If you’ve been hurt in a truck accident, you may not know what to do next. A Plano personal injury lawyer can help you seek justice.
Between trucking companies, insurers, and complex state laws, the truck accident claims process can be daunting. But you don’t have to navigate it on your own.
The Texas Law Dog has been fighting for accident victims since 2018. If you’ve been injured in a collision with a truck, a truck accident lawyer in Plano can help you pursue the compensation you’re entitled to.
How Can a Plano Truck Accident Lawyer Help Me?
After an accident, a truck accident lawyer can provide invaluable assistance by:
- Investigating the accident: A lawyer can gather police reports, dashcam or surveillance footage, black box data, and witness statements to determine liability.
- Handling negotiations: Insurers often try to minimize payouts to truck accident victims. An attorney can negotiate a fair settlement that reflects your injuries, lost income, and long-term needs.
- Representing you in court: If negotiations fail, your attorney can take your case to trial to pursue the compensation you deserve.
Without a Plano truck accident lawyer, you’re unlikely to receive adequate compensation.
How Much Do Truck Accident Lawyers Charge in Plano?
The truck accident lawyers at The Texas Law Dog work on a contingency fee basis. This means that you don’t pay anything up front. Instead, your lawyer will receive a prearranged percentage of your settlement or court award.
If you don’t win your case, you won‘t owe anything.
Plano Truck Accident Lawyer Near Me (817) 775-5364
How Much Are Most Truck Accident Settlements?
Since every case is different, there is no average settlement for a truck accident. Payouts can range from tens of thousands to millions of dollars, depending on several factors, including the severity of your injuries, the total cost of your medical treatment, lost wages, and how the accident affects your ability to work in the future.
A truck accident attorney in Plano can review your case and estimate its potential value.
What Types of Damages Can I Recover?
If you’ve been injured in a truck accident caused by someone else’s negligence, you may be entitled to compensation for both economic and non-economic damages, such as:
- Medical expenses: You can recover compensation for hospital stays, surgery, medications, therapy, and ongoing treatment.
- Lost income: You can seek reimbursement for wages you would’ve earned while recovering from the crash and for future earnings if you cannot return to your job.
- Pain and suffering: You can receive compensation for physical pain, emotional distress, and reduced quality of life.
- Property damage: You can recover the cost of repairing or replacing your vehicle and other damaged property.
- Punitive damages: You can pursue additional compensation if the truck driver or company acted with extreme recklessness or maliciousness.
A personal injury attorney in Plano can make sure your claim reflects the full extent of your losses.
What Is the Statute of Limitations for Filing a Truck Accident Lawsuit in Texas?
You must speak with an attorney as quickly as possible after your truck accident. The Texas statute of limitations requires that you file your lawsuit within two years of the date of the crash.
Negotiating with insurance companies and building a strong case can take several weeks or months, so it’s important to schedule a consultation with our team right away.
Who Is Liable for a Truck Accident?
The most likely person to blame for your accident is the truck driver. However, there are a number of other people and companies that could have played a part in the crash, and they must be brought to justice.
Here are the parties who could potentially be liable for a truck accident in Texas:
- The driver: In the majority of claims, the driver is the primary person who caused the crash. They can be distracted by texting while driving, sleepy from failing to observe hours of service regulations, intoxicated, or driving aggressively.
- The trucking company: Trucking companies have a duty to hire and train their drivers and ensure they operate their rigs safely. If they fail to do so, they could be partially at fault for your crash.
- Cargo distributors: If the team that loads freight onto the trailer does not balance it correctly, the unsteady cargo could shift during transport. Similarly, an overloaded truck could be harder to control, leading to a rollover accident.
- Mechanics: Companies that perform repair and maintenance on commercial trucks may do poor work and send an unsafe vehicle onto the highway. This could cause a breakdown in critical speed or braking systems, sending the truck out of control.
A qualified truck accident attorney from our firm will identify every avenue for compensation in your case. If necessary, we’ll take the wrongdoers to court to obtain the financial resources you need for a full recovery.
What Makes Truck Accidents Different from Car Accidents?
Truck accidents differ from car crashes in several key ways:
- Severity of impact: Trucks can weigh tens of thousands of pounds and cause far greater damage than passenger vehicles.
- Federal regulations: Trucking companies must follow strict rules under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), including limits on driving hours and maintenance standards.
- Complex liability: Multiple companies may share responsibility for a truck accident, which can complicate liability.
- Higher insurance coverage: Commercial trucks often carry larger insurance policies, which can lead to more aggressive defense tactics from insurers.
These differences make it essential to work with a Plano truck accident attorney who understands trucking laws and knows how to build a strong claim.
What Are the Odds of Winning a Truck Accident Lawsuit?
