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Texas Truck Accident Lawyer

Commercial trucks are big, heavy, and hard to handle. When a big truck hits a car, SUV or another smaller vehicle, people get hurt. Usually, the people who get hurt are in the other vehicle. With millions of trucks on Texas roads, truck crashes happen every day. In fact, Texas leads the nation in truck accident deaths. If you’ve been hurt or lost a loved one in a truck crash, you’re probably stressed, uncertain about the future, and unsure where to turn. We can help.

Truck Accident Compensation

If a careless driver caused the truck wreck that injured you, it’s only fair that they should pay to make you whole. Texas law says you can collect damages if you were hurt because of someone else’s negligence. That could mean that the truck driver was distracted or too tired to be on the road, or it might be something else. Some other common causes of big truck accidents are: 

  • The truck was loaded wrong–overloading can cause big problems, including tire blowouts and jackknifing
  • The truck driver was speeding–higher speeds always make an accident more likely, and the size and weight of a commercial truck makes that risk even bigger
  • The truck wasn’t properly maintained–worn tires, bad brakes, and other equipment failures can cause a crash

When the driver or trucking company was negligent, they’re usually responsible for paying your medical bills and compensating you for other losses. But, it’s your job as the injured party to prove that negligence. That’s a complicated task that is best left to a very experienced Texas truck accident attorney.

Texas Truck Accident Lawyer | Godsey & Martin P.C.

Liability for a Commercial Truck Crash

Truck accident cases can be more complicated than other motor vehicle accident cases. For example, determining who is responsible after a truck wreck can be tough. It’s not necessarily the truck driver, even if they were negligent. If the truck driver is an employee, the employer is usually liable for his negligence on the job. Of course, those companies will do whatever they can to get off the hook. 

A lot of truck drivers are independent contractors. If the driver who hit you is a contractor, the company will immediately say they’re not responsible. That’s not always true. They might be responsible if they did something wrong that helped cause the accident. For example: 

  • The trucking company may be responsible if they were careless in hiring a driver without the right training or with a bad driving record
  • The trucking company might be responsible if they were supposed to maintain the truck and bad equipment caused the wreck
  • The trucking company may be responsible if they didn’t follow the rules, like making the driver work longer hours than the law allows

Even if the driver is their employee, the trucking company will scramble to avoid liability. They’ll have a whole team of lawyers and experts hard at work spinning the story. One way they do that is to try to show that the crash was your fault. Most people don’t have the knowledge or experience to fight them, so your best bet is to connect with a Texas truck wreck lawyer as soon as possible after your crash.

Damages in Commercial Truck Collision Cases

Every truck crash case is different. Your damages are specific to you. The best way to learn more about what losses you may be compensated for is to talk to a Texas truck crash attorney. Some common types of damages include: 

  • Payment of your medical bills (or reimbursement for bills you’ve paid)
  • Payment for physical therapy, counseling, or other services you need because of the accident
  • Payment for medical equipment and supplies you need because of the crash
  • Compensation for lost income during your recovery
  • Estimated future medical costs
  • Estimated future lost earnings
  • Pain and suffering

Not everything on the list applies in every case. Proving some of these damages will require expert witnesses. For instance, you will likely need a medical expert to talk about your injuries and any future care you may need because of the accident. If you can’t go back to the work you did before, you’ll need an economic expert to calculate your lost earnings. At Godsey-Martin, we know how to identify and work with the best experts for your case.

Protecting Yourself after a Big Truck Accident

Ideally, some of the first things you’ll do after a truck collision are: 

  • Take pictures or video at the scene
  • Get contact information from any witnesses
  • Notice any cameras that may have caught the crash
  • Get medical attention

You may have been too seriously hurt or just too upset to gather evidence right after the accident. We can look for video footage, witnesses, and other evidence. But, getting medical attention right away is important for your health and your case. If you didn’t get medical care after the crash, see a doctor right away. After you get checked out: 

  • Follow the doctor’s instructions
  • Get any tests that were ordered 
  • Schedule and keep follow-up appointments
  • Do physical therapy or other exercises the doctor tells you to
  • Don’t try to go back to work too soon
  • Don’t exert yourself more than recommended

Following those rules will help you recover as quickly and completely as possible. It will also protect your case. If you don’t take care of yourself, the person who hit you may claim it’s your own fault you haven’t recovered. 

You should also keep a journal of your day-to-day life, including pain levels, medications, and limitations you face. You probably think you will never forget those days, weeks, or months after the accident. But, it may be two years or more before you tell your story in court. You can use your notes from those days to help you remember.

