If you get injured or a loved one dies in a commercial trucking accident in North Carolina, you may be able to hold one or multiple parties liable, or financially responsible, for your related losses. As the filing party, you are given the task of proving liability to recover financial compensation. An experienced trucking accident attorney in Wilmington, NC can help you meet this requirement.
Elements of Proof in a Truck Accident Case
North Carolina’s fault-based car insurance law allows trucking accident victims to hold the person or party that is at fault for the accident liable. However, the victim or plaintiff must meet the burden of proof when establishing liability. Typically, this means proving negligence.
Negligence has four parts:
- Duty of care: the defendant had a responsibility to act reasonably to prevent a trucking accident.
- Breach of duty: the defendant’s act or omission violated the required duty of care.
- Causation: there was a connection between the defendant’s breach of duty and the trucking accident.
- Damages: victim(s) suffered real, compensable losses because of the defendant’s negligence.
Establishing evidence of negligence can allow a victim to hold one or more parties liable for their role in causing a truck accident in North Carolina.
Who Can Be Held Liable for a Trucking Accident?
Collisions involving large commercial trucks in North Carolina are different from standard car accidents due to the number of involved parties. Rather than your only option being another driver, you may have the right to hold multiple parties liable:
- The truck driver
- A truck owner or operator
- The trucking company
- A cargo company or corporation
- The manufacturer of the truck
- A maintenance crew
- Another driver
- The government or a third party
In most cases, a trucking company can be held vicariously liable for the negligence of its employees. Even if a truck driver is technically an independent contractor, federal law holds trucking companies vicariously liable. Companies may also face direct liability for their own acts of negligence, such as inadequate truck maintenance or poor truck driver training.
Evidence to Collect for a North Carolina Truck Accident Case
The success of a trucking accident claim in North Carolina depends on the strength of the evidence. There must be enough evidence to show that the defendant is “more likely than not” at-fault for the trucking accident. This is known as a preponderance of the evidence.
Key types of evidence may include:
- The truck’s black box
- Employment and truck maintenance documents
- Safety compliance records
- Driver logs and hours-of-service records
- Trucker medical and driving records
- Crash scene photographs and video footage
- Footage from in-cab cameras
- Driver cell phone records
- Eyewitness statements
- Police accident reports
- Expert witness testimony
Having strong evidence of fault is imperative in a truck accident case because of North Carolina’s contributory negligence law. Under this strict rule, if an accident victim is found to be even 1 percent at fault, he or she loses all right to recover financial compensation from another party.
Do I Need a Truck Accident Lawyer in North Carolina?
Investigating a trucking accident, identifying the liable party or parties, collecting evidence before it’s too late and navigating North Carolina’s strict contributory negligence law are all tasks that an experienced truck accident lawyer can help you with. Hiring the right lawyer can make it easier to prove liability and maximize your financial recovery as a truck accident victim. Contact Shipman Wright & Moore, LLP for a free initial consultation to learn more.