News & opinion What to Do After a Truck Accident in Houston

What to Do After a Truck Accident in Houston

After a Truck Accident | Stewart J. Guss

Ou

count

y

elies on big-

ig t

ucks to tnspo

t goods

c

oss st

te lines

nd delive

p

oducts to thei

destin

tion..

hile the t

ucking indust

y is

n impo

t

nt p

t of ou

economy, these lge vehicles m

y pose d

nge

s to othe

s tveling on the

o

dy

ith them.

 

Fo

ex

mple, in 2017, the Fede

l Moto

C

ie

S

fety

dministtion<

h

ef="https:

/

.fmcs

.dot.gov/s

fety

d

t

nd-st

tistics/l

ge-t

uck-

nd-bus-c

sh-f

cts-2017" tget="_bl

nk”

el="noopene

no

efee

“>

epo

ted > th

t the

e

e

e 4,889 f

t

l

ccidents on U.S.

o

d

ys involving comme

ci

l vehicles. This

ep

esents

49 pe

cent inc

e

se f

om the numbe

of f

t

l

ccidents involving lge comme

ci

l t

ucks o

buses just

fe

yes befo

e, in 2009.

 

Tex

s,

hich

outinely le

ds the n

tion in the p

ev

lence of this type of

ccident, s

tot

l of<

h

ef=”http://ftp.dot.st

te.tx.us

pub/txdot-info/t

f

c

sh_st

tistics

2017/30.pdf” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”noopene

no

efe

e

"> mo

e th

n 35,000

ccidents > involving comme

ci

l moto

vehicles in 2017, including 513 th

t involved f

t

lities

nd

nothe

1,221 th

t involved se

ious inju

ies. So

h

t should you do if you e involved in

n

ccident

ith

comme

ci

l t

uck? To le

n <

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

se

vices

houston-t

uck-

ccident-l

ye

“>mo

e

bout t

uck

ccident help >

e

d on to find out.  

St

y

he

e You

e

nd Get Help<

h2>

s

ith

ny moto

vehicle

ccident, don’t le

ve the scene,

s doing so m

y subject you to pen

lties

nd fines. Fo

ex

mple, in Tex

s, le

ving the scene of

n

ccident

ithout exch

nging info

m

tion

ith the othe

d

ive

m

y c

use you to f

ce

Cl

ss B misdeme

no

chge

nd fines in excess of $200.

 

hile you must st

y

t the scene, you e encouged to move you

vehicle to the side of the

o

d

y if possible,

nd you

p

ssenge

s should

em

in  belted

nd inside the c. If you h

ve fl

es o

cones to pl

ce in the

o

d to

n

pp

o

ching t

ffic of the

ccident, you should do so. You should

lso h

ve checked to see if

nyone

s inju

ed in you

c

,

s

ell

s in

ny othe

c involved in the

ccident.

s t

uck

ccident inju

ies

e often quite seve

e

nd t

uck

ccidents often involve multiple vehicles, you should be p

eped to c

ll 911 to get immedi

te medic

l

ssist

nce fo

nyone

ho needs it,

s

ell

s police se

vices to m

ke

epo

t.

Exch

nge Cont

ct Info

m

tion

ith Othe

D

ive

s<

h2>
Exch

nge cont

ct info

m

tion

ith

ll othe

d

ive

s involved in the

ccident befo

e they le

ve the scene,

s it

ill be much h

de

to tck them do

n l

te

. The info

m

tion you need to g

the

, if possible, includes:

  • The d
    ive

    ’s full n

    me

    nd

    dd

    ess

  • The d
    ive

    ’s phone numbe

    nd em

    il

    dd

    ess<

    li>

  • If the comme
    ci

    l t

    uck d

    ive

    is

    o

    king fo comp

    ny, the n

    me of th

    t comp

    ny

    s

    ell

    s the comp

    ny’s cont

    ct info

    m

    tion

  • The d
    ive

    ‘s license numbe

    fo

    the comme

    ci

    l t

    uck<

    li>

  • Insu

    nce comp

    ny

    nd policy numbe

    <

    li>

 

Collect

itness Info

m

tion

nd Photog

phic Evidence

If the

e

e

e

ny

itnesses to youccident, you should get thei

n

mes

nd cont

ct info

m

tion

s

ell. If possible, use you

phone to t

ke photos of

ll vie

s of e

ch of the vehicles involved in the

ccident.

ddition

lly, you should photogph

ny

spects of the

ccident scene th

t m

y h

ve cont

ibuted to the c

sh, such

s

n object obst

ucting the vie

of d

ive

s

t

n inte

section. Othe

photog

phic evidence th

t you should collect includes the ex

ct loc

tion

he

e the

ccident occu

ed

nd the

e

the

conditions th

t

e

e p

esent

t the time of the

ccident.

