Trucking companies provide a valuable service to the state of Texas and our nation as a whole. However, owners and operators of 18-wheelers have a responsibility to themselves and everyone else on the road. If you or a loved one was a victim of a trucking accident due to someone else’s negligence, you could be eligible to receive compensation.
Our team at The Mejia Law Firm fights for the rights of individuals and families who were injured or lost their lives in truck accidents in Houston, TX. Those involved in big rig collisions caused by negligence have the legal right to pursue damages. We offer experienced guidance and advocacy to truck accident victims wondering what legal options are available after an injury. You can be confident we will give your case the time, effort, care, and experienced advocacy that it deserves.
Houston Truck Accident Statistics
When someone works with an 80,000-pound tractor-trailer, they have a duty to use and maintain that vehicle with the utmost attention to safety. When a trucking company, loading company, truck manufacturer, vehicle owner, or semi-driver doesn’t take that duty seriously, innocent victims can suffer devastating and entirely preventable consequences.
Hundreds of thousands of truck accidents occur every year nationwide and have continued to increase over the past decade. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, there were 5,904 fatal crashes and 119,000 injury crashes in the last reported year. Here are some statistics from the Texas Department of Transportation reflecting the annual impact:
- 5 billion tons of freight hauled in Texas
- 1 billion miles driven on the Texas Highway Freight Network
- 38,149 commercial truck accidents occurred in Texas
- 5,743 accidents occurred in Houston and the surrounding area
- Roughly one in six truck accidents happened in Harris County
Houston hosts the largest population size of any city in Texas, which leads to a lot of traffic on our roads and an ever-growing number of commercial trucks. With freight and trucking being a crucial part of the Houston economy, it is no wonder that accidents involving these vehicles are a common occurrence. Obtaining justice through personal injury settlements and lawsuits sends a message and hopefully discourages similar accidents from occurring in the future.
Common Injuries in Commercial Truck Accidents
The average semi-truck weighs between 25,000 to 35,000 pounds without even calculating the added weight of their freight or cargo. This huge difference between the weight of a truck and that of a typical passenger vehicle causes devastating results when accidents occur. Severe injuries and fatalities are more common in truck accidents because of this. Here are some common injuries caused by truck crashes:
- Broken bones and fractures
- Spinal cord injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Chemical or physical burns
- Whiplash
- Paralysis
- Amputation and disfigurement
- Internal injuries
- Psychological trauma including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Because of the severity of injuries resulting from an impact with a truck, many victims take months or years to recover. Some are left with lifelong disabilities and require extensive medical care and rehabilitation. It is vital to hold the liable parties responsible for these losses to provide a settlement for the victims and discourage similar accidents in the future.
Do Not Put Off Getting a Medical Examination
No matter how you feel after a truck accident, you should prioritize getting checked out by a medical professional. Some injuries that happen in accidents can take weeks to show symptoms. It is vital to establish proof that your injury was a direct result of the accident you were in.
Medical professionals know what injuries to look for in accident victims and will be able to find, document, and begin treating those injuries so you can begin to recover. Make sure to save any documentation, medical bills, paperwork, and recovery care guides that you are given and share them with your truck accident lawyer. These will be vital evidence in pursuing a settlement in your personal injury claim.
Investigating What Causes 18-Wheeler Accidents
There are numerous factors that can contribute to a semi-truck accident. While some accidents involve a single truck, it is more common for truck accidents to include one or more passenger vehicles in the collision. The elements leading to the crash and their repercussions can be difficult to sort out and accurately evaluate.
An experienced Houston truck accident lawyer from The Mejia Law Firm will conduct thorough investigations to determine how an accident was caused and what factors played a role. Your attorney may need to examine evidence such as:
- Police reports
- Physical damage done to vehicles and nearby roads and property
- Truck black box data (such as an ELD or EDR)
- Photographs of the accident scene
- Surveillance or dashcam footage
- Eyewitness reports
- Expert witness statements (such as traffic reconstruction experts)
- Trucking company policies
- Trucking company logs and records
- Past trucking company safety violations
- Truck manufacturer history and records
- History of the truck driver involved
- Alcohol and drug tests for the truck driver
As your truck accident attorney evaluates pieces of evidence like those listed above, they will need to critically assess which party or parties are at fault. In large-scale, high-damage accidents like tractor-trailer crashes, it is important to bring attention to negligent practices that might otherwise continue if not addressed.
