Truck accidents can have devastating consequences. Due to their size and weight, trucks can cause significant property damage and severe injuries in collisions with smaller vehicles. One of the most common causes of truck accidents is driver fatigue, which occurs when truck drivers are overly tired or sleep-deprived. Truck accident victims will want to establish that driver fatigue played a role in a collision, and this can ensure that they will be able to hold the responsible parties accountable for the damages they have suffered.

The Importance of Proving Driver Fatigue

Showing that driver fatigue was a contributing factor in a truck accident is essential for several reasons:

• In personal injury cases arising from truck accidents, negligence must be proven. If it can be demonstrated that the driver was fatigued at the time of the accident, this will likely be considered a breach of the driver’s duty of care to protect the safety of others.

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Commercial truck accidents often cause devastating injuries and property damage. If you or a loved one were involved in a truck crash, you may understandably be looking for answers. You want to know who to blame and how to recover financial compensation for the financial losses you have suffered. Finding, obtaining, and preserving evidence is crucial for any successful truck accident claim.

Types of Evidence That May Be Valuable in Your Case

To bring a successful case against a trucking company or other at-fault party, your attorney will need to demonstrate that the at-fault party’s negligent or wrongful actions caused the crash. Your lawyer will also need to show the direct connection between your injuries and the damages you suffered, such as medical bills and lost income.

Evidence that may be useful in your case includes but is not limited to:

Smartphones have revolutionized our day-to-day lives. We use our phones for communication, social media, surfing the web, and much more. Unfortunately, some people use their phones when they should be concentrating on driving. 

Operating a large commercial truck takes extreme focus and attention. Truck drivers who are texting and driving can cause commercial truck accidents in which others are hurt or killed.

Truck Driver Texting and Driving Laws

Semi-trucks can weigh as much as 80,000 pounds, and the damage caused in a semi-truck collision is often catastrophic. Texting and driving or other smartphone use behind the wheel significantly increases the risk of accidents. Because of these risks, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration prohibits the use of hand-held cell phones behind the wheel of a commercial truck or bus. However, not all truck drivers comply with this important rule.

Victims of commercial truck accidents may be entitled to financial compensation for their damages. However, building a successful claim against a truck company or other at-fault party is complex. The strength of the personal injury claim or lawsuit largely depends on the strength of the evidence supporting the claim. Gathering, preserving, and effectively utilizing compelling evidence is essential to success.

Using Evidence to Develop a Robust Truck Wreck Injury Claim

To recover financial compensation for medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, and other damages caused by a truck wreck, several elements must be proven. First, the injured party must prove that the truck driver, truck company, or other at-fault party violated its duty of care by acting negligently. Speeding, texting while driving, failure to properly maintain the commercial vehicle, and negligent loading and securement of cargo are just some of the ways a truck driver or truck company may breach its duty of care.

Just some forms of evidence that the Burress Injury Law team typically acquires to prove negligence include:

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) reported that 38,149 commercial motor vehicle crashes were reported in our state in 2021, with 630 of those accidents resulting in the deaths of 705 people. Another 1,334 crashes involved 1,708 serious injuries.

When a person is involved in a collision involving a commercial motor vehicle, there will be immediate concerns about insurance companies because most commercial vehicles are heavily insured and well-defended. They want to pay as little as possible to resolve claims. Insurance companies aggressively try to settle these cases before crash victims have even had an opportunity to consult with a lawyer (these are called swoop and settle schemes). Therefore, it is important for injured victims to understand their rights after being hit by an 18-wheeler, dump truck, bus or other commercial vehicle.

Seeking Financial Compensation After a Large Truck Accident

When a person suffers injuries in any kind of accident involving a commercial motor vehicle, it is important to secure qualified personal injury legal representation as soon as possible. Risk managers and lawyers for the trucking company or commercial vehicle operator normally deploy “boots on the ground” by way of experts at the crash scene within hours of a truck wreck. Once you hire your legal team to represent you or your injured family member, a good personal injury commercial vehicle lawyer will conduct an independent investigation into your accident with crash reconstruction, biomechanic and kinematics experts. This is an important step to put you on an equal playing field to the trucking company.