=

o   Using mismatched tire sizes

o   Matching tires with different wear

o   Using tires that don’t comply with minimum DOT tread depth standards

o   Combining radial and bias tires on the same axle

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As with the above, owners/operators, drivers, tire manufacturer or maintenance crew of trucks, semi-trucks or other delivery vehicles are responsible and will pay monetary damages in event of a legal action.

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Injuries That Can Be Sustained In Truck Accidents

Risk and severity of accident will increase if there is even a little disparity between the colliding truck and vehicle. Occupants of the lighter and smaller vehicle will suffer the full brunt of impact which can result in injury or even wrongful death.

Following injuries can be sustained anywhere on the body of passengers of the smaller vehicle depending on certain factors:

o   Broken limbs

o   Skull fractures

o   Spinal cord injury

o   Extended unconsciousness

o   Severe lacerations

o   Traumatic brain injury

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Have you or a loved one suffered a near-fatal accident involving a truck and believe it was due to the other party’s negligence. Contact an experienced truck accident attorney at Ghozland Law Firm for a free consultation today.