Fatal Truck Accidents in Bowling Green

Fatal truck accidents in Bowling Green, OH need to be taken seriously. When you have suffered the loss of a loved one, you are allowed within the eyes of the law to take steps toward compensation from negligent parties. This could include trucking companies that place unnecessary stress on their drivers, the drivers themselves, or the conditions of the road. However, to vet which party was responsible for your loved one’s untimely passing, you need to speak to an attorney familiar with wrongful death cases.

Frequent Causes of Fatal Truck Collisions in Bowling Green

Wrongful death cases involving truck accidents are often caused by rear-end accidents, turning accidents, rollover accidents, and drivers falling asleep.  Typically, in a wrongful death case, the individual driver, the trucking company, and potentially the broker or leaser of the vehicle are all involved. However, there are instances where the surviving heirs of a trucker sue because of another driver’s negligence which caused their loved one’s death.

How the Commercial Nature of Trucks Affect Cases

Truck accident cases are handled differently than other wrongful death cases because federal law controls truck drivers that carry loads in interstate commerce. There are a lot more federal regulations that are required of the truck driver. Typically, they have different training and skills. They have different requirements in order to have a CDL and be a licensed truck driver.

They also have to carry logbooks and have to have a certain amount of sleep. They are allowed to only drive for a certain number of hours.

They are allowed to carry only a certain weight. There are a whole lot of different regulations that apply if the defendant is a truck driver in interstate commerce and that is why they need a wrongful death attorney who has handled those types of cases and is familiar with the laws that the truck drivers are regulated for.

How a Truck Company Regards Wrongful Death Lawsuits

Trucking companies often have experienced attorneys that all they do is represent trucking companies and are familiar with specific trucking companies and other policies and procedures. The major distinction in a case where they have a trucking company is they are going to look at the background of the truck driver and their prior driving record. They are going to look at their prior employment history, their employment file, and look at whether or not the trucking company negligently hired that truck driver. There is a large amount of different issues if the defendant is a trucking company.

An Insurance Company’s Role in These Accidents

The role of an insurance company changes in this type of accident. Under federal law, if they have an overloaded truck that is driving in interstate commerce, there is a minimum amount of $750,000 that the trucking company has to carry for insurance, while in Ohio for a car, it is $25,000. They are going to have better attorneys representing the trucking company and they are going to have a larger budget than the trucking company is going to be willing to spend to defend those claims just because the insurance company is going to be a greater risk.

Speak to an Attorney Immediately

With the loss of a loved one surely looming over your life, you may feel distraught and angered at the individual who caused that accident. Fortunately, the law provides you with legal recourse against negligent drivers.

Fatal truck accidents in Bowling Green, OH do not have to go unanswered. By speaking with an attorney, you could take the first steps toward holding a negligent person accountable. Reach out today to begin your confidential consultation.