Trucking Accident Attorney
Have you experienced a truck accident that injured you or your family?
Do you need experienced Houston truck accident attorneys who will fight for your maximum compensation?
At The BFH Law Group, 18-wheeler accident lawyers in Houston can help you recover compensation from the truck company that caused your injuries.
We negotiate with insurance companies for the compensation you deserve.
If you’re considering hiring a truck accident attorney, here are a few things you should know about our law firm:
Our attorneys have helped hundreds of individuals and businesses with skilled legal representation;
We always advocate for our negligently injured clients’ maximum compensation;
Many of our lawyers worked for insurance companies and corporations, so we know the legal strategies to use against our opponents;
We provide clients with personalized attention and respect while keeping them informed and confident about their case;
We have offices in Houston, Texas, and New Orleans, Louisiana. We are also licensed in Florida; and
We offer free case reviews. If you want to discuss your trucking accident injury or wrongful death, contact us for a free consultation.
Truck accidents injure and kill many drivers on Houston highways each year.
If you were injured or a loved one was killed due to a trucker’s negligence, you can pursue a lawsuit.
However, you should know that you’ll have to battle the trucker’s big insurance company when you sue.
This isn’t a lawsuit where you want to represent yourself or hire an inexperienced attorney.
You need an experienced Houston trucking accident attorney to fight for your maximum compensation.
Our knowledgeable Houston trucking accident attorneys represent victims who were injured or killed by negligent truck drivers.
We fight insurance companies to get a maximum personal injury or wrongful death compensation.
If you’d like more information about truck accident lawsuits before calling us, keep reading for details on the following topics:
What to Do if You’re Injured in a Truck Accident
Steps in a Truck Accident Lawsuit
Proving the Trucker Was Negligent
Truck Accident Damages
Common Injuries from Truck Accidents
After reading about truck accident injury lawsuits, give us a call. We’re available for a free case evaluation when you’re ready to get started on your trucking accident injury claim.
Houston Trucking Accident Statistics
2018 – Total Crashes Involving an 18-Wheeler – 42
2017 – Total Crashes Involving an 18-Wheeler – 40
2016 – Total Crashes Involving an 18-Wheeler – 35
2015 – Total Crashes Involving an 18-Wheeler – 46
2014 – Total Crashes Involving an 18-Wheeler – 49
2013 – Total Crashes Involving an 18-Wheeler – 37
2012 – Total Crashes Involving an 18-Wheeler – 24
🚑 What to Do If You’re Injured in a Truck Accident
Massive semi-trucks carry huge loads, making it difficult for truckers to brake quickly.
The trucks’ size, weight, and lack of agile maneuvering present a hazard to other Houston drivers.
Though truckers have special licensing requirements, they also spend many hours on the road, which sometimes leads to exhaustion and driving errors.
Houston boasts one of the largest ports in the country, as well as major interstate highways.
This means lots of trucks traverse Houston highways, adding to the dangerous road conditions.
Sadly, a Houston Chronicle story reports that “640 people a year die on Houston-area roads, and 2,850 more are seriously injured.”
The newspaper investigation names Houston as the deadliest traffic area in the nation.
If you or a loved one were one of those traffic accident victims on a Houston highway, you know all too well that negligent drivers frequent these roads.
If you were injured in an accident with a negligent trucker, you’ll want to take the following steps.
Seek Medical Attention
Because trucks are so huge and dangerous, truck accident victims often sustain serious injuries.
If you are injured in a truck accident, you should immediately seek medical attention.
If you are able, call 911 to request emergency medical response. Get the medical treatment you need, and keep copies of medical bills so that our attorneys can help you get reimbursed by the trucker’s insurance.
Call the Police
Police should respond along with paramedics after you or a witness place a 911 call.
Get away from immediate danger by moving to the highway shoulder or another safe space to talk to the police.
If you do not need immediate medical attention, file a police report, and answer police questions about what happened in the accident.
While a police report may be optional, depending on the circumstances of your accident, it helps your personal injury case.
Locate Witnesses
If you are able, request the names and contact information for any witnesses to the accident.
The police will also likely interview witnesses. Pass witness contact information on to your Houston truck accident attorney. Then our attorneys can speak to witnesses during the accident investigation.
Take Photographs
Take photos of the scene of the accident, including vehicle damage, the surroundings, and injuries. If you need to seek medical help, ask someone you trust to take photos of these details.
