Common Causes Of Commercial Motor Vehicle Crashes

Commercial motor vehicles (CMVs, or CV) are common sights on Florida roads, but unfortunately, they are also commonly involved in Florida road accidents. Because CVs tend to be such large vehicles, they require particular skill to operate well, and a failure to do so can result in accidents – and liability. However, not every CMV crash occurs because of their driver’s negligence; other factors can contribute. If you have been injured in an accident with a CV, it is important that you understand potential causes before you consider filing suit.

Foreseeable Mishaps

One main category of causes for CV crashes comes down to forces that no driver has real control over. The most common culprit is weather – while Florida has a reputation for good weather, it has its storms just like any other locale, and hurricane season makes everything even more dangerous than usual. While motorists can drive defensively in bad weather, sometimes even doing everything right can lead to a crash in adverse conditions.

Another common factor that can cause CV accidents is poorly maintained roads. While liability for accidents of this type may be laid at the door of the entity that maintains the roads, this is very often a local or state agency, and filing suit against a governmental authority can be difficult because of a concept called sovereign immunity. Many Florida governments have waived sovereign immunity, meaning that they can be sued in limited situations, but not all.

Driver Error

The other category of causes of CV accidents is driver error – whether on the part of the CV driver, the injured plaintiff, or another third-party driver. Anything from disobeying the commercial driver’s Hours of Service regulations (which is evidence of negligence as a matter of law) to driving while fatigued to speeding can be grounds on which one can establish negligence. In addition, different types of driver inattention can lead to different types of accidents – for example, speeding can lead to rear-end collisions, while fatigue can lead to falling asleep at the wheel and striking in almost any direction.

If you have been injured in this type of crash, it is important to know that a commercial driver’s negligence can also lead to claiming negligence against the driver’s employer. Florida honors a concept known as vicarious liability, which means that if it can be shown that an employee was acting ‘within the scope of [their] employment’ at the time of an accident, their employer may be liable because of their authority over the employee. If this is true in your case, this can mean an increased likelihood of recovering money damages.

Contact A Tampa Commercial Vehicle Accident Attorney

Being involved in a commercial vehicle accident is often a catastrophic life event, just because of the potential for physical and emotional injury. If you have been injured in this kind of crash, a Tampa truck accident attorney from the Rinaldo Law Group can help protect your rights. Call our office today at (813) 831-9999 to schedule a free consultation.