The Best Way to Deal with Insurance Companies

When you’ve been injured in a crash, there’s only one good way to deal with the other driver’s insurance company. Don’t. The insurance company rep will probably be sweet and friendly on the phone. You can’t afford to forget what their job is. Insurance companies have a lot of tricks up their sleeves, all to save the company money. 

They may try to get you chatting, then lead you into saying something that will hurt your case. They may take things you said out of context to use against you later, when you don’t even remember saying them. They may tell you they want to get you a quick settlement because they know you need the money, really hoping to trick you into taking less. That’s especially dangerous if you don’t yet know what kind of medical care you’ll need in the future.

But, you don’t need to know every trick the insurance company may play. You just need an advocate who already understands them.

What Our Clients Say

“Today I spoke with Amanda Collins and she was just wonderful. She was very attentive and understanding. She was patient and kind, she answered all of our questions clearly and respectfully. Thank you so much Amanda! Making a difficult situation seem so easy.”

Shelby Collins
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“Amanda Bell has been great. She’s been very diligent with checking in and keeping me up to date with what’s going on with my case. I never have to worry myself with calling her to get info because she’s on top of it and always informs me promptly.”

Lavina Randle
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“I want to take the time out to have Mr. Garza and Ms. Mendoza recognized for their extensive professionalism and also for their continued dedication to see me through my case! I was being given the run around and they fixed that quickly! Thanks for being a listening ear Mr. Garza and for always leaving a line open for me to reach you with my concerns!”

Sadie Harris
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“I called Godsey Martin right after my daughter and I were hit by a drunk driver on the highway. They were very helpful in getting us set up with the medical care we needed and getting us a fair settlement through the drivers insurance. Priscilla Nowlin was my point of contact and kept me up to date with every step of the process. She responded quickly and was very professional. I am very grateful for her and for the Godsey Martin team!”

Alyssa Blank
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“Priscilla Nowlin was a great help and very responsive. The process was painless and my settlement exceeded my expectations. Priscilla was very professional and when I notified her of a death in my family she very understanding, she let me know they would continue to work on my behalf and to just focus on my family. Thank you Godsey Martin for having such a great staff who just don’t see you as a client but a human being which is often lost with some law firms.”

WB Wagner
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Talk to a Truck Accident Lawyer

When you hire a seasoned truck accident lawyer, they’ll step in between you and the insurance company. They know the tactics insurance carriers use, and how to avoid the pitfalls and fight back. At Godsey-Martin, we’re on your side from day one. We’ll investigate your case, gather evidence, work with experts, negotiate with the insurance company’s lawyers, and build your case for trial. Call us now to learn more, or click to schedule a free consultation.

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Texas Truck Accident FAQs

Damages and injuries in a truck crash are often more severe than they might be in a car accident. That’s because commercial trucks are so much larger and heavier than the passenger vehicle they collide with.

Truck accident cases may also be more complicated due to the multiple possible responsible parties, the fact that commercial truck crashes may require knowledge of both state and federal law, the possibility of litigating across state lines and more. If you’ve been involved in an accident with a commercial motor vehicle, it is especially important that you contact a Texas truck wreck lawyer right away.

You’ve probably heard of the black boxes that help investigators figure out what went wrong after an airplane crash. A commercial truck’s black box (technically called an electronic logging device, or ELD) keeps similar records. Since 2017, the federal government has required ELDs in most commercial vehicles subject to federal regulation. While the regulation requires the use of these black boxes to ensure accuracy and honesty in logging hours in service,

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) projected that this monitoring would improve safety and decrease truck crashes and related injuries. When accidents do happen, black box information can be very helpful to the injured person, since the record can’t be altered by the trucking company.

Some of the most common types of damages awarded in a Texas truck accident case include compensation for medical expenses, lost work time, anticipated future medical costs related to the accident, projected lost future income and pain and suffering. The exact types of damages available and the amount of damages of each type depends on the specifics of your case. The best source of information about what kind of damages you may be entitled to is to talk to an experienced Texas truck accident lawyer right away.

The surviving spouse, child, or parent of someone killed through someone else’s negligence can file a wrongful death lawsuit in Texas. Proving liability in a wrongful death case is similar to proving a personal injury claim. However, the damages are somewhat different, and are based on the losses of the surviving family members. In some cases, they may also be able to file a survival action, seeking the damages the deceased would have been entitled to if they had survived.