 

Seek Medic

l T

e

tment (Even if You Feel Uninju

ed)

You should seek

medic

l ev

lu

tion, even if you don’t feel hu

t o

you don’t feel

s though you

inju

ies e se

ious.

s p

eviously st

ted,

ccidents involving

comme

ci

l t

uck often p

oduce se

ious inju

ies, but not

ll se

ious inju

ies p

esent immedi

te symptoms.

ddition

lly, you

d

en

line in the initi

l moments

nd hou

s follo

ing the

ccident m

y m

sk the p

in o

p

esence of physic

l inju

ies. Some inju

ies th

t one might suffe

in

n

ccident involving

comme

ci

l t

uck th

t could p

esent

ithout symptoms include:

  • ong>Concussion<

    st

    ong>. Concussions e often the mildest fo

    m of t

    um

    tic bin inju

    y,

    nd they come

    ith symptoms such

    s diso

    ient

    tion, he

    d

    che, eduction in

    esponsiveness, sensitivity to light

    nd sound, o

    ch

    nges in sleeping p

    tte

    ns. Often these symptoms en’t p

    esent immedi

    tely,

    hich m

    y c

    use

    del

    y in di

    gnosis.<

    li>

  • ong>Soft tissue d

    m

    ge<

    st

    ong>. This type of inju

    y m

    y include

    hipl

    sh, spins, o

    st

    ined muscles. It c

    n t

    ke seve

    l d

    ys fo

    the full extent of soft tissue d

    m

    ge to p

    esent itself.<

    li>

  • ong>B

    ck o

    neck inju

    ies ong>. Inju

    ies to the b

    ck m

    y include f

    ctu

    es to the ve

    teb

    e

    s

    ell

    s d

    m

    ge to the spin

    l co

    d,

    hile neck inju

    ies include

    hipl

    sh.

    hile these inju

    ies m

    y p

    esent

    ith immedi

    te p

    in, numbness, dizziness, loss of

    nge of motion,

    e

    kness in the

    ffected e

    , difficulties

    ith b

    e

    thing o

    b

    l

    ncing, o

    p

    in in the uppe

    b

    ck, neck, o

    shoulde

    , p

    in c

    n often be m

    sked by youd

    en

    line in the hou

    s follo

    ing the

    ccident.

  • ong>Inte

    n

    l bleeding<

    st

    ong>. Inte

    n

    l d

    m

    ge c

    used by the body st

    iking pt of the c o

    othe

    objects in

    n

    ccident m

    y p

    oduce bleeding inside th

    t is not visible. P

    in f

    om these inju

    ies m

    y not p

    esent itself immedi

    tely,

    nd you m

    y sh

    ug it off

    s not se

    ious enough fo

    t

    e

    tment. Ho

    eve

    , bleeding in bodily o

    g

    ns, such

    s the kidney, spleen, o

    live

    ,

    ill continue to c

    use d

    m

    ge until the condition is detected

    nd t

    e

    ted.

  • ong>Emotion

    l o

    ment

    l dist

    ess<

    st

    ong>. Being in

    moto

    vehicle

    ccident is te

    ifying, p

    ticul

    ly if it involved

    tcto

    -t

    ile

    .

    hen the shock

    es off, m

    ny t

    uck

    ccident victims find themselves de

    ling

    ith post-t

    um

    tic st

    ess diso

    de

    (PTSD) due to the fe

    of losing thei

    lives in the

    ccident o

    itnessing the seve

    e inju

    y o

    de

    th of

    nothe

    occup

    nt in thei

    vehicle o

    in othe

    vehicles involved. Symptoms of PTSD follo

    ing

    n

    ccident include

    nxiety,

    eckless beh

    vio

    , mood s

    ings, ext

    eme fe o

    une

    siness

    hen t

    veling in

    vehicle, ch

    nges in e

    ting o

    sleeping h

    bits,

    nd even fl

    shb

    cks

    bout the

    ccident.

 

The othe

e

son to seek immedi

te medic

l t

e

tment follo

ing

n

ccident is bec

use it’s the best y to offici

lly document

ny inju

ies th

t you m

y h

ve if you

ish to file

pe

son

l inju

y l

suit l

te

to obt

in compens

tion fo

you

inju

ies.

ithout offici

l medic

l document

tion th

t you sust

ined inju

ies, you

ill be hd-p

essed to est

blish d

m

ges th

t you suffe

ed in the

ccident.

ddition

lly, if you put off medic

l t

e

tment fo

you

inju

ies

nd complic

tions

esult, you

pe

son

l inju

y cl

im m

y not cove

those inju

ies since you m

de no

ttempt to

elieve d

m

ges.

