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Trucks are a common sight in Midland as numerous drivers make their way across the state. While most truckers are responsible drivers, you deserve compensation if a negligent one injures you.
Our attorneys can help by proving how the driver caused the accident and determining how much time you have to file your lawsuit. Most injury victims have only two years to file a claim under the statute of limitations and cannot recover compensation when it is filed after the deadline. However, our team can request more time if the defendant is not in the state or you were under a disability or a child when the accident happened. Our team will also ensure every liable party is included in your case, such as the trucker, the trucking company, and other drivers who contributed to your damages.
To receive your free case evaluation with our truck accident attorneys, call The Queenan Law Firm today at (817) 476-1797.
When You Should File Your Lawsuit for a Truck Accident in Midland, TX
It is never too soon to file a lawsuit for injuries caused during a Midland truck accident. These cases tend to be much more complex than your ordinary car accident claims, often involving more intricate evidence and other parties. The more complex the truck accident and the parties involved, the more challenging it can be to investigate and gather the evidence necessary to file a legitimate claim.
All personal injury claims, including those for truck accidents, must be filed within a certain amount of time under the case’s statute of limitations. It does not matter whether the victim is filing an insurance claim or a lawsuit. The limitations period will apply and be enforced at the defendant’s lawyers’ insistence.
For truck accidents in Midland, victims generally have two years from the moment they are injured to file their claims, according to Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003(a). This means you will have just two years to start your treatment, contact a law firm, and organize the evidence in your case enough to file with the court. Our truck accident attorneys can help by handling the evidence gathering and writing a complaint to file and start your case. We do not need every piece of evidence to begin, but some time will be necessary to make an initial argument that you deserve damages. Once your case is filed, however, the limitations period will cease to be a concern and we can proceed while taking the time necessary to develop your claim.
If you miss the filing window, you will likely forfeit your right to recover any compensation for the damages the defendant caused. The court and insurance company will not entertain cases filed after the limitations period closes unless a rare exception to the law applies. However, never assume one of the exceptions below applies to your case without our attorneys examining the details.
Exception for the Effects of Disability
The most commonly used exception to the statute of limitations is the one exempting those with a legal disability from filing within two years of the accident. In regard to a truck accident claim, legal disabilities include those younger than 18 years old and those of “unsound mind,” according to § 16.001(a). In these situations, the time the person is under the legal disability will not be counted against the limitations period, as per § 16.001(b).
When the victim is under the age of 18, it is fairly easy to determine how long they will have to file a lawsuit. For minor truck accident victims, the clock starts running when they turn 18, after which they have two years, or their 20th birthday, to file.
Claiming an “unsound mind” as an exception can be trickier. Having an “unsound mind” could mean the truck accident victim has an intellectual or physical condition that prevents them from filing a claim in the appropriate time period. Perhaps the victim has an intellectual disability that prevents them from understanding their legal rights or is in a coma and cannot file a claim. The limitations period will not start running until the disability is lifted.
However, legal disabilities cannot be tacked together to aggregate the time one has to file a claim, according to § 16.001(c). Also, the time will not be suspended if the disability arises after the limitations period has started under § 16.001(d).
Exception for Defendants Temporarily Absent from the State
Another exception that can be used to extend the limitations period in a truck accident case is when the defendant is absent from the state. Many trucks are operated by drivers and trucking companies that do not reside in Texas. Considering that Midland lies near Odessa, which is a hub for commercial vehicles passing through the state, this situation is more common than people might initially think. Fortunately, the statute of limitations will be suspended during the period the defendant is absent from the state under § 16.063.
Our team can help you keep track of when a defendant returns so your time to file does not run out, and your case is prepared. We will also check to make sure the trucking company involved does not have local offices in the state where your lawsuit could be directed.
Exceptions for Death in a Truck Accident
Time limits to file a lawsuit can be somewhat different when the death of a driver is involved. In some truck accident cases, the death of the victim and the accident date are not the same if they hold onto life for a period of time following the crash. That said, lawsuits involving the death of a person must be filed no later than two years from the day they passed, according to § 16.003(b).
You might also have more time under the statute of limitations if the truck driver succumbs to their injuries from the accident. Under § 16.062, the limitations period can be suspended for 12 months following the death of a person who should be sued for the damages their actions caused.
Who Can Be Sued for a Midland, TX Truck Accident
The other most important question in your truck accident claim, besides how long you have to file, is who should be held liable.
