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Trucks can cause shocking damage during accidents with smaller vehicles. As victims recover emotionally, mentally, and physically from these collisions, they can focus on obtaining compensation for their many losses.
At the beginning of your case, our lawyers can immediately evaluate all parties’ liability. We can confirm if the truck driver was operating their employer’s vehicle and was working at the time, making their employer vicariously liable. We can preserve witness statements, photos, and police reports and involve the necessary medical and accident reconstruction experts in your claim. After filing your lawsuit within the two-year window following the accident, our lawyers can negotiate compensation for your damages or prove your losses at a trial. While truck accident lawsuits often settle, it is not without staunch negotiations, and victims should not accept proposals before our lawyers confirm they are fair.
To schedule a free and confidential discussion of your case with our truck accident lawyers, call The Queenan Law Firm at (817) 476-1797.
How We Can Help After Your Temple, TX Truck Accident
Our attorneys can help victims with all aspects of their truck accident claims, starting with evaluating the potential liability of all involved parties. We can quickly preserve relevant evidence after a crash, ensure victims’ lawsuits are filed properly and on time, and prove victims’ damages or negotiate fair settlements on their behalf.
Evaluate All Involved Parties’ Liability
Even if an accident seemingly only involves a truck driver and a victim, another party might be liable, such as the driver’s employer. Commercial truckers are working while driving and transporting goods throughout Texas or surrounding states. Because truckers are typically on the clock when they cause accidents, their employers can be included in compensation claims. Vicarious liability is the legal doctrine that makes employers responsible for employees’ actions and negligence while working.
There are many potential causes of truck accidents, such as drivers losing control if cargo shifts while driving or because of engine or brake malfunctions. Accidents caused by maintenance issues within the vehicle might be the owner’s fault, likely the commercial trucking company’s. However, the manufacturer could be liable if brakes fail due to design or production defects.
Texas is a modified comparative fault state. If a victim is more than 50% at fault for an accident, they cannot recover damages under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 3301. If they are less than 50% at fault, they can recover some compensation, though their damages will be reduced proportionally to their liability. When evaluating your case, our truck accident lawyers will see if there is any room for the defense to use a comparative fault argument and promptly address it with the appropriate evidence, like eyewitness statements contradicting the defense.
Preserve Important Evidence
Our attorneys can immediately preserve evidence and important information from the accident, starting with the police report. This document can provide crucial details about an accident, including potential contributing causes, environmental and road conditions, and more general information about the negligent driver. Officers might talk to witnesses and record their information, making the police report a useful resource for us when scheduling eyewitness interviews.
We can also involve the appropriate experts in your claim, like accident reconstruction experts. These professionals can review photos of skid marks on the road and other images to determine a truck driver’s speed when they hit you, identifying how they were negligent. Our lawyers can combine photos you took at the scene with pictures from law enforcement and eyewitnesses to use as evidence in your lawsuit.
File the Case on Time
Understanding the procedural elements of truck accident lawsuits, like how to file a complaint and do so on time, is crucial for victims’ financial recoveries. According to § 16.003, truck accident victims have two years from the date of injury to file lawsuits. Though this often seems like ample time, it goes by quickly, especially when victims suffer serious injuries and are rightfully focused on their medical care and physical recovery. Because the days and weeks after an accident are most important for evidence collection and preservation, reaching out to our lawyers during this time is crucial. We can focus on building the foundation of your compensation claim so that we can file the complaint in court well before two years have gone by. Not only is this important so that you do not miss the statute of limitations, but you also get compensatory damages as soon as possible after a damaging collision. Injuries from truck accidents typically come with expensive medical costs, and delaying claims and recoveries could lead to additional financial distress for victims that our lawyers can help them avoid.
Prove or Negotiate Damages
To get compensation for your damages after a truck hits you, we must prove your damages exist. Most of your economic damages may come from immediate hospital expenses, though victims with serious injuries may incur medical damages for many months or possibly years. Our lawyers can have medical experts give statements or testify about future care in these cases so defendants compensate victims for upcoming losses. We can do the same to get future lost wages and seek compensation for any missed income to date because of the accident.
Though many truck accident cases will settle out of court, victims should not accept unfair proposals compared to our calculations. We can oversee settlement negotiations, reject poor offers, and explain why you deserve greater compensation, especially for your non-economic losses. From the start of your case, our lawyers can prepare for the possibility of a trial, so we are ready to prove the defendant’s liability if they do not propose a fair settlement at any point during negotiations.
Call Our Temple, TX Lawyers About Your Accident Case Today
Call the truck accident lawyers of The Queenan Law Firm at (817) 476-1797 for a free case assessment.