Texas – April 6, 2021

Tractor trailer truck accidents often cause substantial catastrophic bodily harm, including traumatic brain injury, spinal cord damage, or loss of limbs, and increased property damage that insurance policies may not cover.  Significant life changes, lifelong medical treatment, and the devastation of losing a loved one’s personal, emotional, and fiscal support because an accident results in death may be addressed through legal action to pursue remedy with the assistance of seasoned Texas truck accident lawyers.

Identify responsible parties.

Multiple parties can be named in truck accident lawsuits including the trucking company, drivers if they are negligent with “hours of service” requirements, or distracted driving actions, and employees who are responsible for cargo loads, as well as manufacturers who provide defective parts to companies that may have caused the accident.  An experienced personal injury attorney can distinguish who may be named as a party after reviewing preliminary evidence from the accident scene.

Building a truck accident case.

Consultation – An experienced personal injury attorney will need to ascertain if a person’s accident damages can be addressed through insurance claims, settlement, or court awards.  Consultation with an attorney is helpful regarding valuation and assessment of damages.  There are cases where defendants will want to avoid further court action, and they, or legal counsel representing them, will try to work out a settlement deal. During the initial consultation, a lawyer will request:

• details of the accident,
• available documentation of injuries resultant from the accident,
• the date the accident victim noticed injury, or symptoms of injury,
• when and how often medical professionals were involved in treatment, and
• past medical history.
• After review of the requested information, legal counsel will guide victims’ actions to build a case to move forward with a court action, try to settle with the insurance company, or decide that the case does not warrant any further action then what is required of insurance carriers.

Filing a claim – Once a lawyer determines that grounds for a viable lawsuit exist, they will prepare a statement of claim notifying previously identified defendants that they are being sued for the accident, laying out all relevant facts within the document and the requested amounts for damage compensation.

Discovery – When a settlement is not possible, critical accident information and relevant facts must be collected and reviewed. A personal injury lawyer will help accident victims gather all medical records, insurance forms, and other documents which are relevant to the truck accident claim.  The discovery phase may inspire settlement discussions by either party.

Mediation – An informal settlement meeting may be requested where the mediator will assist the parties in exploring the potential for settlement.

Moving to trial – If an accident case cannot be settled in mediation, it will be set for a court date, and a pre-trial conference may be set before a judge to ascertain  the possibility of ironing out differences and resolving a case before it goes to trial.  If that does not happen, then the action will be moved to trial.

Hire an attorney.

The Cooper Law Firm has the resources to move forward toward a proper insurance settlement, or court award that is unique to each truck accident case.   An experienced injury attorney will fight for a victim’s right to damage compensation.

Cooper Law Firm
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 2222
Longview, TX 75606

Physical Address: 501 N Third St,
Longview, TX 75601

Telephone ; (903) 297-0037
Toll-Free: 1-855-297-HURT (4878)
Facsimile: (903) 236-0035

Sources:

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