Semi-Truck Accident Injury Attorney
Every day, tens of thousands of large commercial trucks and 18-wheelers crisscross the streets and highways of Texas and New Mexico. These hulking vehicles carry tons of cargo and large amounts of fuel and must share the road with much smaller passenger vehicles. Safely driving a truck requires more attention, skill, and training than operating a car. Like other drivers, however, truck drivers often drive recklessly, violate safety laws and regulations, or engage in other dangerous conduct while behind the wheel. Trucking companies more focused on profits than people may push their drivers to stay on the road too long or skip needed inspections or repairs on their rigs to save a few dollars.
When that happens, and a semi-truck collides with a car or other passenger vehicle, the truck’s size and speed usually produce a tragic outcome. Car drivers and passengers are left with life-changing injuries, or families are overwhelmed with shock and grief over the sudden and avoidable loss of a loved one.
At Glasheen, Valles & Inderman Injury Lawyers, we understand how tragic truck accidents can be. We have seen victims and their families struggle with the day-to-day and long-term practical, physical, financial, and emotional fallouts of truck crashes. We hear the questions and feel the dismay and confusion of those who don’t know what to do or where to turn for help after a big-rig accident upends their lives.
That is why our attorneys fight so tirelessly to get compensation and justice for the pain and loss caused by negligent truck drivers or unscrupulous commercial trucking companies. Our Texas and New Mexico truck accident attorneys have the dedication and fortitude to stand up to the efforts and tactics truck companies and their insurers use to avoid responsibility for their misconduct. We have the knowledge, experience, and resources to fully discover how and why an accident happened and a comprehensive understanding of the complex web of laws and regulations that play a critical role in truck accident lawsuits. Combining personal commitment and forceful advocacy, the truck accident attorneys of Glasheen, Valles & Inderman Injury Lawyers get our clients the compensation and accountability they deserve.
Truck Accidents Kill Thousands of Americans Every Year – and Everywhere
Catastrophic injuries and fatalities caused by truck crashes are all too common – and often completely avoidable. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 4,014 people died in large truck crashes in 2020. Fifteen percent of these fatalities were truck occupants, 68 percent were in cars and other passenger vehicles, and 16 percent were pedestrians, motorcyclists, or bicyclists. In 2019, 538,000 large trucks (gross vehicle weight rating greater than 10,000 pounds) were involved in traffic crashes in the U.S. and at least 104,000 of those accidents involved at least one serious injury, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
In Texas, 658 large trucks were involved in fatal crashes in 2019, far more than any other state, the NHTSA reports. Seventy-four trucks in New Mexico were involved in deadly accidents that same year.
Causes and Types of Truck Accidents
18-wheeler crashes happen for a wide range of reasons, including many factors that lead to car accidents. On top of those issues, many truck accidents also involve failures to comply with or the deliberate flaunting of specific federal safety laws and regulations.
Common mistakes or acts of truck driver negligence that lead to semi-truck crashes include:
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- Overloaded trucks
- Tailgating
- Hours of service violations and fatigue
- Driver distraction
- Speeding
- Drug and alcohol abuse
- Falsified log records
- Unlicensed and untrained drivers
- Road rage
But it is not just negligence or reckless driving that leads to truck accidents. A study by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) found that approximately 10 percent of all large truck crashes were caused primarily by problems with the trucks or trailers themselves. The tragedy is that many of these problems could have and should have been discovered and fixed if the truck companies had followed the law by properly inspecting, maintaining, and repairing the trucks.
As outlined in the FMCSA study, the most common vehicle and mechanical problems found in semi-truck crashes include:
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- Tire/wheel failure
- Steering failure
- Brake failure
- Transmission or engine failure
- Suspension failure
- Cargo shift
- Trailer attachment failure
- Body, door, or hood failure
- Degraded braking capability
Any of these issues can lead to a tragic crash, such as those involving:
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- Rollovers
- Jackknifed trucks
- Rear-end collisions
- Underride accidents
- Explosions of fuel or flammable cargo
Types of Truck Accident Injuries
Given the size and velocity of 18-wheelers, their damage to cars and passenger vehicle occupants is rarely minor and frequently catastrophic. Common truck accident injuries include:
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- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Head and neck injuries
- Burns and disfigurement
- Broken bones
- Lost limbs
- Organ damage
- Death
Severe truck accident injuries may never fully heal, and life may never return to how it once was. Surgeries, long-term hospitalization, and years of rehabilitation can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars that even the best health insurance may not cover. Couple these incomprehensible costs with lost income, and the strain can overwhelm even the most resilient families.
The truck accident attorneys at Glasheen, Valles & Inderman Injury Lawyers provide constant support for these families, helping them navigate and overcome challenges beyond the four walls of a courtroom. Client well-being is always our focus, and getting them the maximum compensation to help them heal is always our goal.
