Drivers are only one piece of the puzzle when it comes to trucking accidents.  No matter how safe a driver is, he relies upon the integrity of his equipment to keep himself and other safe on the road.

Manufacturers of a truck and the parts that compose it might have contributed to your 18 wheeler accident.  If a defective product is to blame, this can give rise to strict liability.  With strict liability, it must only be proven that the part was defective.  Negligence does not have to be proven.  The defect plus the injury is adequate to prove strict liability.

Trucking companies also have a responsibility when it comes to maintaining defect-free trucking equipment.  Companies must frequently inspect their trucks for defective parts, and must promptly remove and change recalled parts.  A failure to do so can lead to liability.

There are so many critical parts of a truck: brakes, tires, hydraulics, locks, and loading straps are all parts that must function correctly in order to ensure the truck’s proper functioning.

Tires

There are numerous tire defects that can lead to problems on the road.  Defective tires are almost always guaranteed to cause an accident, and unfortunately, there are many things that can go wrong with tires.

Regular maintenance and proper inflation is critical, but if the tire itself is defective, no amount of vigilance will prevent a problem.  Such problems can arise in the tire’s tread, sidewall, or belt.

Tire blowouts may happen for any number of reasons:

• Truck may be overloaded

• Tires are not properly inflated

• Sudden damage from another object

• Small puncture that causes continuing leakage

Though semi-trucks have 18 wheels and tires, one can not underestimate the importance of each and every tire.  In the tandem tires on the semi-truck, losing one tire is not going to immediately cause a major problem.  Serious problems can quickly arise when a front single tire blows out.

Regardless of which tire blows out, the challenge the truck driver may face is pulling off the road quickly and safely.  Cars in the vicinity of a truck with a blown-out tire must also be extremely careful of flying debris.  This is another reason that passenger cars should keep adequate distance from 18 wheelers.  A blowout can happen in an instant and with the speed of highway driving can be very dangerous.

Brakes

Brakes are another critical part in any vehicle, but when they are responsible for slowing and stopping a 80,000 pound vehicle, they are especially important.  Brake manufacturers, trucking companies, and mechanics that work for the trucking company are all responsible for ensuring that brakes are in proper working condition before a truck driver embarks on a cross-country journey.  Faulty brakes should be caught at one of these levels, but if they are not and they contribute to your trucking accident, our attorneys can assist you in proving negligence and recovering compensation for your injuries.

Contact the Attorneys at Kirkendall Dwyer LLP For Help

In order to prove something as complex as a defective part contributing to a trucking accident, you need an experienced attorney that can pinpoint responsibility.  With so many parties that can potentially be held liable, you need a trucking accident attorney with the resources available to thoroughly investigate your accident.  Contact a trucking accident attorney with Kirkendall Dwyer LLP today.