No matter where you are going or what type of vehicle you are driving, you have an implicit legal obligation to keep your focus entirely on the road around you at all times behind the wheel. People driving massive tractor-trailers also have this exact same responsibility under Indiana state law—but as you may have unfortunately learned, the consequences of a trucker failing to live up to this “duty of care” can be uniquely catastrophic.
There are a number of reasons why distracted driving truck accidents in Merrillville can make for deceptively complex civil claims. Chief among them is the fact that suing over any type of truck wreck can be exceptionally difficult to manage alone. Fortunately, you have support available from the seasoned truck accident attorneys at The Law Offices of David W. Holub, who have experience getting good results from cases much like yours in the past.
Proving a Truck Driver Was Distracted Behind the Wheel
With the exception of texting while driving, no form of distracted driving is expressly statutorily illegal for truck drivers to engage in under Indiana state or United States federal law. However, someone who allows themselves to be distracted behind the wheel has still “breached” their legal duty to act responsibly while driving, which means they could be held civilly liable for injuring someone.
That said, the fact that there may not be any traffic citation or similar record to reference when building a civil claim over a Merrillville distracted driving truck crash can be a significant obstacle for injured people to overcome. Support from skilled legal counsel could be key to finding, preserving, and effectively using evidence like witness testimony and data from a truck’s onboard “black box” to establish that a trucker was distracted the moment an accident occurred.
Holding Other People Liable for a Distracted Driving Wreck
Legal counsel can also show that liability for a Merrillville truck crash lies both with a distracted truck driver directly involved in the incident and with that truck driver’s employer. This is possible in many situations thanks to a legal principle known as respondeat superior, which allows companies to be held “vicariously liable” for harm caused by employees acting on their employer’s behalf.
Alternatively, it may be possible to hold other people besides a distracted trucker partially at fault for a wreck involving that trucker, even if the trucker is still primarily the person to blame. For instance, if a crash happened mostly because a trucker was texting behind the wheel but also partly because their brakes were faulty, it may be possible to sue both the driver and the manufacturer of those brakes for the roles they played in causing the accident.
Contact a Merrillville Attorney for Help with a Distracted Driving Truck Accident Claim
Being distracted behind the wheel is one of the most dangerous things anyone can do on a public roadway, and it is also among the most common causes of serious truck collisions in Indiana. However, that does not mean suing over distracted driving truck accidents in Merrillville is easy, or that filing suit without support from skilled legal counsel is likely to lead to a positive case result for you.
Instead of trying to enforce your rights alone, you should strongly consider seeking help from The Law Offices of David W. Holub. Call today to set up an initial meeting.