Can Drug & Alcohol Test Results Be Used as Evidence in a Truck Accident Lawsuit?
After a commercial truck accident, investigators try to figure out who or what caused it and who to hold responsible. One of most important questions that investigators must determine is whether any of the drivers were intoxicated at the time of the crash. Tests are often performed to find out, but people often wonder if...
How Do Lawsuits Involving Farm Vehicles Work?
Accidents involving farm vehicles like tractors, harvesters, or livestock trailers can lead to complex legal disputes, especially when they happen on public roads or cause serious injuries. Unfortunately, most people don't fully understand all the rules that govern these types of accidents. So, how do lawsuits involving farm vehicles work? Answer: Accidents involving farm vehicles...
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...
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...
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...
Who Could Be Liable for a Distracted Driving 18-Wheeler Accident?
One of the biggest changes on the highway in this century is the rise in crashes caused by distracted driving, and the trucking industry is no exception. Unlike accidents involving a passenger car, when a commercial truck is involved in a distracted driving crash, it isn't necessarily just the driver's fault. So who may be...
What is Different about Accidents with Cement Trucks?
Cement trucks with concrete-mixer trailers can get in many of the same kinds of accidents as other commercial trucks do, but the nature of their business and cargo means their crashes are sometimes unusual compared to others. So how are cement truck accidents different? Answer: Many accidents involving cement trucks are unique due to their...
Where Do Trucking Insurance Requirements Come From?
People who look up information about 18-wheeler accidents may learn that commercial truck drivers must have at least a million dollars in liability insurance to drive through Texas. Some are surprised to learn that truckers need so much coverage, and in more than a few cases they wonder who made the rules about that. Where...
Can I Still Sue if I Was Partially At Fault for a Texas Truck Accident?
In the aftermath of a commercial truck accident, people often wonder about their legal options—particularly if they feel they were at least somewhat responsible for the incident. Can an injured Texas truck accident victim still sue if they were partly to blame for the crash? Answer: Yes, a Texas truck accident victim or their family...
Do Trucking Companies Have to Maintain Records for Their Drivers?
Most people know that just about any workplace may involve some paperwork, but not every job is as demanding and potentially dangerous as commercial trucking. Making sure the people behind the wheel are up to the task is crucial, which is why it's so important for trucking companies to keep records showing their employees are...