Unsecured Load Truck Accident Lawyer in Louisville, KY

• Cargo falling onto the road. Lumber, pipe, steel, machinery or pallets come loose and land in front of following traffic on I-64, I-65, I-71 or the Gene Snyder.
• Objects through the windshield. Small items like rocks, chains, binders or tools bounce off a trailer and strike a car at highway speed.
• Load shift and rollover. Cargo that slides inside a trailer or on a flatbed changes the truck's balance, which can cause a rollover or a jackknife in a curve or a hard stop.
• Spilled loose material. Gravel, sand, dirt or trash blows out of an uncovered bed and cracks windshields or makes drivers swerve.
• Swerving and chain-reaction crashes as drivers try to avoid debris already in the lane.
• Overhanging or oversized loads that aren't flagged or lit and strike a car beside or behind the truck.

For crashes caused by debris when nobody can tell where it came from, see our road debris accident page.

Commercial trucks have to follow the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's cargo securement rules in 49 CFR 393.100 through 393.136. The key requirements:

• Strength. Tiedowns and securement systems must hold the cargo against 0.8 g of forward deceleration, 0.5 g rearward and 0.5 g sideways (49 CFR 393.102). In plain terms, the load has to stay put through a hard stop or a sharp swerve.
• Enough tiedowns. Cargo must be firmly immobilized, and the combined working load limit of the tiedowns must be at least half the weight of the cargo (49 CFR 393.106).
• Commodity rules. Logs, dressed lumber, metal coils, paper rolls, concrete pipe, intermodal containers, cars, heavy machinery and large boulders each have their own specific rules (49 CFR 393.116 to 393.136).
• Driver inspections. The driver must check the cargo and straps within the first 50 miles of a trip, then again at every change of duty status or after 3 hours or 150 miles of driving, whichever comes first (49 CFR 392.9).
• The carrier is on the hook too. The same rule says a motor carrier may not "require or permit" a driver to operate a truck unless the cargo is properly distributed and adequately secured.

Kentucky's own rule covers every vehicle, not just big rigs. No vehicle may be driven on a highway unless it is built to keep its contents from escaping, and a load that can shift or spill must be covered if the vehicle travels more than one mile on a public highway (KRS 189.150). A violation of a safety statute like this one can support a negligence claim when it causes the kind of harm the law was meant to prevent (KRS 446.070).

• The truck driver, for failing to inspect and re-check the load as required.
• The trucking company, for the driver's negligence and for its own failures in training, equipment and supervision. See trucking company liability.
• The shipper or loading company, when its own crew loaded and sealed the trailer, or loaded it in a way the driver couldn't see or fix.
• A freight broker, in some cases, for choosing an unsafe carrier. See freight broker liability.
• Equipment makers, if a strap, chain, binder or anchor point failed below its rated strength.

Kentucky uses pure comparative fault, so fault can be divided among several of these parties and each pays its share (KRS 411.182).

• Photos and video of the cargo, straps and truck at the scene, plus dashcam footage from your car or other drivers. See dashcam footage after a crash.
• The bill of lading and loading records showing who loaded the truck and what it carried
• The driver's logs and ELD data, which show whether the required cargo checks fit the trip
• Roadside inspection reports and the carrier's safety record. See FMCSA safety records.
• The failed straps, chains or binders themselves, which can be tested
• Truck black box data showing speed and braking before the load moved

Cargo and straps are often hauled away the same day. We send a preservation letter right away so the company can't throw them out.

Most Kentucky motor vehicle injury claims must be filed within two years of the crash or the last PIP payment, whichever is later (KRS 304.39-230(6)). Some claims against government entities, and claims involving a death, follow different rules. See our Kentucky statute of limitations guide.