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Dallas Truck Accident Attorney

Valley Ranch semi-truck crash lawyer

How To Recover Compensation For Your Truck Accident

Tractor-trailer rigs are huge, dangerous vehicles and the collisions they cause are devastating. An 18-wheeler truck accident often results in serious injuries or even deaths. At Jerry D. Andrews, P.C. we recognize the magnitude of your injuries following a truck accident. We have extensive experience litigating truck accident cases, and we maintain a thorough knowledge of trucking industry regulations. We can help you recover full and fair compensation for your injuries.

Texas Attorney to Hold Trucking Companies Responsible

Trucking companies are in business to make money, but they also should be held accountable for the hazards they create if they take shortcuts and disregard federal and state regulations, or hire unqualified drivers. Texas board-certified personal injury trial lawyer Jerry D. Andrews will help you hold them liable if one of their trucks or drivers causes the serious or fatal injury of an innocent motorist.

Attorney to Help You Recover Following a Dallas Truck Accident

Collisions usually happen for a reason. If you hire us quickly, we can perform a thorough investigation and often find the cause of your collision. Our investigation will include:

  • Reviewing the truck driving company's records
  • Analyzing the truck data or ECM
  • Interviewing witnesses
  • Reviewing the truck driver's driving record
  • Gathering police reports
  • Consulting accident reconstructionists

The longer you wait to hire an experienced Dallas truck accident attorney, the more evidence disappears and memories fade. Do not wait. In some of our investigations, we have found a number of common causes.

What Are The Most Common Causes Of Truck Accidents in Dallas?

Tired drivers: Fatigued drivers are one of the most common trucking accident causes. A sleep-deprived driver can be just as impaired as one under the influence of alcohol, not to mention as dangerous. Federal regulations mandate strict limitations on the amount of time truck drivers can stay behind the wheel and how many rest breaks they must take. Truck drivers have more than just a responsibility to get the rest that they need. They have an obligation to themselves, their employer, and every driver on the road.

Dangerous driving: Time is money for truck drivers and the companies that employ them. This translates into truck drivers traveling at excessive and unsafe speeds in an attempt to get to their destinations more quickly. A speeding truck careening down a highway is a dangerous weapon. Most passenger vehicles cannot withstand a collision with one of these big rigs. In a split second on a slippery or busy highway, tragedy can occur. Couple this reckless behavior with unsafe passing, improper lane changes, and ignoring blind spots, and you have a recipe for disaster.

Drug use: The need to get to their destination quickly causes some truck drivers to use legal and illegal stimulant drugs-such as caffeine pills and speed-to stay awake. These drugs can impair a driver just as much as alcohol and sleep deprivation. Additionally, a driver using stimulants is likely violating regulations related to time on the road, mandatory rest breaks, and narcotic use.

Poor maintenance: Often weighing in at over 40,000 pounds and over 50 feet long, trucks are behemoths of the road. Many trucking companies attempt to squeeze profits out by putting off needed vehicle repairs and putting trucks on the road with bad brakes, bad tires, bad reflective material on the trailers, and other missing or defective essential safety items. The result is already dangerous vehicles become ticking time bombs on the road, putting your safety at risk.

Hiring bad drivers: When there are more open positions for truck drivers than there are qualified drivers, exceptions are made and certain information from personal records and background checks may be overlooked, including past felony convictions, prior drug use, and poor driving records. A truck driver must be properly trained, knowledgeable about trucking rules and regulations, and have a clean driving record without excessive accidents, traffic violations, and drunk driving offenses. When these hiring standards are not met, the well-being of other drivers is placed in danger.

Distractions: Driving an 18-wheeler requires 100% attention on the operation of the vehicle and what is happening on the road at all times. The use of a cell phone or on-board computer takes that attention away. When a driver is distracted, serious and deadly accidents can occur.

Truck Accident FAQs

Q

What Are the Most Common Truck Accidents?

Answer: Truck accidents can occur in a variety of ways. Many accidents involving commercial trucks occur when the truck driver loses control of their vehicle. Jackknife accidents, where the truck folds at the joint between the cab and cargo area, as well as rear-end collisions, are both common. Another common type of truck accident occurs when the truck has been overloaded and drops cargo.

Q

How Do Most Truck Accidents Happen?

Answer: Very few truck accidents could not have been prevented - they usually happen because a truck driver or trucking company has been negligent in some way. Distracted driving accidents are common among long-haul truckers. Another common type of negligence involves hours of service violations, where the truck driver fails to take rest breaks as required and becomes fatigued, causing them to make a serious mistake.

Q

How Much Are Most Truck Accident Settlements?

Answer: The goal of compensation is to make you whole again, meaning that every cost and financial loss related to the accident should be covered. This includes medical bills and compensation for any income you lost while you were hurt and unable to work. You may also be able to receive noneconomic damages, such as compensation for pain and suffering.

Q

Who Pays for a Truck Accident?

Answer: The good news is that nearly all commercial trucks are well-insured. It is usually the trucking agency’s insurance company that pays out after an accident. However, in some cases, the truck driver can be held responsible, as can the agency employing them.

Q

How Can a Truck Accident Lawyer Help me?

Answer: After a serious truck accident, you should be focusing on your personal recovery. A truck accident lawyer can take over efforts to recover compensation while you rest and heal. An attorney’s experience in dealing with truck insurance companies can be invaluable, as an attorney will be familiar with the various ways they may try to pay you far less than your claim is worth. In many cases, a skilled investigation will need to take place in order to prove negligence by a truck driver or their employer.

Q

How Do Truck Accident Claims Work?

Answer: Your lawyer is likely to file a personal injury lawsuit on your behalf. In many cases, truck accident claims can be settled out of court after an attorney negotiates with the insurance company on your behalf.

Contact a Dallas Truck Accident Attorney

If you or a loved one has been injured in a trucking accident, Jerry D. Andrews, P.C. can help you pursue the compensation that you deserve. Call 214-221-5800 today or contact our office to schedule a free consultation. We serve truck crash victims and their families in Dallas, Grand Prairie, Mesquite, Garland, Coppell, Valley Ranch, Farmers Branch, Carrollton, Irving, and throughout the surrounding areas. Se habla Español.

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