As one of the country’s commercial trucking hubs, semi trucks are a common sight throughout the Houston area. Although extensive regulations govern the trucking industry, the companies responsible for moving cargo have one major concern: the bottom line.
To protect their bottom line, it is all too easy for trucking companies and the people who work for them to cut corners. When this happens, innocent people get injured or killed.
At Patrick Daniel Law, our attorneys have extensive experience in the complex realm of commercial trucking accidents. If you were seriously injured or lost a loved one in a collision with an 18-wheeler, our law firm can help you pursue the compensation you deserve.
Please contact Patrick Daniel Law at (713) 999-6666 today for a free consultation. Our Houston truck accident lawyers serve clients in Houston, all of Texas, and throughout the United States.
DO I NEED A LAWYER IN A TRUCK ACCIDENT CASE?
Yes. Although it is not required that you hire a lawyer before taking legal action against a trucking company, the odds are stacked against you if you don’t have qualified representation.
Trucking accident claims aren’t like car accident cases. Although both types of claims center on collisions involving one or more vehicles, truck accident litigation is much more complicated.
There are a few reasons trucking crashes are complex, and why hiring an experienced lawyer is crucial to a successful outcome in your case:
- Your case may involve more than one defendant, including the trucker, his/her employer, the maker of a part on the rig, and possibly others
- Multiple defendants means multiple insurance companies will be involved, all of them trying to pass the buck and pay you as little as possible
- Truck drivers are subject to federal regulations as well as state and local laws; multiple agencies are likely to be involved in the accident investigation, each of them governed by their own rules, legislation, and procedures
- Injuries in truck accidents tend to be much more extensive than they are in “average” car crashes
- Accordingly, the damages sought in truck accident lawsuits tend to be much higher
All of these factors combine to make trucking accident claims complicated and often hotly contested. To get the compensation you need and deserve after being hurt in a crash with a semi truck, it is certainly in your best interest to hire a trucking accident lawyer who understands both the complexities of the litigation and the stakes to you personally.
WHEN SHOULD I GET A HOUSTON TRUCK ACCIDENT LAWYER?
It’s a fairly safe bet that the insurance adjuster will contact you before you even have time to consider calling an attorney. The adjuster wants to head you off at the pass, and hopefully get you to sign off on a settlement before the dust settles.
That should tell you something right there. So, if you get an early call or a way-too-friendly in-person visit from the insurance adjuster representing the trucking company, “there’s your sign,” as comedian Bill Engvall would say.
Only it’s not funny. Clearly, this is the time to act, if you have any notion of contacting a truck accident lawyer.
While calling an attorney early in the process is ultimately best, you do have some time to reflect on your situation. These conditions merit a closer look if you’re wondering whether you should call an attorney:
- A fatal truck accident.
- An accident in which you were severely injured. This includes, but is not limited to, broken bones, paralysis, amputation, burns, blindness, or long-term or permanent physical impairment.
- There’s even a slight chance that you could be found at fault.
- The crash involved other vehicles.
- The crash occurred in a construction zone or school zone.
- The official accident report is incomplete or does not accurately describe what happened.
An 18-wheeler accident attorney can also help you get to the bottom of what caused the truck accident in the first place. There are many causes of trucking accidents, and being able to sort through all of them and pinpoint the exact cause or causes often takes an expert. The better the expert, the better they’ll be able to find all the causes. Many people can speculate as to the causes, but only an experienced Houston truck accident lawyer will be able to provide hard evidence.
RECENT TRUCKING ACCIDENTS IN HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS
Experienced lawyers Patrick Daniel and Randy Canche discuss the recent case of a fatal truck accident involving an Amazon tractor-trailer on Houston’s North Freeway, as well as common causes of semi-truck accidents, what to do after an accident, and common truck accident questions.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT HOUSTON TRUCK ACCIDENTS
WHAT KINDS OF TRUCK DRIVER ERRORS CAUSE ACCIDENTS?
The imposing size of big rigs doesn’t necessarily make them dangerous, but when they’re driven irresponsibly, maintained improperly, or thrust into a chaotic situation on a busy interstate, they pose a risk to us all. Vigilance, whether driving, maintaining, or troubleshooting, is crucial.
The margin of error for an 18-wheeler is much smaller than for your Toyota Camry. A moment’s inattention by the driver, and the truck has drifted into another lane and sideswiped a car. A panic stop by a big rig going 65 miles requires 525 feet (that’s roughly a tenth of a mile) from the time of driver awareness to a full stop. By comparison, a car traveling that same speed would need 316 feet.
That explains why so many 18-wheeler accidents are rear-end collisions. But these are not minor fender benders with relatively minor property damage and maybe some spilled coffee. These can be devastating and deadly.
