Experienced Truck Accident Representation
The roads of Texas are filled with 18-wheelers transporting the goods and supplies that keep our economy humming. Most truck drivers are highly skilled professionals who follow traffic laws and industry regulations. But when drivers or carriers break the law in order to deliver on time or save money, the results can be disastrous.
At the Hanna Law Firm, our knowledgeable attorneys will root out evidence of wrongdoing and make sure all negligent parties are held accountable.
If you’ve been injured by a commercial truck, call a Texas truck accident lawyer to schedule a free consultation at 432-606-2378.
Compassionate Truck Accident Lawyer
Standing Up for the Rights of Injured Crash Victims
Commercial trucks can weigh up to 80,000 pounds. Passenger cars usually weigh around 4,000 pounds. So it’s not surprising that when a car is hit by a truck, the occupants of the smaller vehicle are far more likely to suffer injury or death than the truck driver. If an accident was caused by negligence, injured vehicle occupants may be able to get money to pay for their damages through a lawsuit. If someone was tragically killed in a commercial truck accident, their families may be entitled to compensation.
If you’re a Texan, you know that our roadways are packed with commercial trucks day and night. Oil producers and other industries in the state are highly important to our economy. They wouldn’t be able to operate without these legions of trucks carrying products and supplies. But unfortunately, not all of the drivers operate in a safe manner — putting you and everyone else on the road at risk.
To help ensure your rights are protected after a collision with an 18-wheeler, call an experienced and compassionate truck accident lawyer at Hanna Law Firm. Call to schedule a free consultation at 432-606-2378 and we’ll explain your legal options.
TRUSTED TRUCK ACCIDENT LAWYERS IN ABILENE
If you or someone you love has been hurt by a commercial truck, call a trusted truck accident lawyer from the Hanna Law Firm. As a local firm with roots right here in the community, we have an especially strong commitment to serving our clients. We have a thorough knowledge of federal and state laws regulating the commercial trucking industry that we bring to truck accident cases. And as compassionate attorneys who understand the devastation caused by these accidents, you will always be treated with respect and understanding every step of the way.
To schedule a free consultation with one of our truck accident lawyers, call 432-606-2378 or request an appointment through our online form. In addition to our Abilene location, we also have conveniently located offices in Midland, Odessa and Sweetwater.
if you are in an accident caused by a truck driver or trucking company and are injured or suffer other losses, you may be entitled to compensation, also called damages, for those losses. There are two main categories of damages: economic (or “special) damages and non-economic (or “general”) damages. Here we’ll discuss the differences between them.
Economic Damages Related to a Truck Accident
Economic damages are given for real, quantifiable losses. Since these are expenses with actual price tags attached, they are more straightforward to calculate and less open to interpretation. You may receive economic damages to compensate you for:
- Hospital bills, medication costs, insurance copays, medical devices and equipment, medical transportation — this includes both current and future medical expenses from the accident
- Costs for rehab and therapy, whether inpatient, outpatient, or at home
- Paid help you require (such as house cleaning or child care) as a consequence of your accident
- Wages you lost due to an inability to work during your recovery
- Lost earning capacity, if you are unable to work at the same level permanently or long-term.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages are designed to compensate you for pain, trauma, and other less easily quantifiable — however, real — losses. Since it’s virtually impossible to put a price on pain, non-economic damages are seen as subjective and more difficult to calculate. You may receive non-economic damages related to a truck accident for:
- Pain and suffering — emotional and physical
- Anxiety and stress stemming from the accident
- Loss of companionship or consortium
- Loss of quality of life.
Punitive Damages
There is another category of damages called punitive damages, also called exemplary damages, that may be awarded. Punitive damages may be awarded in cases in which the accident is determined to be the result of someone’s fraud, malice, or gross negligence. In Texas, punitive damages are capped at $200,000 or twice the value of the economic damages, plus the value of the case’s non-economic damages up to a maximum of $750,000.
