How Can a Truck Driver’s Medical Records Help My Truck Accident Case?
Regulators hold commercial truck driver to health and safety standards to protect them and everyone else on the road. Despite that, too many active truck drivers have major medical conditions that could impair their ability to operate their trucks. If one of them causes a major accident and hurts you due to his ailment, it's...
How Often Does Driver Fatigue Cause Truck Accidents?
An 18-wheeler is a complex piece of machinery to operate even when the driver is fully alert and in control of it. When the driver isn't in control, like when they're too tired to drive safely, the potential for serious accidents increases dramatically. Unfortunately, for one reason or another many commercial drivers do end up...
Are Trucking Companies Required to Compensate Families after Fatal Truck Accidents?
In the aftermath of a fatal truck accident, victims' families often have a lot of questions in urgent need of answers. One of their most pressing questions is whether the law obligates the trucking company to compensate them for their losses. That touches on complex areas of liability, insurance coverage, and regulations governing the trucking...
What Are the Most Common Defenses in a Truck Accident Lawsuit?
Any personal injury lawsuit is about balancing two competing principles: your desire to recover your losses and the due process rights of the person or business accused of causing your losses. To that end, you have the burden of making your case, while the law affords certain defenses to the accused. Given that these defenses...
What Kinds of Compensation are Available to Fatal Truck Accident Victims’ Families?
It's hard to go online, watch television, or listen to the radio without running into an attorney hollering about "getting you the compensation you're owed," but that's never as simple as they (loudly) make it sound. After a fatal commercial truck accident, compensation isn't just a matter of filling out a few forms. Instead, families...
How Are Accidents Involving Crane Trucks Different from Other Truck Accidents?
Often when people hear the term "truck accident," they will assume the vehicle in question was an 18-wheeler or box truck. However, those people may not have considered the many specialized commercial trucks that often trigger serious accidents too. For instance, crane trucks used in construction sites create unique dangers that are in some ways...
How Does a Delivery Vehicle Accident Lawsuit Work in Texas?
When a delivery vehicle like a UPS or Amazon truck is involved in an accident, the legal aftermath can be more complex than people realize. Because several parties might be involved—and none of them are likely willing to admit responsibility—a lawsuit against one or more of them may quickly become overwhelming for the unprepared. So,...
Why Do Attorneys Take Depositions During Truck Accident Cases?
People only somewhat familiar with court procedure might base a lot of their understanding on how the media generally depicts it. For example, one of the most common scenes in virtually any legal drama is when a lawyer asks pointed questions of a witness on the stand, often with dramatic results. Such cross-examination is common...
Who Might Be Liable for a Truck Accident in a Construction Zone?
With reduced speed limits, lane shifts, heavy equipment, and workers present, construction zones are sometimes confusing and hazardous for drivers. That confusion sometimes leads to traffic accidents—and when the vehicles that crash are 18-wheelers, the accidents may be very serious and resolving them becomes highly complex. Figuring out who's responsible for the damage isn’t always...
What’s the Average Semi-Truck Accident Settlement in Texas?
35,000 pounds. 17.5 tons. This is how much the average semi-truck weighs with an empty trailer. It's no wonder that collisions involving 18-wheelers so often result in serious injuries, catastrophic injuries, and death. There are thousands of 18-wheeler accidents in Texas each year. If you or a loved one is suffering the aftermath of a...
How Is an Accident with a Bucket Truck Different from Other Truck Accidents?
People may hear "truck accident" and picture a loaded 18-wheeler plowing into highway traffic, but some of the most serious—and most overlooked—accidents involve specialized trucks designed for specific kinds of work. For example, bucket trucks (also called boom trucks or cherry pickers) present unique hazards apart from those of other commercial vehicles. So how is...
What is the “Mystery Car Defense” in Truck Accident Lawsuits?
The job of a trucking company defense attorney is minimize the amount that trucking companies have to pay out after accidents. To accomplish this, these attorneys have developed many strategies over the years to shift blame from their clients to—well, anyone else. One tactic is to deflect fault is to suggest some vehicle not involved...
How Do I Receive My Compensation after Winning a Truck Accident Case?
The goal of any lawsuit is to recover money for a victim's losses. Whether a case ends through a negotiated settlement or jury award, that money doesn't immediately go into your bank account. This leaves many asking: "How do I receive compensation after winning a truck accident case?" Answer: In the simplest scenario after a...
Where Does Texas Truck Accident Law Come From?
Most people are aware that they'll need to use the law to seek compensation from a truck driver that hurt them. However, "the law" is too broad a term for the various parts of it an accident victim would need to know and use in a truck accident case. When we talk to people about...
What Do I Do after a Texas Oilfield Truck Accident?
For the most part truckers in different industries follow the same rules of operation. However, depending on what those trucks are used for there may be some variations. For example, there are certain aspects of oilfield truck accidents that differ from typical 18-wheeler wrecks, and those differences can make a truck accident case against them...
How Do I Prove an Automaker Knew about the Defect That Caused My Accident?
When an auto manufacturer is accused of knowingly ignoring a vehicle or part defect, they're obviously not going to raise their hand and say, "Yep, you got us. We lied about that defect." The burden then falls on anyone injured by one of those defects to prove the company knew about the problem but failed...
What is Strict Liability in Product Liability Lawsuits?
Most would likely agree that a company who makes a defective product that hurts or kills someone should pay for its mistake. That's what product liability lawsuits are for—using the law as an instrument to hold negligent manufacturers accountable. In fairness to defendants, courts don't recognize just any type of argument. Arguments they do accept...
Can I Still File a Premises Liability Lawsuit in Texas if I Signed a Waiver?
We've all been there: We're out with friends and want to do something, but before we can, there's someone behind a desk asking us to sign a liability waiver. Maybe it's at a concert, or the paintball field, or any number of potentially dangerous activities, but we don't give that piece of paper a second...
How Do Corporations Defend Themselves in Defective Vehicle Lawsuits?
Most people know that if they're hurt in an accident caused by a defective vehicle, they can sue the vehicle's manufacturer. They should also be aware that the company is under no obligation to simply accept liability; instead, the company will almost certainly fight tooth and nail against any suggestion of fault. That may make...
What Does an Attorney Have to Prove in a Vehicle Product Liability Case?
Most people know that if they're injured by a product, they can sue the manufacturer. It's all well and good to know you have the right to file a lawsuit, but the goal of any lawsuit is to win. In order to win, your attorney must make your case in front of the jury. This...