Every truck accident case is different. In general, your odds of success depend on:
- The strength of your evidence
- The credibility of expert witnesses
- The extent of your injuries
- How clearly negligence can be proven
While no outcome is guaranteed, an experienced lawyer can significantly improve your odds.
Tips for Dealing with Insurance Companies
Insurance adjusters are trained to protect their company’s bottom line—not your best interests. Here’s how to handle them after an accident:
- Avoid giving recorded statements: Anything you say can be used against you to reduce your payout.
- Don’t accept early settlement offers: Initial offers are often far lower than what you deserve.
- Document everything: Keep copies of all medical records, receipts, and correspondence with adjusters.
- Let your lawyer handle communications: Your attorney can manage all interactions with insurers to prevent mistakes and preserve your leverage.
How Long Do Most Accident Settlements Take?
The timeline for your truck accident settlement will depend on the complexity of your case. Those that involve clear liability and well-documented injuries often settle within a few months. However, if there’s a dispute over fault, or if the insurance company challenges the extent of your injuries, the process can take a year or more.
A truck accident lawyer can help speed things up by collecting strong evidence, negotiating aggressively with insurers, and ensuring that every part of your claim is properly documented.
What Is a Good Settlement for a Truck Accident?
A “good” truck accident settlement is one that covers all of your damages, including medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, and future care costs. An experienced truck accident lawyer can help you evaluate settlement offers and fight for a fair one.
Common Causes of Truck Accidents in Plano
Truck accidents can happen for a variety of reasons, but most stem from negligence. Some of the most common causes include:
- Driver fatigue: Long hours on the road often lead to drowsy driving, which slows reaction times and increases the risk of a crash.
- Distracted driving: Truckers who text, eat, or adjust GPS systems can easily lose focus and cause serious collisions.
- Speeding and reckless driving: Some drivers exceed speed limits to meet delivery deadlines, thereby endangering others on the road.
- Improperly loaded cargo: Unbalanced or unsecured loads can cause trucks to jackknife or tip over.
- Mechanical failures: Faulty brakes, worn tires, and other maintenance issues can lead to catastrophic crashes.
- Driving under the influence: Alcohol or drug impairment, though less common among commercial drivers, remains a serious threat.
Common Types of Truck Accidents in Plano
Big rigs travel the streets of Plano as well as the major highways surrounding the city. They often need extra room to make turns or negotiate smaller roads, which increases the risk of accidents.
Here are various accident types and common injuries in truck accidents that our team sees:
- Sideswipe accidents: If a truck driver does not change lanes safely, they could push you into other vehicles, leading to broken bones, cuts, and bruises.
- Rear–end accidents: If a truck driver slams on their brakes, you could rear-end the trailer and suffer head injuries, broken ribs, broken legs, and serious internal damage.
- Rollover: A tractor-trailer rolling over onto you could cause crushing injuries.
- Head–on accidents: These may occur in intersections or if a truck crosses the center line on a two-lane or four-lane road. Hitting a truck that weighs an average of 80,000 pounds in a passenger vehicle often leads to catastrophic injuries.
- T–bone: When the front of one vehicle hits the side of another, victims often experience whiplash, internal organ damage, and traumatic brain injuries.
Truck crashes are typically more devastating than car crashes. If you’ve been hurt in one, our legal team can help you gather evidence and determine fault.
Common Injuries in Plano Truck Accidents
Because of the sheer size and weight of commercial trucks, collisions with them often cause severe injuries. Common truck accident injuries in Plano include:
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Broken or crushed bones
- Internal organ damage
- Severe burns or lacerations
- Whiplash and soft tissue injuries
What to Do After a Truck Accident in Plano
The steps you take immediately after a truck accident can have a major impact on your ability to recover compensation. Here’s what you should do:
- Call 911: Report the crash and, if necessary, request medical assistance.
- Document the scene: Take photos of the vehicles, road conditions, and any visible injuries.
- Get contact information: Collect contact and insurance details from the truck driver. If any witnesses are available, obtain their contact information too.
- Seek medical treatment: Even if you feel fine, get checked by a doctor to rule out internal injuries and document your post-crash condition.
- Avoid speaking with insurance adjusters: Direct all communication with insurance adjusters to your lawyer to avoid saying something that compromises your claim.
- Contact a truck accident lawyer: Get in touch with an attorney to start building your truck accident claim.
Speak to a Truck Accident Attorney in Plano
If you’ve been injured in a truck accident, don’t try to take on the insurance companies alone. Trucking cases are complex, and trucking companies have aggressive legal teams whose manipulative tactics may cause you to say or do something that compromises your claim.
A skilled Plano truck accident attorney from The Texas Law Dog can investigate your crash, gather crucial evidence, and fight for the maximum compensation available.
Your recovery should be your top priority. Schedule a free case review to connect with an experienced attorney who can handle the legal battle while you focus on healing.
