What happens when Debris from another Vehicle causes Injury or Damage

Children escape serious injury when their school bus is struck by logs from logging truck

School children on route to their school via school bus on the morning of November 2^nd were fortunate not to have sustained serious injury when logs fell off the back of a logging truck and impaled the side of the bus. The incident occurred in a town north of Edmonton Alberta and there were 21 children and two adults on the bus at the time of the crash.  Only one child sustained injuries and the injuries were, thankfully, minor.

The logs broke through the bus windows and damaged the roof.  Children were understandably shaken up by the accident and it wasn’t difficult for parents to imagine that it could easily have been devastating if circumstances had been slightly different.

Alberta provincial police stated that the load was above the acceptable weight and not properly balanced and the truck driver will be fined for failing to ensure the load was safely transported.  A police representative further said the crash would not have happened if the driver had followed proper procedures for affixing the logs.

Tires sometimes cause serious or fatal injuries when they come off vehicles on Ontario highways

Incidents involving items falling or breaking off a vehicle on Ontario roads and highways are not as rare as you might think.   Among the most common and dangerous circumstances involves truck and car tires that come off a vehicle and smash through another driver’s windshield or cause other vehicles to crash.  Ontario Provincial Police have reported that these types of incidents are most common after people change their tires in the Spring or Fall, when the new tires are not installed properly.   

Liability when debris coming off another vehicle causes damage or injury

In Ontario, police are typically not involved if items from another vehicle or debris on the road causes damage to a vehicle in an amount less than $2000, if no one was injured as a result of the situation.  In such a case, the impacted driver may choose to seek no fault accident compensation under their own vehicle insurance policy.

If debris from another vehicle, such as a commercial vehicle, causes significant damage or injury to you or a vehicle passenger, you may be able to seek compensation from the at fault driver or owner of the offending vehicle.  Success in obtaining compensation and proving liability in such cases can be challenging, but has the best chance of success when the vehicle driver is identified at the scene and is charged with failing to properly attach their load or safely maintain their vehicle.  

In any situation where you sustained a significant loss or injury resulting from another driver’s probable negligence, talk to a knowledgeable ILO car accident lawyer to find out about your legal rights and how you can go about getting fair compensation.