If you have sustained injuries in a Philadelphia truck accident that resulted from the negligent actions of the truck driver, you may want to hold their employer liable for your injuries and other losses. This makes sense that a trucking company may have more liability insurance coverage that you can pursue a claim against than the trucker. You could hold the company responsible for negligent hiring if the trucker failed to follow the proper procedures and regulations for hiring truck drivers. Also, this is possible of their driver wasn’t qualified to drive a truck. To prove these claims, you or your Philadelphia truck accident attorney must request documents from the company itself.
For a trucker to be hired by a company, they should be at least 21 years old and have a valid commercial driver’s license. Additionally, the trucking company must perform a detailed background check before they hire a truck driver. Below are the pieces of information you will need to prove the company hired their driver negligently:
The Hiring Practices and Policies of the Trucking Company
You must obtain a copy of the company’s written policies on recruitment and the actual employment file of the truck driver. Such a request may not be taken seriously if you make it yourself. However, a company may give in to this request more quickly and easily when it is made by your attorney. Your lawyer can use such documents to prove the driver wasn’t qualified or the company violated federal rules.
Background Check Efforts of the Company
The trucking company is supposed to carry out a criminal background check and get a copy of the complete driving and crash record of the driver. Your attorney can examine the hiring file of the driver to determine if the company conducted this check.
Whether the Company Contacted the Previous Employers of the Driver
The trucking company must have contacted the employers of the trucker for the last three years to know their driving and crash record as well as determine if the driver had an alcohol or drug issue. Your attorney may get a copy of these records and review the file of the driver and the policies of the company to know if such a step was taken. However, the records you can get from the trucking company may lack accuracy.
Driver’s Training and Medical Certification
Your lawyer will have to review the policies of the trucking company, the files of the driver, written training manuals, and other records involved in the trucker’s training. Moreover, your lawyer must review the medical records of the driver to determine if they have obtained the proper medical certification that says they are medically fit to operate a truck.
