Sometimes, however, the owner of the truck (or the truck's cargo) may be an underlying cause. And this brings other interests – some of them regulatory – to the table.

 

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) – a division of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) – establishes and enforces many regulations governing truck safety, a few of which include:

 

  • Hours of driver service – the amount of time a truck can be on the road during a 24-hour period
  • Commercial truck drivers who have permits to haul dangerous loads (like explosive, chemical or other hazardous cargoes)
  • Weight and size restrictions (the State of Texas also has its own size/weight regulations relative to the type of intrastate road traveled)
  • Driver drug and alcohol intake (in addition to the acceptable intoxication levels governed by Texas law).

 

Texas laws also govern which of its residents qualify for commercial driver's licenses and also regulate commercial trucking businesses in general.

 

So when there's a truck wreck, unlike those involving private vehicles, several Texas and federal government agencies share an investigative interest in the specific causes of any truck-related accident. The bad news is that with so many more investigating a wreck than just law enforcement, it can take longer to fairly resolve injured victims' damage claims from truck wrecks. But the good news is that all these inquiries tend to clarify just who deserves the blame (and legal liability) for the wreck: the negligent truck driver, the trucking company, or some other involved defendant.

 

Damages and Injuries are Usually More Severe in Commercial Truck Wrecks

 

In 2017, according to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) there were over 35,000 truck-related crashes which resulted in 601 fatalities, 1,529 serious injuries classified as incapacitating, and almost 9,500 serious but non-incapacitating injuries. Those numbers constitute 20% of the total number of wrecks, fatalities, and serious injuries arising from all traffic accidents that same year, yet the cumulative monetary value of damages in Texas truck and non-truck accidents is close to 50/50. There's a simple explanation for that. When a fully-loaded 18-wheeler weighing anywhere from 20,000 to 80,000 pounds smacks into a passenger vehicle, even an SUV, the property and human damages are no less than catastrophic.

 

The Insurance Opposition to Injured Victims in Big Rig Wrecks can be Overwhelming

 

Many of you understand the danger that just a single insurance company can pose to a passenger vehicle accident claim. Passenger car accident insurance claims are a bit more straightforward, usually involving only drivers and their insurance companies. But commercial truck accidents involve more insured parties – a trucking company, freight handlers, and the drivers themselves – all usually covered by different liability insurers.

 

Companies that own big rigs also carry commercial insurance policies with much higher coverage limits than Texas' minimum coverage for passenger vehicles. So with more hands and higher coverage amounts at stake, the table can get pretty crowded with many different – sometimes conflicting – interests.

 

Some factors which increase the amount of compensation can include:

 

  • The extent of victim injuries – Injuries sustained in commercial truck collisions can be much more serious than those in passenger vehicle wrecks and often involve months of rehabilitation. Even then, some injured victims may never be the same.
  • Other economic losses suffered – If victims are unable to work for months at a time, or are permanently disabled, that can be hundreds of thousands of dollars owed by the defendants.
  • And if a wrongful death to a loved one occurred, additional expenses, such as funeral and burial, along with pain, suffering, and other non-economic damages suffered by surviving family members, can be awarded.

 

With millions of dollars at stake, some trucking companies may try to hide evidence, conceal their involvement, repair damage to their vehicles mere hours after a crash, or resort to other tricks to avoid being forced to pay for injuries and damages after a collision. We know of instances where trucking company supervisors, investigators, or others arrive at the accident while police are still there.

 

And defendant insurers have excellent attorneys representing their interests. Their goal is to pay as little as possible as quickly as possible to get you "off their books." These are the people that experienced truck wreck injury attorneys fight on behalf of their injured clients in order to secure fair compensation and why anyone who is seriously injured in a truck wreck needs help in defending their compensation rights.