As Featured In
Fewer accidents are as devastating in Euless as ones involving trucks. Victims often face significant damages and confusion about who to sue.
Fortunately, our attorneys can help explore your options to recover compensation and get your case started right away. Our team will immediately start collecting evidence so we can justify your claims when we file your claim. With enough evidence, we can file your lawsuit well before the deadline passes in your case. Most importantly, we will use our experience of these accidents to determine all the parties potentially responsible for your injuries. Our lawyers have the skills and resources to take on large trucking companies and their attorneys.
For your free case review with our truck accident attorneys, contact The Queenan Law Firm, P.C. today at (817) 476-1797.
When You Should File a Truck Accident Lawsuit in Euless, TX
You can never start a lawsuit for a truck accident too soon. These tend to be complex cases, often involving multiple defendants, complex evidence, and other issues not present in ordinal vehicle accident claims. In many cases, you will start a claim by filing an insurance claim against the other driver. At-fault insurance rules are used in Euless and throughout Texas, so you must recover compensation from the other driver’s insurance.
However, when you work with our firm, our truck accident attorneys will typically file your lawsuit at the same time as your insurance claim. Fortunately, at-fault insurance rules do not prevent you from suing while recovering compensation in an insurance claim. In fact, both filings are often done together as a way of negotiating by showing the insurance company that you are serious enough to go to court if necessary.
We also want to get your lawsuit filed quickly so you do not have to worry about the “statute of limitations” in your case. The statute of limitations places a time limit on how long you have to file a personal injury case in the state. In Euless, Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem Code § 16.003(a) gives truck accident victims two years from the day the accident happens to file a lawsuit. However, this time limit only applies when filing your case. Once your lawsuit is filed, the statute of limitations will no longer be a concern, as the rule has no impact on how fast a case should conclude.
Two years goes by fast. If your claim is not filed before the statute of limitations runs, you will be barred from recovering compensation from the court. If the victim was younger than 18 or “of unsound mind” when the accident occurred, § 16.001 will give them additional time to file. Outside of this, there are few exceptions to the statute of limitations, so get your case started as soon as possible.
Who Can Be Sued for Truck Accident Injuries in Euless, TX
What makes truck accidents complex cases is that the evidence must be sorted through to determine each party who might have played a part in causing the crash. In many cases, multiple defendants will be named in a lawsuit, like the driver and their employer. While this adds more complexity to a case, it also gives you a better chance of recovering the compensation you deserve. The following are those we are most likely to hold responsible in a legal claim:
Truck Drivers
The truck driver is almost always the first party sued for a truck accident in Euless. Truckers are directly responsible for the vehicle and should be following traffic laws while in operation. If the trucker was speeding, running traffic lights, or under the influence of a drug like a stimulant that caused them to lose concentration, they could be held liable.
Truckers must also follow the strict guidelines set by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). These rules include driving limits placed on drivers carrying either property or passengers and when they should take breaks. If the trucker violated any of these regulations, we can use company and driver records to show how the driver violated their duties.
Trucking Companies
In most cases, we will also sue the trucking company when we file a claim against the driver. We can do this even if the trucking company was not actually negligent since most trucking companies are “vicariously liable” for their employees. This rule is also known as respondeat superior and essentially treats the trucker and the trucking company as a single entity. As long as the driver caused the accident while on the job and completing their duties, the trucking company can be held liable for the driver’s negligence as if it were its own.
That does not mean that the trucking company did not act negligently in some way. In some cases, trucking companies do not bother to train drivers before allowing them on the road. In other instances, the trucking company fails to do a background check on a trucker who turns out to have a dangerous driving history. If the trucking company cuts corners to gain an advantage, you should not have to pay for it if it results in an accident.
Independent Contractors and Shipping Partners
Unfortunately, the rule of vicarious liability described above will not apply if the trucker is an independent contractor. Some truckers work for themselves and only contract with other companies to complete their deliveries. For example, Amazon delivery truck drivers do not usually work for Amazon but are independent drivers. As such, the contracting company, like Amazon, usually cannot be held liable for the driver’s negligence. Unlike ordinary employment relationships, the law does not consider contracting companies to have enough control over an independent contractor to hold them responsible for their actions.
However, our team can determine if the independent trucker works for another company that we can sue. Most large retailers like Amazon use regional shipping partners to complete their orders. These shipping partners are usually smaller, local companies that can be held liable for the drivers they employ. If the driver is not employed by a shipping partner but is truly independent, we can explore what insurance options are available from their private policy and the policy of the company they contract with.
Truck Designers and Manufacturers
It is also possible that your accident was caused by a design or manufacturing defect in the truck. Trucks have many critical systems that can cause devastating crashes if they fail. If a malfunction occurs, we can help determine if the defect happened in the design or manufacturing phase and sue the appropriate parties.
Our Euless, TX Truck Accident Lawyers Can Help
Call The Queenan Law Firm, P.C. at (817) 476-1797 to speak with our truck accident lawyers and receive your free case evaluation.