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Do You Need an Auto Accident Lawyer After a Truck Accident?

Overview

When an 18-wheeler strikes your vehicle, your life can change in an instant. From dealing with the damage to your car to treating and recovering from injuries, the aftermath can be overwhelming. On top of that, trying to understand the complex legal and insurance processes that follow a truck accident can be harrowing, especially when large trucking companies and their insurers work to minimize their liability.

In this blog, David W. Starnes Attorney At Law explains everything you need to know about why you need an auto accident lawyer, what to do right after the event, your legal options, and how long you have to file your injury claim.

Highlights

• What to do after a truck accident
• Why you need an auto accident attorney
• Claim filing deadlines explained
• How do auto-injury lawyers protect your rights?
• Compensation breakdown
• Challenges of self-representation
• Insurance negotiation strategies

Introduction

Being hit by a heavy-duty truck is completely different from a typical car accident. These crashes often lead to severe injuries, higher medical expenses, complex liability issues, and aggressive insurance tactics designed to protect the trucking company’s interests. Without legal guidance, navigating this situation alone can be overwhelming.

Understanding your rights and what steps to take can make all the difference in your claim’s outcome. Let this blog be your handbook for protecting your interests when you’ve been hit by a commercial truck.

What To Do After a Truck Accident To Protect Your Rights

Even if you don’t feel injured right away, it’s important to report the truck accident and seek medical help. Some injuries, like concussions and internal bleeding, take time to appear. You should also document the scene to the best of your ability. Gather photos of vehicle damage, injuries, skid marks on the road, contact information for witnesses, and the truck driver’s name, employer, and insurance details.

Don’t admit fault, and be mindful of what you say if you’re speaking to insurance adjusters alone. Avoid making statements like “I didn’t see the truck” since these may be misinterpreted as your admission of fault. Trucking companies may twist your words against you, using them out of context to shift blame onto you and reduce their accountability.

Why You May Need an Auto Accident Attorney After a Collision With a Truck

Semi-truck accident cases are legally complex, may involve multiple liable parties, and have high financial stakes. Trucking companies and their insurers will work aggressively to limit their liability, often offering low settlements or avoiding blame wherever possible.

An experienced attorney will investigate the accident, gathering crucial evidence, like police reports, black box data, driver logs, and witness testimony to establish fault. They’ll handle all negotiations with insurance companies to prevent you from accepting a settlement that doesn’t fully cover your medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, and long-term care needs. If necessary, your lawyer will take your case to court to pursue the maximum compensation allowed by law.

The Statute of Limitations: How Long Do You Have To File Your Claim?

In Texas, there’s a time window to file your personal injury claim. This period covers two years, beginning on the date of the accident. Waiting too long to file can hurt your case. Trucking companies often record over black box data after a certain period, potentially removing a key piece of evidence. Not having access to this information could weaken your claim.

How Will Your Auto Injury Lawyer Protect Your Rights?

Move fast to fortify your claim with the information you need to secure fair compensation.

When you hire an auto injury lawyer, they’ll work to protect your rights by:

• Launching a full investigation, collecting evidence, including truck maintenance records and driver logs, to prove liability.
• Handling all negotiations with insurers to prevent you from being pressured into a low settlement.
• Making sure you don’t settle for less than you’re entitled to for medical bills, lost wages, and other damages.

Collecting evidence helps your lawyer identify all liable parties, including the truck driver, trucking company, cargo loaders, or vehicle manufacturers, if mechanical failure plays a role in the incident. Handling the negotiations takes the pressure off you and prevents insurers from using tactics that can trick you into admitting liability.

What Evidence Do Auto Accident Lawyers Use To Prove Liability?

Proving liability in an 18-wheeler accident requires strong evidence demonstrating how the crash occurred and who was at fault. This includes the initial police report and accident scene evidence, like statements from drivers and passengers, and any traffic law violations the 18-wheeler driver was cited for at the scene.

Accident scene evidence (photos and videos of vehicle damage, skid marks, road conditions, and traffic signals) also helps reconstruct how the collision happened.