The Experience and Tenacity Needed in Complex Truck Accident Lawsuits
Holding truck drivers and trucking companies responsible for their negligence is no easy task. Complex issues and laws that aren’t involved in car accidents require lawyers who understand these matters and have the experience to build the strongest possible case. Companies and insurers determined to avoid paying claims need to know they are up against attorneys prepared to take a case all the way through trial. When companies try to hide their misconduct through nefarious means, we know how to expose their wrongdoing and hold them accountable.
Three main differences distinguish truck accident lawsuits from car accident cases:
- Federal Truck Regulations – Commercial carriers and their drivers must comply with a long list of strict safety regulations enforced by the FMCSA under federal law. When they fail to do so, those breaches of the law can constitute critical evidence of negligence in a truck crash injury lawsuit. For example, truck drivers must comply with specific hours of service rules restricting how long they can be behind the wheel. Carriers, owners, and operators must also conduct regular safety inspections and maintenance. Aware of severe consequences and penalties if authorities discover them breaking safety rules, drivers and carriers may try to cover up violations by falsifying records or engaging in other types of fraud or concealment. We know the applicable regulations, how companies break them, and how to expose any efforts to hide misconduct.
- Vicarious Liability – Vicarious liability refers to an employer’s responsibility for an employee’s negligence committed within the scope of doing their job. This means that even if a driver’s recklessness or negligence caused a crash, the trucking company that employed the driver might also be liable for injuries and losses. Since trucking companies carry the liability insurance policies needed to cover the costs and damages arising from catastrophic injuries, ensuring they are held responsible can be the key to obtaining needed compensation.
- Multiparty Litigation – Big-rig accident lawsuits often involve multiple defendants, including the driver and their employer, the truck maintenance company, equipment and part manufacturers, and others. Many of these defendants may also be located far from the site of the accident or residence of the injured victim, requiring proceedings or efforts in far-flung jurisdictions.
No matter where a truck accident occurs and where the parties responsible are found, Glasheen, Valles & Inderman Injury Lawyers have the ability and determination to pursue and obtain the compensation our clients deserve.
Glasheen, Valles & Inderman Injury Lawyers: Texas and New Mexico Truck Accident Attorneys
If you have been injured or lost a loved one in a semi-truck accident, the Texas and New Mexico truck accident lawyers at Glasheen, Valles & Inderman Injury Lawyers welcome the opportunity to help you through this difficult time. To arrange a free consultation with one of our experienced attorneys at our offices in Lubbock, El Paso, Odessa, Austin, or Albuquerque, please contact us at 866-492-2509.
Act Quickly
Because truck wreck cases can be complex, gathering as much evidence as possible early on is critically important. If you or a loved one has been involved in a truck wreck, the most important thing you can do is quickly contact a personal injury attorney who has experience with truck wrecks. Time is of the essence. Critical evidence disappears, is deleted, or is otherwise unavailable within days of the crash. This includes tire skid marks, the truck driver’s cell phone information, vehicle inspections and more. Hiring an attorney as soon as possible allows the attorney to quickly preserve evidence, maximizing the value of your case and the likelihood of a positive outcome.
"Glasheen Valles and Inderman was the best choice by far." - Eleana Flores
Unsurpassed Experience
The semi-truck injury attorneys at Glasheen, Valles & Inderman have experts to inspect trucks involved in accidents. In many cases, the trucks have service violations such as brakes that are out of adjustment. Many trucks now have GPS devices that record the movement of the trucks, so that we can compare the truck’s movements to the logbooks. We can sometimes also determine the speed of the truck from this GPS information or from a download of the truck’s airbag control module, or ACM.
The ACM contains a wealth of valuable information like whether cruise control was engaged, whether the driver turned the steering wheel before the crash, whether the brakes were applied, and more. Our firm also has cell phone experts that can download the truck driver’s cell phone usage history, including calls, texts, and internet use. This data can be critical in proving the truck driver was distracted at the time of the crash.
Federal Law
In addition to the common law negligence principles, the operation of commercial trucks is governed by federal rules and regulations promulgated by the Department of Transportation, and in some cases other federal agencies as well. DOT rules impose strict pre-employment screening requirements and ongoing drug testing requirements. They also require truck drivers to thoroughly inspect their vehicles before and after their shifts and document problems requiring attention.
They impose maximum hours of service to reduce the likelihood that a fatigued driver will get behind the wheel, and also impose a variety of other placarding and record-keeping requirements. Federal regulations also prohibit commercial vehicle drivers from texting while driving, which is defined as “manually entering alphanumeric text into, or reading text from, an electronic device.” Some companies are unaware of all of the rules and regulations that apply to them and others ignore them. Again, the results can be catastrophic.
Log Books
In many truck wreck cases, we also discover that truck drivers have falsified their logbooks in order to operate outside the maximum hours of service allowed under DOT Regulations. Trucking companies sometimes create incentive programs that give their drivers an incentive to break the law by driving faster or for more hours than are allowed by law.
Regardless of how it occurs, where truck wrecks result from negligence, the law provides a basis for you to recover just compensation for your losses. Those losses may include medical expenses, lost wages, property damage, future earnings potential damages, and other compensation.
