Texas Truck Accident Lawyer Blog

I was recently hired by a woman who was run off the road when an 18 wheeler suddenly moved into her lane. She was able to avoid getting hit by the truck, but she lost control of her vehicle, drove off the road, and did a complete flip before coming to a stop in a field.

My client and her grandson were rushed by ambulance to the local hospital for treatment of their injuries. They are currently being treated by a doctor and one may require surgery.

On the surface, this should have a pretty routine case: clear liability, significant property damage, and medical bills to date of $10,000.00. But as is often the case with 18 wheeler wrecks, things weren't as simple as they should be.

The first problem was getting a police report to find the insurance company for the truck. Because the wreck was in a remote part of west Texas, the Texas Highway Patrol investigated and it took them more than two weeks to finish the report. When it was finally ready, I had one of my assistants drive to Hurst to pick it up within the hour.

Unfortunately, the insurance company listed on the report was not correct, but after several phone calls, I did get to the right company. After my staff set up the claim, we thought we were okay, but then we got an e-mail saying that the tractor (the front part of the 18-wheeler) was not insured by that company.

We chased down a different company, which denied coverage.

Sadly, my client did not carry rental coverage or collision coverage on her policy, and because there was no impact between the vehicles, she could not file on her Uninsured Motorist coverage.

She was starting to think that there was not going to be any insurance coverage, and she was going to be left with all of her bills unpaid and no car. She was ready to give up. I was not. I told her that I always go the distance for my clients and was going to make sure she was compensated.

By the time we got the denial from the carrier, the adjuster at the first company had gone out of town for the week. My staff left four unreturned phone messages for different people there. I finally got the adjuster's supervisor's manager on the phone, and he said it could be two or three more weeks before they could make a coverage and liability decision. It had been 40 days since the wreck, and I was tired of the way they were treating my client, so I prepared a lawsuit and mailed it to them with a letter advising that it it didn't accept liability and pay for my client's vehicle, I would file suit immediately.

Less than an hour after my letter was faxed, I got a phone call from the backup adjuster saying that not only was there coverage, but even before she could determine liability, she was willing to provide a rental car to my client. The next day, the company accepted liability.

If you want an attorney who really cares about his clients and doesn't let insurance companies give clients the runaround, call my office today at 817-885-8000. I will take the time to get to know your case and make sure you get the maximum recovery.

My firm only represents people injured truck and automobile collisions

Click here to see what past clients had to say about me and my firm.

On my other blog, I wrote about how many insurance companies engaged in inproper handling claims practices Apparently feeling bad for not making the 10 worst list in that report I quoted, Travelers decided to jump on the bad behavior bandwagon.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, not known for criticizing insurance companies or big businesses, just ordered Travelers Insurance to stop airing a deceptive TV advertisement.

Thursday's cease and desist letter says the ad wrongly tells Texas homeowners to purchase additional vehicle insurance or risk losing their homes if they have inadequate insurance after a traffic accident.

The truth is, state law already protect homeowners so "it is improper for Travelers to scare Texans into buying insurance they may not need, " Abbot explained.

Under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, Travelers could be liable for up to $20,000 for each airing of the ad.

I'm disgusted with Travelers over trying to rip off Texas consumers. Is it not enough that this megabillion dollar corporation already rakes in billions of dollars every year in premiums? Is not enough that they refuse to offer fair compensation to the innocent victims of their drivers' negligence? Now they are scaring people into paying them even more so they can make even bigger profits?

Last year, I represented a woman who was hit by an 18-wheeler insured with Travelers. The wreck ruptured one of her breast implants and she needed 4 surgeries to repair the damage. Her medical bills totaled nearly $140,000.00. Even though she had no complaints during the more than 20 years that the implants were in place, Travelers argued that they might have been ruptured prior to the wreck so they weren't responsible. They also argued that there wasn't much damage to either vehicle and even that the wreck was my client's fault.

I filed a lawsuit after they refused to make anything close to a reasonable settlement offer.

