Texas – April 5, 2021

An Amarillo woman suffered fatal injury after a crash with an 18-wheeler on a curved portion of Highway 385 when a big rig tried to pass another tractor trailer, did not have enough room, and collided with the driver side of the passenger van she was driving.  Family members and loved ones may require the services of an experienced truck accident attorney to determine if driver negligence caused the harmful loss of life, and to assist with insurance claims to secure expedient funding to cover funeral and burial expenses.  It is important to ascertain who may be responsible for a truck accident. Hiring legal counsel to initiate legal action against a negligent driver, trucking company, or manufacturer in the proper timeframe is the first step toward damage recovery.

Big truck collisions.

The number of large trucks involved in fatal crashes increased 1 percent, from 4,804 to 4,862 in 2018, and the large truck involvement rate (large trucks involved in fatal crashes per 100 million miles traveled by large trucks) decreased 1 percent, from 1.61 to 1.59.  Large trucks were involved in 112,000 injury crashes and 414,000 damage only crashes in 2018.  One government study revealed that driver fatigue played a large part in 31% of the cases causing death. Contact an experienced attorney to assist in a wrongful death legal action when truck driver error, including driver fatigue is suspected.

Negligence.

Negligence will need to be proven for a successful court, or insurance settlement award, supported by the assignment of  fault exhibited by a truck driver, company, or other related party, that led to catastrophic injury, property damage, or death.  Truck accident lawyers can support negligence claims against commercial trucking companies caused by driver errors, including fatigue and reckless driving through support documentation that includes electronic time logs, event data recorder and cell phone records, truck inspection trip reports, GPS information, logbooks, and other documents that include time stamps such as bills of lading, or other receipts.  Federal trucking law violations may weigh in favor of an accident victim.  An experienced personal injury attorney can guide the actions of loved ones after a driver suffered fatal injury in a tractor trailer accident.

Insurance responsibility.

Texas is a “fault state” which means that the party found to be responsible for the accident will have to compensate the other party involved in the accident. Texas utilizes the 51% rule, whereby an injured person can be up to 50% responsible for an accident and still collect damages, but if an individual is more than 51% responsible for the accident, there will be no recoverable compensation.  Always call the police when an injury or fatality occurs, the vehicle cannot move, a driver has no insurance, a driver leaves the scene, or a driver is operating vehicle under the influence. Recoverable compensation may include medical bills, lost wages, property replacement, pain, and suffering, along with loss of companionship and future earnings in wrongful death actions.

Talk to a truck accident attorney.

Contact a professional experienced accident attorney for a consultation, as they can research specific case facts and interpret the law to support your case’s best outcome toward compensation for damages and injuries caused by the truck accident.

Sources:

https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety/data-and-statistics/large-truck-and-bus-crash-facts-2018

https://www.tdi.texas.gov/consumer/auto-insurance.html

https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/TN/htm/TN.601.htm#601.051

https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/SDocs/CIVILPRACTICEANDREMEDIESCODE.pdf