The responsibilities of operating and owning an 18-wheeler are significant and should never be taken lightly. When they are, catastrophe can ensue.
Like any vehicle accident, a variety of factors can cause a semi truck collision. Negligence on the part of the trucker can take different forms, including:
1. TRUCK DRIVER DROWSINESS
Drowsiness affects reaction time, threat awareness, and cognitive reasoning. For these reasons, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulates the number of hours a truck driver may drive per day (11) and per seven-day week (60).
Drivers are often pressured by their employers to meet delivery schedules that are virtually impossible to meet without going over the stated hourly limitations. This leads to illegal overtime driving, falsified driver’s logs, and, all too often, accidents. Drowsiness may also be attributed to the age of the driver, his general health, medications taken (prescribed and otherwise), and the amount and/or quality of sleep during downtime.
This is a salient point in many lawsuits. Being able to prove that a driver operated a tractor-trailer rig knowing he had not logged the legally required downtime is advantageous to winning a case. A second factor in the equation is whether the driver felt compelled to break the rules of the road because of pressure from his employer to deliver the goods on a tight schedule.
2. IMPAIRED TRUCK DRIVING
It’s a frightening thought that operators of 80,000-pound monsters on our highways could be buzzed on anything from alcohol to opiates, but it happens. In the most recent Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts Report, data collected by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) revealed that 4,600 truck drivers involved in fatal crashes had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.01 or higher – 2.5 percent of truck drivers in these accidents were legally intoxicated.
Truck drivers have aches and pains, as we all do, and many suffer from chronic conditions for which they have been prescribed powerful painkillers. These painkillers often have side effects and can lead to impaired driving. Lack of regard for these side effects becomes a distinct liability in court cases. Over-the-counter medications are also noted in a number of big rig accidents.
3. TRUCKS SPEEDING & DRIVING TOO FAST FOR CONDITIONS
Just about every motorist can relate to the sight of a big rig zooming past slower moving traffic in situations that should have called for a lighter touch on the accelerator. Technically, it’s not speeding, unless the truck exceeds the posted speed limit, but it is dangerous and unlawful. It’s a ticketable offense known as driving too fast for conditions.
According to the FMCSA, conditions that warrant driving significantly below the posted speed limit include:
- Wet or icy roads
- Fog
- Uneven roads
- Construction zones
- Curves
- Intersections
- Pavement breaks
- Gravel roads
- Heavy traffic
In the FMCSA report cited, “Speeding of Any Kind” is the leading factor in truck accidents, accounting for 6.5% of fatal collisions.
4. RECKLESS, VINDICTIVE TRUCK DRIVING
Iconic movie producer Steven Spielberg’s first feature-length film was a movie titled Duel, about a deranged truck driver trying to force a hapless motorist off a dangerous mountain road. It capitalized on a common fear among people that big rig drivers are out to “get them.”
Fortunately, that is hardly the case. But there have been a number of incidents where a truck driver was possibly triggered by a driver and reacted inappropriately. According to the FMCSA, aggressive driving / road rage was a factor in less than one percent of fatal truck accidents.
Proving that the trucker drove aggressively, or was under the influence of road rage, is a tricky task in the courtroom – one that often needs corroboration from third-party witnesses.
5. DISTRACTED TRUCK DRIVING
Truck drivers text while driving, talk on the phone while driving, and surf the internet while driving. According to the FMCSA, nearly 6% of fatal truck accidents involved some form of driver distraction. These include:
- Distraction by a person, object, or event outside the vehicle
- Reaching for objects inside the cab
- Talking on the phone
- Dialing a phone number
- Using a mobile device (texting, using apps, etc.)
- Eating or drinking
- Adjusting the audio and climate controls
- Daydreaming
- Smoking
Big rig accidents that occur because the truck driver was distracted can be the worst of the worst in terms of death, injuries, and property damage. Drivers have been convicted of murder because of their behavior behind the wheel. Penalties for commercial drivers who text while operating a moving vehicle are getting stricter, but there are variances by state.
6. OTHER TYPES OF 18-WHEELER TRUCK DRIVER ERROR
Causes for accidents are numerous, but the most prevalent ones not already mentioned are:
- Distracted driving, including texting, eating, using the radio, and other activities behind the wheel
- Lane departure
- Failure to yield
- Overcorrecting
- Obscured vision
- Failure to obey traffic signs and signals
- Following too closely (tailgating)
- Improper passing
- Failure to execute turns and lane changes properly
In many cases, a combination of bad decisions and unsafe behaviors lead to truck accidents. If the driver is fatigued or under the influence, it is more likely that he or she will drive too fast or make reckless decisions that cause an accident.
These decisions, however, don’t happen in a vacuum. The truck driver may be following the instructions of his or her employer, which in turn widens your case to include additional defendants.