What are the most common causes of negligence when hiring truck drivers?
Trucking companies have a responsibility to hire competent, qualified, and experienced drivers to operate their trucks. Because driving a truck requires a special skill set, it is crucial for employers to ensure that the drivers they hire are properly trained and licensed in the safe operation of a commercial tractor-trailer. When an employer fails in this duty, they can be held liable for the misconduct of a driver in the event that someone is injured or killed in an accident.
- Hiring drivers who don’t possess valid commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs)
- Hiring drivers with poor driving records
- Failing to conduct criminal background checks
- Failing to conduct alcohol and drug testing
- Hiring drivers with a history of causing truck accidents
- Hiring truck drivers with vision problems or undiagnosed health issues
- Hiring truck drivers with a history of Hours of Service violations
Truck accidents can result in serious or fatal injuries for all involved, but drivers and passengers of smaller, lighter vehicles usually sustain the worst injuries in accidents with massive 18-wheelers. This can result in substantial medical bills or, if the victim dies, funeral costs and other financial burdens for bereaved family members. In this situation, the trucking company needs to be held accountable.
With big companies, such as Amazon, recently announced they are hiring in mass to help with the need to deliver a large number of supplies to emptied-out grocery stores, hospitals, and more, our attorneys are prepared to handle any truck accident injury case that was the result of an inexperienced or poorly trained novice truck driver.