Someone that has been in an automobile that was hit by a commercial truck might feel tempted to sue the truck’s driver. Still, drivers belong to only one of the various groups that contain individuals that could one day be blamed for an auto-truck collision.
Was the driver an employee or an independent contractor?
• Had the driver received instructions on how to make deliveries? That would indicate the existence of an employer.
• Did an employer instruct the driver, regarding how work should be performed? Maybe an employer had provided an incorrect address?
• Had an employer arranged for the company’s drivers to receive benefits? An independent contractor would not receive any type of company benefit.
• Had an employer withheld some tax money from the driver’s pay-check? An independent contractor would not have someone removing money from his or her pay-check.
What was the reason for the driver’s on-road behavior?
• Had the driver been acting according to rules created by someone, such as an employer that had assigned an employee to a duty?
• Had the driver carried out an intentional act?
• Was the driver’s route determined by the position of an arrow on a GPS system?
• Had a road sign, such as one that said YIELD been hidden by bushes or some other type of flora?
The question of who could be blamed for such a collision would have multiple answers.
The driver or the driver’s employer represented only 2 possibilities.A 3rd party might be the one that should be held responsible.
-Perhaps the truck manufacturer had allowed construction of a flawed vehicle.
-Maybe one of the truck’s parts had lacked the ability to perform its intended function, aiding creation of a blown tire, failed brakes, faulty steering, or some other problem.
-It could be that some mechanic had overlooked a problem, when conducting a scheduled inspection.
-Had the driver’s GPS system failed to supply the person at the wheel with adequate information? Maybe it had not issued a warning about a recent detour. Had both the truck and the automobile swerved, in order to avoid the detour?
Suppose that more than one person could be blamed for the accident? Who would be responsible for compensating the victim?
In that case, an injured victim would need to sue the insurance for one of the identified parties. Personal injury lawyer in St. Thomas knows that once that same insurance company had compensated the person that had felt the impact of the collision, it could then go after anyone else that had contributed towards creation of that particular incident.
It would take a fair amount of time for such a process to play out. However, the victim would get compensated before all involved parties had received their day in court.