Experience is Valuable in a Truck Accident Case
When you’re looking for a mineral, oil, or gas rights lawyer in Midland, you’re in very good shape. If, on the other hand, your loved one is killed or you are injured in an 18-wheeler accident in Midland, you’re going to be hard-pressed to find an experienced Midland 18-wheeler accident attorney who has the knowledge and skill to provide you the best possible resolution to your case.
When Michael Grossman decided to go out on his own and start his own firm 20 years, he decided to devote the practice to helping people who have been wronged just like you resolve their personal injury and wrongful death cases. During the ensuing two decades, his firm has become our firm, growing as we’ve handled thousands of wrongful death and personal injury cases, including hundreds of commercial truck accidents involving all kinds of vehicles.
While 18-wheelers are by far the most prevalent commercial vehicle involved in accidents throughout the state of Texas, there are many different kinds of commercial trucks that all come with unique dangers to the public. Here in Midland, you’re just as likely to get into a wreck with a tanker hauling oil or a cattle truck hauling heifers, each of which distinct and extreme hazardous conditions in an accident. Other commercial vehicles that have been known to cause accidents in Midland include: farm machinery, construction vehicles, rock haulers, buses, dump trucks, moving vans, delivery trucks, flatbed trailers, and several other types of commercial vehicles. Though the hazards presented by commercial vehicles differs greatly from truck to truck, commercial vehicle accident cases usually are similar in three ways:
- Drivers, passengers, and automobiles involved in accidents with commercial vehicles receive grave damage as a result of the immense size and weight of the truck.
- Commercial truck insurance claims and lawsuits are handled entirely differently than car accidents.
- 18-wheelers and other commercial vehicles are owned by powerful and wealthy corporations that have the time and assets to devote to fighting wrongful death and personal injury claims.
Why wouldn’t a commercial trucking company devote thousands of dollars to hiring a skilled defense team to fight a personal injury or wrongful death, when they have hundreds of thousands or possibly even millions of dollars to lose if they don’t? Either the trucking company or its insurer will hire a team of defense attorneys who make a living getting commercial trucking companies out of their liability. To stand a chance of meeting them head on and winning, you’re going to have to fight their experts with one of your own. You need a skilled Midland 18-wheeler accident attorney, or your risking having to pay for the enormous financial impact of your accident on your own. When you hire a Midland truck accident lawyer who has built a strong reputation by winning cases, then you put pressure on the trucking companies or their insurance carriers to settle your case or risk losing more at trial.
The Midland 18-wheeler accident lawyers at Grossman Law Offices have been handling truck accident cases for two decades, and there are hundreds of happy clients who can tell you how we’ve helped them by securing the compensation that has allowed them to bounce back after suffering an injury or losing a family member in an 18-wheeler accident. By helping so many other injured Texans, we’ve gained unique insight into virtually every different type of 18-wheeler accident case.
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Our Midland 18-wheeler accident attorneys at Grossman Law Offices know an uninformed defendant is doomed to failure. Only someone who knows what to expect in the legal process and the pitfalls that might arise can successfully navigate this complex process. Thus, we’ve compiled this informative article for your perusal. Read on and learn more about your legal situation so that you can make the right choices to secure the compensation you deserve.
Midland 18-Wheeler Accident Law Firm
Understanding Trucking Accidents as Discussed by Midland Truck Accident Law Firm Attorney Michael Grossman
- Who All is to Blame?
- Insurance Companies are in Business to Make Money
- Do Not Trust the Insurance Adjusters
- You Need More Than Legal Knowledge
If you spent any time on the long and lonesome highways of West Texas, you know that big rigs make a significant portion of the vehicles on the highways in and around Midland.
Both I-20 and I-10 span across the continental United States from coast to coast, and 18-wheelers pass through Midland and Odessa hauling all types of goods to all parts of the country. With all of those tractor trailers driving across the country in a short amount of time, and drivers logging long miles staring at the road as it passes by, accidents, injuries and even deaths are a statistical inevitability.
If you have been injured in an 18-wheeler accident, or worse if a loved one was killed, the Midland truck accident law firm of Grossman Law Offices is here to help you. We have litigated hundreds of trucking accidents cases, and we empathize with the pain you have suffered. Your troubles are not over, however. We want to warn you of the difficulties you are facing in the process to seek compensation. Personal injury litigation only adds to your emotional stress and fiscal problems. We want you to know about the legal venues available, so that you can take the right action to achieve just restitution.
