How do delivery truck accidents work under Texas law?

In this article, we'll look at what happens when a delivery truck is involved in a wreck. The strategies for litigating these kinds of accidents differ from those appropriate for other types of vehicles in a variety of ways, making it important to obtain the help of an attorney with experience handling cases arising from these types of collisions.

Questions Answered on This Page:

• How are delivery truck accidents different from other commercial vehicle wrecks?
• What vehicles are classified as delivery trucks?
• Who pays when a delivery truck is involved in a wreck?

How Delivery Truck Accidents Are Different

One of the first questions to consider when a delivery truck is involved in an accident is: who do you sue? This question isn't quite as easy to answer as it may appear. Let's say someone ordered a new washer-dryer from Sears. Sears hires a driver from Mr. Trucking to transport the washer-dryer from the Sears warehouse to their doorstep. Do you sue Sears or Mr. Trucking?

That depends on a few things, but essentially it comes down to an issue of control. If Sears controls Mr. Trucking, then Sears is responsible. If Mr. Trucking delivers items in trucks emblazoned with Sears logo, or they are doing business as Sears, then Sears is potentially liable. If Mr. Trucking is essentially a contractor hired occasionally by Sears, and Sears has little to no influence over how that Mr. Trucking performs his delivery work, the contractor would most likely be responsible for the damages incurred in a crash. As you can see, there are several angles that your attorney will need to take into consideration when a delivery truck in involved in an accident.

What Constitutes a Delivery Truck?

For our purposes, a delivery truck refers to any commercial vehicle under 26,000 pounds, including box trucks, delivery vans, and more or less any vehicle used to deliver goods other than an 18-wheeler. This would include private mail delivery vehicles like those used by UPS and FedEx, moving vans, furniture delivery vehicles, and so on.

Things to Keep in Mind

Delivery trucks are used and abused. It's possible that they could have maintenance issues as a result of over-usage. And if these contributed to the accident in any way, that will impact how the case needs to be handled.

Additionally, 18-wheelers are typically operated by professional drivers required to obtain a special license, and additional persons are generally employed to load and unload the contents. By contrast, because they're under the weight limit at which this license is required, a delivery truck normally just has its driver, who has no legally mandated barriers to enter the profession, and that driver often loads and unloads his own vehicle. These differences mean that drivers of delivery trucks may be more likely to make dangerous mistakes, and this increases the likelihood of a collision or rollover caused by improper loading.

Give Grossman Law Offices a call today

At Grossman Law Offices, we will do everything in our power to help our clients, regardless of the type of commercial vehicle that caused your losses. We have over 25 years of experience successfully litigating commercial vehicle accident cases, and we're ready to give you and your family the benefit of our knowledge and determination.

Give us a call whenever it is convenient for you. (855) 326-0000. We have experienced attorneys ready to speak with you 24/7.

You may also want to read:

• Understanding How Different Kinds of Trucks Lead to Different Kinds of Cases
• Common Injuries and Losses in Truck Accidents/a>
• Do Insurance Companies Have to Pay for Funeral Expenses?