For example, when a trucking company makes it standard practice to overwork its drivers, a fatigued driver may fall asleep at the wheel and kill others on the road. Truck accident attorneys work to ensure that a negligent company like this changes its policies so a similar accident does not happen in the future.
Typical Causes of a Truck Accident
The causation of truck accidents can include a variety of factors. Knowing what caused a truck accident will help to establish liability and what party or parties were at fault. After conducting investigations, the following causes may be found to contribute to an 18-wheeler accident:
- Driver fatigue
- Speeding
- Miscalculating turns and inclines
- Following too closely
- Violating traffic laws
- Overloading or negligent loading practices
- Improperly-hitched trailers and poorly secured cargo
- Falling asleep at the wheel
- Driver substance abuse
- Poor driver hiring or training practices
A big rig accident can also be the result of a faulty or defective auto part. This may be an issue related to negligent manufacturing or poor maintenance policies and practices. The most common vehicle defects contributing to truck accidents include:
- Tire or wheel issues
- Brake failure
- Powertrain system failure
- Steering system failure
- Suspension problems
- Vehicle light failure
- Windshield wiper defects
Discovering who is at fault and how to hold them accountable after a devastating truck accident can be overwhelming. During this difficult time, you should be focused on recovery instead of worrying about medical bills, car repair estimates, lost wages, and other losses caused by someone’s reckless driving. Your Houston truck accident attorney from The Mejia Law Firm will handle these frustrating details for you.
Truck Accidents Are Different from Car vs. Car Collisions
Because of their length, size, weight, and high center of gravity, tractor-trailer accidents are different from accidents that involve one or more smaller passenger vehicles. Some of the most common types of truck accidents include:
- Underride or Override Accidents – when a smaller car is stuck and crushed under a semi-truck
- Jackknife Accidents – when the cab and trailer of a truck fold at a 90° angle
- Rollovers – when a truck loses balance and tips over
- Side-Swipe Accidents – when a truck passes too closely and strikes the side of another car
- Rear-End Collisions – when a truck collides with the back of a vehicle in front of it
- Blind-Spot Accidents – when a truck fails to see a car in its blind spot and collides while merging
Practicing truck accident law demands knowledge of a wide range of state and federal trucking regulations, insurance policies, traffic laws, commercial driver requirements, loading restrictions, and other relevant information. At The Mejia Law Firm, we devote our years of experience to proving liability and accurately calculating damages.
Through our focus on and attention to your individual case, we can help you obtain the compensation you and your family need to recover financially from the impact of a truck accident. If you have questions, please contact our office to schedule a no-obligation consultation at no cost to you.
Investigating the Accident and Establishing Liability
Your truck accident lawyer will establish liability for your case after a thorough investigation. We begin with evaluating all documents and evidence available such as police reports, truck inspection reports, truck black box data, traffic camera footage, photos from the accident scene, witness statements, and medical records. Accident reconstruction experts are often brought in to provide forensic crash analysis and scientific animations for a more thorough view of the truck crash.
With this information, your legal team will work to determine where negligence occurred. Like many commercial vehicle accidents, there is a potential for multiple at-fault parties. When pursuing compensation from a negligent party, four things must be established:
- Duty of Care – Owing a duty of care could include the responsibility all drivers have to drive safely.
- Breach of The Duty of Care – Breaching that responsibility of care could include speeding, driving under the influence, or reckless behavior.
- Causation – Their actions or lack of action directly resulted in your accident and injuries.
- Damages – A list of identifiable losses that you have suffered as a result of the accident.