Who Do You Blame?
Someone who has been injured in a trucking accident must first determine who is liable for the harm done. In many 18-wheeler accidents, multiple parties are liable for damages, and there can be more than one defendant. A legal concept in Texas law called respondeat superior states that employers are responsible for the actions or inaction of their employees.
In a claim involving an 18-wheeler, any one or a combination of a number of different parties can be held liable: the trucker, the company he or she works for, the company that loaded the trailer, the individual who planned the truck’s route, and the insurance company who insured any of these entities. To win your claim, you need a Midland truck accident law firm on your side that has lawyers experienced in investigating the scene of an accident to discover who is liable, so you know whom to sue. When a victim is injured in a truck accident, the plaintiff must determine whether the negligent driver caused the wreck, or could a mechanical malfunction be responsible? What if the company that owned the cargo failed to properly load it, causing the cargo to wrest free during transport and topple the trailer? Or, what the route planner negligently sent the truck into an area not zoned for 18-wheelers? It is rarely easy to determine fault in an 18-wheeler accident. You will need the expertise of a Midland truck accident law firm to be sure that all the liable parties for your injuries resulting from a truck accident in West Texas are held responsible for the injuries you have suffered.
Is Self Representation an Option?
A non-attorney can’t readily accumulate the knowledge required to successfully represent him or herself in court. Representing yourself is possible but winning isn’t probable if you do. Litigation in trucking accidents injuries can be extremely complex and inexperienced attorneys stand little chance of realizing just compensation, let alone, a non-lawyer. Would you attempt to mimic the abilities of another skilled professional? Would you perform open-heart surgery on your dog or construct a replica of the Sistine Chapel in your backyard? No, don’t be ridiculous! Performing those intricate functions requires the expertise and know-how of a trained authority – just like successfully litigating a personal injury case involving an 18-wheeler accident. You need an experienced Midland truck accident law firm in the same way that the Sistine Chapel needed Michelangelo for the paint job.
Insurance Companies are in Business to Make Money
The federal government requires trucking companies to purchase sizable insurance policies to protect against the inevitable accidents that occur. Many people hold the misconception that the compensation process is quick and hassle-free because the trucking companies have insurance. Hardly. The insurance company is in business to make money, not help you. Since insurance policies for 18-wheelers involve huge sums of money, much greater than normal car insurance plans, the insurance company’s main focus is to keep from paying you adequately, so it can retain as much profit as possible. In much the same that American leaders feared the rise of communism during the Cold War, insurance companies fear rising settlement expenses. Americans worried the increase in communist revolutions would encourage more revolutions, known as the domino effect. Insurance companies believe if they settle with plaintiffs, then it only encourages more plaintiffs to come out of the woodwork with larger and larger expectations for compensation. Thus, insurance companies attempt to deny every claim possible.
While the Texas Civil Practices and Remedies Code provides the right for someone who has been injured in a trucking accident or the family of someone who has been killed to seek compensation for the harm done, the law doesn’t say compensation should be handed over whenever a victim claims an injury. The plaintiff must first prove the liability of the party responsible for the accident and the injuries that were inflicted as a result of the accident. Furthermore, the plaintiff holds the burden of proof for demonstrating that the compensation requested fairly represents the damages suffered. The insurance company will do everything it can to deny the plaintiffs claim or debate the level of restitution sought. The best way for a victim to ensure full compensation is to find assistance from a Midland truck accident law firm with attorneys who know how to prove liability and determine equitable damages.
The Insurance Company Is Armed with Specialists
Insurance companies get ready to fight injury claims before the accidents have even occurred. They don’t hire defense attorneys, because they already have them on staff and waiting to take on personal injury claims. The defense counsel specializes in cases like yours and know every trick to slant the case in favor of the insurance company. The defense lawyers race to the scene of an accident as soon as it happens and begin investigating for the purpose of building a case against you while you are still deciding whether or not to hire a lawyer. If you have been injured in an accident involving an 18-wheeler, you can’t hesitate in finding a Midland truck accident law firm to defend you, or your lawyer will be playing catch up with the defense.
