Chicagoland faces a greater danger of large truck accidents than other parts of the country because we are a huge, global transportation hub serving not only the nation but the world. We simply have a tremendous amount of tractor-trailer traffic.
Explains the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning:
“…[b]y almost any measure, metropolitan Chicago is the nation’s premier freight hub….Trucks account for about one in seven vehicles on the urban interstate highways in Illinois, and some facilities in metropolitan Chicago carry over 30,000 trucks each day.”
When a catastrophic or fatal truck crash happens anywhere in Chicagoland, fingers are likely to point — at first — at the truck driver or the trucking company as being responsible. That may not be true.
There are many other third parties that may be found legally liable for a serious semi-truck crash after a thorough investigation is done by the accident victim.
They include the following:
1. Freight Brokers and Shippers
Companies involved as freight brokers make a profit by orchestrating the transport of the goods and setting up their delivery schedules. Their goal is to maximize profits by helping in the negotiation of cargo hauling. These are the middlemen.
Freight brokers do not own the cargo. They do not own the trucks. They do not employ the drivers (although some truckers do get their broker license). They have a contract with the shipper to move its goods, and another contract with a trucking company or owner-operator for transport. To the broker, time is money.
These brokers set things up to make deliveries as fast as possible. However, if they push the clock so things like HOS Rules are violated, truckers are pressured to drive while fatigued, or truck drivers are pushed to speed in order to meet the imposed deadline, then these companies may be legally responsible for any resulting big rig accident. Driver logs, texts, and other evidence may confirm these brokers caused unsafe conditions that contributed to a fatal semi-truck crash.
Also read: Commercial Truck Safety and Truck Driver Fatigue: Fatal Truck Crashes, ELDs, and HOS Rules; and Truck Driver Fatalities on the Rise: Fatigue, Speed, and the Trucking Industry.
2. Truck Maintenance
These large commercial trucks, whether lowboy trailers; dry van or box trailers; tanker trailers; reefers; flatbeds; etc. are all complex motor vehicles that require professional inspection, maintenance, and repair. Oftentimes, there will be a specific company offering these types of services to owners of big rigs.
Truck repair and maintenance company employees are service and body shop technicians. The company may offer mobile services where their workers come to the truck, on-location. The company may work on a service contract with the owner-operator or corporation, doing things like tracking FHWA inspections as well as fixing any problems that arise with the rig.
These truck maintenance technicians have a legal duty to make sure the truck (both the tractor and the trailer) are in safe and proper working condition. They must check all points, but especially known dangers like brakes, tires, and steering systems. Any failure on their part can mean a vehicle failure that causes a serious truck crash, where the maintenance company is liable for the resulting harm.
See: Semi-Truck Crashes: Why Tractor-Trailer Trucks Are So Dangerous.
3. Parts Manufacturers
Defective parts in any part of the tractor-trailer can be deadly when these heavy trucks are out on the road. Flaws or failures in the design of the component can be the basis of a claim against the designers, manufacturer, seller, and others in the path from the initial concept drawing board. Failure to provide sufficient warnings in warning labels may also be the basis of legal action against manufacturers, distributors, sellers, and other third parties.
Defective product laws and failure-to-warn precedent may form the basis of a personal injury lawsuit against several different companies or corporations after a truck crash is found to have been caused by things like a tire defect.
Consider this: the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has reported tire defects are the cause of around 35% of the motor vehicle accidents on our national roadways.
Big rig tire dangers include things like tire defects involving carcass embossing; tread separation; tread deformation; open connection of the inner liner; and more. Go here to check for current NHTSA tire recalls.
For more, read Ford Trucks: Another Major Tire Recall & CTA Recalls 390,000 Defective Tires and Inadequate Warning Labels and Legal Liability for Bodily Harm.
4. Truck Cargo Loaders
Whether at a loading dock, factory, warehouse, or other origination point, there will be a person who has the job of moving the cargo into the trailer of an 18-wheeler. Maybe more than one person is involved, and it is a team effort. They may do their job manually. They may need the support of a pallet forklift; a crane; or heavy equipment designed just for loading and unloading freight (a “cargo loader” with its mechanical claws can handle very heavy loads with ease.)
These workers are responsible for making sure that freight is balanced evenly on the truck and that it is properly secured and tied down. They are also supposed to make sure the load is within weight limits.
If they fail to do their work correctly and the cargo is not loaded in a reasonable and prudent manner, then the truck driver risks losing control of the rig in transit with devastating results. The 18-wheeler, with shifting or moving freight, is vulnerable to rolling over, tipping, or weaving (fishtailing) over traffic lanes – all with horrific results.
Accident investigation may be able to confirm the freight loading caused the truck crash, with the cargo loading company liable because the loading workers were: (1) not given proper training by their employers; (2) were forced to hurry the job because of shipping deadlines; or (3) failed to make a final inspection of the load before the truck left their control.
Also read: Shifting Loads and Unstable Cargo: Dangerous Causes for Semi-Truck Crashes; and Overweight or Overloaded Semi Truck Accidents: Growing Danger of Fatal Crash.
5. Outsourcing Contractors
There are companies who contract with trucking companies, helping to get deliveries accomplished as fast as possible. The carrier may “outsource” things to them, like hiring of drivers; training of drivers; owning and maintaining trucks; and logistics to this company. This contractor then takes the helm of the final delivery of the goods to their destination.
These outsourcing arrangements benefit the contractor, because they make a profit. And they benefit the company, because they will argue they have transferred liability in the event of a crash (arguable).
Contractors may employ drivers with shoddy driving records or who are unqualified to drive the truck. They may skirt around proper driver safety training and protocols. They may fail to check or inspect the vehicles being driven for things like need of repair or maintenance, or weight limits for the particular cargo.
If these outsourcing contractors fail to operate in a reasonable and prudent manner, then they can be responsible for a terrible truck accident.
For more, see: Legal Liability for Delivery Truck Accident Injuries: How Many Have Responsibility for the Crash?
Chicago Truck Crash Liability: Claims Against Third Parties
In each of these situations, the accident victim will have the sometimes overwhelming duty of pursing legal claims for justice against these companies for personal injury damages suffered by the victim and their loved ones. The victim, with their legal advocate and accident analysis experts, will have to investigate and determine the chain of causation in the accident. They cannot expect the wrongdoers to step forward and admit to their misconduct.
Witness testimony, documentary evidence, digital data (think Black Boxes), and expert opinions will be needed to support the truck crash victim’s claim that the company directly contributed to the crash, and that this company could have reasonably predicted the risk of this type of accident and failed to take action to prevent it (“element of foreseeability”).
Particularly in the Chicago area, these claims will be complicated. Factors in our Chicagoland area that make the claimant’s burden of proof complex include things like: (1) weather conditions during our harsh winters; (2) road construction work zones throughout the area; and (3) our dense urban traffic conditions (think bottlenecks).
Accident victims will have to incorporate all these factors into their analysis when pursuing claims against third-parties like freight brokers; outsourced contractors; defective product defendants; truck repair and maintenance companies; and cargo loading operations.
For more, read:
- Chicago Truck Accidents: Liability after Serious Chicagoland Semi-Truck Crash
- Dangerous Combination in Chicago: Semi-Truck Traffic and Road Construction Work Zone
- Big Trucks in Chicago: Dangers of 18-Wheeler Accidents in Chicagoland
- Chicago Distracted Driving Accidents: Commercial Truck Drivers
- Who Has Liability for Accidents With Delivery Drivers for Amazon, FedEx, Wal-Mart, Target?
Truck crash accidents are much more likely to happen on Chicago roadways than in other parts of the country. Please be careful out there!
