Finding Restitution for Injuries and Pain From an 18-Wheeler Wreck
In a big truck injury accident that’s not your fault, any number of different parties can be responsible, and theoretically, held legally liable for the wreck. This includes the trucker, the company he or she works for, the company that loaded the trailer, those who planned the truck’s route, and possibly a defective part on the truck itself or even a road construction contractor. So the first thing you must do is find out is whose fault it is for the truck accident that caused the injuries you suffered and or the untimely and shocking death of a loved one. Before we go further, one important point to keep in the back of your mind is the legal notion in Texas law called “respondent superior.” It basically means that employers are directly liable for negligence (and by definition, legal liability of their employees for their actions while they are at work). So, by definition the employer is just as responsible for the action or inaction of its employees as if they themselves were negligent: which means it is their responsibility to pay for your injuries and other legal damages.
Another relatively new source of liability has emerged over the past few years. States and counties outsource a larger percentage of their road maintenance and highway construction duties to private contractors and their subcontractors than just a few short years ago. So if a privately-owned company, in the performance of its road construction or maintenance contracts, creates hazardous road conditions that cause an 18-wheeler to hit you, these companies will also undergo liability scrutiny that arises from the 18-wheeler accident. All private companies contracted by the state of Texas or any of its counties for any outsourced engagement must, by law, a document that they are either properly insured, or provide a very large liability bond that is backed by their cash-on-hand.
To win your claim among a surplus of potential defendants, you will greatly benefit from an experienced trucking accident injury attorney who can investigate the scene of an accident to discover who is liable, and then wade through a great deal of paperwork to determine the best possible targets for your accident-related compensation. Local or state law enforcement agencies will investigate all 18-wheeler accidents. And sometimes, so does the US Department of Transportation (DOT), especially if a repeat offender of their statutes and laws governing interstate transportation is involved. But right now, that doesn’t really help you because many times those investigations only reveal the primary responsible parties such as the drivers or the company that owns the rig; past the initial establishment of the preliminary cause of the accident.
Their investigations often fail to identify all underlying causes for the 18 wheeler wreck that injured you, which reveals every liable party. Ours do. Experienced accident lawyers conduct these stringent investigations and know how to determine the degree of each responsible party in every big rig accident for the purposes of civil damage compensation. Occasionally our investigations reveal additional criminal facts of the accident that law officials might have missed. When we identify those who initially escaped detection, we pass them along to law enforcement for further criminal investigation.
After your big trucking accident, your attorney must determine whose negligence caused the wreck, who else contributed to it, or if a mechanical failure caused the driver to lose control of the big rig. Did the company that owned the cargo load it improperly? Was the cargo safely secured? Sometimes when that doesn’t happen, cargo breaks free during transport and topples the trailer; or spills onto the road, or another vehicle. Sometimes route planners are negligent in sending the truck down a road on which it doesn’t belong. If the cargo is hazardous, maybe it was sent off the traditional hazardous cargo routes.
Rare is the time when finding fault for a semi-accident is as simple as “A plus B equals C.” This is why you benefit from the investigative expertise of a Texas trucking wreck lawyer who will get to the bottom of a big rig accident and identifies every liable party who is responsible for your injuries, pain, suffering, lost income, wrongful death, and other damages arising from this tragic wreck.
Our Law Firm has decades of experience handling personal injury litigation in large truck wreck cases. If you or a loved one has been hit by one of these monsters and you are blameless, our expertise assures that you should receive the fairest compensation possible for the injuries and pain you have suffered or if a wrongful death of a loved one has occurred. We’ve helped deliver millions of dollars to hundreds of negligent accident victims in Texas. So if you or a loved one has been involved in a trucking accident in Texas, our experienced accident lawyers can win the best compensation possible for you.
Call us today at 1(800) 862-1260 (toll-free) for a free consultation. Get on the road to recovery so you and your family can get on with your lives.
