Was A Semi-Truck Crash Properly Investigated? Only if it Has ECM Data
It's not uncommon for me, or someone else writing in this space to suggest that people should almost always seek an independent investigation after a serious 18-wheeler truck accident. For many this is common sense advice, but others tend to ask, "What can an attorney do that the police don't already do?" I appreciate that...
The Bigger They Are, The Slower They Stop: The Importance of Following and Braking Distance
It no secret that as more people more to Texas, our roads become increasingly crowded. One of the first casualties of crowded roadways is proper following distance between vehicles. An incident in Southeast Texas made me ponder this dangerous element of modern driving culture. Copperas Cove, TX: January 17, 2018 65-year-old Roseann Lucidi of Kempner...
Is There Any Way a Truck Driver Isn’t Responsible for a Detached Trailer?
One of the most dangerous categories of truck accidents is when the trailer becomes detached from the truck. When this happens, it instantly places the equivalent of a multi-ton boulder in the path of every other vehicle on the road. Even drivers in the largest trucks on our highways have little chance of escaping serious...
Some Dangerous Drivers are Following Unsafe Orders.
There are times when we should weigh the morality of a decision against its profitability. Occasionally in the name of progress people in charge make decisions that, while not necessarily illegal, are certainly questionable. This kind of "me first" thinking is often most obvious when looking at certain businesses' expectations of their workers. Trucking companies...
No One Is Above Traffic Laws, So Learn and Abide By Them.
I work in an industry that continually sees the worst consequences of reckless driving, and for all my exposure to these cases I am still utterly confused as to how they occur. Surely few people truly believe they're justified in running red lights or whipping in and out of traffic lanes, but it happens every...
Who’s Going to Investigate A Semi Truck Crash? Maybe Not Who You Think.
When an accident happens, who's the proper authority to investigate? Check the comments sections of news articles about the wreck and you'll find no shortage of armchair authorities who think they know exactly "who you gonna call." Their ideas on that are often wrong, but they'll treat them as the gospel truth when discussing the...
Do I Sue the Trucking Company or the Truck Driver?
Recently, I read about a truck accident that took place up in Hartley County, Texas. An 18-wheeler, driven by Keldrick Chappell of Dallas, 40, allegedly sideswiped a passenger car driven by Stanley Smith, 78. Mr. Smith reportedly died from injuries sustained in the accident. As much as the accident report, it caught my eye when...
When Open-and-Shut is Anything But: The Detailed Defenses in Trucking Accidents
Sometimes we at the firm read about cases that seem fairly open-and-shut. Having worked on thousands of personal injury cases, we know they often get a lot more complicated than they seem at first blush. Attorneys are trained to examine those complications--intentionally seeing the trees instead of the forest. Sometimes an accident's details aren't obvious...
Backing Crashes Are a Product of Negligence Behind the Wheel.
The dangers of backing crashes are compounded for larger, more unwieldy vehicles. Box trucks and 18-wheelers lumber to and fro in cramped neighborhood streets and pop out from parking lots and alleys--sometimes in reverse--endangering passing traffic and pedestrians. Tragedy can strike when the people driving these trucks neglect their duty to be completely aware of...
When All Else Fails, Trucking Companies Bluff Their Way to Victory
People often see a truck accident where it appears that the truck driver was obviously at fault. This leads them to believe that the victims are certain to get justice for the damages they've sustained. However, truck accidents are never open-and-shut cases. Our legal system affords everyone the opportunity to defend themselves, even if the...