Truck accident cases are complex. To ensure you win all the damages you deserve, it’s important to get help from an experienced attorney. To speak with our 18-wheeler accident lawyer in Texas and learn more about your rights after a collision, call the Hanna Law Firm at 432-606-2378.
When you’ve been in an accident, you may be tempted to quickly reach a settlement with the insurance company without the counsel of a lawyer. Perhaps they’ve already attempted to reach out to you. While you may think speaking directly with the other party’s insurer will save you money because you won’t have lawyer’s fees to pay, the truth is that you will almost certainly be leaving money on the table if you attempt to negotiate on your own. That’s because insurance companies don’t care about offering you a fair amount that will fully account for your losses. Their loyalty is to their shareholders, and they will most likely give you a lowball offer. Once you sign on the dotted line and accept that offer, that is all the money you’ll get. And if your injuries were serious, there’s a good chance the money won’t cover all of your losses.
When you work with a commercial truck accident lawyer, they will carefully investigate all the circumstances of the accident to prove fault. They will also review all the ways the accident has affected your life, now and for the future, to determine a fair value range for your claim. Then your attorney will skillfully negotiate with the insurance company toward getting you compensation to pay for all of your damages. If the insurer won’t offer an adequate amount, your truck accident attorney will stand up for your rights in the courtroom.
As with any personal injury case, determining whether you are entitled to damages from another party’s insurance company boils down to liability. Simply put, what matters is who was at fault for the accident. Liability can be determined through police reports, photos, damage to the vehicles involved, documentation, eyewitness statements, expert witnesses and other factors. In some cases, such as a rear-end collision, liability is generally pretty clear cut.
At Hanna Law Firm, our truck accident lawyers in Abilene work on contingency. What contingency means is that we only get paid if we get you compensation. We may get you compensation through an insurance settlement or through an award at trial. If we don’t get you any money, we don’t get paid. We also provide free consultations. If you aren’t sure whether or not you have a case, call us to arrange a free consultation. Once we examine all the facts involved, we’ll advise you as to whether we believe you have a strong case that we believe we can win. If you choose to hire our firm, we’ll fight for your rights and interests throughout every step in the legal process.
Every case is different, and there is no average time cases take. They can take just weeks or a year or more. How long an individual case takes depends on all the circumstances involved. In general, cases with more serious injuries, more parties involved and fault that isn’t clear cut take longer than those that are more straightforward. Cases that reach settlements through negotiations with insurance companies are typically resolved faster. Truck accident cases that end up going to trial take longer because there are more steps in the litigation process, and availability on court calendars can also affect timing. Cases that go to trial can be appealed if one of the parties isn’t happy with the outcome, which further extends the case.
Texas has a two-year statute of limitations for truck accident claims from the date of the accident or the date you discovered your injuries. When someone dies in an accident, the deadline for filing suit is two years from the date of death. There are exceptions to these rules, however. If you’ve been injured in a crash or lost a family member, speak directly to one of our truck accident lawyers in Abilene about deadlines that apply to your unique case.
How an Abilene Truck Accident Attorney Can Help You
Hiring an experienced Abilene truck accident attorney can often be critical to ensuring that you receive every penny you are entitled to. The attorneys and staff at the Hanna Law Firm will meticulously review your case and calculate the full value of your losses — including any future accident-related expenses you are likely to encounter. We will negotiate aggressively with the insurance company truck accident lawyer and other parties involved and steadfastly stand up for your interests — whether across the negotiating table or in the courtroom.
Call us today to schedule a free consultation with a commercial truck accident lawyer. Dial 432-606-2378 for help.
Fault in Truck Accidents Affects the Amount of Damages
Our 18-Wheeler Accident Lawyer is Skilled at Proving Fault
Who is at fault in truck accidents determines how much in damages you may be able to recover. If the other party is found to be entirely at fault, you are entitled to receive the entirety of compensation for your losses and injuries from them. But accidents are not always black and white in terms of who’s at fault.
