How Many Commercial Truck Accidents Occur in the United States?
There are a large numbers of drivers out there who get nervous anytime they're sharing the road with an 18-wheeler. Given the devastation that an accident involving a commercial truck can cause, it's an understandable fear. However, it's also a fear without context. To get some sense of the danger posed by commercial trucks, we...
How Do I Prove the Truck Driver Who Hit Me Ran a Red Light?
In the United States, the law places the burden on victims to prove that a wrongdoer caused their losses. With that in mind it may seem obvious when a trucker runs a red light and causes a crash, but the burden still falls to the victim to make their case in court. This leads many...
How Common are Commercial Truck Accidents in Texas?
Commercial trucks are an integral part of the national economy, transporting goods and workers all over the place in and between cities. Given that Texas is at the geographic and economic crossroads of so much of America's trucking, it's no surprise that a large number of commercial truck accidents occur in Texas. How common are...
What Are the Most Common Causes of Truck Accidents?
Everyone has to share the road with 18-wheelers sometimes, and unfortunately those big trucks occasionally lose control and cause serious accidents. Many of those result in devastating or fatal injuries, so people naturally prefer to avoid them if possible. Knowing what causes them helps them do that, so what are the most common ways an...
Does a Truck Accident Case Work Differently than a Car Accident Case?
Most people assume that after any crash, the proper thing to do is to exchange information and file an insurance claim. This may work fine for most crashes involving passenger cars, where the damage is generally limited to the vehicles, but conventional wisdom is a poor fit when a commercial truck causes a crash that...
What Are the Most Common Types of Truck Accident?
According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), large commercial trucks are involved in more than 13% of fatal crashes annually in the United States. It should come as no surprise that 40 tons of steel, fiberglass, and gasoline can be deadly if driven incorrectly, but people may wonder about exactly how those trucks...
How Do I Prove the Truck Driver Who Hit Me Was on Their Phone?
In an effort to prevent crashes involving 18-wheelers, federal law prohibits handheld cell phone use when truckers are on the job. Unfortunately, just because there is a law prohibiting that behavior doesn't mean truck drivers never cause accidents while using their phones behind the wheel. This raises the question: How does a commercial truck accident...
What Legally Allows Me to Sue a Trucking Company after a Texas Truck Accident?
After a Texas truck accident, most people may understand that they will have to sue not just the driver who hurt them, but also the trucking company behind that driver. However, they may not have a particularly good handle on what laws permit them to do so. So what are the most common legal theories...
What Legal Remedy is Available if I’m Injured in a Delivery Truck Accident?
Delivery trucks are commercial vehicles that transport goods to homes or businesses. Since they're smaller than 18-wheelers, they're often used in urban or suburban areas, where they can go to places that are impractical for larger trucks to stop at. Most people don't necessarily understand the legal ramifications of being in an accident with a...
What Are the Most Common Major Truck Accident Injuries?
Most people don't give a lot of thought to what distinguishes a major truck accident from a minor one. Truth be told, the measuring stick is pretty obvious: The scale of the injuries involved. While a minor truck accident case might involve no injuries, scrapes/bruises, or other injuries fixable with a single visit to the...
Can an Injured 18-Wheeler Passenger Sue after a Texas Truck Accident?
Truck drivers often travel solo, but in some cases they're accompanied for part or all of their trip by a passenger. Unfortunately, if those passengers are riding along when the truck driver gets careless and crashes, they too might suffer serious or even fatal injuries. If a trucker causes an 18-wheeler accident while someone else...
Does a Victim’s Brain Injury Change How a Truck Accident Case is Litigated?
In addition to many other kinds of serious bodily harm, truck accident victims have a higher-than-average chance of suffering traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs, during their accidents. Does a victim's brain injury change the way a lawyer would handle a personal injury case? Answer: Yes. Juries often award substantial compensation for verifiable brain injuries, yet...
Do You Need a Truck Driver’s Driving Records for Your Truck Accident Case?
If you're the victim of a serious commercial truck accident, the law places the burden of proof on you to show that the truck driver caused your losses. A person could be forgiven for thinking that a police report putting the trucker at fault is all they need, but frankly those reports barely scratch the...
Who Is to Blame for an 18-Wheeler Tire Blowout Accident?
Accidents between 18-wheelers and other vehicles happen all the time, but tire blowouts cause more of them than people might think. Losing a tire on the road is a big problem for any vehicle, of course, but when an 18-wheeler blows a tire and loses control the results can be far more devastating. With that...
What Should I Do after a Serious 18-Wheeler Accident?
Realistically, there's no one-size-fits-all course of action after a commercial 18-wheeler accident. What you do afterward may depend largely on the severity of the wreck; if it resulted in property damage or just minor injuries, most likely you can handle it on your own via an insurance claim. If you receive more serious injuries—brain damage,...
How Long Does a Texas Truck Accident Victim Have to File a Lawsuit?
Every state has a window of time in which an accident victim may file suit against the party or parties who injured them. This time frame, called the statute of limitations, ranges anywhere from one year to six years depending on the state where the accident occurred. With that in mind, some may wonder: How...
How Does a Trucking Company’s Safety Record Affect My Truck Accident Case?
After a commercial truck accident, one of the most critical steps a victim can take is conducting a thorough investigation—not just into the history and behavior of the truck driver, but also the safety record of the company behind that driver. But why? What does it mean for accident victims if that company has a...
Who Might Be Liable for a Wheel-Off Truck Accident?
A wheel separation or "wheel-off" accident, in which a moving vehicle loses a wheel, can be catastrophic if that loose wheel hits other vehicles or people. The danger is typically much greater when that wheel comes off a commercial truck, so who is liable for the damage caused in a commercial truck wheel-off accident? Answer:...
What Causes a Wheel-Off Truck Accident?
In a wheel separation or wheel-off truck accident, one or more wheels detach from a commercial truck in motion. Whether the loose wheel simply falls over or it rolls further down the road, anyone unlucky enough to collide with it may suffer major property damage, serious injuries, or even death. The truck that lost the...
What is the “Mystery Car” Defense in Truck Accident Lawsuits?
Trucking companies use many strategies and excuses to explain why they aren't to blame after a serious 18-wheeler accident. One such argument that often pops up in the course of a trial is the "Mystery Car" defense—but what is that? Answer: The "Mystery Car" defense, aka "the phantom car" or "miss and run," is how...