Brownsville Truck Accident Lawyers

Truck accidents that occur in and around Brownsville can take place on busy highways, like State Highways 4 and 48—or on rural country roads. When a large truck collides with a smaller vehicle, it is usually the occupants of the smaller vehicle who suffer the injuries.

Truck accidents are often the result of truck driver error. The trucking companies who employ these drivers can also sometimes be negligent. If you suffered injuries in a truck accident that occurred because of another person or entity’s carelessness or negligence, you must have a knowledgeable team of attorneys on your side advocating for your legal interests.

The knowledgeable Brownsville truck accident lawyers at Kenny Perez Law can review the circumstances of your accident with you and come up with a plan for moving forward.

Please speak with us today for more information about how we could assist with your Brownsville truck accident case.

Causes of Brownsville Truck Accidents

Truck accidents in Brownsville can happen when the drivers of large trucks, including big rigs and tractor-trailers, operate their vehicles in a careless, negligent, or reckless manner. In some instances, truck accidents happen when drivers fail to follow the rules of the road, such as by speeding, engaging in reckless driving, carelessly weaving in and out of traffic, and tailgating other drivers. These accidents can also happen when truck drivers engage in distracted driving, such as by using a cell phone or other electronic device improperly while they are driving.

In some instances, truck accidents occur when drivers operate their vehicles while they are under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Since alcohol is a depressant, it slows down the driver’s central nervous system functioning, often causing delayed reflexes and reaction time, as well as blurred vision. Finally, truck accidents can sometimes occur when a driver is fatigued while behind the wheel.

Trucking companies sometimes offer their drivers financial incentives if they drive fast and deliver their cargo to its expected destination sooner than expected. Consequently, truck drivers may take stimulants to keep themselves awake for long hours on end. However, these stimulants sometimes have the opposite effect and adversely affect a truck driver’s driving abilities, resulting in an accident.

In some cases, expert testimony—such as from an accident reconstructionist—is necessary to determine exactly how a truck accident occurred. Fortunately, the experienced Brownsville truck accident lawyers at Kenney Perez Law are here to help. Our legal team can assist you with determining the cause of your truck accident and with naming all potentially responsible parties in your insurance claim or lawsuit.

Injuries Sustained in Brownsville Truck Collisions

When a large truck, such as a tractor-trailer, collides with a much smaller vehicle, it is usually the driver and any passengers in the smaller vehicle who suffer injuries in the accident. The force of the collision can cause the accident victim’s body to move forward and backward, or from side to side, very quickly at the point of impact. In addition, the accident victim’s body might strike the window, console, dashboard, steering wheel, or headrest in the vehicle, resulting in a serious injury.

Furthermore, if an airbag deploys at the time of the impact, the accident victim could suffer serious cuts and bruises on his or her body, or even burns or fractures.

Common injuries that accident victims sustain in truck collisions include:

• Soft tissue injuries
• Broken bones
• Back and spinal cord injuries
• Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
• Internal injuries

If you or a person you love suffered any of these injuries in an accident due to a negligent truck driver, you may be eligible to pursue monetary compensation. The skilled team of Brownsville truck accident attorneys at Kenny Perez Law can assist you with pursuing the compensation that you need to recover for your truck accident injuries.

A Brownsville Truck Accident Lawyer Answers Your Questions

Texas roads routinely see the most fatal truck collisions in the nation. More than 600 people die in accidents with commercial trucks each year in Texas, and thousands more suffer serious injuries in truck accidents. Below are answers to some of the questions our clients ask us most often about recovering compensation after Brownsville truck accidents.

What is the process for obtaining compensation after a truck accident?

If a truck accident injured you were due to someone else’s fault, you can seek compensation for accident-related expenses and psychological impacts through a personal injury lawsuit. A personal injury lawsuit is a legal claim that you must file in civil court within two years of the date of the accident. To reach a successful outcome to your case, you must prove who was liable (legally responsible) for your injuries and other losses, and prove the expenses and impacts you incurred.

To prove the other driver’s liability, you must show:

• The at-fault driver owed you a duty of care. In the case of a truck accident, the truck driver had a duty to you and all other road users to drive safely and legally.
• The at-fault driver breached their duty of care, by breaking a traffic law or otherwise driving recklessly or carelessly.
• The breach resulted in the accident, which caused you to incur impacts and expenses.

Who is potentially liable in a Brownsville truck accident case?

