Due to the complexities of the commercial trucking industry, it is not always easy to identify the parties who should be held accountable for a truck crash. Of course, the negligent truck driver is most often a responsible party. But the truck driver’s employer is also legally responsible for damages caused by its employee who is negligent while working. The following example illustrates why it can be difficult to identify a truck driver’s employer.

Consider the following situation: Mr. Bell drives a truck owned by his employer, Wyckoff Trucking. Wyckoff leases the truck (and Mr. Bell’s services as a driver) to a company called Rogers. Under the lease, Rogers is entitled to use the truck at any time for its business purposes, but Wyckoff is allowed to hire the truck out to other customers when Rogers does not need it. Such “trip lease” arrangements are common in the trucking industry. Wyckoff can make a profit only if it can trip lease the truck when the truck would otherwise be empty on the return trip after dropping off Rogers’ cargo.

After dropping off a load for Rogers, Bell enters into a trip lease with Marsh Company. On his way to pick up with load for Marsh, Bell causes a crash with another motorist.

If this sounds confusing, it is! However, these complex business relationships are common in the trucking industry. So the question is, which company is responsible for the crash as Bell’s employer — Wyckoff, Rogers, Marsh, or some combination of the three?

The Ohio Supreme Court partially answered that question in Wyckoff Trucking, Inc. v. Marsh Brothers Trucking Service, Inc. (1991), 58 Ohio St. 3d 261. Applying the federal regulations in effect at the time, the Court found that the company whose placard is displayed on the truck at the time of a crash will be considered to be the driver’s employer for purposes of legal responsibility for damages. Because its placard was displayed on the truck at the time of the crash, Rogers was held to be legally responsible even though Mr. Bell was not transporting Rogers’ cargo when the crash occurred.

Truck accident litigation is complex, in part, because the trucking industry is complex. A truck accident injury attorney must understand how the law assigns responsibility to the various companies that may be involved. If you have questions about truck accident litigation, please contact us through our website at www.ClarkPerdue.com.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 11th, 2008 at 1:26 pm and is filed under Truck Crash Litigation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.