In Texas, personal injury cases require a preponderance of the evidence, meaning the argument for your case must be of greater weight than any evidence offered opposing it. Stated in a simple way, the argument for your case has to be more likely true than not. This is where your truck accident attorney will work tirelessly to collect the facts and evidence required to win your case.
Types of Financial Recovery and Calculating Your Settlement
Victims of a truck accident in Texas can seek compensatory damages from the liable party or their insurance company. The types of financial recovery fall into two categories – economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages are standard financial and monetary losses associated with the accident including any medical bills, lost wages, reduced earning potential, and property damage. This category should help you reestablish the financial position you held before your accident.
Non-economic damages account for non-monetarily assigned losses such as distress, suffering, and overall changes to your life. Valuing these losses can be challenging, but an experienced legal team will be able to rely on successful settlements from past truck accident cases, experts, and specialists to get a picture of the full impact of your injuries and suffering. In Texas, there is no upper limit to valuing non-economic damages in this type of personal injury claim.
Examples of non-economic losses you may be able to recover include:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional anguish
- Loss of consortium
- Reduced life expectancy
- Embarrassment or damage to reputation
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Disfigurement
- Reduced quality of life
Under Texas law, some truck accident cases may also be considered for punitive damages or exemplary damages, which are not compensatory but purely awarded as a punishment to the negligent party or parties. To be awarded exemplary damages, you must have clear and convincing evidence of fraud, malice, or gross negligence. An example of this would be a truck accident caused by a truck driver showing gross negligence due to inebriation.
Negotiations and Settlement
Once your settlement is calculated, your legal team will send a demand letter to the opposing party explaining your losses, why they are liable, and the amount you are seeking in compensation. Ideally this letter starts effective negotiations and allows you to settle your dispute outside of the courtroom. The Mejia Law Firm will manage the process of writing and sending a strong demand letter.
Demand letters can speed up the time it takes to receive a payout and settle most disputes before a truck accident lawsuit is filed. While you can write your own demand letter, working with an attorney will ensure you have effective wording referencing relevant laws, proper evidence showing liability, and a fair calculation of the requested settlement amount. After receiving a demand letter, several outcomes are possible.
In an ideal world, the other party may agree immediately to your proposed terms and send your settlement payout. Many will choose to counter with another proposed compensation offer, which can begin the negotiation process until both parties accept. There is also the chance your settlement will be rejected completely, and the other party will refuse to negotiate. When this happens, you may decide to file a lawsuit.
How Can an Experienced Truck Accident Lawyer Help?
After the devastation caused by a truck accident, it can feel isolating to care for your injuries, handle medical bills, negotiate with insurance, and also work towards receiving a settlement for your personal injury case. Insurance companies try to pay out as little as possible and will use legalese and manipulative techniques to try to convince you to settle for far less than you deserve. Getting a qualified team of legal professionals on your side can be a huge support in helping you obtain compensation for your injuries.
Your lawyer will gather evidence to prove up your truck accident case, calculate a comprehensive claim based on your losses, and negotiate a settlement with the at-fault party or parties. This includes sorting through large amounts of data and paperwork. They take on all the things you do not want to be focused on while recovering physically and mentally from a traumatic experience.
Hiring a Houston truck accident attorney from The Mejia Law Firm ensures that you have a team of dedicated, experienced trial lawyers on your side. We are here to support you through navigating the legal process and fighting for fair compensation. We work on a contingency basis, meaning you will not have to pay until we secure a settlement or verdict on your behalf. Our staff is available day or night for our clients and do everything possible to ensure your financial future.
Get Help from The Mejia Law Firm Today
If you or someone you love has been injured in a truck accident caused by negligence, you need legal representation to defend your case and seek the compensation you deserve. Trust in the experienced Houston personal injury lawyers at The Mejia Law Firm to fight for you. We work on a contingency basis, which means you will not pay any legal fees unless we win your case.
At The Mejia Law Firm, we are lawyers for today’s Texas. Every case is unique, and we investigate every detail to ensure justice is served. Contact us today for a free, confidential case evaluation, and we will walk you through the details of your case and answer any questions you might have.