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...
CNN Just Blackmailed Someone — Business as Usual for Some Big Companies
As you've probably heard by now, President Donald Trump recently retweeted an animated GIF which highlights an appearance he made on a professional wrestling program. However, unlike the original version, which showed then-businessman Trump body-slamming the CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, Vince McMahon, this edited version features McMahon as an anthropomorphic representation of CNN. The...
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...
Highway Hypnosis and Fatal Truck Accidents
We've written many times, and will write many more, about how alcohol and distractions can cause serious accidents, but sometimes these are not factors in a crash. A dangerous lapse in concentration can be caused by highway hypnosis--the phenomenon when a motorist's brain "checks out" and mindfulness of the present is lost. Put another way,...
Do I Need An Accident Reconstructionist for My Truck Accident?
It's a common misconception that a driver who rear-ends another vehicle is always at fault. The popular belief is that the driver in the back is expected to exercise greater caution, given that they can more easily monitor the activity of the car ahead of them. This idea suggests that a collision shows the rear...
Does Not Wearing a Seatbelt Bar Someone From Getting Compensation?
One of the questions that I get asked all the time by people is, "If someone isn't wearing a seatbelt in a crash, can they still recover compensation for their injuries?" I learned of a recent trucking accident in the Texas Panhandle that makes answering this question particularly timely. Deaf Smith County, TX: April 4,...
How “Silver Alert” Bias Could Affect 18-Wheeler Accident Cases
Medicine and technology continue to improve, drastically improving the average citizen's lifespan. That can be something of a mixed blessing, however. On one hand, seeing the world change and one's family grow are likely a positive experience for many. On the other, extending a person's years increases their risk of a variety of disorders, including...
Cherchez La Trucker: Sometimes, It Really Is That Obvious
Grossman Law has worked hundreds of truck accident cases, and seen reports of thousands more. While they're not the only kind of case the firm handles, it's still a category in which far too many collisions occur. A runaway truck is a 40-ton, 60-foot projectile, and the laws of physics are very unkind to just...
Kids Injured Around School Buses and Texas Law
In the past, we've discussed liability for bus drivers who hit children that are loading or unloading from school buses. In reviewing that article, it became apparent that we missed one important area of discussion. While it should be fairly obviously that people who run stops signs are liable for the damage they cause when...
When an Accident Implies Negligence: The Principle of Res Ipsa Loquitur
One can't look at any controversy in the courts without hearing someone getting worked up about "judges making laws." While judges shouldn't rewrite laws from the bench in the face of a clearly defined statute, our common law legal system actually encourages them to speak on issues where the law is silent. These well-established principles...
Are “Not Responsible for Broken Windshield” Signs Legally Enforceable? Not a Chance
As long as the law has existed, there have been the twin impulses to find legal ways to get around it and to use the protections of law as a shield against other legal actions. This could rightly be termed a quest for technicalities. A great example of this is that it is well-known that...
There is No Such Thing as an Accident Caused by Fog
It may be fashionable to criticize the media at this particular moment, and I loathe jumping on that bandwagon, but contrary to popular belief a lot of bad reporting isn't the result of ideological bias. From what I can tell, a high percentage of bad reporting is because the reporter simply has no idea what...
The First-Rate Intelligence of Truck Accident Defense Attorneys
"The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function." -F. Scott Fitzgerald In this line, the renowned author makes a point that modern life requires us to keep contradictory ideas straight in our heads while at the...
Mystery Driver Strikes Again: I-410 San Antonio Truck Accident
While most people would assume that the biggest challenge to the trucking industry are fuel prices, fewer drivers interested in doing the job, or competition from other forms of cargo transport, a more immediate threat stalks the highways of our nation. This danger strikes without warning, upends lives, and like a stealth tsunami, leaves tragedy...
What Elements Make a Commercial Loading Dock Dangerous?
It hardly needs noting that one of the most dangerous areas on any commercial property is the loading dock. The combination of large machines, heavy cargo, and all-too-fragile human beings often proves calamitous. Leaving aside these obvious dangers, we wondered whether or not there are factors that lead to some loading docks being more dangerous...
What Can Be Done to Protect People from Going Under Tractor-Trailers During a Crash?
Many people suffer from anxiety when driving in close proximity to tractor-trailers and while they may not realize it, there's a good reason for this fear. The space under an 18-wheeler's trailer actually has a dangerous, even lethal, legacy. This problem is illustrated by a recent crash in Houston between a motorcycle and an 18-wheeler,...
Commercial Truck Accidents Caused by Falling Cargo
While most commercial truck accidents involve a truck colliding with another vehicle, there is a small, but not insignificant number of accidents that are caused when cargo form the trailer falls off and obstructs the roadway. While some may be tempted to look at these accidents as "just another truck accident," the fact is that...
Whodunnit: Evaluating An Accident With Several Possible Causes
There's a common misconception that accident attorneys will often sue anyone even tangentially related to a wreck—especially if those distantly-involved parties have deep pockets. The idea of course is that profit, not prudence, guides the attorneys' decision-making. It's a deeply cynical stance that is perpetuated by pop culture's insistence on portraying attorneys as vultures and...
