Indiana Bars Recovery Above a Fifty-Percent Threshold
Under Indiana’s Comparative Fault Act, codified at IC 34-51-2, an injured person cannot recover any damages if they are found more than fifty percent at fault for causing their own injuries. If fault is fifty percent or less, recovery is still allowed, but the total award gets reduced by that exact percentage.
This rule applies to nearly every negligence-based claim in Indiana, including truck accidents, though it does not apply to claims against governmental entities or public employees, which follow a separate and stricter set of rules entirely, with shorter notice deadlines attached.
An Indiana semi truck accident lawyer treats fault allocation as one of the most consequential issues in any truck accident case, since insurers representing large trucking companies are well aware that pushing an injured driver’s fault percentage above the fifty-percent mark eliminates the claim entirely.
Why Truck Accident Cases Involve So Many Parties
Under IC 34-51-2-5, fault in Indiana can be divided among multiple different parties, and truck accident cases frequently involve more potential defendants than a typical car crash. The truck driver, the trucking company, a cargo loading company, a maintenance contractor, and even a parts manufacturer can all potentially share a percentage of fault in a single case.
Each defendant’s insurer typically tries hard to shift blame toward the other parties, and toward the injured driver, which can turn a single collision into a genuinely complex multi-party fault dispute. Sorting out which defendant bears responsibility for what specific share of the harm often requires professional accident reconstruction of exactly how the entire crash unfolded from start to finish.
Federal Rules That Apply on Top of State Fault Law
Commercial trucks operating across state lines are also subject to detailed Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations covering hours of service, vehicle maintenance, and driver qualification standards. A violation of these federal rules, such as a driver exceeding permitted hours behind the wheel, can serve as powerful evidence of negligence in a state court fault determination.
Electronic logging devices required under federal law create a data trail that can either support or undermine a driver’s account of how many hours they had actually been on the road before a crash occurred. These records are especially valuable because they are generated automatically, rather than relying on a driver’s own handwritten logs, which historically were far easier to falsify than an automated system.
Evidence That Helps Establish the Trucking Company’s Fault
Because truck accident cases often involve corporate defendants with resources to contest fault aggressively, thorough evidence matters considerably to the outcome of a case. Useful evidence typically includes:
- Electronic logging device data showing the driver’s hours of service
- The truck’s maintenance records and any documented mechanical issues
- Driver qualification files and any documented history of prior safety violations
- Black box or event data recorder information from the truck itself and its trailer
- Witness statements and any available dashcam or surveillance footage
Trucking companies are required to preserve certain records for only a limited period of time, which makes acting quickly to request preservation especially important for a client’s case.
How Ward & Ward Personal Injury Lawyers Builds These Cases
Truck accident cases require untangling fault among several parties while also applying federal safety regulations that do not exist in an ordinary car accident case. Ward & Ward Personal Injury Lawyers investigates every potential defendant and every applicable regulation to keep an injured driver’s fault percentage as low as the facts actually support in the final settlement or verdict.
Your Next Step
Truck accident cases move quickly, and trucking companies often begin their own investigation within just hours of a crash occurring. If you were hurt in a semi truck accident in Indiana, an Indiana semi truck accident lawyer can start building your case before evidence disappears or fault gets shifted unfairly onto you.