I hired a focus group and asked several local attorneys what they thought about the case. The consensus was that if a jury awarded $100,000.00, would would be lucky. After months of fighting, at mediation the case settled for nearly a quarter of a million dollars. I was then able to reduce the amount of medical bills she needed to pay so she would get to keep more of her settlement. Out of the nearly $140,000.00 worth of bills, all she had to repay was $300.00. My client received $132,200.00 after all fees, expenses and medical bills were paid. She was very pleased.

If you have been injured in a car wreck, e-mail or call me today at 817-885-8000.

I just got back from running a marathon in Oregon, my fifth marathon in the last five months, so you know I'll go the distance for you.

More than 1,700 trucks were taken out of commission due to safety violations during the three-day Roadcheck 2010 operation conducted by the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Over the three day operation, which ran from June 8 to June 10, DPS troopers checked 6,909 commercial vehicles statewide and 1,738 were taken out of service because safety violations were discovered that required immediate repairs, officials said.

In addition to the trucks, 160 drivers' licenses were suspended for violations, including not properly tracking hours, and driving with suspended or expired driver licenses.

In just three days officers wrote citations for the following citations to 18-wheeler and other commercial truck drivers:

900 brakes out of adjustment;
702 brake system problems;
322 light malfunctions;
283 tire or wheel issues; and
5 tickets for seat belt violations.

Trucking companies know that their trucks are in violation and pose a danger to other motorists, but to save money, they let them drive anyway. I applaud the DPS officers who participated in this operation to help keep everyone safe, and I sponsor the Truck Safety Coalition in their efforts as well.

Based on the findings in this study, more than one out of every ten commercial vehicles in Texas is driving with faulty brakes. If you have to stop suddenly while driving in front of an 18-wheeler, theres a one in ten chance his brakes will have problems and putting you or your family at risk of severe injuries or death.

If someone is towing 80,000 pounds behind me, I want to know that they will be able to stop without hitting me. Huge tractor trailers are hard to stop even with perfect brakes. When they have bad brakes they're a threat to everyone.

I represented a woman who was rear ended by a water truck after hitting her brakes to avoid rear ended a stopped car parked in her lane. I sued the trucking company and in the driver's deposition got him to admit that he was looking down to adjust his radio, and that his truck was 5,000 miles past a required inspection. The case settled for a lot of money shortly after the depositions.

An 18-wheeler accidentally became a 10-wheeler early Tuesday morning when the back wheel assembly came completely off the trailer! The trailer was resting at a 45-degree angle on the northbound lanes of I-35E near the Laureland exit. Thankfully no one was hurt in the accident, but the 18 wheeler blocked rush hour traffic for several hours.

Accidents such as this are often due to the lack of proper truck maintenance. Drivers and the owners of the trucks are supposed to inspect their rigs regularly but they often don't. The authorities have not yet released why the trailer lost 8 wheels, but I'm sure the accident could of been avoided if the owner of the truck would of practiced preventative maintenance.

Many semi trucks now come equipped with what is know as the "black box." The black box is essentially an electronic data recorder that monitors and reports information when certain things happen.

Typically, in the event of a sudden change in velocity or impact a black box will record some or all of the following information: brake application, RPM, truck speed, gear, and other important accident reconstruction information.
Not all trucks are equipped with a black box. An experienced truck accident lawyer will know which 18-wheelers have the event recorders and which do not.

It takes a special technician to download the crash data from the black box or event recorder. It's important to hire an experienced truck accident lawyer soon after your accident because the trucking company may try and delete the material before you can gain access to it. The data in the black box can help explain what happened in the accident and give us concrete data to show the insurance company.

If you or a family member has been seriously injured in an 18-wheeler accident, obtaining the black box information can be critical to the success of your case. The driver of the 18-wheeler may try and lie about the wreck, but the black box data will help us recreate the accident and prove what really happened.

Call me at (817) 885-8000 and I will further explain the ways in which we can help you recover the maximum amount for your injuries.

Last Friday in Houston, a tanker truck carrying almost 9000 gallons of fuel exploded as it headed west on a service road of the North Sam Houston Tollway. As the tanker truck was driving, a car ran a red light and forced the truck to swerve. When the tanker veered it crashed into a passenger van. The impact of the truck accident caused the semi tanker to rollover on its side and burst into flames. Fuel poured from the tanker, feeding the fire and spilling into the drains of the sewer system.

