Question: My daughter was driving her car on the interstate when a trailer detached from a semi truck and crossed into my daughter’s lane. The trailer hit her car, pushing it across the median and into oncoming traffic. She was then hit head-on by an SUV. Because of the accident, my daughter is paralyzed from the waist down, disfigured from severe lacerations and has multiple broken bones. We are still worried about infections. Can we sue the semi truck driver and his employer for these injuries even though the SUV hit her head-on?
Answer by Attorney Eric Hageman: When we look at fault for an accident, we look at what caused the accident. In this case, clearly, the detached semi trailer was the primary cause of the accident. Because of this, the semi driver, trucking company, owner of the trailer and others responsible for the trailer detaching are liable for all of your daughter’s injuries, even if some of them or all of them happened when the SUV struck your daughter’s car.
It is possible that the SUV is at least partially at fault, also. But this does not alter the liability of the semi driver, trucking company, etc.
Trailer detachment can be caused by the following:
- failure of the mounting fasteners;
- broken pin that holds the locking latch in the coupler;
- failure to hook a safety chain;
- incorrect insertion of a hitch pin; or
- an overloaded trailer.
Every semi truck accident must be independently investigated by your attorney and his or her team of experts, including forensic engineers and accident reconstructionists.
You can contact me for a free consultation by calling toll free at 1-888-377-8900 (click to call if you are on a cell phone), emailing me, eric@pritzkerlaw.com, or by submitting our free consultation form found here. Your daughter will not have to pay our law firm anything unless we win her case.
