What makes an accident a liability? Words like that may seem reserved for lawyers and accountants, but liability just means that someone could be legally blamed. Some traffic accidents are considered faultless, especially when they cause minimal damage, because no one involved could have prevented it. If someone could have, they may be liable.
If a product was badly made or designed, the company that manufactured it or created it may be liable. When it comes to truck accidents, a driver may be at fault if he or she was tired, distracted or otherwise unable to properly observe safety rules. One type of accident, known as an underride collision, has led to new safety devices like the side guards on large trailers.
Two mothers who have lost children in underride collisions are on a mission to prevent them with better regulation. A Raleigh woman was driving on an interstate highway in Georgia when she was struck from the rear by a semi and the force threw her car under its trailer. One of her two daughters died in the crash and the other died a few days later.
She has teamed up with a Florida woman who lost a child in a similar accident to lobby for stronger guards on tractor-trailers. The hope is these devices would prevent the danger of collisions that are poorly understood.
People who have been injured or lost a loved one in a truck accident may have a case for financial damages. An attorney can help people figure out to what they may be entitled in a civil lawsuit or another claim.