Oregon Injury Lawyer Blog
Crashes involving big rigs are highly likely to result in severe or fatal injuries. Because the harm is substantial, obtaining a fair outcome in a civil lawsuit requires careful investigation to identify everyone who should be held accountable. To ensure you do that, you need an experienced Oregon truck accident lawyer by your side to help you with every step of the investigation process.
A terrible crash in Deschutes County is a reminder that a stopped truck can be just as dangerous as a moving one if it is in the roadway and other drivers are not adequately warned.
R.K., a trucker from Fresno, Cal., jackknifed his rig on U.S. Highway 20 about 50 miles east of Bend on the night of Dec. 1, 2025. The semi-truck’s cab faced eastbound, but the trailer faced south, positioned perpendicular across both the east- and westbound lanes. A young couple was driving westbound on Highway 20 shortly after the trucker jackknifed his rig. Police suspect that, because of “a lack of active emergency warning equipment,” the couple did not see the rig and slammed their Subaru SUV into the trailer, killing both of them.
Police arrested the trucker for criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment.
In a truck crash, there are several areas to focus on. One is the crash scene. Evidence such as images of skid marks or debris patterns, police accident reports, and eyewitness statements can be crucial to establishing how the crash occurred and how negligence by the trucker or the trucking company caused your harm.
Another is the trucker. While the trucker himself may have few assets and therefore be unable to contribute materially to a civil judgment, an investigation of the trucker’s driving history may reveal necessary evidence. For example, how long had the trucker been driving? Did the trucker have a “clean” driving record, or did they have a history of accidents or unsafe driving (such as driving while impaired)? While these factors may bolster a negligence case against the trucker, they may also establish that the trucking company that employed the trucker was negligent.
If the trucker’s driving history contained “red flags” before starting with the company, then the trucking company could be liable for negligent hiring. Alternatively, if the trucker had a relatively clean record when they started but racked up incidents during their time with the company (but the company kept them on anyway,) the trucking company could be liable under a theory of “negligent retention,” meaning the company knew (or should have known) it needed to fire the trucker but negligently kept using them anyway.
Additionally, examining the training the trucker received may be a beneficial avenue of inquiry. If an investigation revealed that the trucking company failed to provide the trucker with the training they needed, that could constitute another basis for holding the company responsible, namely “negligent training.”
Truck Maintenance and Repair
There is also the truck itself. Trucking companies have a legal duty to ensure that all the trucks in their fleet are fit for the road. Investigating a truck’s maintenance history may yield essential clues related to possible negligence. For example, did the company perform routine maintenance, such as changing oil, filters, belts, and hoses? Were the truck’s tires rotated regularly? Were the truck’s fluids checked periodically? Improper maintenance or repair could provide an additional basis for holding the trucking company liable (or a third party if the trucking company outsourced the maintenance and repair of its fleet to an outside entity).
As noted above, all of these things require experience—experience in securing the information you need and in reviewing it to identify the ways the trucker, the trucking company, or others were negligent. If you have experienced a severe injury — or lost a loved one — as a result of a trucking accident, consult the knowledgeable Oregon truck accident attorneys at Kaplan Law LLC. Our team possesses extensive firsthand experience handling truck cases, so we know how to help you obtain justice. To learn more, call (503) 226-3844 today or contact us online to schedule your free consultation.
