How Truck Maintenance Records Can Affect Your Truck Accident Claim

When you need to seek financial compensation through a truck accident claim, one of the first steps is determining why the accident happened. While truck driver negligence is a leading cause of collisions involving tractor-trailers and other commercial trucks, other factors can cause truck accidents as well. 

One of these other factors is negligent truck maintenance. If maintenance issues contributed to the crash, this may serve as a critical piece of your truck accident claim.

Like all vehicles, commercial trucks require regular maintenance in order to remain safe for the road. But, unlike other vehicles, commercial trucks often have additional equipment that requires regular maintenance as well. If any part or component on a tractor-trailer or another commercial truck is not adequately maintained, this can potentially lead to a serious or fatal accident.

Common Maintenance-Related Factors in Commercial Truck Accidents 

Due to the size, weight, and complexity of many types of commercial trucks, extensive maintenance is often required. When maintenance is required, it is critical that this maintenance is performed in a timely and professional manner. Waiting to perform necessary maintenance and negligence maintenance work are both common issues that can lead to a variety of issues on the road. 

For example, some common maintenance-related factors in commercial truck accidents include:

• Brake failures
• Burnt out headlights and brake lights
• Hydraulic failures 
• Loss of cargo
• Tire blowouts 

These are just examples, but they highlight how maintenance failures can lead to a truck accident claim against one or more parties. Broadly speaking, inadequate maintenance can cause truck accidents in two primary ways—either: (i) a failure caused by inadequate maintenance can cause the truck driver to lose control; or, (ii) a failure can cause cargo, tire remnants, or other debris to create hazards for other drivers. In both types of scenarios, any drivers (and passengers) who suffer injuries due to inadequate maintenance are entitled to just compensation for their accident-related losses. 

Liability for Negligent Maintenance in Commercial Truck Accident Cases 

Pursuing a truck accident claim for negligent maintenance begins with identifying the specific issue that caused the crash. Here too, there are two main possibilities:

• The company that owns or operates the truck failed to perform maintenance when necessary; or, 
• A dealership, maintenance shop, or other service provider performed negligent maintenance work on the truck.

In the first scenario, the company that owns or operates the truck will generally be liable under Arkansas law. In the second scenario, the service provider that performed the negligent maintenance work will generally be liable. To make sure you file the right type of claim against the right party, you need to make sure you know which type of issue is to blame. 

This involves conducting a comprehensive investigation, and this means that you need to engage a law firm to represent you as soon as possible. Once you engage a law firm to represent you, the firm will be able to seek to obtain evidence such as:

• The truck’s standard maintenance schedule from the manufacturer
• The truck’s maintenance history
• Maintenance records from individual service visits 
• An engineering report assessing what failed on the truck and why 
• Forensic evidence from the scene of your truck accident

All of this information can help build a strong foundation for your truck accident claim. These forms of evidence (among others) will help pinpoint the specific issue that caused the accident. Once your lawyer determines why the accident happened, then he or she will be able to seek to hold the appropriate party (or parties) accountable. 

Sometimes, multiple factors can combine to cause a serious or fatal truck accident. For example, a faulty brake job might cause an issue on the road, and then the truck driver might respond to this issue in a dangerous way. When multiple parties share blame, your truck accident claim may involve separate claims against each of them in order to recover the full compensation you deserve. Your law firm can help here as well; and, in addition to determining what claim (or claims) you can file, your law firm can also determine what constitutes “just” compensation for your accident-related medical bills, lost earnings, pain and suffering, and other financial and non-financial losses.

Speak with an Arkansas Truck Accident Lawyer for FREE

If you need to seek financial compensation after a serious or fatal truck accident in Arkansas, we can help. Our lawyers have decades of experience fighting for truck accident victims and their families, and we have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars in financial compensation for our clients. We can evaluate your truck accident claim at no cost and help you understand your legal options.

To schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with an experienced Arkansas truck accident lawyer at Oliver Law Firm as soon as possible, call (479) 202-5200 or tell us how we can reach you online now.