Do Los Angeles Truck Drivers Get Fired For Accidents?

When you have been injured in a truck accident, you may wonder what will happen once you file a claim. Will the truck driver get a slap on the wrist and you’ll both move on once you’ve settled with insurance? Will they be suspended? Will they get fired? What happens to the truck driver depends entirely on the circumstances surrounding the truck accident. If the truck driver’s actions were especially egregious and negligence occurred, your lawyer may be arguing that the truck driver should not have their commercial driver’s license anymore because they are a danger to others on the road. 

Reasons a Trucking Company May No Longer Employ a Driver 

Following an accident, there are some reasons that a trucking company may decide to no longer employ that driver, as an attorney, like a truck accident attorney, knows. 

• The accident happened because the driver did not follow protocol. When a truck driver does not follow company protocol and causes an accident, they are a huge liability to the company. Because of how serious accidents can be with trucks, these companies have very specific safety protocols put in place for things like weight limit, hours that the driver can be on the road, and how often the truck must be serviced. If the driver violates protocol, they may be fired. 

• The driver did not follow federal regulations. In addition to rules and protocols that the company may have in place, there are also federal regulations that the truck driver must follow. By neglecting to follow these regulations, the driver may not only be fired from their trucking company, but they may find it impossible to get a similar job in the trucking industry. 

• The driver was driving under the influence. As a lawyer from our office Glotzer & Leib, LLP will tell you, a truck driver caught driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol will almost always be fired from their position. Driving under the influence damages the trucking company’s reputation, can injure the trucker, and can injure anyone else on the road with the trucker.  

• The driver had road rage. When a trucker causes an accident out of rage or violence, the trucking company will likely have no tolerance for such acts. When this is likely to happen again with the same driver, the driver quickly becomes a liability and the trucking company likely does not want to deal with more lawsuits. 

While many people may not want to fire someone out of revenge, there comes a time when calling for someone to be removed from their job is an act of justice. Many truck drivers understand that there are certain rules they need to follow to keep the roads as safe as possible. When a driver willfully defies these rules and causes an injury–your injury–then your lawyer may call for the driver’s removal from their job so no one else gets hurt. If you would like to learn more about filing a truck accident claim, reach out to a team of attorneys you can trust.