In Utah, when a semi-truck causes a wreck, things don’t just end with the truck driver getting a ticket. The law here allows you to hold the entire trucking company accountable. Utah law doesn’t just stop at blaming the driver; it looks hard at the company behind them.
If you’re in Salt Lake City and dealing with a truck crash, don’t go it alone. Talk to a truck accident lawyer in Salt Lake City who understands how to use Utah law to hold these companies accountable.
Utah Laws on Truck Accident Liability
Utah doesn’t treat trucking company liability the same way it treats a regular car accident. There are specific rules that give victims the right to go beyond just the truck driver and examine the trucking company itself.
That means your case could involve federal safety rules, detailed company inspection logs, and background checks, things that don’t come into play with your average car crash.
Even if the company technically did everything right on paper, they can still be liable just because the driver was working for them at the time of the crash. This is called vicarious liability. Basically, if someone’s on the clock and they cause an accident, their employer can be held responsible.
This means if a driver causes a crash while making a delivery or driving a company-owned truck, even if it’s entirely the driver’s fault, the trucking company still gets pulled into the lawsuit.
How the Law Holds Trucking Companies Responsible
Utah law uses several legal concepts to pin liability on trucking companies, and each one of them opens a different door.
Negligent Hiring and Training
This means the company didn’t do its homework before putting someone in the driver’s seat. If the driver had past DUIs or reckless driving tickets, and the company hire them anyway? That’s negligent hiring.
Or say the company didn’t train the driver properly on handling sharp turns or mountain roads (which Utah has plenty of). If that driver then causes a crash? Again, that’s on the company.
Negligent Maintenance
Trucking companies are legally required to maintain their vehicles. If brakes go out, tires burst, or the engine fails because someone skipped inspections or rushed the work, the company can be sued directly. Not the driver. The company.
Violation of Safety Regulations
Federal rules limit how long drivers can be behind the wheel. They’re also supposed to take rest breaks. Some companies ignore these rules to meet deadlines.
If a crash happens because the driver was exhausted, that’s actually illegal, and the company is liable.
Other Parties That Could Be Responsible
Truck accident cases can feel like peeling an onion. The more you look, the more layers you uncover. It’s not always just the driver or the trucking company. Sometimes, there are other players involved.
Here are some examples:
- Cargo loaders: If the truck tips over because the cargo wasn’t secured properly, the person or company who loaded it might be at fault.
- Truck owners: Not all trucking companies own the trucks they operate. If the truck was leased from another business that failed to maintain it, that company could be liable.
- Maintenance contractors: If the company hired someone else to inspect or repair the truck, and they did a poor job, they can be held responsible, too.
- Manufacturers: A blown tire or brake failure could be traced back to a faulty part. That brings product liability laws into the picture.
- Even government agencies: In rare cases, if the crash was caused by a road hazard like a huge pothole, missing signage, or poor road design, a city or state agency could be involved.
When Is the Driver Alone Responsible?
Sometimes the truck driver carries all the blame. That usually happens in specific situations:
- The driver owns the truck and is operating as an independent contractor.
- They were using the truck for personal errands at the time of the crash.
- They intentionally broke the law (e.g, they were driving drunk or excessively speeding).
- They violated federal safety regulations, such as driving way over their allowed hours.
Even then, it’s not simple. Your attorney would have to prove that the driver was acting outside the scope of employment or was individually negligent in a way the company couldn’t have reasonably predicted or prevented.
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