A trucking accident occurs when a commercial truck hits a passenger vehicle or a pedestrian. A pedestrian is a person walking or standing at the time of the accident. A trucking accident is more catastrophic than a car accident involving passenger vehicles and/or a vehicle-pedestrian accident. The reason a trucking accident is so serious is because a fully loaded commercial truck such as a dump truck weighs about 25 times more than a passenger vehicle. This means the driver, or passenger, in the passenger vehicle may suffer serious injuries or death.
Understanding Potential Defendants in Trucking Accidents in Texas
A Texas Truck Accident Lawyer is vital in a trucking accident in identifying potential defendants. An injured person will often sue a truck driver because they are perceived to have caused the trucking accident. That isn’t always the case.
Sometimes an injured person may sue the truck driver involved in the crash, and the case is dismissed. It’s dismissed because the truck driver isn’t the responsible party in a trucking accident. There are many defendants who could be responsible for the accident such as trucking company, shipping business or truck manufacturer. That’s why it is important for a personal injury lawyer to investigate the car accident to determine all potential defendants. This way all defendants are sued, and the civil case isn’t dismissed because the wrong parties are sued.
Proving Negligence in a Trucking Accident
In Texas, anyone injured in a trucking accident must prove the other party was liable for the accident. A trucking accident may be based on negligence. Negligence is the failure of a party to act like a reasonable party would have in the similar situation. For example, a cargo company could be negligent. This means the cargo company failed to act as a reasonable cargo company would have because they didn’t properly load the truck.
If the case went to court, an injured person must prove a series of things to show negligence. For instance, they would have to show the defendant owed them a duty of care. Duty of care is a responsibility not to cause an accident with and/or without injuries.
Once duty of care is established, the injured person must show the defendant violated the duty of care. This means the party caused the accident because they did something like ran red light or improperly loaded cargo.
It’s important to connect the accident and the defendant’s actions. Texas law requires an injured person to establish the defendant’s actions lead to the trucking accident. An example of this would be a driver falling asleep while driving and causing an accident. The next thing is to show the damages the injured person suffered because of the trucking accident. Trucking accidents can cause some serious damages such as medical bills, funeral bills or lost wages.
Duty to Exercise Reasonable Degree of Care
In a trucking accident, it’s important to show the defendant failed to exercise a reasonable degree of care to avoid causing an accident. This is important in establishing the legal basis for a civil lawsuit. You want to ensure this is something you have done.