Due to the immense size and weight of big trucks, accidents with these large commercial trucks are different from normal car wrecks. Accidents involving semi-trucks often entail greater damage, injuries, and chance of death. Our team at The Sloan Firm in Longview, Houston, and Santa Fe understand the complications that come with a big truck wreck. Our knowledgeable attorneys have the necessary expertise to pursue your case and get you the compensation that you deserve.
Our experienced truck accident lawyers have helped numerous victims in Texas and New Mexico. We will be here to support you in a personal injury claim. What matters to you, matters to us. We always see the person behind the injury.
How Our Lawyers Can Help Truck Accident Victims
After being involved in an accident with a large truck, it is okay to feel unsure about what to do next. The Sloan Firm is here to help. After your free consultation, we can begin working right away on your truck accident claim. The services we can provide include:
- Conducting a prompt, thorough investigation of your truck crash.
- Work with engineers, accident reconstruction specialists and other experts to determine the cause of your crash.
- Identifying all parties who should be held liable for your damages.
- Handling all paperwork that your insurance claim or lawsuit requires.
- Seek maximum compensation for you in a settlement or verdict.
- Work efficiently to timely disburse the funds owed to you.
Why Choose The Sloan Firm For Your Truck Accident Case
With more than 150 years of combined legal experience, our Longview truck wreck attorneys at the Sloan Firm know firsthand the devastation and complications that big truck accidents cause. Our lawyers understand better than most of the tactics used by insurance companies, the regulations truckers must follow, and how complex insurance policies are. We want to use this knowledge to benefit you. We are prepared to handle these unique issues involved in your case while providing you with the personal care and attention you deserve.
Your case won’t be just a file number to us. We will work closely with you and:
- Explain all aspects of your personal injury or wrongful death claim
- Answer all questions you may have about your legal rights and options
- Keep you regularly updated about our progress in your case.
We will handle all upfront costs, and we won’t charge you anything for our legal services unless we obtain a truck accident settlement or verdict that benefits you.
Truck Accident FAQ
- Distracted Driving
- Improperly Trained/Unqualified Driver
- Driver Fatigue
- Aggressive Driving
- Failure to Follow Minimum Safety Rules/Rules of the Road
- Alcohol and other substance use
- Distracted Driving – Distracted driving is a major cause of big truck wrecks in Texas. Whether the distraction is from talking on a cell phone, texting, streaming a movie/show and/or video while driving, or in the form of a different distraction, any distraction that takes a big truck driver’s eyes and/or attention off the roadway is a serious hazard to the other motorists on the road.
- Truck driver fatigue – This occurs when the truck driver is tired, and typically while working longer hours than legally allowed. State and federal minimum safety rules limit the number of hours a driver can be on duty in a day and in a week; however, these limits are often violated by big truck companies and their drivers.
- Aggressive Driving/Speeding/Failure to Yield Right of Way/Failure to Keep A Safe Following Distance – Aggressive and unsafe driving choices like failing to yield the right of way, ignoring traffic lights and signs, failing to maintain a single lane, following too closely, and passing illegally are all dangerous choices made by big truck and18-wheeler drivers daily and are extremely dangerous to other motorists on the road. This is a significant factor in traffic wrecks across the United States, and particularly in Texas.
- Driving under the influence – Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is still a major cause of wrecks, despite the fact that some big truck and 18-wheelers drivers undergo random drug testing and medical exams.
- Failure to properly load or secure cargo – If the driver does not follow the minimum safety rules when securing or loading cargo, this can cause an unequal distribution of weight and/or a shift in weight which makes it more likely for a wreck to occur.
- Driving in adverse weather conditions – The minimum safety rules require big truck drivers to alter their driving (and/or get off the road) when they are faced with adverse weather conditions. The reason is that these big trucks take much longer to stop than normal passenger vehicles. Driving in conditions with poor visibility/traction due to fog, rain, sleet, ice, snow, or smoke, among other adverse weather conditions, greatly increases a big truck driver’s chances of causing a wreck.
- obtaining a copy of the truck driver’s driving record
- reviewing the driving record
- performing a road test
- ensuring that the truck driver knows the basic safety rules of driving a big truck, etc. Many times after a serious big truck wreck, an investigation reveals that the truck driver should never have been hired in the first place because his driving history demonstrates an unsafe and dangerous driving history.
- bald and/or poorly maintained tires
- improperly calibrated brakes
- and failure to properly install retro-reflective tape
$6 Million
18-Wheeler Collision
Settlement for client whose 18-wheeler collided with another 18-wheeler that backed out of a private drive. Our client suffered a brain injury, multiple broken bones, a punctured lung, and torn ligaments in his knee.
$4,000,000.00 – net amount awarded to our client after attorney’s fees and expenses
$1.85 Million
Personal Injury
Settlement for client who suffered burns when the ground beneath him collapsed and he fell into a hole filled with steam.
$1,104,446.86 – net amount awarded to our client after attorney’s fees and expenses
$1.84 Million
Improper Vehicle Maintenance
Settlement for client whose husband was killed when a car with improperly installed tires hydroplaned and struck our client’s vehicle head-on. Our client suffered multiple broken bones and injury to her back.
$1,125,600.00 – net amount awarded to our client after attorney’s fees and expenses