If a truck driver takes their eyes off the road and collides with your vehicle, hold that individual accountable for their negligence. Speak with a Garland truck accident lawyer as soon as possible after your crash. At this point, your attorney can seek compensatory damages on your behalf from the 18-wheeler driver or their employer.
At The Texas Law Dog, we don’t just bark, we bite. Our team has obtained millions of dollars in compensation for our clients in truck accident cases and in many other cases. Let a Garland personal injury lawyer from our team help you deal with the aftermath of your 18-wheeler crash. Contact us today to learn about the legal services we provide to truck accident victims and their families.
Why Hire a Lawyer After a Truck Collision
After a truck accident, your priority is to get the medical care you need and then work towards seeking a claim. We encourage you to stop before contacting the insurance company and instead contact our truck accident lawyer in Garland.
Insurance companies are for-profit organizations that seek to reduce the compensation they pay you to remain profitable. That costs you money and can create long-term financial devastation. As a result, we encourage you to let us handle the legal process for several reasons.
Your truck accident attorney in Garland is your legal representation and advocate. They will pursue compensation based on the evidence and circumstances of your case. Some of the benefits of using a truck accident lawyer include:
Truck Accident Lawyers in Garland Will Protect Your Legal Rights.
It is easy to take responsibility for a truck crash caused by someone else. Yet if you do this, you will have to cover your accident costs, and any liable parties will be let off the hook. Your personal injury attorney will guide you through the process of filing a claim or lawsuit. They will remain accessible to address your legal concerns and questions throughout your case.
Your Lawyer Will Handle Your Insurance Settlement Negotiations.
Think twice before you negotiate a settlement with the insurance companies of anyone liable for your tractor-trailer collision. Otherwise, if you make a mistake, you could wind up approving a lowball settlement. Your attorney will negotiate a settlement for you. If you don’t get a fair settlement offer, your lawyer is not afraid to bring your case to trial.
While You Focus on Treating Your Injuries, Your Attorney Will Handle Your Legal Matters.
Trying to ignore the injuries you have suffered in your 18-wheeler accident won’t do you any good. Over time, these injuries will worsen and could affect you for the rest of your life. Your lawyer will encourage you to receive medical care for as long as you need it. As you do, your attorney will build your case for damages.
We Work to Stand Out to Give You the Support You Need
The legal team at The Texas Law Dog is familiar with the common causes of truck accidents and other topics relating to your case. We’ll investigate your case, identify anyone responsible for your truck crash and injuries, and find ways to prove liability. From here, we’ll pursue maximum compensation for you. To get started, discuss your truck collision case with us.
Why Truck Accidents Happen in Garland
One of the steps our truck accident attorney in Garland will take is to gather as much information as possible about the cause of your accident. The cause matters because it allows us to identify all parties at fault in your accident. Since every case is different, expect us to review all available details and evidence. Some of the most common causes of these accidents include:
- Distracted drivers. Truck drivers who are not paying attention to the roadway create an increased risk for everyone on the road with them. Adjusting the navigation, listening to a podcast, or eating while behind the wheel are common types of distractions.
- Hours of service violations. A tired truck driver can cause incredibly disastrous outcomes. Federal hours-of-service regulations limit the number of hours a truck driver can be on the wheel before needing a break or time off.
- Speeding. Some drivers speed to meet tight deadlines, increasing the risk of losing control of the vehicle. We use commercial truck logs to help determine whether the driver was exceeding the speed limit.
- Impairment. Commercial driver license laws have no leeway for drivers operating under the influence of alcohol and drugs. The danger is simply too great.
- Mechanical failures. Some truck accidents result from mechanical issues such as brake failures, tire blowouts, and steering loss. In these cases, manufacturers or mechanics could be at fault.
- Cargo accidents. Cargo that becomes dislodged from a tractor-trailer can fall onto the roadway or other vehicles. In other cases, cargo becomes dislodged, creating imbalances that cause the driver to lose control.
In every incident, our legal team will work closely with you to build a comprehensive claim and then seek it from all parties involved. In most situations, police reports are just a starting point. Our extensive experience pursuing aggressive recovery of damages for victims enables us to determine who is at fault.
Garland Truck Accident Lawyer Near Me (817) 775-5364
Who Could Be at Fault in a Truck Accident
Sharing the E. Ave. B or E. Walnut St. with a semi-truck can be unnerving, even if the driver seems highly skilled. When an accident occurs, we investigate all parties involved to determine who contributed to it. That is important because more than one party may be held accountable. Examples include:
- The truck driver: Often at fault for speeding, violating hours of service, making mistakes, or failing to operate the vehicle in a safe manner
- The trucking company: Responsible for situations where they allowed the driver to take known risks, such as working beyond the hours of service regulations or in a vehicle without proper maintenance
- A cargo loading company: If this third party fails to follow best practices and you suffer an injury as a result, the cargo company could be held accountable for the losses you suffered.
- Mechanics and technicians: These vehicles undergo regular routine inspections and upkeep that is fully documented. If mistakes, errors, oversights, or shortcuts occur, those who caused them could be held accountable.
- Manufacturers: When components on a truck fail and cause an accident, the manufacturer of the truck or its components may be responsible for the injuries sustained.
By seeking out comprehensive insight into all parties who contributed to your losses, we can pursue a claim that gets you justice. Meet with our truck accident lawyer in Garland to explore potential third parties that may have contributed to your accident and therefore owe you fair compensation.
How Much Is a Truck Accident Case in Garland Worth?
