Who Can Be Held Liable in a Commercial Truck Accident?
Nov. 10, 2025
When a tractor-trailer collides with a car, responsibility rarely rests with just one person. Because trucking involves layers of companies and contracts, the pool of potential defendants is broader than in a typical two-car crash.
Liability often depends on the relationships among the driver, the motor carrier, and the companies that loaded cargo, serviced equipment, or controlled the route. Evidence from electronic logs, dispatch records, and onboard modules can reveal who made which decisions and when.
At Richard L. Vanderslice, P.C., our Philadelphia truck accident lawyer can help you sort out who may be legally responsible so medical bills, wage losses, and other harms don’t fall through the cracks. With that context in mind, it’s useful to explore the categories of parties that may share fault and how the law assigns responsibility across them.
Parties Who May Share Liability
Multiple parties can contribute to a commercial truck accident, and identifying them early helps protect your claim and preserve crucial records. The following parties commonly appear in litigation, depending on how the trip was organized and which safety rules applied:
Truck driver: The driver’s speeding, fatigue, distraction, or logbook violations can point to negligence, especially if hours-of-service rules were ignored or falsified.
Motor carrier: The carrier that employs or contracts with the driver may be responsible for supervision, dispatch decisions, schedule pressure, and vehicle maintenance policies.
Broker or shipper: A broker that arranged the haul or a shipper that controlled loading can be liable if they hired unsafe carriers or dictated schedules that compromised safety.
Cargo loader: A warehouse or third-party loader may share fault if an unbalanced or unsecured load caused jackknifing, rollovers, or extended stopping distances.
Maintenance provider: Shops that performed brake, tire, or steering repairs can be responsible if substandard work or skipped inspections contributed to the crash.
Vehicle or parts manufacturer: Defects in brakes, tires, underride guards, or steering components can lead to product liability claims against manufacturers or distributors.
Government entity: In limited cases, poor roadway design, missing signage, or negligent maintenance can create claims against a city, county, or state agency.
Once these parties are identified, the next question is how responsibility flows through employment and contract relationships, which is where vicarious liability typically enters the picture.
When Employers Are Responsible For Drivers
A motor carrier can be responsible for a driver’s negligence under vicarious liability when the driver was acting within the scope of employment during the truck accident. That link doesn’t turn on labels alone; even if a driver is called an independent contractor, the carrier’s control over routes, equipment, and safety rules may still support liability.
Separate from vicarious liability, a carrier can face direct claims for negligent hiring, training, or supervision. Red flags like poor driving histories, failed drug or alcohol tests, or repeated hours-of-service violations can support these claims. How a carrier screens and monitors drivers also affects the case against other parties.
Liability for Maintenance and Cargo
Crashes aren’t always caused by a single bad decision behind the wheel. Poor maintenance or bad loading can alter how a truck handles, lengthen stopping distance, or cause catastrophic equipment failure. Sorting out those details requires quick action to gather records before they’re lost or overwritten, which is why preservation letters are so important in the first weeks of a case:
Brake and tire service: Incomplete brake work, mismatched tire sizes, or ignored wear indicators can support claims against maintenance shops and carriers that skipped inspections.
Trailer and coupling issues: Faulty kingpins, fifth-wheel locks, or lighting systems can create liability for trailer owners, repairers, or carriers that failed to pull units from service.
Load securement: Shifting pallets, liquid surge in tankers, or over-height loads can point to cargo handlers, shippers, or carriers that didn’t follow securement standards.
When these threads are documented early, your case can connect a clear chain from maintenance logs or loading sheets to the conditions that produced the crash. The next layer involves the safety rules that govern the industry and how violations influence liability.
How Federal and State Rules Shape Responsibility
Trucking is governed by a blend of federal safety regulations and state traffic laws. Federal rules address driver qualifications, hours of service, drug and alcohol testing, vehicle inspection and maintenance, and recordkeeping. These standards don’t just set best practices; violations can serve as powerful evidence that a party failed to meet required duties under the circumstances.
State law fills in the rest, including right-of-way, speed limits, and rules for turning, signaling, and lane changes. When federal and state obligations run together, the paper trail grows: electronic logging devices, inspection reports, and repair orders can show whether a carrier followed the rules or cut corners. That record also matters when fault is split among several defendants.
Comparative Fault and Multiple Defendants
More than one party can be accountable for a single crash, and responsibility can be allocated across them based on their share of fault. In some cases, a driver may be responsible for speeding while a carrier is accountable for schedule pressure, with additional fault assigned to a loader who allowed cargo to shift.
Comparative fault can also come up if the other side argues that a non-trucking driver contributed to the crash. That’s why thorough reconstruction, scene photos, and vehicle data matter. They help show how the truck’s speed, weight, and braking distance interact with traffic and road conditions. From there, insurance questions become the next practical step.
Insurance Policies and Layers of Coverage
Commercial trucking usually involves multiple policies with different coverage layers. Identifying them early helps set expectations about available funds, defense strategies, and settlement timing. Because each policy can have exclusions and endorsements, it’s important to gather the right documents and read them carefully before big decisions are made:
Primary liability coverage: This policy typically responds first to bodily injury and property damage claims arising from the operation of the truck.
Excess or umbrella coverage: Larger carriers often carry additional limits above the primary policy, which can be critical in serious injury or wrongful death cases.
Motor carrier and trailer interchange coverage: These policies can address liability when equipment is borrowed or swapped between carriers during a trip.
Cargo coverage: While focused on freight, cargo policies and bills of lading can still shed light on who controlled loading and routing decisions.
Broker or shipper policies: Depending on the contracts and level of control, insurance held by brokers or shippers may also be implicated.
Once policies are mapped, the next task is gathering the evidence that shows why each party’s coverage should apply. That’s where early preservation of digital and paper records makes a measurable difference.
Evidence That Preserves Liability Claims
Key records can be lost quickly after a crash because trucks return to service, electronic logs cycle, and companies clean up their files. A timely preservation letter asks defendants to keep specific items and prevents spoliation arguments later. To build a complete picture, focus on the following:
Electronic logging device and engine control module data: Speed, braking, hard stops, and hours-of-service entries can reveal fatigue or unsafe operation.
Pre-trip and post-trip inspection reports: These records show whether drivers and carriers caught defects or sent equipment out with known problems.
Work orders and maintenance histories: Repair tickets, parts lists, and technician notes connect equipment failures to missed service.
Bills of lading and load sheets: These documents identify who loaded the truck, how it was secured, and any special handling instructions.
Dispatch, route, and communication records: GPS pings, text messages, and call logs can show schedule pressure, route choices, and response times.
With this foundation, your claim can present a clear narrative: who controlled what, which rules applied, and how choices led to the impact. From there, settlement and litigation strategy turn on the same evidence, which keeps the truck accident case focused and efficient.
Contact Us Today
If you were hurt in a commercial truck accident in Pennsylvania, Richard L. Vanderslice, P.C. can assess potential defendants, preserve key evidence, and chart next steps. Our Philadelphia personal injury firm serves clients throughout Philadelphia County, Montgomery County, and Delaware County. Reach out for a consultation to discuss your options and the path forward.