The trucking industry is one of our nation’s largest and most competitive businesses. Nearly 70% of America’s commercial freight is delivered by trucks, making tractor-trailers a common sight on Ohio roads. Congested highways, strict delivery deadlines, and the sheer size and weight of an 18-wheeler all combine to make commercial trucks one of the most significant safety threats facing drivers today.

If you have been seriously injured or your loved one has been killed in an Ohio truck accident, please call our experienced Columbus truck accident attorneys today at (614) 766-2000 for a free case evaluation.

Liability in Truck Accident Cases

Accidents involving semi trucks (or big rigs) are often more complicated than car accidents.  In truck accidents, more than one party may be responsible for your injuries. Depending on the specific circumstances of your accident, the following parties may potentially be liable:

  • The truck driver
  • The motor carrier company
  • The truck manufacturer
  • The owner of the truck
  • The maintenance company or inspector who approved the truck
  • The party who loaded the truck’s cargo

Determining liability in a truck accident case requires a careful investigation into the accident, the driver, the trucking company, and management and maintenance companies. We work with a team of investigators and expert witnesses to identify the responsible parties and to gather the necessary evidence to prove they were negligent.

Types and Causes of Truck Accidents

Our experienced Columbus truck accident lawyers regularly handle cases involving several different causes of truck accidents, including:

  • Fatigued driving
  • Driver error
  • Defective truck parts
  • Overloading
  • Loose cargo
  • Improper truck maintenance

Big rigs are held to higher standards of road safety than private passenger vehicles, and they are also subjected to more frequent inspections. Truck drivers are required to maintain detailed logs of their driving hours and must take mandatory rest breaks to remain alert.

Because of the high risk of truck accidents, trucking companies and their insurers have experienced attorneys who work specifically to limit the amount of damages their companies must pay out in accident cases.

Click here to view our Truck Accident Infographic!

130k injuries a year caused by truck accidents in the USExperienced Columbus Truck Accident Attorneys

We represented the administrator of the estate of a young man who was killed when the minivan he was driving under-rode a disabled semi-truck blocking an intersection. Eyewitnesses could not understand how the young man could not see the tractor/trailer, which appeared to them as being “lit up like a Christmas tree.”

After several lawyers refused to undertake the representation of the wrongful death claims, the young man’s family was referred to Robert W. Kerpsack Co., L.P.A. We undertook the case, and hired a trucking safety expert and a vision/lighting expert.

It quickly became apparent that the eyewitnesses’ perception of the semi-tractor/trailer was significantly enhanced by background lighting. This same lighting was located in the young man’s foreground, which caused the disabled semi-tractor/trailer to become virtually invisible to him.

Despite a vigorous defense bankrolled by the trucking company’s insurance company, the case was settled prior to trial for a confidential amount.

If you have been seriously injured or a loved one has been killed in an Ohio truck accident, please contact Robert W. Kerpsack Co., L.P.A. through the form on this page or call (614) 766-2000 for a free case evaluation. We represent injured truck accident victims and their families in Columbus, Dublin, New Albany, and all of Ohio.