When You Need an Angleton Truck Accident Lawyer Who Understands How to Fight for Maximum Compensation
Truck accidents are grossly unfair. When a large, heavy truck collides with a passenger vehicle, that vehicle is likely to be crushed, causing horrific injuries. While that places a disproportionate burden on the accident victims, there is another injustice that is equally unfair. The operator and owner of the truck will be defended by highly experienced corporate defense teams who start working right away to do everything they can to prevent the accident victims from receiving fair compensation for their injuries.
If you or a loved one has been hurt in a truck accident, you need to get an experienced Angleton truck accident lawyer working to support your case as soon as possible. Otherwise, the legal teams and insurance companies could trick you into assuming liability or take other actions that can keep you from obtaining the recovery you deserve.
At DeKeyzer Law, we built our reputation on our ability to stand up to the corporate trucking interests and fight effectively for truck accident victims. We understand how to overcome the tactics of high-powered corporate legal teams to secure maximum recovery for our clients. Yet at the same time, our smaller size allows us to provide personalized attention and focus on our clients’ interests in ways that big firms cannot match.
The Need to Establish Liability for a Truck Accident
No matter how horribly someone has been injured in a truck accident—and even in situations where an accident leads to a wrongful death—those who have been harmed cannot recover any compensation until they establish liability. Accident victims must prove that the trucking company or some other party is responsible for causing the accident. This is a difficult task even in the best of situations, but when accident victims are fighting against the legal teams of big trucking companies, it becomes even more challenging.
The process starts with collecting evidence at the accident scene and beyond. The trucking companies can make it hard to obtain the most effective evidence, but an experienced truck accident attorney will know how to use legal discovery tools to access information from black box recorders, maintenance records, and driver logs.
Causes of Angleton Truck Accidents
Many truck accidents in the Angleton area could have been prevented if someone had just acted responsibly. Instead, negligent actions allowed a collision to cause terrible destruction and injuries. Some of the most common reasons truck accidents occur are:
- The truck driver was operating while overworked and tired
- The cargo was not loaded properly, making the truck unstable
- The driver was going too fast for the conditions
- The equipment on the truck was not appropriately inspected and maintained
- The driver was distracted by personal or company communications
- Maintenance or repairs were performed incorrectly
Even when the driver makes a mistake, the trucking company is often the real culprit. For instance, a driver may be going too fast or driving while fatigued because the trucking company’s timetable was unrealistic and encouraged dangerous practices. Or, a driver may have had a record of driving recklessly, but the trucking company failed to conduct a background check or allowed the driver to continue without reprimand.
Sometimes, traffic patterns or the layout of the area around Angleton make truck accidents more likely. For instance, various locations along Highway 288 have been the site of dump truck accidents. Truck accidents are also common along State Highway 35 and FM 521.
FAQs About Angleton Truck Accidents
What evidence is most helpful to establish liability in a truck accident case?
It is helpful to have evidence from a variety of sources that corroborate one another, and it is necessary to have separate evidence to establish different aspects of the case. Evidence from traffic cameras, for instance, can show the movements of vehicles before and during the crash. An Angleton truck accident lawyer can subpoena to gather and preserve footage before it is recorded over.
Photos of the accident scene can show vehicle damage, indicating the course of action and the ultimate impacts. This evidence can be corroborated by the police report.
Medical records from an exam right after the accident can document the extent of the victim’s injuries, and a journal kept by the victim can provide evidence of the impacts of the injuries on the victim’s ability to work and function in daily living. Witness testimony could be used to establish all of the above factors. It can be difficult to gather all the various types of evidence while you are dealing with injuries, which is one reason it is so helpful to work with an attorney as soon as possible after the accident.
Should I talk to my insurance company right away?
Insurance companies will play a major role in your truck accident case, but you need to take great care when talking with their agents. Every insurance company wants to reduce the amount it is responsible for paying, and it will look for ways to shift liability and minimize damages. Anything you say can be used against you.
You may report the accident to your own insurance company, but stick to the basic facts and do not speculate about anything, such as the cause of the accident or the extent of your injuries. It is too early to give definitive answers about these issues.
You should not talk to the insurance companies of others involved in the accident until you have consulted an attorney. The insurance companies will be hoping to get information from you that they can use to disclaim liability or reduce payouts. When you have an Angleton truck accident lawyer working for you, it is easiest to let your attorney handle all communications so you don’t have to be concerned about saying the wrong thing.
What damages will an attorney work to recover after a truck accident?
A dedicated truck accident attorney in Angleton will seek to recover compensation to make up for all the impacts of the collision and your injuries. The cost of your medical care—including care you may need in the future—as well as lost wages and damage to your vehicle, would be sought as economic damages. But you should also receive non-economic damages to make up for effects that don’t have a dollar value, such as suffering, pain, and emotional distress. It is these non-economic factors that often have the biggest impact on your life, and you deserve to receive justice for having to endure them.
Contact an Angleton Truck Accident Lawyer at DeKeyzer Law for a Free Case Evaluation
A truck accident can have consequences that negatively impact your life for years to come. Compensation from a lawsuit cannot undo the damage, but receiving an award of full damages provides a sense of justice and gives you resources to build your best future.
To find out how an Angleton truck accident lawyer can help you recover and move forward after a devastating truck accident, contact DeKeyzer Law online or call us at 713-904-4004 to schedule your free, no-obligation consultation.