Insurance Adjusters are NOT to be Trusted
Insurance adjusters are just as dangerous to an accident victim as the defense lawyers. The insurance adjusters’ goal is not to help you. They are interested solely in saving their companies money by denying your claim. The adjusters will act friendly towards you, as if they are interested in assuring that your needs are met. The adjusters are clever, and they know that you likely have an amicable relationship with your car insurance agent. They hope to sound just like your neighborhood agent, so they can ease you into a false sense of security. Then, they record you saying something that admits your liability and destroys your ability to achieve compensation. Your personal insurance agent needs your business so his or her business can make a profit. The trucking company’s insurance adjuster needs to deny your claim so that his or her company can turn a bigger profit. Some unscrupulous adjusters even convince uninformed personal injury victims to sign away the legal right to sue in exchange for a small settlement that does not come close compensating the victim’s injuries.
Big city insurance adjusters and defense lawyers love nothing more than finding a victim trying to represent his or herself. They know they can have their way with an inexperienced novice. You need an assertive Midland truck accident law firm on your side. You need aggressive lawyers how know how to combat the tactics of the insurance companies and deliver your fair settlement. Only the history of success of an experienced personal injury attorney will frighten the insurance company into a settling fairly.
You Can’t Trust the Trucker
If you are counting on the kindness of strangers in a truck accident case, you should think again. You cannot trust the truck driver to tell the truth. If a truck driver is found liable for an accident, he or she is not only going to be fired but will also find it impossible to land a new job after costing his or her previous employer enormous damages due to his or her negligence. With the high unemployment rate in the United States, someone who normally behaves equitably and honestly might lie to save their job (and his or her ability to provide for their family).
A client once hired us after suffering an injury in an 18-wheeler accident in which the driver of the truck claimed that our client was driving with his lights off at night when the accident occurred. Our investigators examined the scene of the accident, and they discovered a security camera outside a storefront that was pointed directly at the accident scene. The footage revealed our client’s lights shining brightly, and the truck driver lying boldly. Witnesses and defendant often lie and misrepresent facts in trucking accident cases. The lawyers in an experienced Midland truck accident law firm know how to question witnesses in a deposition to uncover their lies. Over the past 20 years, our lawyers have conducted thousands of depositions, getting down to the bottom of the truth and aiding our clients receive just compensation.
Self-Insured Present Different Problems
Some trucking companies protect against personal injuries from trucking accidents by reserving a percentage of their assets, instead of purchasing a standard policy from an insurance carrier. The federal government monitors the insurance industry, licenses adjusters and holds insurance companies to ethical standards. No such regulations limit self-insured companies, so seeking compensation can be far more difficult and as chaotic as finding justice in the Old West. You will be seeking a settlement with an officer of the company, not an insurance adjuster. This officer’s salary is likely derived from the company’s profit margin. Any amount paid to you for an injury comes directly out of the company coffers, so if the company’s officer compensates you, then he or she is literally taking money out of his or her own bank account. Obviously, the company’s officer will utilize any means for denying your claim and protecting the company’s assets. Self-insured companies have been known to dispose of damning evidence, bribe witnesses, and even intimidate victims. All too often, the first action our attorneys have taken after being hired has been legal action to make self-ensured companies behave appropriately toward our clients.
You Need More Than Legal Knowledge
Everyone has heard the old adage: "someone who represents himself in a court of law has a fool for a client." And, it’s true that it’s usually not a good idea to represent yourself, but it’s often disastrous in a personal injury case involving an 18-wheeler because the laws and procedures involved are so complex. You need more than legal knowledge of to succeed in with trucking accident litigation. Actually, legal knowledge comprises only about 20 percent of the expertise required for success in personal injury cases. More importantly, successful litigation requires knowledge of procedure and the strategy necessary to battle the insurance companies and defense lawyers. You need an experienced Midland 18-wheeler accident attorney whose lawyers have spent years taking on the insurance companies and their lawyers. Only after trying hundreds of cases can a lawyer learn how to devise tactics for success at trial or in negotiations with the insurance adjusters. Most people, and many inexperienced attorneys, don’t the proper way to answer interrogatories, prepare demand pockets, or respond to lists of admissions. You’re going to need somebody looking out for your interests who does.
