With complicated trucking accidents, different people or corporations (and their insurance companies) could be held responsible for your injuries. Who is liable depends on how the rollover accident occurred and what was the main cause of it. Every 18-wheeler accident case is going to be different. In some cases, there could be multiple defendants who are partially responsible for the payment of compensation to the injured victims. The Driver The long-haul truck driver could be liable if they did something negligent and reckless. If a truck driver fails to follow the rules of the road and causes a crash, they can be held responsible. A truck driver under the influence of drugs or alcohol while driving can also be held responsible for any injuries they cause. The Trucking Company The trucking company that employs the truck driver can be held responsible for truck accident injuries in two ways. First, through a legal concept called respondeat superior, you can hold an employer responsible for an employee's negligence. This can happen as long as the negligence occurs during the employee's work duties. The second way a trucking company can be held responsible is if the trucking company did something distinct from the driver that was considered negligent. Below are some examples of trucking company negligence: Failing to properly hire truck drivers Hiring truck drivers even though they don’t pass background checks Hiring or retaining truck drivers who fail a physical Failing to properly supervise drivers Failing to conduct regular maintenance on their trucks Sending trucks out on the road knowing that they are potentially not safe Allowing their drivers to fudge their records and drive beyond the federally required time limits Failing to adequately monitor their drivers’ rest periods and time behind the wheel Failing to perform randomized drug and alcohol screenings of all drivers Failing to terminate a driver who fails a drug or alcohol test If you can prove that a trucking company did any of these things, you can hold it responsible, separate from the driver, for any injuries a rollover caused. Another Motorist Every year the news shows multi-vehicle pileups on highways. One car may cause these pileups, some of which can involve dozens of vehicles and injure many people. If another motorist is the ultimate cause of a tractor-trailer rollover accident, you may pursue that person and their automobile insurance company for compensation. However, in some cases, many different parties are partially at fault, and they may all be required to contribute to compensating the injured people. Company Responsible for Loading the Trailer Sometimes, the same company employs the people who load trucks and those who drive them. For example, Walmart uses company-owned trucks and hires truck drivers. Paid employees load the trailers, too. But Walmart’s situation is rare. In many cases, trucks get loaded by employees from a different company than the one that employs the truck driver. Most trucks pull up to a factory, production facility, or warehouse to have the product loaded by factory employees. If the employees load the product dangerously, failing to secure it properly or overloading the truck, it could cause a rollover. If you can prove that the loading dock employees were the ultimate people at fault, then that company could be held responsible for any injuries that the crash caused. Some semi-truck accidents can involve all of these potential at-fault defendants in one case. That is why these cases can be very complex and why you should have an experienced truck accident attorney on your side.