The potentially liable parties in a truck accident include:

• The truck driver, who has a higher than normal duty of care to other roadway users because of the massive size of their vehicle. Truck drivers are required to obtain a special license, submit to random drug screenings, submit to a criminal and driving background check, and meet other requirements set by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
• The trucking company must properly vet truck drivers through criminal and driving background checks and adequately train them to handle the rigors of the job.
• The shipping company, in some cases, must properly load the cargo into the truck’s trailer.
• Other roadway users, including other drivers whose careless or reckless behaviors might result in a truck accident.

What are the expenses and impacts I can seek through a truck accident lawsuit?

Texas allows injured accident victims to seek both economic and non-economic damages. Damages refers to compensation for the expenses (economic damages) and impacts (non-economic damages) you incurred in the accident.

Damages can include:

• Medical expenses;
• Lost wages;
• Loss of future earning capacity;
• Property damage, such as the cost of repairing or replacing a damaged vehicle;
• Physical pain and suffering;
• Emotional distress; and
• Loss of enjoyment of life.

My spouse died in an accident involving a semi-truck. Is there compensation available for me and my children?

When a person dies because of someone else’s careless or reckless actions, that person’s parents, children, or spouse can seek compensation through a wrongful death lawsuit. A wrongful death lawsuit, like a personal injury lawsuit, is a legal claim that the accident victim’s family must file in court within two years of the date of their loved one’s death. Family members can file this claim individually or as a group, and split the proceeds according to the losses they suffered from their loved one’s death.

The compensation a family can obtain through a wrongful death lawsuit includes:

• Lost earning capacity;
• Loss of care, maintenance, services, support, and counsel that the deceased provided to his or her loved ones;
• Mental or emotional anguish, pain, and suffering;
• Loss of love, support, companionship, and society provided by the deceased to his or her spouse; and
• Lost inheritance.

I was injured in a no-zone accident. Was I at fault?

Without knowing the other facts of the case, if the only reason the accident occurred was that you drove in the no-zone—also commonly known as the truck’s blind spot—the truck driver is probably at fault. Trucks have significant blind spots on all four sides. These are areas around the vehicle, such as adjacent travel lanes, that the truck driver cannot see through their side-view mirrors. While other drivers should stay out of a truck’s blind spots, the truck driver must clear the travel lane they enter.

I can’t afford an attorney. Can I file my Brownsville truck accident claim on my own?

Hiring a Brownsville truck accident lawyer brings the benefit of years of training and experience in the legal process and understanding and interpreting the federal and state regulations that govern the trucking industry.

Because we feel that access to an attorney is absolutely crucial due to the seriousness of truck accident injuries and the complexities in gathering evidence, we offer:

• A free case evaluation, which is free time with an attorney who can answer questions about your case and tell you more about the truck accident claims process.
• A contingent-fee payment plan, which means that you do not owe us for our services unless we recover compensation for you.

Possible Defendants in a Brownsville Truck Accident Case

As the plaintiff in a truck accident case, the accident victim has the legal burden of proof. First, an at-fault truck driver should be a defendant in any insurance claim or lawsuit a victim files. To prevail against the truck driver, the accident victim must show that the truck driver did something wrong under the circumstances or otherwise behaved carelessly and unreasonably.

Truck drivers are not the only ones who can be responsible for a truck accident. If a trucking company employed the truck driver, the accident victim could also bring an insurance claim or lawsuit against the employer trucking company—assuming the driver was acting within the scope of his or her job duties at the time of the accident.

 

Moreover, trucking companies are responsible for hiring and retaining skilled and careful truck operators. Therefore, if the accident victim can demonstrate that the trucking company retained a knowingly problematic driver, such as a driver who had a history of moving violations, then the trucking company could share in some or all of the liability for the truck accident.

If the accident victim can show that his or her injuries resulted from the truck accident, then the accident victim might recover monetary damages for those injuries. Specifically, the accident victim could recover compensation for related medical bills, medical procedures, lost wages, pain and suffering, emotional anguish, and other related damages.

The experienced Brownsville truck accident attorneys at Kenny Perez Law can assist you with filing a claim against the appropriate negligent party or parties. We can then help you pursue a favorable settlement offer against the at-fault party’s insurance company or litigate the case in the Texas court system.

Talk to a Brownsville Truck Accident Lawyer about Your Legal Matter

Our skilled personal injury lawyers are ready to help you pursue monetary compensation in your truck accident claim. To schedule a free case evaluation and legal consultation with a Brownsville truck accident attorney, please call us at (956) 544-9292 or contact us online today for more information.