If you or a loved one has been involved in an 18-wheeler collision, it's in your best interest to speak with a qualified San Antonio truck accident attorney about your case. Call Grossman Law 24/7: 855-326-0000
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Truck accidents can lead to life-threatening injuries, permanent scarring, disability, and death. In the San Antonio area, trucking accidents are unfortunately too common.
If you or a loved one was involved in an accident with a commercial vehicle, you need a passionate advocate to help protect your legal rights and seek the compensation you deserve.
The experienced personal injury lawyers of the Grossman Law Offices understand what you’re facing, and we can help. We will fight relentlessly to protect your right and help you get the compensation you deserve for your medical bills, lost income, emotional trauma, and more.
To speak to a San Antonio truck accident attorney now, call us at (855) 934-1342 or contact us online to schedule a no-cost consultation and case evaluation.
Why Are Commercial Truck Crashes So Common in and Around San Antonio?
The San Antonio metroplex is a bustling hub of commerce and transportation. We have numerous large retail distribution centers in the area, all of which see a heavy volume of commercial trucks in and out constantly.
Located on the I-10, we also host a heavy volume of transportation traffic. Trucks traveling from coast to coast and all points in between must traverse our area. Truckers exit the freeway to gas up their trucks, grab a bite to eat, spend the night, etc.
All of this traffic significantly increases the likelihood of accidents. As our city (and the surrounding suburbs and exurbs) continues to grow, this challenge will expand accordingly.
Other potential reasons that we experience a high volume of commercial vehicle collisions include a lack of skilled operators and the tendency for operators and trucking companies to ignore laws and regulations.
Drivers often ignore the daily time limits they’re allowed behind the wheel. Shippers frequently overload or incorrectly load tractor trailers. Trucking companies may neglect to follow proper equipment maintenance schedules and practices.
All of these factors contribute to the risk that you or a loved one will eventually fall victim to an 18-wheeler accident.
Top Reasons Why You Need a San Antonio Truck Accident Lawyer to Battle the Trucking Company
When you get into an accident caused by another private motorist, proving your claim and recovering compensation can be challenging. In comparison, however, proving a truck accident injury claim can be herculean.
Multiple parties can have liability in a truck crash, including the driver, the trucking company, the shipper, freight brokers, etc. Each of these parties typically carries individual insurance policies, so not only must you deal with multiple at-fault parties, but you must deal with their insurers also.
Corporate trucking companies and their insurance companies have virtually unlimited resources—and large teams of corporate lawyers to handle injury accident claims. Their focus will not be on you and your well-being.
Rather, they will be laser-focused on reducing their liability however they can. They may even resort to using underhanded tactics to shift the blame for the accident to you, so that they can deny or undervalue your claim.
Unless a personal injury lawyer has direct experience with these types of cases, they might not be equipped to deliver you the results you deserve. Unfortunately, that doesn’t stop many firms from promoting themselves as San Antonio truck accident lawyers.
At the Grossman Law Offices, we have extensive experience assisting truck accident injury victims, and that means we know how to get the job done for you.
Are Safety Regulations Helping to Prevent Catastrophic Trucking Accidents?
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), a division of the U.S. Department of Transportation, regulates and provides safety oversight for commercial motor vehicles.
In early 2020, the FMCSA implemented new regulations designed to improve the safety of commercial vehicle traffic on the nation’s roadways.
These regulations increased the requirements for mandatory driver training for new drivers as well as those seeking to renew their commercial driver license (CDL). The regulations also hold training facilities more accountable for completing and documenting the mandatory training.
Although no conclusive studies have yet to be published, it is our hope that these new safety regulations will help to reduce the number of San Antonio truck accidents as quickly as possible.
Can Any San Antonio Attorney Handle My Truck Accident Case?
Do a quick internet search and you’ll find many listings for truck accident attorneys in San Antonio.
Before you randomly select one to hire for your case, take the time to check into their qualifications. Not every personal injury attorney has what it takes to handle the complex nature of a truck accident case.
Most lawyers offer a free consultation. You can take advantage of this valuable service and use the time to determine whether an attorney has the background and qualifications to handle your case.
Ask about the types of trucking cases the attorney and the firm typically handle and what their average San Antonio truck accident settlement is. Also ask how often they settle their cases versus filing a lawsuit and going to court.
Ultimately, it makes sense to choose the attorney that fits best with you and your needs.
However, unless you hire an attorney who has ample experience and a proven track record handling trucking accident cases successfully for their clients, they might not be able to get you the results you deserve.
The attorneys of the Grossman Law Offices have earned multiple awards and recognition over the years. We are proud of our impeccable reputation, and we work hard every day to get the results our clients deserve.
For three decades, we have fought for the wrongfully injured, seeking justice and protecting our clients’ legal rights. We have prevailed in thousands of cases, recovering millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts.
Despite all our achievements, the only thing that matters to us is how we can help you today.
What Sort of Catastrophic Injuries are Common in 18-Wheeler Accidents?
Victims of semi-truck and 18-wheeler accidents often sustain devastating injuries. The force of impact in a truck collision is significantly greater than that involving a passenger vehicle.
Passenger vehicles are designed to protect occupants from collisions, but when faced with the overwhelming size and weight difference of a large commercial truck, few vehicles can protect you from sustaining serious physical harm.
Some of the most common types of injuries that truck accident victims suffer include:
- Broken bones,
- Dislocated joints,
- Concussions,
- Traumatic brain injuries,
- Internal injuries,
- Neck and spine injuries,
- Nerve and soft tissue damage,
- Burns,
- Contusions, and
- Lost digits or limbs.