 

void M

king St

tements, Both

t the Scene

nd

fte

<

h2>
Insu

nce comp

nies

ill often use

pe

son’s o

n

o

ds

g

inst them to

void h

ving to compens

te

ccident victims.

hen the police spe

k to you

bout you

ccident,

ns

e

ll questions

s honestly

nd

ccutely

s possible. Ho

eve

,

void discussing the det

ils of the

ccident,

dmitting f

ult,

pologizing, o

pl

cing bl

me

hen t

lking to othe

s

t the scene.

fte

you’ve left the

ccident scene,

void m

king

ny st

tements to the othe

pty’s insunce comp

ny.

 

P

oceed

ith c

ution

hen posting on soci

l mediften

ccident. Not only c

n youo

ds be used

g

inst you to deny you

cl

im if you suggest

ongdoing on you

pt in you

posts, but insu

nce comp

nies

ill

lso be looking fo

posts th

t contdict the se

iousness of you

inju

ies. Fo

ex

mple, if you’

e cl

iming th

t you

b

ck inju

y h

s h

d

signific

nt imp

ct on you

life, but you

posts sho

you jogging on the be

ch

hile on v

c

tion, you

un the

isk of

n insunce comp

ny finding

nd using th

t post

s e

son to deny o

educe you

cl

im.

 

Spe

k to

n

tto

ney

One of the most impo

t

nt steps you c

n t

ke

fte t

uck

ccident to m

ximize you

compens

tion is to spe

k to

n <

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

se

vices

houston-t

uck-

ccident-l

ye

“>expe

ienced t

uck

ccident

tto

ney<>.

tto

neys

ho p

ctice in this

e

of the l kno

th

t nume

ous fede

l

egul

tions gove

n comme

ci

l t

uck d

ive

s

nd

ill investig

te the det

ils of you

c

se to see if the t

uck d

ive

in youccident viol

ted

ny of those

egul

tions. Some of the

egul

tions th

t m

y

pply include:

  • <
    h

    ef=”https://

    .fmcs

    .dot.gov/

    egul

    tions/hou

    s-se

    vice/summ

    y-hou

    s-se

    vice-

    egul

    tions” t

    get=”_bl

    nk"

    el=”noopene

    no

    efe

    e

    ">Hou

    s of se

    vice

    egul

    tions<>,

    hich dict

    te ho

    long

    t

    uck d

    ive

    c

    n d

    ive befo

    e t

    king

    b

    e

    k o

    t

    king off-duty time. Youtto

    ney

    ill check compli

    nce

    ith these

    egul

    tions th

    ough the elect

    onic logs th

    t t

    ucke

    s must use to

    eco

    d thei

    on-

    nd off-duty time.

  • B
    ckg

    ound checks th

    t m

    y h

    ve

    eve

    led d

    iving inf

    ctions o

    c

    imin

    l

    ctivities in the d

    ive

    ’s p

    st.<

    li>

  • The
    esults of m

    nd

    to

    y d

    ug

    nd

    lcohol sc

    eenings.

  • Medic
    l fitness testing.<

    li>

  • T

    ining on the p

    ope

    y to lo

    d

    nd secu

    e cgo.<

    li>

  • egul

    nd tho

    ough m

    inten

    nce of the t

    uck.

 

If the comp

ny h

s f

iled to comply

ith the

egul

tions set fo

th by the Fedel Moto

C

ie

S

fety

dminist

tion, it m

y f

ce inc

e

sed li

bility fo

you

ccident. M

ny potenti

lly li

ble pties c

n be involved in t

ucking

ccidents,

nd this is

nothe

spect of you

c

se th

t you

t

uck

ccident

tto

ney

ill look

t. E

ch potenti

lly li

ble pty poses

nothe

esou

ce th

t the insu

nce comp

nies c

n use to compens

te you. Othe

entities th

t might be li

ble fo

youccident include:
  • The b

    oke

    o

    shippe

    ,

    ho is oblig

    ted to ensu

    e th

    t the tnspo

    t comp

    ny it uses to ship its goods complies

    ith fede

    l

    egul

    tions. If the shippe

    lo

    ded the c

    go onto the t

    uck, it m

    y

    lso be li

    ble if imp

    ope

    ly lo

    ded cgo s one of the f

    cto

    s th

    t cont

    ibuted to the

    ccident.

  • Those t
    sked

    ith m

    int

    ining the t

    uck. F

    ulty b

    kes

    e

    f

    equent c

    use of t

    ucking

    ccidents. If the bkes h

    ve not been p

    ope

    ly se

    viced, pticully if the t

    uck m

    inten

    nce comp

    ny h

    s

    contct st

    ting th

    t they

    ill p

    ovide this se

    vice to the t

    ucking comp

    ny, then the m

    inten

    nce comp

    ny m

    y

    lso she in li

    bility.