Consider a hypothetical situation in which you are driving north, and a truck turning left from the southbound lane mistimes his turn and hits your car. It seems pretty straightforward that the truck driver is at fault, right? Generally, yes. But what if you were speeding? Your speed could have affected the driver’s ability to accurately time the turn, and you may be found partly liable for the accident.
The state of Texas follows a rule of modified comparative negligence, also called proportionate responsibility. This means that if you are found to be at all responsible for helping cause the accident in which you were injured, an award will be reduced by your percentage of fault. For example, if a jury awarded you $50,000 for the accident, but evidence showed you were 20% at fault, the award would be reduced by that percentage and you would get $40,000.
If you were 50% or more responsible, you won’t get anything. But as long as the other party is determined to be at least 51% responsible for the incident, you still may receive some damages if you are partly at fault.
An experienced Texas truck accident lawyer from Hanna Law has the knowledge needed to assess your accident and determine the strength of your case. Call to arrange a free consultation with an attorney from our firm by reaching out to us at 432-219-4011.
What If My Loved One Is Killed by a Truck?
Learn About a Wrongful Death Lawsuit after a Truck Accident
If you’ve lost a family member in a collision with a commercial truck, you may have a case for a wrongful death claim. While similar in some ways to personal injury lawsuits, wrongful death claims differ. They are designed to compensate survivors — generally children, spouses, and parents — for expenses and losses resulting from their family member’s death. These losses may include:
- Medical bills for care related to the accident
- Funeral and burial costs
- Lost wages and future lost earnings
- Compensation for your emotional pain and suffering
- Loss of love and companionship
- Lost inheritance, which is what the deceased person would have been expected to save and leave to the family after their death in the future.
When you contact our attorneys, we will advise you, based on the evidence and your relationship to the deceased, whether you may be able to bring a wrongful death lawsuit.
How Do Commercial Truck Accidents Differ from Other Car Accidents?
When a collision involves a heavy commercial truck, there is a much higher likelihood of catastrophic injury or death due to the 18-wheeler’s enormous weight. Truck accident cases differ from other types of motor vehicle wrecks legally speaking, too.
When a commercial truck is involved, there are often multiple defendants who may bear some degree of liability. These may include the truck driver, the carrier, the company whose cargo is on the truck, and others. It could even include the driver of another passenger car who cut off the truck, for example, and contributed to the crash. In other cases, manufacturers of truck or trailer parts may also share blame if their parts were defective.
Truck drivers and trucking companies are subject to industry-specific laws and regulations set by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Unfortunately, some drivers and trucking companies, under pressure to deliver loads quickly and keep costs down, may not adhere to the letter of the law. When this happens, they can be held accountable for the injuries and devastation that the cause.
What Are Common Ways Truckers and Carriers Break the Law?
Like all drivers, truck drivers may engage in dangerous behavior. This includes distracted driving, drowsy driving, driving under the influence, speeding, and other common traffic violations. However, with the weight and size of a truck, these dangerous acts can have more catastrophic results. But commercial drivers and their employers have other rules they’re obligated by law to follow, including:
- Hours-of-service maximums. If drivers don’t take required breaks — and accurately record them in their logbook — they are breaking the law.
- Vehicle inspection and maintenance. If a trucking company fails to regularly maintain and inspect its vehicles, it is breaking the law.
- Load and cargo rules. If cargo is overweight or is improperly secured to the truck, that is breaking the law.
Call an 18-Wheeler Accident Lawyer at the Hanna Law Firm
Our Knowledgeable Attorneys Are Here to Help You Get Financial Justice
If you were seriously injured in a crash with a commercial truck, or if you lost a family member in a trucking accident, don’t navigate the legal aftermath alone. To help ensure that you get the full amount of compensation you deserve, look to the experienced truck accident lawyers in Abilene at the Hanna Law Firm. We fight hard for clients whose lives have been turned upside down by negligent trucking accidents, including at Texas oilfields.
To speak with a Texas truck accident attorney call 432-606-2378 or get in touch with us online. In addition to our Abilene location, we have offices in Midland, Sweetwater and Odessa. We provide free consultations.