Negligent Hiring Accident Lawyer in St. Louis, MO

Truck accidents out on the road are scary enough to witness. Given the size and sheer force of a moving tractor-trailer, we don’t have to wonder what kind of damage can be done from that kind of vehicle losing control.

Truck drivers and transportation companies are held to a higher level of safety due to their large size and the damage that can result from a crash.

It is a different matter entirely to be the one in the accident with a large truck. However large your private vehicle is, a commercial trailer is bigger.

The vast majority of any type of vehicle accident has a cause or multiple causes. If the truck driver makes a driving error, or if the transportation company fails to implement safety procedures, both the driver and the driver’s employer may possibly be held liable for damages incurred in the crash. If the employer hired a trucker who was not qualified to drive a commercial truck and you were injured, your attorney may be able to investigate to see if the transportation company engaged in negligent hiring practices.

At The Cagle Law Firm, our negligent hiring accident lawyers in St. Louis, MO, help victims of these kinds of truck accidents to recover the compensation they need to regain their health.

But, what does negligent hiring look like? How do you know if you have a case? Let us help you understand.

Drugged Truck Driver

A drugged truck driver accident is one caused by a trucker who was under the influence of a substance at the time of the accident. There are many medications that drivers may not take and continue to drive whether the medication is prescription or over-the-counter. Whether it’s alcohol or another drug, a driver who isn’t fully lucid can lose control of the truck and hit an innocent motorist. The FMSA, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, has implemented specific regulations on the medications that are permissible for truck drivers. Transportation companies are required to engage in safe hiring practices through background checks and monitoring of driver performance.

Our personal injury attorneys can research this kind of accident and gather evidence if applicable in determining if the trucking company engaged in negligent hiring practices or supervision. If a driver has previous occurrences of driving under the influence or a number of crashes, transportation companies have an obligation to seriously consider these obvious warning signs. Failing to do thorough background checks and less-than-rigorous hiring practices can result in liability for transportation companies.

If the company hired the person or continued to employ a driver with a bad driving record, The Cagle Law Firm may pursue a negligent hiring case. All of this background information is investigated by our attorneys to keep highways safe and seek the compensation a victim badly needs after a serious-injury crash.

Driver Fatigue

You may not have known this, but interstate truckers are required to rest after logging so many hours on the road. These rules are designed specifically to protect the safety of the driver and all other motorists near the truck.

A trucker who is overworked from long hours on the road can get burned out and tired and crash as a result. It is up to trucking companies and individual drivers to follow the hours of service set by the FMCSA. Additionally, trucking companies are responsible for monitoring each driver’s hours-of-service to be certain they are driving safely.

Trucking companies must be aware of employees who are known for falsifying their driving logs. If a fact like this shows up in a candidate’s record, and the company hires the driver anyway, and the driver hits and injures you, the company could be liable for your injury.

Driver fatigue is real, and companies must put rules in place to prevent this at all costs.

Failure to Stop

A third example of potential negligent hiring occurs when a trucking company hires a driver who has been known to disregard rules of the road such as legal stop signs and traffic lights while driving a commercial truck. Perhaps the driver has accumulated an array of tickets over the years for such offenses.

If the trucking company hires this driver or continues the employment, knowing the dangers, and the driver injures you on the road by failing to stop, then we may be able to pursue a negligent hiring personal injury case.

Call a Negligent Hiring Accident Lawyer in St. Louis, MO

If you were injured by a truck driver who was a known risk to the employer in any of the above scenarios, you might be owed financial compensation for your injuries. Often, as a truck accident victim, you will have no idea about the possible hiring practices of the transportation company and the driver that hit you. Most often, negligent hiring practices are discovered after an individual is injured and their legal team gathers evidence and discovery. It is the kind of evidence gathering and discovery that is next to impossible to do as an individual and one of the number one reasons you hire an experienced personal injury attorney.

Seeing doctors, receiving physical therapy, and missing time from work all cost you money. If your injury was the trucker driver’s fault, you will need legal counsel to seek compensation so that you do not have to bear the monetary burden.

The Cagle Law Firm represents injured victims of truck accidents and other such motor vehicle crash cases. We will go after the corporate entities and insurance of liable parties to secure you a fair settlement.

Call a Cagle negligent hiring accident lawyer in St. Louis, MO, today, and let us help you return your life to normal. Contact us toll-free at (1-800) 685-3302 or locally at (314) 276-1681.