Missouri City Truck Accident Lawyer

Trucking is an important industry, and our local economy relies on it. That said, truck accidents cause a disproportionate number of wrecks that lead to severe injuries and death.

Contact a local personal injury attorney immediately when you or a loved one suffers injuries in a truck accident. A legal professional may know how to hold the responsible parties accountable and force them to pay compensation. A Missouri City truck accident lawyer has the knowledge and skills to take on the major transportation companies and achieve a fair result for an injured person.

How Truck Accidents Happen

Truckers must be highly skilled and alert to handle their cumbersome vehicles safely. Unfortunately, trucking companies sometimes do not screen drivers adequately before hiring them, and poorly trained drivers or people with spotty driving records sometimes handle big rigs on Missouri City highways. An inexperienced or unskilled driver is more likely to have an accident.

The size and weight of trucks compared to other vehicles on the road creates a danger. Other drivers cannot see around them to note hazards ahead, and the truck driver has huge blind spots on all four sides of the vehicle. Large trucks respond sluggishly to steering and the application of brakes, making it difficult for drivers to respond to dangerous road conditions quickly and effectively.

Truck loads must be properly secured and balanced. Any imbalance or load shifting could cause the driver to lose control of the vehicle. An empty trailer could even jackknife around sharp curves or when hit by a forceful wind gust.

Determining Who is Responsible for a Truck Crash

The law requires anyone whose negligence caused an injury to others to provide compensation to the injured party. The standard for negligent conduct is higher for truckers and transportation companies than it is for other drivers. While most drivers must behave reasonably to avoid injuring others, truckers and trucking companies must exercise the utmost care to avoid causing harm.

A Missouri City attorney could investigate the truck wreck to determine whether the transportation company and driver used the utmost care. The legal professional could review the:

• Police report
• Witness statements
• Trucker’s statement
• Maintenance records for the vehicle
• Truck’s electronic data recorder
• Driver’s cell phone records
• Transportation company’s delivery schedule
• Video from the truck’s cameras, surveillance cameras, and other sources of footage

Analyzing this information often leads to the conclusion that the driver, the trucking company, or both, failed to use the utmost care to prevent the accident.

Many truck accidents survivors are badly hurt and might require substantial compensation to cover the cost of treating and living with their injuries. Finding multiple sources of insurance coverage can help ensure that a badly injured person receives reasonable compensation. Depending on the circumstances, other potentially responsible parties might include the truck’s manufacturer, the company that loaded the vehicle, and even a local government if poor road conditions led to the incident.

Prompt Action is Necessary

Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003 allows an adult two years after an accident to file a lawsuit seeking compensation for their injuries. When someone under 18 gets hurt, they have two years from their 18th birthday. However, it is usually advantageous for a parent to bring a suit on their child’s behalf within the two-year deadline.

When a local government could have partial responsibility for the crash, there is even less time to act. Someone with a claim against the state must file an official notice of claim within 180 days of the incident, while some local governments impose even shorter deadlines. A Missouri City truck injury attorney is aware of the local rules and can file notices timely to preserve an injured person’s claim against a local government.

Engaging an attorney soon after a crash is beneficial in other ways. A legal representative could handle communication with insurance companies, sparing the plaintiff and their family the stress of negotiating a settlement. Allowing a lawyer to handle negotiations also forces the responsible parties to make good faith offers that fairly compensate the damages the injured person suffered.

Contact a Missouri City Attorney After a Truck Accident

The trucking industry has a lot of power and they sometimes use it to take advantage of the people they negligently harm. Insurance companies and lawyers for the transportation industry fight hard to pay injured people as little as possible, even when they are clearly at fault for a wreck.

Working with a Missouri City truck accident lawyer can level the playing field. Call today to speak with a trusted attorney who will fight for you.