Posted on April 28, 2023 in Uncategorized

Commercial trucking accidents can be devastating. Because of their very nature, they can easily result in serious injuries, property damage and deaths.

In the aftermath of a truck wreck, one of the most important questions is determining who is liable for the damages – and that’s not always easy. In many cases, there may be several parties who share some of the responsibility. Consider these:

The driver

Truck drivers are required to follow strict regulations and guidelines, and failure to do so can lead to tragedy. If the driver was driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, driving while fatigued or speeding, for example, they may be held responsible for their negligence.

The trucking company

There are few independent truckers out there on the roads these days. Most drivers are part of a trucking company’s fleet – and those companies have a certain obligation to hire qualified and responsible drivers, ensure that their vehicles are properly maintained and comply with all trucking regulations. In general, not only can they be held liable for their own mistakes, but they can be held vicariously liable for the mistakes their drivers make.

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 Posted on April 23, 2023 in Uncategorized

Texas law treats driving as a privilege, not a right. Therefore, the state imposes numerous restrictions on someone’s ability to legally operate a motor vehicle on public roads. Drivers need to have a license and must attend special educational courses in order to obtain that license. They need to register their vehicles with the state and also carry liability coverage.

Texas requires both property damage and bodily injury liability protection so that those who cause crashes don’t leave others struggling with financial hardship. However, sometimes people cause crashes and then sheepishly admit to the other people involved or the police officers that arrive that they do not have a current insurance policy. As a result of this reality, what happens to those injured by someone without insurance?

They can use their own policy, sometimes

The basic insurance required by state law will not protect a Texas motorist from crashes caused by an uninsured driver, but they have the option of adding extra coverage to their policy for exactly that situation. Not every driver in Texas invests in extra insurance coverage, but those that do will have less to worry about after a crash caused by an uninsured driver. They will be able to use their extra insurance to pay for some of their costs.

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 Posted on March 30, 2023 in Uncategorized

People constantly get distracted. While this may not be that worrisome for people at home or work, it can be dangerous for drivers.

There are three kinds of distractions:

• Visual: anything that draws the eyes
• Manual: anything that uses your hands
• Cognitive: anything that distracts the mind

While that explains how a distraction relates to what you’re doing, it doesn’t explain what causes such distractions. Two of the biggest causes of distracted driving include:

Texting and driving

Phones provide many modern advantages, such as instant communication, GPS and networking, that are often taken for granted. Nearly every driver has a phone. Phones, however, are practically made to be distracting.The instant a phone rings, the owner’s attention is drawn to it. This can be particularly dangerous while driving.

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 Posted on March 22, 2023 in Uncategorized

Car crashes can cause serious injuries even at lower speeds. A broken bone is a painful traumatic injury, but it may not seem very severe in comparison to some of the worst injuries possible, like an amputation.

Fractures typically heal with appropriate medical support and, therefore, someone with a broken bone caused by a car crash might potentially underestimate the medical and financial impact of their injury. Even though every driver in Texas is required to carry insurance that provides at least $30,000 of bodily injury coverage, an individual with a broken bone could potentially find that such coverage is not adequate to cover the cost of their fracture.

Why would a broken bone cost more than $30,000?

There are several reasons why the costs generated by a fracture might exceed the available insurance, especially when a driver only carries the coverage required by Texas state law. The first explanation is that the fracture itself is particularly bad.

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 Posted on March 17, 2023 in Uncategorized

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), speed limiters on commercial trucks should happen sooner rather than later. They are calling for the federal government to increase the pace when it comes to formally instituting the change.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) first broached the subject over a decade ago. Numerous states took action, primarily in response to the reckless driving trends that were part of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A call for mandates

Recently, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) encouraged comments on a proposal to require devices placing limits on top speeds in these large vehicles with a gross weight of more than 26,000 pounds. Specific top speeds will be determined at a later time.

The urgency comes from motor vehicle accidents in 2020 due to excessive speeds in close to 33 percent of all fatalities. Greater mass from the largest trucks loaded to capacity (10,001 to 26,000 pounds) and significant momentum requires longer stopping distances. When collisions occur, greater damage occurs.

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 Posted on January 25, 2023 in Uncategorized

Drivers are typically the ones to blame for crashes. Even when the weather is bad, drivers should adjust their habits to minimize their personal risk. Either you or the other driver may have made mistakes that led to the wreck where you got hurt. Sometimes, both drivers make mistakes that contribute to a collision, which can complicate the process of securing compensation afterward.