Refrain from Unnecessary Comments
It’s best to avoid giving statements right after the accident. Of course, cooperate with police, unless you are in police custody and need to invoke your Fifth Amendment right against self-incriminating statements.
However, you have no obligation to speak to insurance investigators.
Instead, give yourself time to think about the details of the accident before you speak.
This helps you avoid making confusing statements in the aftermath of an accident.
If possible, talk to a Houston truck accident attorney before you give a statement to the trucker’s insurance company.
📞 Call a Houston Truck Accident Attorney
After an accident, you should call an experienced Houston truck accident attorney. An 18-wheeler accident lawyer in Houston can guide you in each step of your truck accident injury settlement.
The attorney can send an investigator to the scene of the accident, interview witnesses, and make sure you receive proper medical care.
📝 Steps in a Truck Accident Lawsuit
There are many details to sort through after an accident, including medical care, car repairs, and paying bills.
You may feel overwhelmed trying to argue with insurance companies on top of all these stressors.
You need a Houston truck accident lawyer to fight for you during this challenging time so that you can focus on healing from your injuries.
Hire a Houston Truck Accident Lawyer
An experienced 18-wheeler accident lawyer in Houston can begin settlement negotiations with the truck insurance company.
Our truck accident law firm offers a free consultation, where we can listen to your accident experience and advise you of your legal options.
If we think we can help you with your case, we work on contingency, meaning you don’t owe us any money upfront.
In fact, you won’t owe us anything until we win your case.
Investigate the Accident
Houston truck accident attorneys will review any photos and witness statements you collected from the scene of the accident.
Then the attorney will look for more evidence of the trucker’s negligence, like the truck’s maintenance records and the driver’s safety record.
Your attorney will compile as much evidence as possible to build a strong case.
Negotiate with the Insurance Company
You and your attorney agree on a settlement request, and your attorney sends an initial demand letter to the trucker’s insurance company.
This initiates the settlement negotiation process.
Usually, insurance companies want to settle a personal injury or wrongful death case out of court.
However, your Houston truck accident attorney should be prepared to take your case to trial if the trucker’s insurance company refuses to agree on a fair settlement.
You’ll have the final say on accepting any settlement offer.
Proving the Trucker Was Negligent
If you claim the trucker’s negligence caused your accident injury, you have to prove four legal elements.
Duty of Care
The trucker owed other drivers a duty of care. This means that the trucker had a duty to drive safely and not increase others’ risk of harm.
Breach of Duty
The trucker breached the duty of care by driving dangerously.
For instance, the driver might have been speeding, driving with his lights off, or texting instead of watching the road.
There are many ways a trucker can breach a duty to drive responsibly.
Harm Resulted
You were injured in the accident, or a loved one was killed.
Sadly, dangerous truck accidents may cause serious injuries or death.
These damages are likely to provoke a financial settlement offer from the insurance company.
However, minor accident harm, such as a brief headache or a scratched car, might not be worth a lawsuit.
Your truck accident attorney can help you calculate all possible damages, including injuries, property damage, and emotional effects from the accident.
Breach of Duty Caused Harm
The accident must have caused your injury.
For instance, if you already had back problems before your accident, back pain after your accident may not qualify for damages.
In that case, you couldn’t sue the truck insurance company for back pain medical expenses unless the accident made your back injury worse.
Even if you were partly responsible for the accident that caused your injury, you can still get some compensation under Texas’s comparative fault law.
Comparative fault allows you to recover damages for the trucker’s portion of responsibility.
If you incurred $100,000 worth of damages, and the trucker was 60% responsible, you could recover up to $60,000.
However, you cannot recover any personal injury compensation if you are 51% or more responsible for the accident.
Truck Accident Damages
In a truck accident lawsuit, damages are the harms compensated.
These injuries come in two primary forms: economic and non-economic damages.
Economic Damages
Economic damages include tangible, easily measurable expenses like medical bills and lost wages.
Save medical bills to receive full compensation.
These medical expenses can be compensated as economic damages:
Ambulance ride;
Hospital bills;
Doctor bills;
Prescription and over-the-counter drugs costs;
Wheelchairs, walkers, and crutches rentals;
Physical therapy expenses;
Rehabilitation facility costs; and
Counseling charges.
To receive compensation for lost wages, car repair receipts, and other invoices related to truck accident expenses, save all related invoices.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages are less tangible and refer to the “pain and suffering” related to the accident.
For instance, if you sustained injuries that keep you awake at night, your pain and insomnia would be non-economic damages.
