Understanding Liability in Truck Accidents Due to Driver Fatigue

Truck accidents can result in catastrophic injuries or even death due to their size, weight, and load. Unfortunately, such consequences often entail significant emotional, physical, and financial burdens. On the other hand, you can file a truck accident to receive compensation if you can prove that the driver’s negligent actions or violation caused the crash, such as drowsy driving.

Driver fatigue is one of the numerous factors contributing to these accidents. Fatigued truck drivers have slower reaction times, poorer judgment, and a higher risk of accidents when operating their vehicles. 

In this guide, we’ll explore the complexities of establishing liability in a truck accident caused by driver fatigue and strategies for holding negligent parties accountable for the losses they cause.

What is Driver Fatigue and How Does It Cause Truck Accidents?

Being overly exhausted while operating a vehicle is called driver fatigue. In truck accidents, driver fatigue is frequently caused by lengthy driving periods without enough sleep or rest and can result in catastrophic injuries or death. According to the National Sleep Foundation, approximately 6,400 individuals lose their lives each year in accidents related to drowsy driving.

Driving while drowsy can be dangerous for several reasons, including:

• Decreased focus and attention: Tired drivers may find it challenging to pay attention to the road ahead, which raises the risk that they will miss crucial indicators like traffic signs, signals, or other cars.
• Reduced reaction time: Being fatigued can cause a motorist to react slowly to unforeseen situations or road dangers, which makes it harder to maneuver or brake in time to prevent collisions.
• Poor judgment and decision-making: Drivers who are sleep deprived may make poor decisions, misjudging traffic gaps or attempting unsafe maneuvers.
• Microsleep episodes: Fatigued drivers may have brief periods of involuntary sleep, or “microsleeps,” which last only a few seconds. The motorist poses a severe risk to himself and other drivers on the road during these episodes because they are essentially unconscious and unaware of their surroundings.

Moreover, the monotony of driving on a highway, erratic timetables, and tight deadlines make truck drivers prone to weariness, especially when they travel long distances or at night. This is why preventing accidents and enhancing road safety requires addressing problems associated with exhaustion, such as long work hours, insufficient rest periods, and sleep disorders.

What Happens If I’m Involved in a Car Accident Due to Driver Fatigue?

Being in a truck accident caused by driver fatigue can be a complex situation. Aside from dealing with the costs of injuries and damages stemming from the crash, you must also focus on recuperating from your injuries. 

The silver lining is that if a fatigued driver caused the accident, you can seek compensation through a personal injury claim. This can alleviate the financial burden resulting from the accident, such as medical bills, vehicle repair costs, lost wages, and others. 

However, when pursuing such a claim, it’s crucial to establish the negligence of the fatigued driver. This entails proving key elements such as:

• the driver’s responsibility for ensuring road safety
• their failure to fulfill this duty
• how this breach directly caused the accident
• the resulting injuries or damages from the crash

When demonstrating the truck driver’s drowsy driving violation, you must also have sufficient evidence to support your claim, such as police reports, witness accounts, and photos of the accident. 

Who is Liable for a Truck Accident Involving a Fatigued Driver

You might think that if a truck driver causes an accident due to drowsy driving, they are automatically liable for the damages. However, this is not always the case. Sometimes, other parties can also be responsible for the truck collision.

The Truck Driver

A driver may be liable for a truck accident if it generally happens outside their regular working hours. Trucking companies are typically not liable for accidents that happen when drivers operate the vehicle without authorization or outside their scheduled work hours. 

Furthermore, as drivers know their responsibility to ensure everyone’s safety on the road, the truck driver should also be liable for the accident’s damages if the collision was caused by driving infractions other than driver fatigue. Speeding, erratic lane changes, tailgating, drunk driving, distracted driving, or other infractions can show that the driver negligently acted, resulting in a truck accident.

The Truck Owner or Company 

In some cases, truck owners or companies might be held accountable if they knowingly encourage drivers to break hours of service laws, which can lead to accidents caused by fatigued drivers. 

For example, the truck company wants to deliver several loads within the time limit, causing the truck driver to travel two consecutive times in just 24 hours. Unfortunately, due to driver fatigue, the truck crashed into your vehicle. In this case, the truck company can also be responsible for the damages since they imposed an extensive work schedule, resulting in driver fatigue. 

Other circumstances also hold a truck owner accountable in an accident, including setting unreasonably strict delivery deadlines for drivers, ignoring cases in which drivers falsify their logbooks, employing people with a history of impaired driving or health issues that could exacerbate accidents, and more. 

Proving a truck driver’s liability for an accident is usually simpler than proving the trucking company’s liability. The driver’s direct engagement facilitates the process of establishing negligence. However, a skilled truck accident lawyer can gather all the information needed for the case and ensure the guilty parties pay for the consequences of the collision.

Other Parties

Aside from the truck driver and company, other parties may be liable for a truck accident. For instance, a truck driver was drowsy while driving at night. Unfortunately, he failed to react quickly when he saw a road construction without a sign, resulting in a collision with you. In this instance, the local government, which failed to put a warning sign in place, can also be accountable for the damages.

While it is possible to secure compensation from several liable parties, how can you pursue two truck accident claims simultaneously if you are also recovering from your injuries? A lawyer for a commercial truck accident can handle such complex situations, negotiate with the involved entities’ insurance providers, and prove your case to maximize your payout. 

When pursuing a truck accident claim involving driver fatigue, carelessness must be proven through a careful investigation and the collection of evidence. While it is usually easier to show the driver was directly involved, more consideration may be needed when assigning blame to the trucking company or other entities.

Fortunately, victims can successfully traverse the complexities of these cases and get just compensation for the losses they sustained as a consequence of the accident with the help of an experienced truck accident attorney who can justify the involved party’s liability, maximize your compensation, and win your claim.