With 18-wheelers, big rigs, and tractor-trailers being larger than most passenger cars on the road, the drivers of other cars usually face the consequences of a truck accident. In these situations, the truck driver may be liable, as well as their employer.
This may be the case, even if the trucking company was not expressly negligent, like hiring an unqualified driver or failing to keep up with vehicle inspections. While you may hold trucking companies liable for accidents for such reasons, victims can also hold them vicariously liable for a driver’s acts of negligence while working, like speeding or failing to check their blind spots for other smaller vehicles. You can seek compensation for all damages from the collision, including current and future medical costs, lost wages, and emotional distress.
The Queenan Law Firm’s Texas truck accident attorneys can review your case for free by calling us today at (817) 476-1797.
Are Truck Drivers Always at Fault for Truck Accidents in Texas?
Commercial trucks are a necessary part of our economy, and the goal of most truckers on the road is to do their job and get home safely at the end of the day. Like anyone, truck drivers might breach their duty of care and violate traffic rules, causing serious accidents and injuries in Texas.
When Truckers Are at Fault
If a truck driver does something wrong behind the wheel to cause a crash, they are likely liable. Truck crashes are most commonly caused by driver inattention – situations where the driver fails to check their blind spot or keep a proper lookout around the truck. In these crashes, the truck driver is often the one to steer into another car, so the driver is usually responsible.
Truck crashes can also be a trucker’s fault if the driver speeds, drives under the influence, texts while driving, or violates some other traffic law. Truckers may also be responsible for a crash if it happened because they loaded the cargo in their truck unsafely, causing the trailer to fishtail or shift during transit.
When Trucking Companies Are Responsible
Many truckers do not own the commercial vehicles they operate while working. If the trucking company they work for owns the truck, it is responsible for proper maintenance, inspections, and other equipment issues. If any of these issues caused the crash, the trucking company will likely be at fault instead of the individual driver. In many cases, the truck driver is also a victim of the company’s negligence.
Trucking companies can also share fault for crashes when they should have known their driver was unsafe. Trucking companies are required to screen drivers and make sure that drivers with a history of DUI, serious crashes, revoked CDLs (commercial driver’s licenses), or vehicular assault are kept out of truck driving jobs. If a trucking company does not properly screen its drivers or remove them from staff after known issues, it could be liable for any subsequent accidents. Our Dallas truck accident attorneys can help you determine whether the trucker or the trucking company was at fault – or whether both parties are responsible.
When Other Drivers Are Responsible
When accidents involve large commercial trucks, victims might immediately assume that truck drivers are to blame. However, multi-car pileups and other truck crashes could be due to other negligent passenger drivers on the road.
Other drivers often drive dangerously around trucks. Cars seeking to pass truckers could speed past them, make multiple lane changes (often without signaling), or even cross in front of trucks without giving them enough space. When a driver stays in a truck’s blind spot, they could also share fault in causing a crash if they get in the trucker’s way because they are seeing and the trucker can’t see them.
How Often Are Truck Drivers Responsible for Blind Spot Accidents in Texas?
Some of the most common causes of commercial truck accidents are negligence and violations of traffic rules. For example, commercial trucks have large blind spots, much larger than passenger cars, and failure to check those blind spots could lead to devastating accidents.
The bigger a vehicle is, the bigger its blind spots are. Commercial trucks primarily operate on highways in Texas, requiring them to merge on and off these roads and navigate lane changes. Not accounting for larger blind spots and checking them could lead to accidents like side-swipe collisions. When hit in this manner, passenger cars might roll over, causing the occupants serious or fatal injuries. Underride accidents could also occur, during which smaller passenger cars get trapped underneath commercial trailers.
Other factors besides the vehicle’s size and shape could contribute to the size of a blind spot, like the driver’s height, the time of day, and the vehicle’s direction of travel.
Drivers might fail to check their blind spots out of sheer negligence and recklessness or because they are distracted or tired. Despite federal regulations limiting how many hours commercial drivers work without resting, some trucking companies recklessly encourage drivers to work overtime or look the other way, leading to drowsy driving.
When approaching a lawsuit for a blind spot accident, it is important to eliminate any comparative fault arguments early on. If a truck driver or their employer claims that you were speeding when you entered the trucker’s blind spot, contributing to the accident, your compensation could be lowered proportionally to your percentage of fault. Our lawyers can address these defenses using evidence like eyewitness statements and accident reconstruction and gauge whether or not we believe the opposing side will employ such a defense when reviewing the accident’s circumstances.
Do Truck Drivers Pay Damages to Victims of Texas Trucking Accidents?
In many cases, only pursuing compensation from the individual truck driver after a crash will not result in the payments you need. Typically, truckers are just regular people who cannot afford to pay for serious injuries out of pocket. Because of this, our lawyers may focus on getting compensation from the truck driver’s employer.
Truckers must carry insurance like any other driver on the road, and their insurance may provide higher coverage for commercial drivers. The insurance company and the driver’s employer can often pay for damages in a way that the trucker cannot.
Filing an insurance claim against the trucker who hit you might get you the necessary compensation. Insurance pays for most auto accidents, with the truck driver’s personal or company policy covering the damages. However, if the insurance claim is not progressing in your favor, you may need to take the driver and their insurance company to court.
In many cases, trucking companies can also be sued in place of a negligent driver. Texas law allows victims to sue the at-fault driver’s employer if the accident occurred during the scope of the driver’s duties while working. This kind of case against the trucking company might help get all of your damages paid by the company rather than the individual truck driver who hit you, maximizing your financial recovery.
What Kinds of Truck Accident Damages Are Negligent Parties Responsible for in Texas?
If a negligent truck driver hits and injures you in Texas, our lawyers can help you bring a claim that includes them and their employer before the statute of limitations runs out so you can get compensation for all economic and non-economic damages.
Economic Damages
Economic damages are all monetary expenses from the accident. This includes paramedic and emergency room costs, subsequent hospital visits, evaluations and treatments from specialists, property damage to your vehicle, lost income, transportation costs to get you to and from doctors’ visits, home accommodations necessary because of permanent injuries, and even more expenses, like newly incurred child care costs. To get compensation for any economic damages, our Texas truck accident attorneys must prove you only incurred them because of the specific crash in question.
Because we must also provide clear proof of all economic damages, our lawyers will monitor expenses as you incur them. We can make copies of all hospital bills and calculate your lost income based on tax returns and recent paystubs. There is no limit on economic damages for injury victims in Texas, and our lawyers can seek full compensation, whether from a settlement or jury award.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages refer to the pain and suffering victims experience during truck accidents and in the aftermath. Any injury might cause emotional distress, especially those that substantially affect victims’ quality of life, preventing them from working or engaging in activities they once enjoyed. Like economic damages, non-economic damages are not limited, but unlike economic damages, they are harder to quantify. To support our requests for your non-economic recovery, our lawyers may rely on statements from mental health professionals, who can evaluate you and present their findings in court.
Call Our Texas Truck Accident Attorneys Today
For a free case assessment from our Fort Worth truck accident attorneys, call The Queenan Firm today at (817) 476-1797.