If you fear driving, this limitation on your lifestyle might be compensated.
Also, the court can take into account the accident’s impact on your relationship with other people.
If you cannot enjoy relationships as you did before your accident, this “loss of consortium” can also be compensated.
🚚 Common Injuries from Truck Accidents
A truck accident can cause serious injuries or death. Truck accident victims may suffer these injuries, which may impact their lives temporarily or permanently.
Soft Tissue Injuries
The impact of a truck accident collision can cause soft tissue injuries such as bruises, lacerations, and muscle strains.
These injuries may require medical attention to avoid permanent muscle damage.
Internal Organ Damage
When the force of a collision thrusts your body into a seatbelt or against the dash or windshield, you can suffer internal organ damage. For instance, a broken rib might puncture your lungs, or you might suffer life-threatening internal bleeding.
These types of injuries can be hard to detect at the scene of the accident, so it’s crucial that you receive immediate medical care.
Nerve Damage
Nerve damage can result from the twisting, snapping, or pinching of your spine and neck. Nerve damage may present as sharp pain or numbness in your extremities. This pain or numbness may be temporary or could persist as a permanent, debilitating condition.
Traumatic Brain Injury
If your head snaps forward in a collision, hitting your steering wheel, windshield, or dash, it could cause a traumatic brain injury. A head injury ranges from a mild concussion that heals with a few days rest to debilitating brain injuries.
Traumatic brain injury symptoms include dizziness, headaches, light sensitivity, slurred speech, memory loss, and paralysis. Severe or repeated brain injuries may result in the development of chronic neurological conditions.
Emotional Injuries
A truck accident often causes physical injuries, but the experience can also impact your emotional health. Emotional injuries such as insomnia, anxiety, or depression may result from your truck accident injuries.
If you are not able to enjoy relationships with your loved ones as you did before your accident, this also counts as an emotional injury.
Death
Sadly, drivers or passengers are killed in truck accidents. In 2018, Harris County suffered 29 fatalities in commercial motor vehicle crashes, tying with Dallas County for the most truck accident fatalities in the state.
Nationwide, truck accidents account for 11% of all fatal crashes. If someone you loved died in a truck accident, you may be able to sue for wrongful death.
Contact a Houston Trucking Accident Attorney
Even if you have handled car accident settlement details on your own before, a truck accident is another matter entirely. Truckers bring big insurance attorneys to try to limit their financial losses.
Meanwhile, you have medical bills to pay as you try to recover from your injuries.
You need a skilled truck accident attorney to fight these big insurance companies for you. Our truck accident law firm, The BFH Law Group, has helped hundreds of accident victims in their time of need. Let us know if you want us to help you too.
Contact us for a free consultation.
Our compassionate attorneys are ready to listen to your story, advise you of your best legal strategy, and let you know if we can take your case. Let us fight for you so that you can focus on recovering from your accident injuries.
Injured in a Truck Accident? How Truck Accident Personal Injury Law Works
Louisiana and Texas trucking accidents cause many deaths and injuries each year.
Because of the size and weight of these commercial vehicles, trucking accidents often cause serious injuries.
The heavy loads these trucks carry make it difficult for truckers to stop, which presents a hazard to other drivers.
Also, truckers spend many hours on the road, so exhaustion may lead to driving errors.
Truck accidents caused by negligent drivers can impact anyone on Louisiana roadways.
If you’ve been injured in a trucking accident, you can pursue a personal injury lawsuit.
However, trucking injury lawsuits can be complicated, so you’ll need experienced Louisiana trucking accident attorney to advocate for you.
Louisiana Trucking Accident Attorneys
Our Louisiana trucking accident attorney helps people who were injured by negligent truck drivers. We fight to get victims of truck accidents maximum insurance settlements.
If you’re looking for an experienced Louisiana trucking law firm, here’s what you should know about us:
We’re a group of lawyers interested in helping accident victims in their time of need.
We’ve represented hundreds of hurt people, helping them fight big business and insurance to get the money they’re owed.
As former defense attorneys, we know how insurance companies work and how to beat them in court.
We have offices in Houston, Texas and New Orleans, Louisiana. We are also licensed in Florida.
We offer free case reviews. If you have a trucking accident injury or wrongful death case, contact us for a free consultation.Louisiana Trucking Accident Attorney
If you’d like more information before calling us, keep reading for our take on the following truck accident injury topics:
Common Injuries from Truck
AccidentsWhat to Do if You’re Injured in a
Truck AccidentSteps in a Truck Accident Lawsuit
Proving the Trucker Was Negligent
Truck Accident Damages
After reading about truck accident injury lawsuits, you may think you have a case. We’re ready to talk anytime you want to get started on legal options for your trucking accident injury claim.
