While any vehicle accident can cause injury, truck crashes are especially dangerous. Trucks can crush passenger vehicles and cause devastating injuries to the occupants.
Call a reliable personal injury attorney immediately if you or someone you love was involved in a truck accident. An injured person is entitled to compensation, but you need an aggressive attorney to fight back against trucking industry representatives who try to limit your damages. A Meyerland truck accident lawyer stands up for victims and pushes for full compensation for the losses suffered.
Truckers Have a Duty of Care
All drivers must take reasonable care to avoid injury to others when operating their vehicles. Reasonable care means following traffic laws, paying attention to one’s surroundings, not driving in unsafe conditions, and maintaining the vehicle so it does not drift into other lanes or spin out. Failing to do any of these things is negligence.
Truck drivers and trucking companies must meet a more stringent standard. Trucks are common carriers under federal law, which means they must use the utmost care to avoid injuries to others. In addition, truck drivers must follow strict work hours to ensure they do not drive while fatigued.
When an injured person seeks damages after an accident, they must prove another party’s negligence caused their injuries. When representing a truck accident victim, a Meyerland attorney could investigate the cause of the crash to find any evidence the trucker or trucking company did not use the utmost care.
Damages in a Truck Accident Case
Trucking companies are responsible for the actions of their employed drivers, so in many cases, a trucking company’s commercial insurance policy will pay an injured person’s damages. Commercial policies typically have high coverage limits, so a lawyer could negotiate a settlement that provides reasonable compensation for the injured person’s losses.
Insurance settlements cover an injured person’s economic and non-economic damages. A settlement could include compensation for:
- Medical costs, including rehabilitation expenses
- Mental health care to cope with the accident’s psychological impact
- Income lost during recovery
- Value of services the injured person could not contribute to the household while recovering
- Physical pain
- Emotional anguish
- Disfigurement
- Disability
An injured person’s family could also claim damages for loss of support, companionship, and consortium.
In an appropriate case, an injured person’s advocate could ask the court to award punitive damages. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 41.003 allows a jury to award punitive damages if there is convincing evidence of a defendant’s grossly negligent or intentional misconduct. Punitive damages could be appropriate if a trucker was driving while impaired or a trucking company imposed an unreasonable delivery schedule requiring the trucker to ignore working hours rules.
The Importance of Early Representation
An injured person benefits from engaging a Meyerland attorney immediately after the accident, if possible. Trucking companies and their insurers often use aggressive tactics to encourage an injured person to settle for less than their claim’s value and discourage them from filing a lawsuit. Sometimes they approach an injured person while they are still in the hospital and have no idea what their eventual damages might be.
A lawyer could handle all communications with the insurers and force them to negotiate in good faith. As a result, an injured person could recover in peace, knowing that their claim for compensation is in experienced hands.
Rely on a Meyerland Truck Accident Attorney to Handle an Injury Claim
It can be expensive to pay for medical costs associated with a vehicle-related collision. When the trucker’s negligence contributed to the accident, their employer is liable for the injured person’s damages.
However, the trucking industry and its insurers aggressively defend negligence claims. A Meyerland truck accident lawyer understands the industry and how to negotiate to get you the case result you deserve. Schedule a free consultation today.
