Fort Lauderdale Car Accident Attorney Blog
Florida truck accident lawsuits are among the most complex in motor vehicle litigation for numerous reasons. Successful truck accident attorneys know this is in large part because the sheer size and weight of these vehicles and the fact that collisions often occur at high-speeds on highways inevitably means a greater severity of injuries. Another reason is there are often numerous defendants. It’s not just the driver, but the driver’s employer and the carrier and the owner of the cargo and possibly others. Employers or companies acting as employers may be held vicariously liable for the negligent acts of a driver who was acting in the course and scope of employment at the time of the accident.
Although occupants of passenger vehicles most often suffer the worst outcomes in truck accidents, truck drivers aren’t immune from injuries, especially if the collision involved another large vehicle. That typically opens another avenue of recovery in workers’ compensation, though this doesn’t necessarily foreclose on other legal remedies.
In a recent case weighed by the Wyoming Supreme Court, justices reversed in part a summary judgment in claim filed by a truck driver who was struck by another large truck while he worked to free his truck from its stationary position on a snow-covered highway. The court ruled that while claims against plaintiff’s co-driver and the owner of the cargo they were hauling for direct negligence were correctly decided in defendants’ favor, plaintiff’s claim for damages on the issue of vicarious liability should have survived summary judgment. That means he may continue with his claim, though justices noted in their ruling, “(plaintiff) will undoubtedly have a difficult case to try,” namely because he bear the burden of proof on issues of negligence, causation and damages, as well as probable assertions of comparative fault. Continue reading →