Many accident victims suffer injuries that leave them with permanent scarring and disabilities. They may require long-term medical treatment and care, and they may be left unable to work or earn a living.
For these accident victims, getting a fair financial settlement is the only way to attain a secure financial future.
My Loved One Died in a Trucking Accident: What Can I Do?
If a close friend or family lost their life in a truck collision, this unexpected loss can be devastating. This sense of injustice becomes substantially harder to bear if the accident was caused by another party.
The victim’s family deserves justice for their loss, and the at-fault party must be held accountable for their wrongful or negligent actions.
If you are a family member of the victim, you may have the right to pursue a wrongful death claim. A wrongful death action seeks compensation for the losses suffered by the victim’s family members.
You could recover compensation for the victim’s funeral expenses as well as your loss of financial support, comfort, and companionship. One of our San Antonio wrongful death lawyers can help you explore your options.
If you are a family friend of someone who suffered this tragedy, you might not have any grounds to pursue legal action. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t help your friends get justice.
Encourage them to reach out to a wrongful death attorney as soon as possible to explore their options for taking legal action against the at-fault party.
Will a San Antonio Truck Accident Lawyer Investigate the Crash to Determine What Happened?
Much like any type of motor vehicle collision, semi-truck accidents often involve disputed fault. Few commercial drivers will readily admit to being at fault for a collision, no matter how serious or how minor it might have been.
When you trust a San Antonio truck accident attorney from Grossman Law to handle your claim, you can rest assured that we will conduct an exhaustive investigation. We use a variety of techniques to obtain the information and evidence required to build your case.
Because of the potential legal and financial liability involved, trucking companies and related parties often must be compelled to preserve evidence.
Acting as quickly as possible after a crash allows us to preserve and recover critical evidence. The sooner you let us get to work on your case, the sooner we can collect witness statements, driver logs, electronic data from the vehicle, evidence left at the crash scene, etc.
Our extensive network of resources ensures that we document your claim and damages as thoroughly as possible.
Why Do Truck Accidents Happen? How Often Is the Truck Driver or Trucking Company at Fault?
The FMCSA conducts research into some of the most common causes of commercial truck crashes in the U.S. Their reporting classifies the reasons for driver-related truck accidents into the following four categories.
- Non-Performance: the driver failed to perform the necessary actions for operating the vehicle safely, due to falling asleep or another related event;
- Recognition: the driver failed to adequate recognize the seriousness of the situation due to inattention or distraction;
- Decision: the driver made a bad decision such as driving too fast or following another vehicle too closely; or
- Performance: the driver exercised poor control of the vehicle, such as overcompensating with the steering wheel.
Associated factors include:
- Drug and alcohol use,
- Equipment problems (i.e., brake failure),
- Unfamiliarity with roadway,
- Roadway hazards,
- Fatigue, and
- Failure to obey laws and traffic signage.
Commercial truck drivers are not always to blame. In some cases, other parties cause or contribute to a crash. Accidents that occur due to roadway hazards are one key example.
Depending on what the hazard is or was, the city, county, or state may have liability. In the case of equipment failure, the vehicle manufacturer may be to blame.
Working with an experienced attorney helps ensure that all parties who caused or contributed to your accident and injuries are identified and held accountable.
Commercial Truck Accident Statistics in San Antonio
As you can see from the data, trucking accidents make up a significant portion of the overall motor vehicle collisions that occur in San Antonio each year.
In 2019, for example, truck crashes accounted for more than 10% of all accidents in the area.
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) lists Texas as having among the highest percentage of large trucks involved in fatalities in the U.S.
In 2018 (the most recent year for which data is available), our state also had the highest number of truck-involved fatalities in the country.
The fact of the matter is that if you spend time on the roadways in and around San Antonio, you face a higher than normal risk of being involved in a truck accident.
Take care on the roadways, wear your seatbelt, and never drive while tired or impaired. If you do find yourself involved in a collision involving a truck or other large commercial vehicle, call on the experienced attorneys at the Grossman Law Offices.
What Portion of My Settlement Will a San Antonio Truck Accident Attorney Take?
When you’re trying to choose the best truck accident lawyer in San Antonio for your case, you will naturally want to know what having a lawyer will cost you.
The Grossman Law Offices, like most San Antonio personal injury firms, accepts clients on a contingency fee basis.
This means that you don’t have to pay any legal fees until we recover a settlement or award. Even then, we simply deduct our fee and any agreed-upon expenses from the settlement amount.
As you can imagine, this motivates us to help you get the best possible results. If we don’t deliver for you, you won’t owe any legal fees. This arrangement also provides peace of mind for you, as we will be frank with you about the viability of your case and your chances of success.
If we believe that you can achieve basically the same results by pursuing an insurance claim on your own, we will advise you accordingly. However, in almost every case, truck accident victims can achieve a markedly better outcome when they have an experienced attorney on their side.
Our consultation and case analysis is free. Before you make any decisions about your future, give us a call and let us tell you more about how we can help you get the compensation you deserve.
What Are the Next Steps to Speak with a San Antonio Trucking Accident Attorney at Grossman Law ?
We are committed to making the legal process as simple as possible for our clients. We are available to consult with you by phone, email, video conference, or any other method you prefer.
You can contact us any time of the day or night at (855) 934-1342 and through our online contact form.
Contact us now to schedule your free consultation and case analysis or to speak to an 18-wheeler accident lawyer in San Antonio now.