SNEED|MITCHELL

THE INJURY TEAM®

LOCATIONS START MY CASE IN THE NEWS

houston-truck-18-wheeler-accident-lawyer

LARGE TRUCK JUSTICE

TRUCK ACCIDENT TRIAL LAWYERS

Truck Accident Lawyers

The truck accident lawyers and Sneed & Mitchell Personal Injury Attorneys are renowned across the country for their expertise in trucking accident law. Our firm has unparalleled experience and an outstanding track record in securing justice for victims of truck accidents. To date, we have won over $100 million in settlements and verdicts for our clients. Our unwavering dedication is to obtain the compensation you and your loved ones deserve, enabling you to get back to your life.

houston_truck_accident_lawyer_18_wheeler

Were You Injured in a Semi or Tractor Trailer Accident?
Learn How Our Truck Accident Attorneys Can Help.

Were you aware that in the United States, there are currently over eleven million active trucks on the road, with many drivers carrying hazardous materials and working long hours? Sadly, in 2020 alone, there were 4,998 large trucks and buses were involved in fatal crashes, and distracted driving caused approximately ninety percent of these incidents. Additionally, research from Harvard has revealed that a quarter of drivers have fallen asleep while driving, and half of all professional truck drivers have reported experiencing the same issue.

Given that so many people rely on highways every day, it only takes one overworked truck driver to cause a life-altering accident. Since trucks are significantly heavier than cars, accidents involving them can result in severe consequences.

If you or someone you know is involved in a truck accident in Houston, Texas it is crucial to seek legal assistance immediately. Truck drivers often have insurance coverage in the millions, and multiple parties may be held responsible for a driver's negligence, making it essential to have legal representation from the outset. In trucking accidents, identifying all the lines of insurance can be challenging, as the truck and trailer may be insured by different companies, and both may be found guilty of negligence.

Keep reading to discover the various options available after a truck accident, and fill out our no-cost case evaluation form to see if our team of lawyers, investigators, and expert witnesses can help with your case.

Our Truck Accident Lawyers Have Recovered Millions of Dollars For Truck Injury Victims

If you've been in a car accident involving a truck, it's crucial that you have the best possible representation. Unlike regular car accidents, collisions with commercial trucks and tractor trailers can be more severe and complicated. That's why it's essential to hire a seasoned trucking lawyer who has decades of experience and a track record of success in handling commercial truck injury cases.

At Sneed & Mitchell Personal Injury Attorneys, our team of semi truck accident lawyers has a unique focus on handling these complex and heavily defended cases. For years our nationwide trucking attorneys have gone up against large trucking companies to fight for maximum compensation for those injured due to the companies' negligence. Our accident attorneys are experts in pursuing justice aggressively for our injury clients, and every member of our law firm has extensive experience in handling trucking cases.

What Does a Truck Accident Attorney Do?

Truck accidents can cause devastating injuries and property damage. If you or a loved one has been involved in a truck accident, it is crucial to have a team of experienced truck accident lawyers on your side to handle your personal injury claim.

Collecting Evidence

Prompt investigation of the accident scene is critical in a truck accident case. Our team of investigators will respond to the scene of the accident as soon as possible to collect and document evidence before it disappears. We will obtain police reports, witness statements, photographs, and safety logs, as well as securing the "black box" containing vital information about the semi-truck.

Utilizing Expert Witnesses for Truck Accident Cases

Our injury lawyers have established relationships with trucking industry experts and investigators who can help us craft a winning trial strategy. These experts will work alongside us to put your strongest case forward, including engineers, medical professionals, economists, and accident reconstructionist.

Negotiating With Multiple Insurance Companies

With the evidence collected, we will determine who is responsible for the accident and negotiate with the insurance companies on your behalf. With decades of experience negotiating with insurance companies, our lawyers will make sure you get the maximum amount of compensation available for your claim. If a settlement cannot be reached, our experienced trial lawyers will file a lawsuit to ensure you receive a fair trial.

