When you are injured through no fault of your own, the experience is stressful, traumatic, and outright bewildering. How will you pay for your medical bills? What if you can no longer work? Even worse, how do you move forward if a loved one has been seriously injured or killed? The compassionate, experienced attorneys at Brooker Law, PLLC are here to help you through every step of your Texas truck accident claim.
Texas Truck Accidents Are Often Deadly
Approximately 10 percent of all highway accident fatalities are caused by truck crashes. Most of these deaths are passengers in motor vehicles, not passengers in big trucks. Big truck crashes are dangerous primarily due to their size—they often weigh 20 to 30 times more than a standard motor vehicle. When a big truck crashes into a smaller car, the results are often fatal.
It is also much more difficult for a truck to come to a complete stop. Because of their size and mass, trucks may travel 20 to 40 percent farther than a standard motor vehicle before they are able to stop, even if both drivers apply their brakes at the same time. Truck drivers who fail to pay attention to the road may cause a deadly accident.
Liability for Truck Accidents
Texas truck accidents are often complex claims. Trucking companies and truck drivers are required to follow a series of both state and federal regulations as they drive throughout the United States.
For example, truck drivers are only supposed to drive a certain number of hours per week, and they must stop at various weigh stations to ensure their loads are not too heavy for roadways.
Trucking companies may face liability for a number of reasons in a truck accident. For example, trucking companies may be held accountable for:
- Failure to properly maintain and inspect trucks
- Hiring or retaining employees with poor driving records
- Failing to limit a driver’s hours
- Encouraging drivers to speed or otherwise engage in dangerous behavior to meet deadlines
In a truck accident, truck drivers may also be held liable. Some examples include:
- The truck driver was speeding
- The truck driver was texting while driving
- The truck driver failed to yield the right of way
- The truck driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol
- The truck driver failed to report maintenance issues with the truck
- The truck driver did not follow requirements on resting and taking breaks
In some situations, both the trucking company and the truck driver may be liable in an accident. Other parties, such as the owner of the truck (if not the trucking company), the parties responsible for loading cargo, and others may also face liability. Our attorneys identify all possible defendants in your claim and pursue all avenues of liability on your behalf.
How Much is My Texas Truck Accident Claim Worth?
Before enduring the stress and headache of a legal claim, many accident victims want to know how much their claim is worth. However, there is no black and white answer to this question.
The value of a Texas truck accident claim depends on a variety of components, such as the history of similar cases in the jurisdiction and the extent of the victim’s injuries. The following are carefully examined when determining the value of a truck accident claim:
- Jury verdicts in similar claims in Texas courts
- Medical expenses
- Lost wages
- The cost of any necessary future medical care
- The cost of altering a home to accommodate an injury (such as installing hand rails, wheelchair ramps, etc.)
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
It may be possible to claim other types of damages, depending on the facts of the case. With an attorney’s assistance, your family will obtain the compensation you deserve.
Contact Our Office Today to Schedule Your Free Consultation
At Brooker Law, PLLC, our Dallas personal injury attorneys do not treat our clients as “just another file.” We take pride in helping them understand the legal process and make sure that they are fully informed in the decisions they must make.
Our clients appreciate our compassion and our hardworking nature. To schedule your free consultation with our firm, contact or call (214) 217-0277 today.