Texas Truck Wreck Attorney Blog

Recent semi truck accidents across the country show that fault is evenly divided between the truck drivers themselves and drivers of the other vehicles involved in the wreck.

For instance, in Tampa a speeding driver drove straight into and under the back wheels of a semi truck. The semi truck driver was uninjured but the other motorist was airlifted in critical condition to a nearby hospital.

In another case in Indiana multiple calls were made to the State Highway Patrol concerning a semi truck that had been driving recklessly for over ten miles. The semi crashed - destroying its goods - by the time the time patrolmen caught up with the driver. He was cited for reckless driving.

And...just last week two reported semi truck accidents resulted in multiple death on Chicago roadways on the same day and only several hours apart.

Serious semi truck accidents usually result in litigation. The Texas truck accident attorneys in this firm bring (25) years of 18 wheeler accident experience to the courtroom on behalf of victims families and truck accident survivors.

We have an expertise in the most recent trucking regulations and laws and the applicability of it to truck accident litigation.

In addition, we have developed a wide network of experts in such concerns that include (but are not limited to) intoxicated driving, driver fatigue, and trucking business and driver negligence, speeding and vehicle defects.

Sadly, semi truck accidents do not seem to be a phenomenon that will be disappearing anytime soon. Therefore, sometimes the only comfort afforded to victims is through the civil justice system.

Wrongful death is a death that results from a wrongful act or from negligence of another; a death that can serve as the basis for a civil action for damages on behalf of the deceased person's family or heirs.

Under the aforementioned circumstances a wrongful death lawsuit is a civil action and the most common standard of proof is a 'preponderance of evidence'.

In some cases a personal injury attorney will seek exemplary or punitive damages in addition to the families damages for the loss of a loved one.

Recently, Texas courts and our legislature have put up many legal hurdles to limit or disallow a jury from considering punishment damages.

A wrongful death lawsuit is also the only real recourse available when a company, not an individual, causes the death of a person. For instance, if your loved one is maimed or killed in a semi truck accident then the trucking company may be held liable.

Another example of this is when there is a manufacturer's defect in the vehicle itself caused the death - a phenomenon that has occurred on a number of occasions since auto companies began making cars.

A civil suit does not preclude a person from also being criminally negligent as well.
The history of wrongful death legislation can be traced to England in the mid 1800s. According to historians during the 1830s the rapid development of the railways led to increasing public hostility to the epidemic of railway deaths and the indifferent attitudes of the railway companies.

The Deodand Act of 1846 gave personal representatives the right to bring a legal action for damages where the deceased person had such a right at the time of their death. Compensation was restricted to the husband, parent, or child of the deceased and was for damages.

Do you buckle up? Every time? Recent studies show that seatbelt use has a significant impact on injury potential from automobile accidents.

NHTSA reports that seatbelt use in 2008 was at an all time high of 83 percent and correspondently, the percentage of fatalities from car accidents have declined since 2000.

Much of the increased use of seatbelts is attributed to individual State laws which require seatbelt use (such as Texas), and also the success of the "click it or ticket" advertizing campaign.

In a Texas auto accident lawsuit the nonuse of a seatbelt is an issue in the litigation and the judge or jury may attribute fault for the injury to the injured automobile accident victim who did nothing wrong in the car wreck but just was not wearing his or her seatbelt.

If the judge or jury attributes some percentage of the injury for not wearing a seatbelt, that finding will reduce the money award to the victim. If over 50 percent of the injury is attributed to not wearing of a seatbelt, the victim will not recover money from the car accident lawsuit, even when the person was not a fault for causing the car accident.

In Texas, it against the law not to buckle up, and studies show seatbelts do reduce injury potential and the risk of death in automobile accidents. Not only can a seat belt reduce the risk of injury, but failure to wear a belt can adversely affect a personal injury case as well.

Continue reading "Seatbelts really do prevent injury in car accidents" »