How Compensation is Determined Following a Truck Accident

Like any personal injury lawsuit, compensation available to those affected by a truck accident can be divided into two categories: economic damages and non-economic damages.

Truck accidents can result in serious injuries and substantial financial losses for victims and their families. If you have been involved in a truck accident, you may be eligible for compensation to cover your damages. Like other personal injury lawsuits, the types of compensation available to those affected by a truck accident can be divided into two categories: economic damages and non-economic damages.

Economic Damages

Compensation for economic damages serves to cover the specific monetary costs incurred as a result of the accident, including:

Current Medical Expenses: This may include fees for emergency room visits, hospital care, surgery, assistive devices, and appointments with approved medical professionals.
Future Medical Expenses: Compensation for extended medical attention and care.
Lost Wages: Compensation for the wages lost between the time of injury and the conclusion of the lawsuit.
Loss of Earning Capacity: If the victim can demonstrate that their ability to earn a living has been negatively impacted, compensation may be available. The awarding party will look to establish the amount the victim could have earned had the truck accident not occurred.

Non-Economic Damages

Compensation for non-economic damages compensates the victim and their family for non-financial, intangible losses, including:

Pain and Suffering: This includes compensation for the physical pain suffered as a result of injuries sustained in the crash. The nature of the injury, the extent of the pain, and the length of time the victim is expected to suffer will all be considered when calculating the award.
Mental Anguish: Compensation for emotional pain stemming from a truck accident, including fright, embarrassment, nervousness, worry, grief, and other forms of emotional distress caused by the accident.
Loss of Consortium: Compensation awarded to a spouse, parents, and minor children loss of services, assistance, aid, society, and companionship/care of a loved one, a child, or parents.

Punitive Damages

In addition to economic and non-economic damages, punitive damages may be applicable if the defendant's actions causing the injury were willful, malicious, fraudulent, or reckless. Punitive damages serve to punish the offender and deter similar behavior in the future.

If you have been involved in a truck accident, it's essential to speak with an experienced personal injury attorney to understand your rights and options for pursuing compensation for your damages.

What to Do Following a Truck Accident?

In the event of a crash, it is crucial that you maintain composure and promptly dial 911. Remaining at the accident site until the police arrive is essential as they need to prepare a report. Avoid pursuing the truck driver if they flee from the scene.

While waiting for emergency services, it is advisable to gather evidence such as photographs and videos of the wreckage and the contact details of the truck driver, witnesses, and the truck company's ownership. Be sure to keep your statement concise when the police arrive and do not admit fault. Record the name and badge number of the police officer and follow up to obtain a completed police report in a few weeks.

It is vital to seek medical attention for your injuries, either at the hospital or by scheduling an appointment with your primary care physician. Refrain from discussing the accident with anyone other than the police, your injury lawyer, and your insurance agent. You are not obligated to give a statement to the other driver's insurance company.

As an injury victim, you have the right to receive compensation. However, trucking accidents can involve multiple responsible parties and insurance companies, which can make obtaining compensation a complex process. Without a trucking attorney, you may be at risk of receiving an unfair settlement, particularly as trucking companies often have access to vast resources, including defense attorneys to combat any lawsuits. Therefore, it is essential to speak to an experienced truck accident lawyer in Houston, such as those at Sneed & Mitchell, who will defend your rights and ensure that you receive fair compensation.

Truck accidents can be incredibly devastating, resulting in life-threatening injuries and substantial medical expenses. Insurance may not cover all the costs, and it can be challenging to return to your previous lifestyle. Our team of injury attorneys is available to provide the assistance you need during this difficult time.

How Truck Accidents Are Different From Car Accidents

Commercial freight trucks, also known as ‘big rigs’, can weigh over 80,000 pounds, which is twenty times heavier than passenger cars. Despite regulations limiting truck drivers to drive for a maximum of ten hours per day, they are often incentivized to cover longer distances in less time, which can compromise the safety of other drivers on the road.

