When the truck itself caused the crash.

Maintenance failures are preventable

Commercial trucks are heavy, mechanically complex, and subject to constant stress. Without rigorous maintenance, things wear out — and when safety-critical components fail on a vehicle weighing 80,000 pounds traveling at highway speeds, the result is often catastrophic.

The most common maintenance failures in injury litigation:

• Brake failures — Air system leaks, worn pads/shoes, defective slack adjusters, missing brake balance
• Tire blowouts — Underinflation, overloading, tread separation, defective tires
• Steering and suspension defects — Worn kingpins, broken springs, defective steering boxes
• Lighting failures — Burned-out lights, broken reflectors, inoperative turn signals
• Coupling failures — Defective fifth wheels, broken kingpins, improperly attached trailers
• Wheel and axle failures — Loose wheel nuts, broken axles, bearing failures causing wheel separation
• Cargo door / latch failures — Released cargo from inadequately secured trailer doors

Each of these is preventable through standard maintenance practices. When they happen, the question isn't just whether they happened — it's why the maintenance system that should have caught them didn't.

The federal framework: 49 CFR Part 396

Part 396 of the FMCSRs governs inspection, repair, and maintenance of commercial vehicles. Key sections:

§ 396.3 — Inspection, repair, and maintenance

Every motor carrier shall systematically inspect, repair, and maintain all vehicles under its control. The carrier must maintain records for each vehicle covering the duration the carrier controlled it, plus six months after disposal.

§ 396.11 — Driver Vehicle Inspection Report (DVIR)

Drivers must prepare a written DVIR at the end of each duty day, identifying any defects discovered. If defects affect safe operation, they must be repaired before the vehicle returns to service. The completed DVIR is signed and certified, and retained by the carrier for 3 months.

§ 396.13 — Driver inspection

Drivers must satisfy themselves that the vehicle is in safe operating condition before driving, review the last DVIR, and sign it certifying that any required repairs have been completed.

§ 396.17 — Periodic inspection

Every commercial vehicle must undergo a periodic (annual) inspection by qualified personnel using standard inspection forms. Records of the inspection must be kept.

§ 396.21 — Periodic inspection record

Records of the periodic inspection must be retained for at least 14 months from the date of inspection.

§ 396.25 — Qualifications of brake inspectors

Brake inspection must be performed by qualified personnel with documented training and experience.

The DVIR — front line evidence

The Driver Vehicle Inspection Report is one of the most important pieces of evidence in a maintenance-failure case. Each duty day, the driver is required to inspect the vehicle and note any defects on the DVIR — covering at minimum:

• Service brakes
• Parking brake
• Steering mechanism
• Lighting devices and reflectors
• Tires
• Horn
• Windshield wipers
• Rearview mirrors
• Coupling devices
• Wheels and rims
• Emergency equipment

If the DVIR shows pre-existing defects that weren't addressed, the carrier has a problem. If the DVIR is suspiciously clean despite obvious wear or damage, the driver/carrier has a different kind of problem (false certification).

Common DVIR-related case patterns:

• Driver reported brake issues for multiple days before crash — DVIRs in carrier's possession show it
• DVIR was never completed (FMCSR violation)
• DVIR was completed but defects were ignored or "deferred"
• Pattern of similar defects across multiple drivers/trucks suggests systemic maintenance failure

Maintenance records — what to demand

Comprehensive maintenance discovery typically includes:

• The vehicle file — required under § 396.3(b), containing all maintenance records for the specific truck
• DVIRs for the 6-12 months preceding the crash
• Repair orders and invoices from carrier-owned shops and third-party vendors
• Periodic inspection reports for the past 14+ months
• Roadside inspection reports (available from FMCSA and through carrier records)
• Brake inspection records and qualifications of inspectors
• Tire records — including tread depth, age, replacement history
• Communications between drivers and maintenance personnel about defects
• Carrier maintenance policies and procedures
• Training records for maintenance personnel

If records are missing or "lost," that itself is significant evidence. Spoliation findings can result in adverse inference instructions or worse. The 6-month / 14-month retention requirements mean preservation letters need to go out fast — many records can be legitimately disposed of within months of a crash.

Specific failure patterns: brakes

Brake failure cases are among the most common — and the most technically demanding. Commercial truck braking involves air-brake systems that are mechanically and operationally different from hydraulic brakes on cars.

Common air brake defects:

• Out-of-adjustment brakes — Brake stroke exceeds limits, reducing braking force
• Air leaks — Slow loss of system pressure reduces brake effectiveness
• Defective slack adjusters — Automatic adjusters that fail to compensate for wear
• Worn drums or pads
• Crossfire or imbalance — Different braking forces on different axles cause swerving
• Inoperative axle brakes — Where one or more wheel positions have no braking
• ABS system failures — Anti-lock systems disabled or malfunctioning

Roadside inspection records (FMCSA's "Roadside Inspections" data) reveal that brake violations are consistently the most-cited maintenance issue in commercial trucking — often by a substantial margin. Many carriers operate vehicles with known brake issues until enforcement or a crash forces repairs.

Specific failure patterns: tires

Tire failures cause significant numbers of commercial truck crashes — particularly blowouts at highway speed. Common causes:

• Underinflation — Excess flex causes heat buildup, eventually destroying tire structure
• Overload — Cargo weight exceeds tire load rating
• Age and degradation — Even unused tires degrade over time; many failures involve tires past their useful life
• Tread separation — Tread peels from carcass at highway speed
• Sidewall damage — Cuts, gouges, or impacts that compromise sidewall integrity
• Improper repairs — Patches and plugs that don't meet industry standards
• Mismatched tires — Different sizes or constructions on the same axle

Tire blowouts often have product liability dimensions in addition to maintenance failures — defective tires (particularly retreaded tires that failed early) can implicate the tire manufacturer or retreader. Expert evaluation of the failed tire is critical and the tire must be preserved.

Building the maintenance failure case

The work in a maintenance-failure case proceeds in roughly this order:

1. Immediate preservation. Letters to the carrier, the truck's manufacturer (if defect is suspected), and any maintenance contractors. Demand preservation of the truck, ECM data, all maintenance records, DVIRs, and any failed components.
2. Vehicle inspection by expert. Engage an accident reconstructionist and a mechanical expert (or both, depending on the failure). Document the condition of components as found.
3. Record analysis. Review maintenance records for pre-existing knowledge of the defect, deferred repairs, and pattern issues.
4. Driver and maintenance personnel depositions. Build the timeline of how the defect developed, was reported (or not), and was handled (or ignored).
5. Regulatory analysis. Identify all FMCSR violations and how they support negligence per se and gross negligence claims.
6. Product liability evaluation. If a manufactured part failed, evaluate product liability claims against the manufacturer.