You might assume that commercial drivers rarely cause crashes because they have special licenses and more training than the average driver. Sometimes, even the most skilled commercial driver could end up in a crash because of something that their employer did.

Could a transportation company be to blame for the wreck that left you injured?

Vehicle maintenance could be the root problem

If you look at federal commercial vehicle crash statistics, you will see that drivers are responsible for the vast majority of collisions. However, approximately 10% of the collisions caused by big trucks are the results of an issue with the vehicle, rather than a result of something either driver did.

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 Posted on December 28, 2022 in Uncategorized

In theory, people hurt in motor vehicle collisions have basic legal protections in Texas. They can rely on the other driver having liability insurance that will pay to repair their vehicle. If the damage to the vehicle is severe and will compromise its overall safety, insurance funds can go toward the purchase of a replacement vehicle instead of repairs.

Severe injuries can cost many times what property damage will cost, even if the vehicle involved is brand new. Traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord injuries, for example, could easily lead to seven-figure price tags for someone’s lifetime medical treatment.

Those facing life-altering medical issues related to a car crash may need to look into all possible sources of compensation, including a third-party liability claim.

What is a third-party liability claim?

Most crashes involve two drivers and therefore two parties that could be responsible for the wreck. However, there are situations in which a third party not present in either vehicle is technically liable for the crash or at least partially responsible for what happened.

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 Posted on November 21, 2022 in Uncategorized

Maybe you were on the highway during the afternoon rush hour in heavy traffic and an 18-wheeler merged directly into your left side, totally your vehicle and breaking your leg in three places. Perhaps a drunk driver hit you from behind on the surface street early one morning.

When you get hurt or suffer major property damages in a car crash, you turn to the insurance of the driver that hit you for compensation. Most drivers carry liability coverage in case they cause bodily injuries or property damage to other people. You naturally expect that their insurance will pay for your expenses, and you may even feel relieved when you get an offer for the settlement just a few days after the crash.

However, insurance companies often offer settlements because they want to save money. Accepting it quickly could leave you at a disadvantage later.

A settlement often means taking less than you should get

The risk in any insurance settlement scenario is that what you accept is not actually enough to cover all of your costs. A settlement agreement typically comes with the contractual release for the insurance company. They will no longer have any future liability regardless of what costs you have in the future.

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 Posted on October 24, 2022 in Uncategorized

When two vehicles collide, the occupants of those vehicles and any bystanders nearby are at risk of severe injury. The higher the speed of the vehicles and the bigger the difference in size between the two vehicles involved, the greater the possibility of catastrophic injuries.

Amputations are some of the most debilitating, expensive and life-altering injuries that people can experience. Although the leading cause of amputation in the United States is medical issues, often related to diabetes, traumatic injury is another top cause of amputations.

Motor vehicle collisions are responsible for a significant portion of the amputations that occur not because of a health issue but because of an injury. What are the two scenarios in which a car crash causes someone to lose a limb or an extremity?

The crash can cause a traumatic amputation

Despite the best attempts of motor vehicle manufacturers to design vehicles as safe as possible, severe injuries can still occur when your vehicle suffers massive damage or you get thrown from your vehicle. If the violence of the collision severs a body part, an individual will suffer a traumatic amputation and require immediate emergency medical care.

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 Posted on September 22, 2022 in Uncategorized

Every driver in Texas has to carry liability insurance coverage to provide both property damage and bodily injury protection if they cause a crash. Some vehicles will likely cause far more dramatic and dangerous collisions than others.

Big commercial trucks could cause life-altering injuries and completely demolish the smaller vehicle involved in a collision. When you are not to blame for a collision with a commercial truck and need to repair your vehicle or seek coverage for medical costs, you need to have an understanding of what kind of insurance may be available.

How much coverage do commercial trucks in Texas generally have?

Small, local trucks have the least coverage

Commercial vehicles that are below a minimum weight cutoff and that only operate in Texas may have the same amount of coverage as the average personal vehicle, which could mean just $30,000 of bodily injury coverage.

However, many commercial trucking companies operate on an international or interstate basis. The trucks in their fleets will need to have coverage that complies with the insurance requirements set by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

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