I rented a small track for moving my things to a new place. A car hit the truck in a parking lot. Am I held liable?

Question: Irented a small truck from a well known company to help my daughter move herthings to college. I pulled into the driveway of the small house she wasrenting with friends. After taking one load into the house, I headed backoutside, only to witness the rental truck rolling backwards into the street,hitting a small car. I’m positive I put the emergency brake on and am wonderingif I’m liable or just the people who rented the truck to me?

Response: Whileyou are likely to be held responsible for this accident since it was your dutyto secure that emergency brake, serious questions remain, assuming you placedthe car in “park.” You should definitely contact an attorney to help you sincethis type of accident can damage your driving record.

Be sure to ask your attorney to obtain copies of all therecent maintenance work done on the specific truck you rented. Tell her if youalso took out added insurance through the rental company. Brakes are oftenneglected by many companies since they’re expensive to maintain.

A good personal injury attorney, preferably one with strongknowledge of truck braking systems would be a perfect fit for you. If yourlawyer can prove that the truck brakes were poorly maintained, at least therental company might be held responsible for some (or all) of the damages.However, you’ll still probably need to prove that “your” truck could haveslipped out of “park” into “neutral” on its own.

Answered by Elizabeth Smith

Additional Resources

• TruckAccident Lawyers