Houston Truck Accident Attorney

Injury Accidents Involving Semi Trucks, 18 Wheelers and Other Commercial Trucks

When a car, van or pickup is involved in an accident with a commercial truck, the injuries sustained are often catastrophic or fatal. The huge size and weight of these vehicles makes them particularly dangerous to all drivers who are sharing the road. A driver that is fatigued, aggressive or fails to follow safety regulations endangers innocent people. In fact, in the Houston area, there have been many serious or fatal truck accidents.

In a recent year, there were 427 fatal crashes involving trucks. If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in an accident involving a semi-truck, 18-wheeler or tractor trailer truck, it is important that you are represented by a skilled Houston trucking accident lawyer as early as possible. These are often complex cases, and there can be several liable parties, including the driver, the trucking company, the maintenance company, the truck manufacturer or parts manufacturer or others. How your case is managed can have a significant impact on the final outcome of your case, and the value of your jury award or settlement.

Underride Accidents, Jackknife Accidents and Collisions

An underride is one of the most dangerous types of truck accidents. These occur when a vehicle is forced under the side of the truck. The driver and passenger of the passenger vehicle have little hope of surviving such an accident, and if they do, there are often extensive or permanent injuries, particularly traumatic brain injuries. A jackknife can occur when a truck is loaded improperly, turns too quickly, or is when a truck is travelling too fast for current weather or road conditions. Once a truck jackknifes, any vehicle nearby is in danger of impact, and the driver and passengers could at risk of injury or death. The weight of the truck pushes it forward, and many of these collisions involve several vehicles, serious or permanent injuries or death.

Collisions, whether a side impact, rear impact or head on collision leaves little chance that the driver of the vehicle involved will survive. The injuries are commonly extremely serious, requiring long term medical care and treatment, or fatal. In either case, it is very important to have legal representation to protect the interests of the injured or the family who has lost a loved one.

Filing a Truck Accident Injury Claim

A truck accident claim is handled somewhat differently than a car accident. The accidents are investigated by various authorities, both at the state and federal level. There is a great deal of information that will be evaluated, including the truck driver logs, blood testing of the driver to find out if there was any drug or alcohol intoxication, the "black box" which measures speed as well as other motions of the truck, as well as witness reports, any available video and other evidence. In some cases, the truck accident is the result of the failure of a critical truck safety component, such as tires or brakes.

Tired drivers continue to be a serious problem, even though federal regulations require that commercial drivers get enough sleep. A driver could falsify a log, fail to adhere to federal regulations and consume drugs or alcohol, or drive faster than the law allows. After the investigation, which also will include the trucking firm's insurance company, the injured victims or families are often contacted, and an offer of settlement is made. These offers are usually far, far lower than what the injured person could recover. My duty to my clients is to recover the maximum possible, based upon what occurred and the degree of the injuries sustained.

Contact our Houston truck accident lawyer for immediate assistance in an injury claim related to a commercial truck accident.