Most commercial trucks are equipped with an Electronic Control Module (ECM) or “black box,” which records crucial data, including:

• The truck’s speed at the time of the crash
• Sudden braking or acceleration patterns
• Steering and lane changes before impact
• Driving hours, which may indicate driver fatigue

Your lawyer will collect this data to confirm reckless or negligent driving and prove liability. Truck driver logs and hours-of-service records are another element your legal representative will use as evidence when it applies. These logs can indicate when a driver has gone over the legally allowed driving hours and is operating their equipment in a fatigued state.

Truck maintenance and inspection records are also collected and may reveal brake failures, tire blowouts, or engine malfunctions that contributed to the accident. These records also help prove when a trucking company neglected required inspections and repairs were ignored or performed improperly.

Other evidence your lawyer secures when applicable includes:

• 18-wheeler driver drug and alcohol tests
• Witness testimony and expert analysis
• Dashcam or surveillance footage

Types of Compensation You May Be Entitled To

When a big rig has hit you in Texas, you may be entitled to several types of compensation, depending on the severity of your injuries and the circumstances of the accident.

Here are the main types of damages you may be able to recover:

• Economic damages: Medical expenses, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, property damage
• Non-economic damages: Pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, disfigurement and disability
• Punitive damages: Extreme negligence, recklessness, driver intoxication, poor maintenance, safety violations
• Wrongful death damages for fatal accidents: Funeral and burial costs, loss of financial support, loss of companionship, emotional distress

What Are the Challenges of Handling an 18-Wheeler Accident Case Without Legal Help?

Trucking companies have teams of attorneys whose job is to protect their interests.

Handling a claim alone means going up against:

• Aggressive insurance adjusters trying to settle for less than you deserve
• Delays and stalling tactics that pressure you into giving up
• Complex trucking laws that require in-depth legal knowledge to navigate
• Comparative negligence laws

Self-representation in your 18-wheeler accident case without legal experience puts you at a serious disadvantage. Insurance adjusters may pressure you into accepting quick compensation that barely covers your immediate medical expenses, leaving you responsible for long-term care, lost wages, and future treatments. Without an attorney negotiating on your behalf, you risk settling for far less than you need.

Additionally, insurance companies often stall claims, using delays and excessive documentation requests to frustrate you into giving up or accepting a lesser offer. The truck accident claims process is also legally complex. It involves federal regulations from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) on maintenance, driver hours, and cargo loading.

Proving a violation requires industry expertise and substantial evidence, which can be challenging to gather without legal representation. A skilled auto accident lawyer protects your rights, gathers evidence, and holds insurance companies accountable, increasing your chances of securing the full compensation you deserve.

Texas Law and Comparative Negligence

Texas follows a modified comparative negligence rule, meaning if you are found partially at fault for the accident, your compensation may be reduced based on your percentage of responsibility. However, if you’re more than 50% at fault, you might be unable to recover damages.

How Does Your Lawyer Negotiate With Insurance Companies?

Your lawyer will handle the negotiation process by gathering strong evidence, calculating the full value of your claim, and pushing back against aggressive tactics to ensure you receive fair compensation.

Before negotiations begin, your attorney will collect crucial evidence to establish liability and prevent the insurance company from denying or undervaluing your claim. Next, your lawyer will calculate the full extent of your damages, including medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and future rehabilitation costs.

Insurance companies use various tactics to reduce or deny claims. Your attorney will counter these strategies using strong legal arguments and, if necessary, take your case to court to pursue the maximum compensation possible.

Hire Legal Representation To Get Fair Compensation for Your Truck Injury Claim

Insurance companies bank on victims not knowing their rights. Without legal representation, you risk accepting a settlement that doesn’t cover your full damages.

When you’ve been injured in a truck accident, you need an expert who fights on your behalf and pursues maximum compensation for your injuries. Don’t negotiate alone. Contact David W. Starnes Attorney At Law at (409) 835-9900 today for a free consultation, and let us handle the legal processes while you focus on recovery.