The Gutierrez Law Firm can help you and your family recover after a serious Bellaire truck accident. Our Bellaire personal injury lawyers will work to get your hospital bills paid and secure reimbursement for the time you lose at work due to injury. To learn more about your legal options after a crash and to find out what your injuries are worth, contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation.

Should I Contact a Lawyer After a Truck Accident?

If your accident involves only very minor injuries or just property damage, you may not need the help of a lawyer. However, accidents involving heavy trucks often involve more serious injuries. This is when you could benefit from the assistance of a skilled Bellaire truck accident lawyer. The medical bills will be higher, causing insurance adjusters to fight you harder when you seek help paying for your care.

Trucking companies and delivery companies can also be counted on to hire corporate lawyers. They’ll attack your case and get you out the door with as little in compensation as possible. Our lawyers are there to protect you and your family from this unfair treatment. We investigate your case and collect the strongest evidence available.

This proof of who was at fault is critical when lawyers and insurance adjusters try to force you to accept the blame. Your doctor bills and testimony from medical experts will also keep insurance adjusters from claiming your injury isn’t all that serious.

The Gutierrez Law Firm builds a strong case and then demands the most in compensation possible for you and your family. Because, after an accident, you don’t just need money to pay your hospital bills. You should be demanding the support necessary to restore every part of your life.

Scary Truck Accidents in Bellaire

Drive up I-610 or travel the busy lanes of Bissonnet Boulevard and it won’t be long until you are beside or behind a big rig or delivery van. These are slow-moving, heavy vehicles. That’s why it’s scary to see truck drivers sometimes going even faster than you are and drifting over white lines.

Bellaire and the entire Houston-Galveston Bay area are manufacturing and shipping hubs. Semi-trucks and produce trucks are on the go 24/7 in our area. There’s also a constant flow of loaded-down blue and brown delivery vans from Amazon and UPS.  These and other online merchants send dozens of vans to our doorsteps every day.

Driving in the Houston area is difficult enough, but when you’re on the clock for a major trucking company, the demands on your attention are multiplied. Truck drivers face deadlines, long drives without breaks, and distractions from cell phones and computers. These and other dangers can prove deadly when an 80,000 lb semi is involved.

• Speeding Truckers: Truckers may be able to keep up with traffic in stretches with 70 and 75 mph speed limits. The problem comes when they must stop. It’ll take much longer to slow down those payloads. The same goes for an Amazon van that’s loaded with merchandise.
• Distracted Driving: Big rig drivers might be staring at their cell phones to examine work details, to navigate, or just to send a text. When they look up they may be barreling towards a red light without enough room to stop before striking the much smaller vehicles ahead. Delivery drivers use their cell phones to map their routes and get information about a drop-off. Workers for FedEx or USPS might strive to meet their employers’ expectations, but forget about safety.
• Exhausted Truck Drivers: The U.S. had strict laws about how much time truck drivers can stay behind the wheel. They must get rest and food breaks. When they cheat the rules, they can get drowsy or physically drained, leading to inattentive driving and even runaway trucks when drivers drift off to sleep.
• Drunk Driving in a Truck: Drivers might have too much to drink and be unfit to be behind the wheel of a tractor-trailer or a delivery van. The allowed Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) for commercial drivers is half of the limit for normal motorists. Truckers can’t have a BAC of .04% or over. They’ll be arrested and charged with DUI. If they aren’t caught right away, drunk big rig drivers can do massive damage to the vehicles around them. Drivers have also been known to use drugs to stay awake on long hauls. This practice can also impair their judgment.
• Mechanical Problems with the Truck: Mechanical issues that cause accidents are often found to be the fault of the trucking company. These companies and corporations are supposed to perform safety inspections and regular maintenance on components like brakes and tires.

Who Can Be Held Liable After a Truck Accident?

Semi-truck accidents have the potential to be devastating. A full-speed truck can crumple a normal car or SUV. The people inside can suffer multiple bone fractures. Smaller cars can end up underneath larger trucks and the victims inside may have to wait to be freed from the wreckage to get the medical attention they need.

Victims may need months of hospital care, surgeries, and physical therapy to have a chance at recovery. In the worst cases, some victims may lose their lives. The victims and their families should never face these burdens alone when a truck driver’s mistake is to blame.

Victims may wonder if a truck driver’s insurance will be called upon, or if the driver’s employer will accept any responsibility. The truth is that several parties may be partly to blame for what happened. Your lawyer would be looking into the accident and helping you determine how many separate injury claims should be filed.

These and other parties might have to contribute a truck accident settlement check:

• Independent Driver – Drivers may be an owner/operators and work for themselves. They’ll have a commercial truck insurance policy for you to draw from.
• Trucking Company – A truck driver may work for a trucking company that provides service to many different companies and corporations. Trucking companies should have large liability insurance policies to seek support from.
• Large Businesses – These national and international companies may have their own in-house network of shippers. Companies like Amazon rely on their own drivers and also use local trucking companies or drivers when their orders are at overwhelming levels.
• Farms and Agricultural Companies – Farms and orchards that send produce trucks and tractors out on local roads could also be liable for an accident.
• Truck Manufacturer – A design flaw that sends a truck into a collision might be the fault of the truck or van’s manufacturer. Truck makers can also be held accountable for helping victims when their vehicles cause harm.

What Kinds of Things Can I Seek Compensation For After a Bellaire Truck Accident?

Your Gutierrez Law Firm representative makes sure every party that contributed to your accident is held fully responsible. Your lawyer also demands compensation for every hardship you and your family have suffered since the accident.

An accident can leave victims with many physical, emotional, and financial damages. The cost of working through such a difficult time should fall completely to those at fault.

Your attorney builds a strong case backed with evidence and then makes sure the insurance company knows everything it’s expected to cover. These and other factors can all be compensated in a settlement check:

• Medical expenses
• Lifelong support for a permanent disability or disfigurement
• Support for pain suffered
• Support for emotional distress endured
• Reduced quality of life or companionship
• Property damage and vehicle repair costs
• Lost wages
• Future income loss if you can’t work

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do I have to file a truck accident injury claim in Texas?

Two years. Texas allows truck collision victims to file claims up to two years from the date of the accident. After that, your claim would likely be thrown out. You want to act quickly to give your attorney the best chance to recover fresh evidence, track down witnesses, and secure surveillance footage.

Can my family seek support after losing a loved one in a Bellaire truck accident?

Yes. The family left behind had up to two years to file a wrongful death claim. They’d seek help paying for a funeral and for covering leftover medical expenses. The family must also receive support for the future when the victim can no longer provide income for loved ones.

What if I can’t afford to hire Gutierrez Law Firm?

You can always afford representation from Gutierrez Law. We don’t ask for any upfront money and we don’t get paid unless we win your case for you. Then our fee comes out of the settlement money a trucking company is forced to provide.

Work With a Bellaire Truck Accident Attorney for Award-Winning Legal Representation

Truck drivers have the same responsibilities to operate their vehicles safely as all other motorists. In addition, federal regulations control how many hours a driver can operate on any given day and limit how heavy a truck may be. A failure to uphold any of these laws or even simple carelessness, would leave a truck driver or a trucking company fully liable for an accident.

If you were in a collision with an eighteen-wheeler or other commercial vehicle, things might feel confusing and intimidating. You may be unsure of your legal rights, how to obtain necessary medical treatment, and how to move forward with pursuing a claim against a negligent trucker. A Bellaire truck accident lawyer helps you navigate this trying time and advocate on your behalf to seek compensation. The team at Gutierrez Law Firm is unafraid to fight for you and what you deserve. Call our office today to schedule a free consultation.