The fire burned so hot that It took firemen almost an hour to put the blaze out. The driver of the car that ran the red light and caused the collision was treated and stabilized at the scene before being transported to a Houston Hospital. The driver of the tanker truck was thankfully unharmed.

If you have been involved in an 18-wheeler accident, it's imperative that you hire an attorney with experience handling truck accidents. I've been handling truck accident cases for over 30 years and work hard to get my clients all the money they deserve.

I was able to obtain a $1,500,000.00 aggregate gross settlement for the family of Robert Walters, a wonderful young commercial tow truck driver who was tragically killed in 2005 as he was underneath a stalled 18 wheeler on 135 north of Denton.

Contact me at 817-885-8000 if you have been involved in a truck accident and I will explain the different ways you can be compensated for your injuries.

I am deeply saddened and angered by the news that three more innocent people have been lost because of the negligent driving of an 18-wheeler driver.

Three people in a Toyota 4Runner SUV were killed when their vehicle burst into flames after being rear-ended by an 18-wheeler in Kaufman County. Two of the people killed in the horrific event were on their way to a family reunion for the memorial day weekend.
The driver of the 18-wheeler could of stopped if he was paying attention and could have prevented this tragedy.

I recently took a case in which my client was negligently side swiped by an 18-wheeler. My clients truck got wedged between the trailer and the cab of the big rig and my client was drug for more than 900 feet before the truck driver finally stopped! The 18-wheeler driver then tried to flee the scene, thankfully he was caught. My client sustained serious back injuries, lost his job, and had to have several surgeries as a result of the wreck.

18-wheelers are dangerous vehicles if driven negligently. I support the Truck Safety Coalition, an organization that lobby's for new laws that will make the roads safer by cracking down on negligent truck drivers. The Coalition sponsors laws that outlaw truckers from texting and driving.

Hopefully this tragic accident accident will serve as reminder to truck drivers everywhere that they need to pay attention and stay alert when they drive.

An early morning 18-wheeler accident has left one women dead and and her husband seriously injured. An 18-wheeler slammed into the vehicle on LBJ Freeway while the couple had pulled over on the shoulder to fix a flat tire. The driver of the big rig claimed he didn't see the car in time to stop from plowing into the back of it.

If you have been involved in an accident with an 18-wheeler, my advice is to discuss your situation with a board certified attorney. The destruction caused by an 18-wheeler is vastly greater than what is typical of a passenger car accident. Because of this, 18-wheeler insurance policies are generally valued at 50 times those of you or me.

The insurance company knows that there is a lot of money at stake here, and they will do everything in their power to minimize their losses.

Give me a call if you have been involved in an 18-wheeler wreck and I will deal with the insurance companies so you don't have to.

On June 11, 2002 10-year-old Aaron Joubert and his family were involved in a terrible 18-wheeler crash on Interstate 20 near Mesquite. The family was coming home from a reunion when their car struck a parked 18-wheeler on the side of the highway. Aaron Joubert and his father were the only survivors. Arron's mother and his five siblings were tragically killed in the accident. Aaron lost 90 percent of his liver as a result of the wreck and defied all the odds when he was able to survive. Now, almost eight years after the accident, Aaron is getting ready to graduate High School. It is great to see a young man, who has dealt with such hardship, overcome adversity and excel in life.

Although the 18-wheeler in Aaron's case was legally stopped on the highway, there are many accidents caused by negligent truck drivers who have illegally parked on the side of the road. In 2005 I was able to get a $2,225,000.00 settlement for the Jordan family when their father tragically crashed into a garbage truck that had run out of gas on I-30. The garbage truck was negligently parked on the highway and I was able to obtain a large settlement to help compensate the Jordan family for their great loss.

Truck accidents happen all to often. If you have been injured in a truck accident, call me and we can discuss your legal options. I have 30 years of experience dealing with truck accidents and will help you get all the money you deserve.