Who Is Liable in a Truck Accident

A carrier may answer for its driver when the driver was hauling under that carrier's operation, depending on the relationship and the evidence. Frost Law Group can start with the truck's own markings. Under 49 CFR 390.21, a self-propelled commercial vehicle must show the carrier's legal name and USDOT number on both sides. When another company's name also appears, the operating carrier's name must appear after "operated by."

Picture a box truck on Dorchester Road with a furniture store's name on the doors. Beneath it, an "operated by" line names a carrier from another state. Out-of-state drivers made up 42.7% of the commercial vehicle drivers in South Carolina collisions during 2024. Against an out-of-state driver, Section 15-7-30(D) allows suit where the conduct mainly happened or in the injured person's home county. The federal rules also make the carrier require its drivers to follow them, under 49 CFR 390.11.

An owner can be liable for its own negligence, but federal law protects a rental or leasing business from liability based only on ownership. That protection comes from Section 30106 of Title 49 of the United States Code, known as the Graves Amendment. It applies when the owner is in the trade or business of renting or leasing motor vehicles. The owner and its affiliates must also be free of negligence and criminal wrongdoing. The shield covers harm during the rental or lease period.

Suppose a leasing company rents a box truck to a moving business, and a bald tire it never replaced blows out on US 78. The claim against that company rests on its own maintenance, which the statute does not protect. The lease and the service history, which Frost Law Group can request, show what the owner knew. Section 30106 also leaves state financial responsibility and insurance laws in place. Any result still depends on the facts.

Yes, at least for interstate shipments. Since May 14, 2026, a federal safety exception has kept federal law from blocking a claim that a broker carelessly hired an unsafe trucking company. Under 49 U.S.C. 13102, a broker is a business, other than a carrier, that arranges truck transportation for pay. In Montgomery, C.H. Robinson had coordinated the shipment and hired Caribe Transport II to haul it. The lower courts found the claim barred, and the Supreme Court reversed.

The dispute turned on the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act. That Act preempts, meaning overrides, state laws related to a broker's prices, routes or services. A separate clause says preemption does not limit a State's power to regulate safety with respect to motor vehicles. The Court placed a negligent-hiring claim against a broker inside that safety exception. Whether a broker belongs in a particular claim depends on what the broker knew and did.

Each may share responsibility through its own conduct, though federal rules place the main loading and maintenance duties on the carrier and its driver. Under 49 CFR 392.9, a driver must be satisfied the cargo is properly distributed and secured before driving. The driver must also inspect it within the first 50 miles. Another federal rule, in Part 393, requires loading that keeps cargo from leaking, spilling, blowing, falling or shifting enough to affect stability.

A carrier, shipper, receiver or transportation intermediary may not coerce a driver into breaking those rules, under 49 CFR 390.6. A 2024 amendment to Section 56-5-4100, the state's own load statute, requires that any load and its covering stay securely fastened. Forest products, poultry and several other cargoes fall outside its loading rules, and its text preserves any claim for damages.

Picture gravel spilling from an uncovered dump truck on Orangeburg Road. That statute requires such a load to sit 6 inches below the tops of the walls or be covered. Frost Law Group can trace who loaded that bed, and each party's share depends on the evidence.

The jury sets the injured person's share of fault, and on a defendant's motion it also splits fault among the defendants. Section 15-38-15 then decides who pays which share. Since July 1, 2005, that section has generally let a defendant whose fault falls under 50% pay only its own percentage. One found 50% or more at fault faces joint and several liability, meaning it can be made to pay the entire award.

Your own share of fault reduces the award. If your fault tops 50%, South Carolina's modified comparative negligence rule bars any recovery.

Say a jury finds the driver mostly at fault and a broker less than half at fault. The broker would pay only its own percentage, while the carrier behind the driver could owe the rest. Frost Law Group also handles fatal truck accident claims, and Section 15-38-15 covers wrongful death actions too. How any jury divides fault depends on the proof at trial.