The recoverable damages after a truck accident vary based on the case. Your Garland truck accident lawyer wants you to secure economic and non–economic damages. They will advise you to pursue compensation for myriad reasons, including:
- Car repair expenses
- Medical expenses, such as the costs of surgery, physical therapy, doctors’ visits, and ongoing medical care
- Lost wages if you can’t work due to a traumatic brain injury (TBI), spinal cord injury (SCI), or other catastrophic injuries from your truck accident
- Diminished earning capacity
- Anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other pain and suffering you experience after your truck crash
Saying you want damages and actually getting them are two very different things. Your attorney will gather evidence from a variety of sources. Then they will file your lawsuit and use their evidence to make clear to a judge or jury that you are in no way at fault for the collision and deserve damages.
The Role of Comparative Negligence in Your Truck Accident Case
Some truck accidents involve more than one driver, with both contributing to the resulting accident to various degrees. Under Texas’s modified comparative negligence law, you may recover damages even if you are found partially at fault for the accident. But there are very specific limitations that can impact your case.
The first is the 50% rule. You can seek damages against the other party as long as you are 50% or less at fault. If you are, that means you can file a lawsuit against the other party for your losses. If you are 51% or more at fault, the court bars you from seeking damages from the other party.
In cases where you can seek compensation, the court reduces the amount you can receive based on the percentage of fault attributed to your role in the accident. If you are 30% at fault, according to the insurance company or the court’s ruling, they will reduce your claim value by 30%.
How We Compute Fault in Truck Accidents
In situations where the other driver is at fault but you are still held partially responsible, our truck accident lawyer in Garland will build a case to reduce any fault as much as possible. Most often, we strive to eliminate any fault attributed to you, but that is not always the case. We work to lower the percentage to preserve as much of your claim as possible.
When to File a Garland Truck Accident Lawsuit
According to Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.003, there is a two–year statute of limitations for a personal injury claim. If you are injured in a traffic collision involving a truck, you generally have up to two years from the date of the incident to seek damages from the liable party.
Your Garland truck accident attorney will file your lawsuit within the statute of limitations. Ultimately, the role of a truck accident lawyer is significant. They will craft an argument designed to compel a judge or jury to award compensatory damages and get your case ready for trial.
How the defendant in your lawsuit views your case will determine if a trial is necessary. For instance, the defendant has concerns about your evidence and about a judge or jury ruling against them. Rather than go to trial, they propose a settlement. If approving this offer means you will receive enough money to cover your losses, you can accept the proposal and close your case.
The Role of Evidence in Your Trucking Accident Lawsuit
When it comes to collecting evidence after truck accidents, your lawyer knows exactly what to do. They will search far and wide for evidence that highlights the severity of your big-rig wreck and the losses you have incurred as a result. Evidence that your attorney can use to strengthen their argument includes:
- Accident scene videos and photos
- Witness statements
- Medical bills
- A truck’s black box data
- Truck maintenance records
- Truck driver log books
- A truck driver’s cell phone records
- Police reports from the Garland Police Department
- Pay stubs
Your lawyer will share FAQs and other legal resources about evidence and its impact on your 18-wheeler accident case. If your attorney has a large collection of evidence, they are well-equipped to prove that a liable party acted negligently.
How to Prove Negligence in a Trucking Accident Case
Truck accident attorneys in Garland will teach you about the elements of negligence and how these apply to your case. In your lawyer’s argument, they want to show the court that these elements of negligence were present when your truck crash occurred:
- Duty of Care: The defendant was legally obligated to avoid causing harm to you or anyone else.
- Breach of Duty of Care: The defendant failed to meet their legal obligation and put you and others at risk.
- Causation: The defendant did something that caused your accident.
- Damages: The defendant’s actions directly correlate to your quantifiable or subjective accident losses.
Texas has a modified comparative fault statute (Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 33) that can impact the outcome of your truck collision case. If the court says you are 1–50% liable for your trucking accident, your damages will be reduced by your percentage of fault. Or, if a judge or jury finds that you are primarily to blame for your accident, you are ineligible to get compensation for your losses.
Why You Should Not Simply Settle Your Case with the Insurance Company
After a truck accident, expect the insurance company representing the driver or trucking company to contact you to settle a claim. Their objective is to get you to settle your case for less than they owe you. This unfairly puts your future on the line. Some of the most common tactics truck accident insurance companies use to put you at risk include the following:
- Warning you not to hire an attorney. They may tell you that you do not need one, that we cannot help you, or that if you do, you cannot receive the claim they are offering. In every case, that is not being honest.
- Disputing fault and creating a scenario in which you are at fault for the accident. This shifting of blame puts you at risk of not seeing fair compensation.
- Building a claim that excludes some of your losses. They may deny your claim outright or simply make an offer far below what they actually owe you.
- Delay responding or taking any action. In these cases, the truck insurance company wants to push you to either forget or go beyond the statute of limitations, making it impossible for you to file a lawsuit in court. We do not let delays hamper you.
- They try to force you to settle fast with deadlines. You have at least two years from the date of the accident and injury to take action. If an insurance company is encouraging you to settle fast, they want to pay less.
Schedule a free consultation with our truck accident lawyer in Garland before you make any decision. You pay us nothing upfront, but we will provide you with transparent insight into whether your claim is really worth much more. You do not have to trust the truck insurance company.
Work With a Garland Truck Collision Lawyer Who Will Prioritize Your Case
Many truck accident victims have no idea what legal options are available to them. For these victims, getting legal guidance and support makes a difference. Following a trucking accident, talk with a Garland truck accident lawyer. If warranted, your attorney will file your claim or lawsuit and seek to establish liability. Meanwhile, you can recover from your accident and injuries.
The Texas Law Dog is a personal injury law firm with years of experience. Our team wants you to feel confident about your case against a trucker, trucking company, cargo loader, or other parties that caused your truck crash. We will commit the time and resources required to achieve your desired outcome in your case. For more information, request a case consultation with us.
