TRUCKING ACCIDENT LAWYERS WHO KNOW HOW TO GET YOU RESULTS
IN A CASE OF A TRUCK ACCIDENT, DO I NEED A LAWYER?
what a lawyer for a truck crash can do for you?
WHAT KINDS OF DRIVER MISTAKES CAN LEAD TO TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS IN TRUCKS?
1. DROWSY DRIVER OF A TRUCK
2. DRIVING A TRUCK WHILE DRUNK
3. Trucks are driving too fast for the conditions and are speeding.
4. DRIVING A TRUCK CARELESSLY AND VICIOUSLY
5. DRIVER DISTRACTIONS IN A TRUCK
6. Other kinds of 18-wheeler driver mistakes
Who is to blame for accidents involving trucks?
1. SEMI-TRUCKS’ BRAKES
2. SEMI TRUCKS HAVE SAFETY GEAR
3. SECURITY FOR THE BIG RIG LOAD
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE WHEN A TRUCKING ACCIDENT HAPPENS?
WHAT KINDS OF INJURIES DO TRUCK ACCIDENTS CAUSE?
HOW MUCH MONEY CAN I GET IN A CLAIM FOR A TRUCK ACCIDENT?
TRUCK DASHCAMS: FRIEND OR FOE OF THE TRUCK DRIVER?
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO SETTLEMENT A CLAIM ABOUT A TRUCK ACCIDENT IN TEXAS?
CONTACT OUR TRUCK ACCIDENT LAWYERS IN HOUSTON TODAY
what a lawyer for a truck crash can do for you?
WHEN SHOULD I CALL A TRUCK ACCIDENT LAWYER IN HOUSTON?
It’s likely that the insurance agent will call you before you even have a chance to think about calling a lawyer. The adjuster is trying to get ahead of you and get you to agree to a deal before the dust settles.
That alone should tell you something. So, if the insurance adjuster for the trucking company calls you early or comes to your house and is too friendly, as comic Bill Engvall would say, “there’s your sign.”
It’s just not funny. Clearly, if you want to talk to a trucking accident lawyer, now is the time to do it.
Even though it’s best to call an expert as soon as possible, you do have some time to think about what to do. If you’re not sure if you need an expert, take a closer look at these situations:
A fatal crash with a truck.
A serious accident in which you were hurt badly. This includes, but is not limited to, broken bones, paralysis, amputation, burns, blindness, and long-term or permanent physical damage.
Even a small chance exists that you could be found to be at fault.
There were other cars involved in the crash.
The accident happened near a building site or a school.
The official accident report doesn’t say everything that happened or doesn’t say it right.
A lawyer who specializes in 18-wheeler accidents can also help you find out what caused the accident in the first place. There are many things that can lead to trucking accidents, and it usually takes an expert to sort through all of them and find the exact cause or reasons. The better the expert, the more likely it is that they will find all the reasons. People can make guesses about what happened, but only an experienced Houston trucking accident lawyer will have solid proof.
RECENT CRASHES IN HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS, INVOLVING TRUCKERS
Lawyers Patrick Daniel and Randy Canche talk about a recent fatal truck accident on Houston’s North Freeway that involved an Amazon tractor-trailer. They also talk about common causes of semi-truck accidents, what to do after an accident, and common questions about truck accidents.
Questions people often ask about truck accidents in Houston
WHAT KINDS OF DRIVER MISTAKES CAN LEAD TO TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS IN TRUCKS?
Big rigs aren’t always dangerous just because they’re big. They can be dangerous if they’re driven carelessly, aren’t kept up properly, or are in a chaotic situation on a busy highway. Whether you are driving, fixing, or solving, you need to be alert.
A 18-wheeler has much less room for mistake than your Toyota Camry. The driver didn’t pay attention for a second, and the truck moved into the other lane and hit a car. A big rig going 65 miles per hour needs 525 feet, or about a tenth of a mile, to come to a full stop from the time the driver realizes what’s happening until the truck stops. If a car was going at the same speed, it would take 316 feet.
