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Truck Accidents in Houston, TX Flipbook PDF
https://www.dlgtriallaw.com/practice-areas/personal-injury/truck-accident/
Every day in Texas thousands of commercial t
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H O U S TO N T R U C K AC C I D E N T AT TO R N E YS
Truck Accidents in Houston, TX K N O W YO U R R I G H TS
1
Table of Contents
W H AT ’ S I N S I D E
Introduction 3
The Severity of Truck Accidents
4
Common Causes of Truck Accidents
6
Establishing Liability in a Texas Truck Accident
8
Talk to a Truck Accident Attorney
10
2
INTRODUCTION
Truck Accidents Can Affect Anyone
E
very day in Texas thousands of commercial trucks,which include big rigs, tractor trailers, 18-wheelers, delivery trucks, tankers, and more,move the products and materials that are essential to the American way of
life. These big trucks are vital; however, their size and power make them an especially dangerous presence on the road in the unfortunate event of an accident. If you or a loved one have been injured or killed in a truck accident, you deserve to be fairly compensated for your pain and injuries. The attorneys of The de la Garza Law Group have thirty years of combined experience fighting for the rights of accident victims and helping them recover after an accident causes harm.
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BIG RIGS CAN BE
20x
PA R T O N E
the size of a passenger vehicle BIG RIGS CAN TAKE
200 450 feet
AND UP TO
feet
to stop when going 55 mph
A commercial truck can be as much as 20 times the weight of a standard passenger vehicle at 80,000 pounds. Truck accidents cause more severe injuries and fatalities than other types of accidents. When a big truck is involved in an accident with a much smaller car, even at a lower speed, the results are often tragic. When an accident occurs between a big truck and a passenger vehicle, the occupants of the vehicle sustain much more significant injuries than those inside the truck. Around 82 percent of fatalities in these accidents are of those in smaller cars, on bicycles or on foot. Passenger vehicles offer little protection from the impact of a truck of that size.
Truck accidents often cause significant injuries to non-truck occupants 4
Texas leads the nation in the number of large truck accidents A large truck is defined as trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating more than 10,000 pounds. As a large state with a large population and more roads, this makes sense statistically but is nonetheless an unfortunate figure. There were 556 fatal truck accidents in Texas in 2017, which resulted in almost 650 deaths. In addition, there were more than 1,500 big truck accidents resulting in serious injury. There are roughly 500,000 accidents involving a big truck nationally every year. Of those, 4,761 people were killed in 2017 according to data from the National Highway Transportation Safety
Texas truck accident statistics: There were 556 fatal truck accidents in Texas in 2017, which resulted in almost 650 deaths. In addition, there were more than 1,500 big truck accidents resulting in serious injury.
Administration (NHTSA).
556
FATAL TRUCK ACCIDENTS
650
1500 INJURY ACCIDENTS
FATALITIES
5
PA RT T W O
Common Causes of Truck Accidents Even though professional truck drivers are highly trained to operate their trucks, the immense size and reduced maneuverability of big trucks can contribute to a serious accident from one seemingly small mistake.
Negligence
01
Whether the driver of the truck or another motorist who is at fault, failure to use adequate caution is the most common reasons for an accident. Drivers that fail to obey traffic laws and patterns can easily cause an accident.
Driver Fatigue
02
Truck drivers are often under intense pressure to make their deliveries as quickly as possible. Even though there are laws which dictate how many hours truckers can drive and how many hours they must rest, they sometimes are not enough. Driving while tired is especially dangerous when operating a tractor trailer.
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Impaired Driving
03
Operating a vehicle either while under the influence of drugs or alcohol or while distracted by a phone or other device causes too many preventable accidents.
Reckless Driving
04
Speeding, unsafe maneuvering and more contribute to many crashes, especially around big trucks that have areas of little to no visibility.
Equipment Failure
05
Big trucks and trailers require special maintenance. Mechanical or cargo issues can create unsafe conditions. Common examples of this include brake failures, tire problems and improperly loaded trailers.
Road Conditions
06
Weather and road conditions may cause unavoidable accidents.
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PA R T T H R E E
Establishing Liability in a Texas Truck Accident All commercial truck drivers and the companies who employ them must abide by state and federal laws to maintain safety. These laws dictate things like the number of hours drivers are allowed to drive, how much they should rest, maintenance, record keeping, licensing, weight limits, required equipment and more. Not following these laws leads to dangerous, often avoidable, accidents.
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Establishing Liability More than one party may be liable in your truck accident case The actions of multiple parties could have contributed to an accident and
87%
therefore more than one party can be found liable for any resulting injuries. The driver of the truck, another driver on the road,the owner of truck or trailer, a shipping or loading company, maintenance company, manufacturer, receiver, and other could potentially share liability depending on what caused the accident. Determining exactly what led to the accident happening is critical to
In the US, driver
establishing legal liability. An experienced truck accident attorney will
negligence is the
investigate an accident by whatever methods are appropriate to prove who
primary cause of 87 percent of all truck accidents.
was at fault and hold them accountable. To do this, an attorney will investigate the accident. They will collect and preserve critical evidence, speak with witnesses and experts, gather maintenance records and driver logs from the trucking company and whatever else is necessary.
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PA R T F O U R
Talk to a Truck Accident Attorney If you or a loved one were injured or killed in an accident involving a big truck, contact an experienced truck accident attorney without delay. An attorney will represent your best interests and protect your rights as you pursue fair compensation and will help you navigate the complicated and overwhelming legal process.
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YOUR ATTORNEY
Unlike other Texas personal injury firms, we pride ourselves in taking a clientfirst approach to every step of the recovery process. At The de la Garza Law Group, every case is personal. Our attorneys are happy to accommodate you after your accident. Any settlement offer demands a closer look. Trucking companies often have the means to fight accident claims aggressively to avoid lawsuits and negative publicity. These companies and their insurance companies do not have your best interests at heart. The attorney team at The de la Garza law group has 30 years in combined experience and are ready to help after you or a loved one have been hurt in a trucking accident. We work on a contingency fee basis. If we do not recover compensation for you, you will not pay us anything. If your injuries prevent you from easily coming to our Houston offices, a home or hospital room visit can be arranged.
Always a personal touch 11
Some Texas accident lawyers are more interested in taking on as many cases as they can, settling them quickly, and then moving on to the next case. At The de la Garza Law Group, we never use this churn-and-burn strategy because it goes against the very foundation of our firm. We believe that the true measure of success is not just about the amount of money we can recover for our clients and their families, but about the impact we have on our clients’ lives.
713.784.1010
OR TOLL FREE
844.784.1010
www.dlgtriallaw.com