Do you have a loved one who has suffered a fatal trucking accident in Houston, Texas?
Grossman Law Offices are here to help.
A tractor trailer, semi-truck, commercial truck, or 18 wheeler can cause massive damage from the sheer mass of the vehicle. A typical 18 wheeler can weigh in excess of 80,000 pounds, while the typical car weighs approximately 3,000 pounds.
Houston trucking accident wrongful death cases can be highly litigated cases and as such it is critical to obtain and preserve all relevant evidence. The evidence that must be marshaled immediately includes obtaining prior accident records, maintenance records, the drivers log books, witness statements and first responders to the scene, qualcom data and the trucking companies safety policies and procedures.
Possible trucking accident causes
There are many possible causes of trucking accidents including but not limited to driver inattention, driver fatigue, improper distances, inadequate driver training, improper inspection, improper maintenance, and an overloaded truck.
I have recently heard of a Houston trucking accident that involved an 18 wheeler that was on a highway overpass above the plaintiff. The load that the 18 wheeler was carrying shifted causing the driver of the 18 wheeler to lose control. The tractor trailer fell over the overpass and down onto the top of the plaintiff crushing her.
How can Grossman Law Offices - Houston help me with my trucking accident case?
The benefit of hiring our Houston fatal trucking accident attorneys in these types of cases is that we can help preserve and obtain all of the evidence immediately and before the trucking company would have an opportunity to manipulate the evidence. Preserving all of the evidence at the beginning of the case can make the difference between winning and losing.
Bus accidents are similar to trucking accidents in that they involve large vehicles. Bus occupants who are injured or killed due to the negligent operation of a bus may have a cause of action against the bus driver and the bus company through the legal theory of respondeat superior.
Some of the same legal concepts apply in bus accidents as they do in trucking accidents in terms of obtaining all of the available evidence as early as possible. Bus companies have been known to alter or destroy critical evidence in a case.
Accident-Preventing Trucking Laws
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration created the Act that governs the rules and regulations applicable to the safe operation of 18 wheelers. The purpose of the statute is to make the roads and highways safer for everyone.
Both state and federal laws limit the number of hours that a truck driver can drive in a 24 hour period. That is why driver log books and the computer data available in board the 18 wheeler is important. One of the main causes of tractor trailer accidents is fatigue and these state and federal laws help to prevent fatigue related accidents.
In 2003, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration adopted new more restrictive laws limiting the number of hours an 18 wheeler driver could drive in a day. Since the law change statistics have shown that the number of fatigue related wrongful death cases has been reduced by 20% to 40%.
Another common cause of trucking accident wrongful death cases is an intoxicated truck driver. Both state and federal law prohibit the consumption of alcohol while operating an 18 wheeler. The driver of an 18 wheeler has a legal and moral obligation to the public to be a responsible driver.
Trucking companies are required by law to properly maintain its trucks. Failure to routinely inspect and maintain the trucks can result in catastrophic failure of brakes, tires or other critical operating components. When a trucking company fails to properly maintain the trucks it puts out on the streets and highways it is certainly foreseeable that a catastrophic accident could occur.
What is the trucking company's recourse in the event of a fatal accident?
Lets discuss the chain of events that occur when a trucking company learns that one of its trucks has become involved an a fatality accident. Initially the truck driver radios in to dispatch to notify the trucking company what has happened. Immediately, representatives from the trucking company and insurance company are sent to the scene of the accident.
The representatives from the trucking company would most likely include the senior risk manager, a team of accident reconstruction experts, a private investigator, the trucking company lawyer or lawyers and possibly others. The insurance company for the trucking company would most likely deploy its own risk manager, investigator and team of lawyers.
These people are immediately sent to the scene if the accident to investigate and take inventory of what happened. All of these precautions are taken by all of these people on behalf of the trucking company and its insurance company for one reason. They want to develop all of the evidence necessary in order to pay as little as possible to the deceased person’s family.
What is my recourse in the event of a fatal accident?
Surely, if the trucking company and its insurance company are mounting such an aggressive defense, the family of the deceased should and needs to do the same thing in order to protect themselves. Your fatal trucking injury lawyer will assist the family of the deceased as aggressively or more than the trucking company and its insurance company.