Common Injuries from Truck Accidents
When a massive semi-truck slams into your vehicle, it can cause significant harm. People who experience truck accidents may suffer these injuries.
Soft Tissue Injuries
The violent force from a truck collision may cause your neck to snap forward and your body to slam into your seatbelt or steering wheel. Such impact leads to soft tissue injuries, such as bruises, lacerations, and muscle strains. Soft tissue injuries can cause permanent muscle loss if you don’t seek adequate medical treatment.
Internal Organ Damage
The force that propels your body into your seatbelt, dash, or windshield can also damage internal organs. Broken ribs can puncture your lungs, making it painful to breathe. Internal injuries could cause internal bleeding, which might not be easy to detect at the scene of the accident.
Nerve Damage
If your spine or neck experience rapid movement, it could lead to nerve damage. You might feel this nerve damage as sharp pain or numbness at different points on your body. Nerve damage can be temporary and subside as your inflammation goes away. However, nerve damage could also become a permanent, debilitating condition.
Traumatic Brain Injury
When your head hits your steering wheel, dash, or headrest, it could cause traumatic brain injury. Though concussions often heal on their own, some brain injuries cause more severe consequences. Brain injuries may cause dizziness, headaches, light sensitivity, memory loss, and speech and mobility problems. Severe or repeated brain injuries may lead to chronic neurological conditions.
Emotional Injuries
A truck accident is an unexpected, catastrophic experience that may have long-term effects on your emotional health. Emotional injuries resulting from your truck accident could include insomnia, fear of driving, or depression. An emotional injury that relates to physical injuries sustained in your truck accident counts for personal injury damages.
Death
Sadly, many truck accidents result in the death of one or more innocent drivers or passengers. In 2016, there were at least 4,000 fatal crashes on US roadways that involved a large truck or bus. These crashes account for more than 10% of all fatal crashes involving US drivers. If a negligent truck driver caused the death of someone you love, you can sue for wrongful death.
🚛 What to Do If You’re Injured in a Truck Accident
Semi-trucks play a significant role in the American economy. They transport goods across the country, using the interstate highway system. At any given time, there are around two million semi-trucks on US roadways.
Louisiana roadways host significant numbers of semi-trucks due to the Port of South Louisiana ranking as the largest tonnage port in the Western Hemisphere.
All that ship cargo transfers to rail lines and roadways, meaning lots of semi-trucks make their way to South Louisiana.
However, substantial truck traffic comes at a cost.
Perhaps you’ve encountered a negligent truck driver and were seriously injured in a truck accident.
If you were involved in a truck accident, you should take the following steps.
Seek Medical Attention
Truck accidents often seriously injure people in other vehicles.
After experiencing a truck accident, your first priority should be to seek medical attention.
If you are unable to dial 911, ask the trucker or a witness to call 911. Seek treatment for your injuries, and keep copies of all medical records.
Call the Police
The 911 call for medical help likely dispatched the police as well.
You should file a police report and give the police any requested statements about your perspective on the accident.
A police report detailing the accident helps your personal injury case.
Locate Witnesses
If there were any witnesses to the accident, you should request their names and contact information. Witnesses should give their statements to the police. You will also want any witnesses’ contact information in case you or your trucking accident law firm have questions for witnesses later.
Take Photographs
If you are physically able, take photographs of the scene of the accident.
You should photograph your surroundings, visible damage on all vehicles, and your injuries.
If you are injured and need immediate medical attention, ask someone to take photos for you.
Avoid Saying Too Much
Try to keep as quiet as possible after an accident. While you may be in shock, police officers and insurance agents may try to question you.
It helps your case if you avoid making unneeded statements without your Louisiana trucking accident attorney present.
You may not think clearly after an accident, and your confused statements could impact your personal injury case.
Call an 18-Wheeler Accident Attorney
It’s best to touch base with a Louisiana trucking accident attorney soon after an accident.
You may be hospitalized or in shock, so it can be difficult for you to take steps to preserve essential evidence.
The truck company will probably send an investigator to the scene of the accident, so you should have someone working on your behalf.
Contacting an 18-wheeler accident attorney allows you to focus on recovery while your attorney focuses on your personal injury lawsuit.