Larger Insurance Policies

Truck drivers' insurance policies are significantly larger than car accident policies, up to fifty times larger. This results in insurance carriers named in a lawsuit using every resource at their disposal to avoid liability. They may bring in experienced insurance adjusters who use various tactics, including offering a seemingly-large payout that may undervalue the victim's claim. Having a reliable lawyer can alleviate the stress and uncertainty of the legal process.

Increased Property Damage

The size and weight of commercial freight trucks make them more likely to cause severe damage to surrounding property in the event of an accident.

More Serious Injuries

Truck accidents can cause severe injuries, such as whiplash, broken bones, brain trauma, and severe lacerations, which can require extensive medical care and lead to life-altering consequences.

Much Larger Medical Bills

Victims of truck accidents may require lengthy hospital stays and are often unable to return to work for an extended period, if at all. An experienced lawyer can help calculate current and future pain and suffering to ensure that victims receive the compensation they deserve.

Greater Chance of Death

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), between 3,000 and 5,000 deaths occur each year due to truck accidents. Due to the numerous variables involved in truck accidents and the significant resources available to trucking companies and their insurers, obtaining a no-cost case assessment from a lawyer is crucial in deciding whether to seek legal representation.

Who is Responsible for My Truck Accident?

If you or a loved one have been involved in a truck accident, several parties may be responsible for your losses. These parties may attempt to deny liability for the crash. The responsible parties can include:

Truck driver
Trucking company
Owner of the truck
Company leasing the truck
Company leasing the trailer
Shipper who contracted for the load to be transported
Truck, trailer, or parts manufacturer

Truck accidents can result in severe injuries, such as brain trauma, spinal cord damage, burns, broken bones, paralysis, or death. Different types of truck accident lawsuits include:

Negligence

Lawsuits based on the truck driver's negligence are common. Negligent actions can include lack of experience, overloading, operating an oversized truck on narrow roads, failure to see other vehicles due to the truck's large blind spot, driving longer than 10 hours without resting, not documenting hours of service and rest breaks, failure to obey traffic laws, driving for too long without taking a break, failure to monitor driving hours, failure to maintain the truck and trailer, hiring unqualified or unfit truck drivers, and failure to supervise or train the driver. To succeed in a negligence lawsuit, the injured party must show that the driver had a duty of care, the driver breached this duty, the breach caused an injury, and an injury was sustained.

Product Liability

If a defect in the truck or one of its components contributed to the accident, a product liability claim may be viable against the manufacturer(s). To succeed in a product liability lawsuit, the injured party must show that the defective truck or part was unreasonably dangerous, the truck was being operated as intended, and the truck's performance had not changed since its initial purchase. Alternatively, claimants may pursue a strict liability claim, which does not require proof of negligence, but does require proof that the defect originated in the manufacturing process.

Wrongful Death

In severe truck accidents, the victim may not survive. In such cases, the family may bring a claim on behalf of their loved one to recover compensation for their losses. To succeed in a wrongful death lawsuit, the family must prove the same facts as the deceased, had they survived and pursued a claim on their own. An attorney can help family members recover economic, non-economic, and punitive damages for the loss of their loved one.

What Will My Attorney Do To Help Me?

At Sneed & Mitchell our truck accident attorneys not only possess a comprehensive understanding of the various tactics employed by insurance companies to minimize the compensation you are entitled to receive, but we also maintain a vast network of expert witnesses and investigators who scrutinize every aspect of an accident. When a crash occurs, the trucking company and its insurer conduct an immediate investigation of the scene, which could involve gathering statements from witnesses, taking photographs of the accident site, and inspecting the vehicles to determine the extent of the damage caused by the collision. Moreover, state authorities may initiate their own investigation into the accident, which may be advantageous for your claim.