  • The m
    nuf

    ctu

    e

    s

    nd dist

    ibuto

    s of f

    ulty t

    uck pts.<

    li>

 

You

t

uck

ccident

tto

ney

lso kno

s the common c

uses of t

ucking

ccidents

nd ho

they imp

ct li

bility. Some of the common c

uses of t

uck

ccidents include:
  • ong>D

    ive

    e

    o

    <

    st

    ong>. Viol

    ting common t

    ffic l

    s c

    n

    esult in c

    t

    st

    ophe

    hen it comes to big-

    ig t

    ucks. Some d

    ive

    e

    o

    s th

    t le

    d to comme

    ci

    l t

    uck

    ccidents include d

    o

    sy d

    iving, speeding, texting,

    nd d

    iving

    hile imp

    i

    ed by leg

    l, illeg

    l, p

    esc

    iption, o

    even ove

    -the-counte

    subst

    nces.<

    li>

  • ong>Poo

    m

    inten

    nce ong>. D

    ive

    s e

    equi

    ed to inspect thei

    t

    ucks befo

    e e

    ch t

    ip to ensu

    e th

    t they

    e p

    ope

    ly m

    int

    ined. F

    ilu

    e to do so c

    e

    tes li

    bility fony

    ccident th

    t the l

    ck of m

    inten

    nce c

    uses.<

    li>

  • ong>

    e

    the

    conditions ong>. Inclement

    e

    the

    c

    n test the tining

    nd expe

    ience of t

    uck d

    ive

    s,

    equi

    ing them to slo

    do

    n

    nd use p

    ope

    bking techniques to

    void j

    ckknifing o

    sliding.

  • ong>Cgo issues<

    st

    ong>. Imp

    ope

    ly lo

    ded c

    go o

    t

    ucks th

    t exceed st

    te

    nd fedel st

    nd

    ds fo

    height, length,

    nd

    eight

    equi

    ements.<

    li>

 

pe

son

l inju

y

tto

ney

ho speci

lizes in t

uck

ccidents

ill p

ovide you

ith leg

l guid

nce

nd help you m

ke

n info

med decision

s to

hethe

to

ccept

settlement offe

ed by the insunce comp

ny fo

you

inju

ies o

to file

lsuit. Othe

se

vices th

t you

pe

son

l inju

y

tto

ney

ill offe

include:

  • Est
    blishing

    v

    lue to you

    c

    se b

    sed on the inju

    ies you’ve suffe

    ed, the t

    e

    tments

    equi

    ed, the time you’ve missed f

    om

    o

    k,

    nd othe

    imp

    cts th

    t you

    inju

    ies h

    ve h

    d on you

    life.

  • Negoti
    tion skills,

    hich

    e needed to secu

    e the best possible settlement.<

    li>

  • Expe
    tise in filing lsuits

    ithin the st

    tuto

    y time limit p

    ovided by st

    te l

    nd

    dhe

    ing to the leg

    l

    equi

    ements th

    t must be met befo

    e you

    c

    se c

    n p

    oceed.

  • Investig
    tion into youccident to uncovell sou

    ces of insu

    nce

    nd li

    bility.

  • Expe
    ienced

    ep

    esent

    tion in the cou

    t

    oom, should you

    c

    se go to t

    i

    l.

  • Medic
    l

    nd

    ccident expe

    ts th

    t c

    n se

    ve

    s c

    edible voices

    eg

    ding

    ho is

    esponsible fo

    you

    inju

    ies

    nd the t

    e

    tments necess

    y fo

    youeh

    bilit

    tion.<

    li>

  • ssist

    nce in de

    ling

    ith bill collecto

    s

    hile you

    c

    se is p

    oceeding.<

    li>

  • ssist

    nce in the collection of you

    settlement o

    d.

  • ep

    esent

    tion du

    ing

    n

    ppe

    l, should you o

    the defend

    nt dis

    g

    ee

    ith the outcome of you

    pe

    son

    l inju

    y l

    suit.

 

Most pe

son

l inju

y lye

s

o

k on

contingency fee b

sis, me

ning they

ill not ch

ge you fo

thei

se

vices until you h

ve obt

ined

settlement o

d.   <

h

ef="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.comp-content

uplo

ds

2019/08/c

ccident-lye

.jpg”>ss=”

lignleft

p-im

ge-28041" title="Ste

t J. Guss | T

uck

ccident

tto

ney” s

c="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.comp-content

uplo

ds

2019/08/c

ccident-lye

.jpg”

lt="Ste

t J. Guss”

idth="150" height="148"

> >If you h

ve leg

l questions

bout the t

ucking

ccident th

t c

used you

inju

ies, <

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

cont

ct-us

/”>cont

ct

t

uck csh lye

> fo

mo

e info

m

tion

bout your options.

 

 

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