That’s why so many crashes with 18-wheelers happen when they hit something in front of them. But these are not small accidents where only a few things get broken and maybe some coffee gets spilled. These can be very bad and even kill.
When you own and drive an 18-wheeler, you have a lot of duties that shouldn’t be taken lightly. When they do, disaster can happen.
A big truck accident can be caused by many different things, just like any other car accident. There are different ways a truck driver can be careless, such as:
1. DROWSY DRIVER OF A TRUCK
Drowsiness makes it harder to move quickly, notice danger, and think clearly. Because of this, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration limits a truck driver to 11 hours of driving per day and 60 hours per seven-day week.
Employers often put pressure on drivers to meet delivery deadlines that are nearly impossible to meet without going over the allowed hours. This leads to illegally driving over time, falsified driver logs, and crashes all too often. Drowsiness can also be caused by a driver’s age, general health, medicines (both prescribed and not), and how much and/or how well he or she slept during breaks.
In many cases, this is a key point. To win a case, it helps to be able to show that the driver of a tractor-trailer rig knew he hadn’t taken the legally needed time off. A second thing to think about is whether or not the driver broke the rules of the road because his boss put pressure on him to bring the goods quickly.
2. DRIVING A TRUCK WHILE DRUNK
It’s scary to think that people driving 80,000-pound monsters on our roads could be high on anything from beer to drugs like heroin, but it happens. In the most recent Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts Report, data collected by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) showed that 4,600 truck drivers involved in fatal crashes had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.01 or higher. This means that 2.5% of truck drivers in these accidents were legally drunk.
We all have aches and pains, and truck drivers are no different. Many of them have long-term conditions for which they are given strong medicines. Most of the time, these drugs have side effects that can make it hard to drive. If you don’t care about these side effects, it could hurt you in court. Several big rig accidents have also been linked to over-the-counter drugs.
3. Trucks are driving too fast for the conditions and are speeding.
Almost every driver has seen a big truck speed past slower traffic when the driver should have slowed down. Technically, it’s not speeding unless the truck goes faster than the speed limit marked, but it’s still illegal and dangerous. Driving too fast for the weather is a violation that can get you a ticket.
According to the FMCSA, there are times when you should drive much slower than the posted speed limit.
slick or wet roads
Fog
Roads with bumps
Zones for building
Changes in shape
Meeting points
Broken pavement
Dirt roads
a lot of cars
According to the FMCSA study, “Speeding of Any Kind” is the most common cause of truck accidents, accounting for 6.5% of fatal crashes.
4. DRIVING A TRUCK CARELESSLY AND VICIOUSLY
Steven Spielberg’s first full-length movie was called Duel. It was about a crazy truck driver who tried to force an unlucky driver off a dangerous mountain road. It took advantage of people’s fear that big rig drivers are out to “get them.”
Lucky for us, that’s not really the case. But there have been a few times when a truck driver may have been upset by another driver and acted in a bad way. The FMCSA says that aggressive driving or road rage played a role in less than 1% of fatal truck crashes.
In court, it can be hard to prove that the truck driver was driving aggressively or had road rage. Often, third-party witnesses are needed to back up the claim.
18-Wheeler Accidents Caused by Distracted Driving
5. DRIVER DISTRACTIONS IN A TRUCK
Truck drivers often text, talk on the phone, and look at the internet while moving. The FMCSA says that almost 6% of fatal truck crashes were caused by the driver being distracted in some way. These things are:
Outside person, thing, or event that distracts the driver
Trying to get things inside the cab
Having a phone call
How to call a number
Using a phone (texting, downloading apps, etc.)
What you eat or drink
Changing the sound and temperature controls
Idle thoughts
Using tobacco
When a truck driver isn’t paying attention, a big rig crash can be the worst of the worst in terms of deaths, injuries, and damage to property. People have been found guilty of murder because of how they acted while driving. The penalties for business drivers who text while driving are getting harsher, but they can be different from one state to the next.