Truck accidents rarely happen without some negligence on the part of the driver, but the trucking company can also be held accountable for their driver’s misconduct on the clock. Trucking companies can also be held liable for their own negligence, like not inspecting trucks routinely. Still, a manufacturer can be sued if any inspection would not have revealed the defective flaw. Our team will also help sort out liability when the trucker and multiple drivers contribute to the accident.
Truck Drivers
The drivers involved in a collision are most likely to cause the crash, and truckers are usually responsible when something goes wrong in a truck accident. For example, a truck driver might have been speeding to complete a delivery before taking their mandatory break under federal hours of service regulations. In other cases, they might have already exceeded these driving time limits and caused the accident because they were tired or fell asleep. In other cases, they were distracted by the technology they had onboard, like GPS and radios.
Our team can gather evidence to determine if any of these systems were being used when the crash occurred and driving records to see how long they were behind the wheel at the time you were injured.
Trucking Companies
It is typical to include trucking firms in a personal injury lawsuit when a truck driver causes an accident. Most employers are responsible for the negligent actions of their employees under the doctrine of respondeat superior. Essentially, a trucking company can be named as a defendant if their driver harmed you while carrying out their job responsibilities, even if the company itself was not negligent.
During our team’s investigation, we can assess whether the trucking company pressured the employee to drive more than federal limits allow or has a track record of violating regulations. We will review driver logs, inspection records, and trip manifests to determine the trucking company’s level of involvement in the cause of the crash. If they did knowingly push drivers and ignore regulations, punitive damages might be awarded to punish the trucking company for its egregious behavior.
While most trucking companies can be sued when only the driver acts negligently, they can, of course, be held liable for their own negligence. Trucking companies are responsible for routinely inspecting and repairing trucks in its fleet. If they failed to make repairs because they did not bother to inspect the truck before it caused an accident, records or lack of records can help prove the violation.
They can also be held liable when they put a driver on the road they know to be dangerous or did not do a background check for their history and qualifications before letting them drive. These examples of trucking company negligence could be considered a form of gross negligence or willful misconduct, potentially opening to door for punitive damages to be awarded in addition to your economic and non-economic losses.
Designers and Manufacturers
In rarer instances, it might be necessary to hold the truck manufacturer or designer accountable for an accident. Most modern commercial trucks are complex machines with numerous complicated parts that must work correctly to prevent a potentially catastrophic accident.
These situations usually occur when a specific component or system in the truck has a defect that hinders its proper function. For instance, perhaps a truck driver tried to engage the air brakes to slow down or stop before a potential collision, only to find that the brakes failed to respond because of a manufacturing defect. If the truck was poorly manufactured or the maintenance work was done improperly, we can likely file an injury claim against multiple parties.
This could include the truck manufacturer for producing a faulty vehicle, the trucking company for not adequately maintaining the truck or discovering the defect when they could have, or even a third-party repair service that neglected to fix the issue properly if the truck was serviced outside the company for some reason. If the defect is tied to the truck’s design and affects every model produced, we can also take legal action against the designer, arguing that the inherent flaws in the design contributed to the accident and the resulting damages.
Regional Shipping Companies and Independent Truckers
Some truckers are considered “independent contractors,” which means the parent company that they work with might not be able to be sued for the driver’s negligent conduct, such as Amazon delivery truck drivers. Technically, these drivers do not work for the company in a traditional sense, as the company does not hire or fire the driver, nor do they control the day-to-day activities of the driver, like routes. While this level of control is arguable, the designation of a driver as an independent contractor is usually enough to shield a company from being named in a lawsuit for the driver’s negligence.
In these situations, our team will determine if the driver works for a third-party company that contracts with a larger one. Many independent truckers still have traditional employers, like regional shipping companies. Amazon and companies like them often contract with regional partners to carry out the actual deliveries and management of the drivers. If so, we can argue that the rules of respondeat superior should apply to them.
Other Drivers
Several drivers could be involved in your truck accident since many result in “pile-up” collisions. Our team can gather evidence to show whether they also acted negligently and what proportion of fault they contributed.
During this assessment, we can also determine your level of proportional responsibility if your actions partially contributed to the accident. Fortunately, you can still recover compensation as long as your proportion of fault is not greater than 50%.
Reach Out to Our Truck Accident Attorneys in Midland, TX for the Help You Deserve to Recover the Compensation You Need
For your private and free case review with our truck accident attorneys, contact The Queenan Law Firm at (817) 476-1797.