Garbage Truck Accidents in Southlake
Just like long-haul truckers and anyone else who operates large commercial vehicles for a living, garbage collectors are expected to act responsibly and lawfully at all times while driving through public streets. As you may have recently learned, though, not every garbage truck driver is as careful behind the wheel as they should be, and that sometimes leads to collisions with serious and even life-altering repercussions.
Garbage truck accidents in Southlake can often serve as grounds for civil litigation, but getting the best possible result from a claim of this nature can be far from simple. Working closely with a seasoned semi-truck crash attorney could increase your chances not only of achieving a favorable case resolution but also of recovering fairly and comprehensively for every form of harm a trash truck driver’s negligence causes you.
Holding a Trash Collection Service Liable for an Accident
Most of the time, a company whose employee acts recklessly or carelessly and causes a traffic accident as a direct result of that negligent behavior can be held “vicariously liable” for their employee’s misconduct. In other words, even if a single driver is the only person at fault for causing a garbage truck accident in Southlake, that does not mean they are the only person who could hold civil liability for injuries and losses caused by that wreck.
The City of Southlake currently has a contract with Community Waste Disposal for both residential and commercial trash pickup, so most civil claims based on garbage truck crashes in this area will involve taking action against this company for negligence by someone they hired to drive one of their trucks. That said, a skilled legal professional could help demand restitution from another private trash collection company if applicable or from a third party whose negligence led to a garbage truck not being in a safe condition to drive—for instance, a manufacturer that provided defective truck parts.
Getting Around Common Obstacles to Recovery
While it is fairly rare for cases built around garbage truck wrecks in Southlake, courts can and sometimes do assign percentages of “comparative fault” to people who hold some of the blame for their accident because they, too, were driving or acting irresponsibly. Depending on whether that percentage is less than 50 percent or not, the court could then proportionately reduce the total compensation available to that injured person or even deny them the right to seek any civil compensation for that accident.
Furthermore, claims of this nature are almost always subject to the “statute of limitations” for personal injury cases in Texas, which allows people injured through the negligence of another a maximum of two years to file suit after initially getting hurt. Failing to start the litigation process before this deadline will virtually guarantee that a judge will throw the case out for being “time-barred” as soon as it reaches a civil court.
Discuss a Possible Garbage Truck Accident Claim With a Southlake Attorney
Garbage truck drivers can be negligent on the road just like any other driver but given how massive the trucks they drive are, the consequences of their negligence tend to be much more severe than normal. That makes it extra important for you to have as much evidence and legal know-how on your side as possible when pursuing civil litigation over an incident like this, both of which a qualified lawyer could make sure you have.
Lawsuits based on garbage truck accidents in Southlake are not something you want to try handling on your own. Call today to learn more about how legal counsel could help in your unique situation.