Litigating Trucking Accident Injury Claims: Theories of Liability, Impact of CSA Recordkeeping, and More
Plaintiff and Defense Approaches to Discovery, Pre-Trial Motions, and Damages

Course Details
- smart_display Format
On-Demand
- signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level
Intermediate
- work Practice Area
Personal Injury and Med Mal
- event Date
Wednesday, July 26, 2023
- schedule Time
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
- timer Program Length
90 minutes
-
This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
This CLE course will provide personal injury counsel with a review of conventional theories of liability in trucking accident injury cases and discuss the complexities involved with litigating and settling claims. In addition, the panel will explain the impact of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and other legal and practical considerations when bringing or defending trucking injury claims.
Faculty

Ms. Mortimer is the managing partner of the Highland, Indiana office of Lewis Brisbois, a vice-chair of the General Liability Practice, and a member of the Transportation Practice. She defends clients against large and excess personal injury and property damage claims in state and federal courts in Indiana and Illinois. As a member of our 24/7 Rapid Response Team, Ms. Mortimer handles matters concerning major trucking accidents, including managing incidents on-scene. She has tried these types of cases to verdict in both Illinois and Indiana.

Mr. Bradley focuses his practice on heavy truck and bus crash litigation and catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death.

Mr. Villanueva concentrates his practice in areas of General Liability, Construction, Labor & Employment, and Municipal/Traffic.
Description
Trucking accident cases are complex and involve legal and practical concerns that set them apart from other motor vehicle accidents. Among the challenges are the various theories of liability and many potential defendants, including drivers, owners, brokers, and others.
Discovery offers many unresolved twists. For example, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration gathers carrier and driver data. The impact of this accident data on litigation is a crucial consideration for both plaintiffs and defendants.
Trucking accident cases often involve catastrophic injuries and very serious damages claims. Therefore, knowledge of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, CSA scores, jurisdiction-specific fault allocation, and the role of insurance is of paramount importance to both plaintiffs and defendants.
Listen as our panel of practitioners with experience representing trucking claims on behalf of plaintiffs and defendants examines the aspects of these cases that set them apart from other types of motor vehicle accidents. In addition, the panel will outline theories of liability, discovery considerations, and legal and practical strategies for pursuing claims or defending against liability.
Outline
- Common causes of trucking accidents
- Theories of liability
- Overview of federal trucking safety regulations
- Practical concerns for the practitioner
- Post-crash inspection
- What to include in an investigation
- Discovery considerations
- CSA data
- Admissibility of "preventable" designation
- Conditional carriers
- Pretrial motions
- Broker and shipper liability
Benefits
The panel will review these and other key issues:
- What are the rules that govern trucking safety?
- What role do driver hiring, training, and supervision play in determining liability?
- What are the most common causes of trucking accidents?
- What are the potential implications of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration data describing carriers and drivers?
- How is liability assigned between multiple defendants?
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