Duties of a Georgia Trucking Company in Kennesaw and Acworth

This is Roger Ghai and I wanted to talk today a little bit about the duty of a trucking company to conduct a proper investigation of any drivers at hires. This is important because if the company did not perform an adequate background check on the truck driver, they can be sued for negligent hiring. Usually what happens is in a case where the company has been sued for negligent hiring of a truck driver, they have failed to perform the proper background check, they failed in other words to do their due diligence, and had they done their due diligence, they would have discovered that they had hired an incompetent or an unqualified driver.
If a driver fails to meet federal regulations and a truck accident ensues, then the trucking company will be held liable for any damages that result from the truck accident. A lot of times trucking companies get themselves into much trouble, a lot of hot water, because they simply fail to hire competent drivers. If the trucking company fails to discover that the trucker has had a previous violation, then the trucking company can actually be held responsible for negligent hiring or negligent entrustment of their truck to the truck driver.
Sometimes, even a trucking company is held responsible for damages when they have failed to discipline a driver who has been involved in a motor vehicle wreck and has received a citation. Clearly, the trucking companies have an affirmative duty to perform a proper background check. If they fail to do so, once again, they can be held responsible financially for any damages that a trucker may cause you. If you’ve been involved in a truck accident and you want to know whether the company actually performed an adequate background check on its driver, please feel free to contact my office at 770-792-1000.