✍ Steps in a Truck Accident Lawsuit
After you experience a truck accident, you may not know where to turn for help.
While recovering from the accident, you could have insurance companies harassing you and medical bills piling up.
Truck companies have big insurance companies and skilled attorneys. You don’t want to face those intimidating professionals on your own.
Hire a Louisiana Truck Accident Lawyer
You should hire an experienced 18 wheeler accident attorney who can take over communications with the truck insurance company and attorneys.
Our truck accident law firm works on contingency, meaning that you won’t owe anything upfront.
A Louisiana truck accident attorney will offer a free consultation so that you can get to know the attorney before signing a contract.
Investigate the Accident
Perhaps you obtained initial evidence from the accident scene in the form of photos and witness statements.
If not, your truck accident law firm can help you investigate the accident to find evidence that proves the trucker’s negligence.
Your attorney can research the truck’s maintenance records and the driver’s license to determine if those factors were relevant.
Negotiate with the Insurance Company
Once you hire an experienced 18 wheeler accident attorney, your lawyer can take over negotiations with the trucker’s insurance company. Your attorney sends an initial demand letter to the trucker’s insurance company, and then the settlement negotiation process begins. Usually, 18 wheeler accident lawyers can settle truck accident cases out of court. However, your attorney should be prepared to go to a jury trial in case the trucker’s insurance company won’t cooperate. Your Louisiana trucking accident attorney will get your approval for a settlement before agreeing to the offer.
🔎 Proving the Trucker Was Negligent
For a successful personal injury case, you must prove that the trucker’s negligence caused the accident. This means that the trucker was at least partly responsible for the accident.
Even if you contributed to the accident, you can still get some compensation under Louisiana’s comparative fault law. Comparative fault allows you to recover damages according to the trucker’s percentage of responsibility. Let’s say the trucker was 60% responsible for the accident and you were 40% responsible. This means you could recover up to 60% of your damages from the trucker’s insurance.
To get that damages award, you’ll need to prove these elements of negligence.
Duty of Care
The trucker owed you a duty of care. This means that the trucker had a responsibility to drive safely and not endanger other drivers.
Breach of Duty
The trucker breached the duty of care. In other words, the trucker did something dangerous. Maybe the trucker did not use a blinker when changing lanes. Perhaps the trucker was texting while driving and not watching the road. There are many ways a trucker can breach a duty of responsible driving.
Existence of Harm
You suffered harm, called damages. Truck accidents usually result in serious injuries or death. These damages are apparent. However, some types of harm are so minor that they may not equal litigation-worthy damages. For instance, maybe you had a headache after the truck accident, but it went away the next day. If the headache was your only harm from the accident, that wouldn’t be worth much money in court. Damages include property damage like car repairs, physical injuries, and emotional effects from your injuries.
Breach of Duty Caused Harm
The trucker’s irresponsible driving caused your harm. The accident must be the cause of your injury for your damages to qualify for a negligence lawsuit. For instance, maybe you already had a broken leg at the time of the accident. In that case, you couldn’t sue the trucker over the broken leg unless the accident made your injury worse.
Truck Accident Damages
Your 18-wheeler accident lawyer will attempt to win maximum damages for your truck accident injury. Your case may qualify for both economic and non-economic damages.
Economic Damages
Economic damages include expenses that you can count, like medical bills and lost wages. Save all bills and receipts to calculate economic damages. Economic damages include many different medical expenses:
Ambulance ride;
Hospital stay;
Doctor visits;
Prescription and over-the-counter drugs;
Wheelchairs, walkers, and crutches;
Physical therapy;
Rehabilitation facility; and
Mental health counseling
Additionally, if you sustained serious injuries from the accident you may be entitled to lost wages and loss of future wage-earning capacity.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages include emotional damages suffered as a result of your injury. These damages often take the form of “pain and suffering.” For instance, if you sustained a neck injury that makes it difficult to sleep, your pain and insomnia would be emotional damage.
Similarly, if you can’t enjoy relationships like you did before your injury, this is non-economic damage that should be compensated.
Contact a Louisiana Trucking Accident Attorney
If you have experienced a truck accident injury, you need an attorney to fight for your access to compensation. Our trucking accident law firm, BFH Law Group, has helped hundreds of clients in lawsuits against the biggest businesses and insurance companies. We step alongside injured clients in their time of need and help them recover financially.
Contact us for a free consultation. We’ll listen to your truck accident experience and let you know if we can take your case. Start the path to financial recovery from your truck accident by contacting us today.