Once you decide to engage the services of a Sneed & Mitchell truck accident lawyer, we begin evaluating all aspects of your case. Our Houston lawyers may collect statements from witnesses, take photos of the accident site, and inspect the vehicles to assess the damage caused by the accident. This process encompasses several steps, including reviewing camera footage, if available, interviewing witnesses, reviewing mandatory police and accident reports, analyzing and reviewing medical records, interviewing medical personnel, consulting experts to reconstruct the accident scene and simulate the accident, and ensuring that the truck company and driver preserve important evidence.

We also obtain alcohol and drug testing from the truck driver and acquire data from the truck's Electronic Control Module (ECM), also known as the "black box." To safeguard crucial evidence from corruption, our attorneys send a spoliation letter to the truck company, requesting them to preserve records of evidence relevant to the case, such as driver logs and black box information. This letter is sent immediately after an accident, as truck companies may dispose of these records as part of their normal business routine.

How Negligence is Established Following a Truck Accident

If you or a loved one were injured by a commercial truck driver and you wish to pursue legal action to receive the compensation you deserve, you will have to prove negligence on the part of the truck driver and any other parties you believe are responsible. To establish that the accident resulted due to negligence, your lawyer will establish the parameters of the truck driver’s duty of care and demonstrate that there was a breach of that duty that led to your injuries and related damages.

A few common examples of negligence for truck drivers include texting while driving, speeding, running a red light or stop sign, and falling asleep at the wheel Due to the high-risk nature of truck drivers’ work, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations stipulate drivers must adhere to the following regulations: Maintenance of logbook detailing hours driven Documenting hours of service and rest breaks Adhering to scheduled and legally-mandated maintenance requirements Proper loading of truck cargo, including hazardous materials Non-use of controlled substances and alcohol Driving no more than ten hours per work day For a full list of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) related to truck drivers, click here.

What is the Truck’s “Black Box?”

The "black box" is a repository of crucial information about a commercial truck at the time of an accident, such as its speed, tire pressure, and brake usage. This information can prove to be essential to your case, and our trucking accident attorneys are skilled at obtaining and interpreting it. The The National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) requires commercial trucks to record and report certain information, and the "black box" is a term that covers various devices that record this data. Black boxes can provide objective information about the events leading up to and following a catastrophic truck accident, including technical vehicle data and occupant information.

Black boxes can capture a wide range of data, including;

The truck's speed
The GPS location at the time of the crash,
The commercial drivers steering angle
Seat belt usage
The trucks engine RPM
And speed limit violations
The tire pressure at any given time
Whether the truck exceeded the speed limit
If airbags deployed in a crash
Whether the truck operator has cruise control engage
The drivers breaking habits

This data can be difficult to obtain and trucking companies may seek to destroy or withhold it, making it imperative to have an attorney who knows how to obtain and use this information to help you win your case.

Using black box data requires specialized technical knowledge and an understanding of truck mechanics, industry regulations, and other related topics. Our attorneys have successfully utilized black box data to win big settlements for our clients, including a recent $26 million settlement in a personal injury case. If you or a loved one has been involved in a catastrophic collision, don't wait to get the help you need. Contact Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys today to schedule your free consultation.

Contact Our Truck Accident Lawyer Today

If you or someone you care about has been hurt in a collision with a semi truck, it's crucial to select a truck accident lawyer who has extensive experience, abundant resources, and a proven track record of success. At Sneed & Mitchell Law, our Personal Injury Attorneys specialize in representing victims of tractor trailer accidents across the nation.

Get in touch with us right away to explore your legal options for recovering compensation to cover your medical bills and other damages resulting from the accident. Call today at (866)434-0014, or fill out our contact form a truck and 18 wheeler lawyers from The Injury Team with call you now. And remember, there is never a charge for our consultations and each case is handled on a contingency fee basis.

Free virtual or mobile call conferences are also available everyday, 24/7, for anyone who does not want to physically come into one of our offices. We also invite you to download our eBook for free insight on the process of personal injury claims.

RECENT VICTORY

$3.7

MILLION

18 Wheeler Red Light Violation Collision

July 2020

ASK ABOUT OUR DAMAGES MODEL