It is an unfortunate reality that truck accidents can leave a Kentucky resident or even a whole family dead or seriously injured. In these sorts of cases, suing the responsible truck driver might simply not be enough to get adequate compensation for the losses involved in such a tremendous tragedy.
As is fairly common in personal injury and wrongful death cases, victims may therefore want to identify and legally pursue all parties who are responsible for their injuries. On a practical level, the company which owns the truck is a logical business to sue since, after all, their vehicle caused the accident.
Legally, doing so is relatively straightforward when the truck driver is an employee of the trucking company that owns the vehicle. In such cases, the doctrine of what is called vicarious liability will generally apply, and this means that the employer, that is the trucking company, will be expected to answer for what its employee did while on the clock.
Holding the owner of a truck responsible may be more complicated when the driver is an independent contractor or otherwise only doing a one-time run for a particular trucking company. However, doing so is still possible. For example, in some circumstances, the trucking company can be held responsible for not properly vetting its driver or for continuing to do business with a driver who had a demonstrated history of untrustworthiness.
Getting justice is important and even necessary after a Kentucky family has been victimized by a negligent truck driver. However, doing so may involve having to identify and pursue other parties responsible for the accident, and this step may require legal experience and expertise.
