Cement Truck Accidents

A cement truck accident may be the fault of the truck driver. To establish that a cement truck driver was negligent, you will need to prove that they failed to use reasonable care and in failing to use reasonable care caused the accident. When, for example, a mixer spills cement on the roadway, you may be able to hold a negligent cement truck driver liable, even if another car swerved into you to avoid the cement pouring onto the road. In some cases, a truck driver does not have enough coverage to compensate all of the victims of a cement truck accident, particularly a crash involving a cement spill.

However, in many cases, it is not just the truck driver who was negligent but also their employer. Trucking companies are supposed to follow strict safety protocols, maintain vehicles, and make sure that their drivers are not just licensed but also adequately trained to operate the cement mixer safely. We can investigate to see whether any protocols or rules were violated by the trucking company that employed the truck driver. Even in cases in which a cement truck driver is an independent contractor, it may be possible to hold the cement truck company liable. Some companies hire drivers as independent contractors specifically to avoid liability, but an experienced attorney still may be able to develop a strategy to try to hold the trucking company liable, whether this involves suing it on a theory of negligent hiring, negligence per se, or vicarious liability.

Damages that you may be able to recover if liability is established include many types of losses, including medical expenses, hospital bills, loss of income, lost earning capacity, pain and suffering, loss of consortium, and household services. However, these damages may be reduced if the cement truck driver and trucking company assert and prove comparative negligence. Under comparative negligence, a plaintiff’s damages are reduced by their degree of fault.

In many states, including Tennessee, there is a threshold amount of fault, over which you may be barred from recovery. For example, if the plaintiff is found 50% at fault, they may not recover anything from the cement truck company or the driver. Accordingly, many defendants in these types of accidents will look for any way in which a plaintiff or some other party was partially or fully to blame for an accident. They may obtain evidence against a plaintiff by taking a recorded statement and using any form of admission to strengthen their claims. This makes it especially important to consult your own attorney before talking to the other side.

Sometimes another entity was partially at fault for a cement truck accident. This may be the company that loaded the wet cement or a manufacturer of the truck or its component parts. We can investigate what happened to cause the accident to make sure that we sue all of the appropriate parties.