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If there is an accident involving a truck owned by a private company, and the driver causes the accident, will the company be found liable? This is a very integral question which needs to be taken into utmost consideration as it defines a legal principle in personal injury law.
The answer, of course, is not that easy to give. It’s absolutely possible that shipping or trucking company could be hanged on the legal hook for the damages that you’ve sustained in a similar situation. However, before you decide whether or not you will be suing the company for the damages after the accident, you need to understand the full picture. This is a complex legal situation that you are in and it is something that you should take into account.
The only way the company is going to be legally responsible for the accident stemming from the negligent behavior of the drier, is if the driver himself was an employee of the same company. This might seem like something logical, right? It makes sense for the company providing trucking and shipping services to employ its own drivers, right? Well, not so much, unfortunately. In a lot of the situations the drivers who are operating the buses and the trucks are independent contractors. In a lot of the cases the shipping company does not even own the vehicles. That’s just how the trucking and transportation business works.
So, if that’s the case, there is no way for you to seek monetary compensation from the company, for the damages that you have sustained. You have to file your claims towards the negligent driver or towards your own insurance company as Ontario is governed by the No-Fault Rule which is pretty convenient. Regardless of who’s at fault, you can claim the damages from your own insurance company.
However, if the company was in fact employing the driver, then you will fall within the hypothesis of the “vicarious liability”. The company could be, in fact, held accountable for his actions. Thus, it is important to get the details after the accident so that the injury lawyer can help you file the claim properly. They will evaluate your case and give you a ballpark amount that you can sue the company or the driver for.
Of course, all of this is rather redundant given the fact that you can easily employ the no-fault rule. This is important for the insurance company afterwards as it’s capable of seeking compensation on its own. Nevertheless, the path that you take should be determined by other than your personal injury lawyer in Hamilton. You should most definitely rely on professional help when it comes to it because this is the only way you can get the compensation that you are legally entitled to. Failing to do so is undoubtedly going to result in losses that you can otherwise avoid and prevent.