Insurance companies will only agree to a settlement that benefits you if you are protected by an attorney with a history of success in court. Our Midland truck accident law firm has won hundreds of cases against every major insurance company in the country. While the insurance companies and their lawyers are eager to take on non-lawyers, they fear us. When our attorneys file a claim, the insurance companies sit down to settle, so they can avoid litigation. As a result, our clients can often get back to enjoying their lives quickly and with a minimal expense.
What Should You Do Now?
Most importantly, you need to take steps to preserve the evidence in your case, and that means acting quickly. You need to hire a lawyer, so he or she can begin investigating the accident scene. For every moment you wait to find representation, evidence is beginning to spoil, witnesses’ stories are changing, the scene of the accident is changing, and evidence is disappearing. As soon as we are hired, Grossman Law Offices begins our thorough investigation of the accident scene in order to uncover evidence proving the liability of the truck driver and/or the trucking company. We inspect all the vehicles involved, measure the distance from skid marks to the point of impact, hunt for photographic evidence and catalog all the evidence we find. We take every measure to uncover any evidence that might help prove your case.
For example, we were once hired by the families of two men who were involved in a terrible accident with a tractor trailer. The collision killed one of the men died at the scene, and left the other fighting for his life. The truck driver left his trailer stretching across a road in the dark of night, preventing anyone from passing – an occurrence that happens far too often in accidents involving 18-wheelers. Only the taillights of the trailer by the curb were visible to oncoming drivers, and our clients rounded a curve and smashed unknowingly into the trailer. The force of the collision ripped off the roof of the vehicle, killing the driver immediately and critically injuring the passenger. The next day we were hired and flew to the scene of the accident to begin investigating. Our client’s car had already been towed to a salvage yard by the time we arrived. After examining the vehicle, we noted its strange lack of headlights. Finding this odd, our investigators spotted a security camera on the premises and asked to take a look at the video that showed a trucking company rep illegally removing the headlights. When the trucking company claimed our client had been driving a car without headlights, we had caught them caught, well, like a deer in the headlights, if you will.
If the love ones of the injured men in this case had waited any longer to hire us, the evidence would have been erased. The salvage yard’s surveillance camera recorded over its own memory every two days. The only way to preserve the evidence in your case, is to find a lawyer now so the investigation can begin while the case is fresh.
We Want to Help You
The Midland truck accident law firm of Grossman Law Offices has 20 years experience handling personal injury litigation in 18-wheeler accident cases. If you or a loved one has been in a trucking accident, we can use our expertise to make sure you receive equitable compensation for the injuries and pain you have suffered. We’ve helped deliver millions of dollars to hundreds of accident victims in Texas, and we can you what you need, as well. If you or a loved one has been involved in a trucking accident in Midland or elsewhere in West Texas, call us today at 1-855-396-0000 (toll free) for a free consultation to find out the legal venues you have available.
Recovery for client who suffered injuries to both legs in a truck accident.
$102,500.00
$40,833.00
$19,984.00
An airline pilot suffered a shoulder injury resulting in surgery when he was sideswiped by an 18-wheeler. The case was resolved through litigation, as establishing liability was a contentious matter. The defendants claimed that the plaintiff made an illegal passing maneuver, but the evidence showed that the defendant made a sweeping turn and intruded upon our client's right of way.
$475,000.00
$158,333.00
$5,000.00
Our firm was hired by a young woman who was rear-ended by an 18-wheeler when she slowed for traffic in a construction zone. Initially, she attempted to represent herself and the insurance carrier offered roughly $1,000 to settle her case. She then contacted our firm and we filed suit soon after our initial investigation. The case was successfully resolved in litigation.
$187,500.00
$61,875.00
$2,500.00
(policy limits) A young mother was killed in an accident involving two commercial vehicles, one an 18-wheeler. The accident occurred as the young woman was a passenger in a vehicle that was traveling down a highway in the early morning hours. Without warning, the vehicle in which she was a passenger collided with a stalled 18-wheeler that parked in the right of way, resulting in catastrophic injuries that claimed the young woman's life soon thereafter.
The authorities initially faulted the driver of the vehicle in which the victim was a passenger, stating that he was using an electronic device rather than paying full attention to the roadway. However, the 18-wheeler was indeed blocking the roadway and plaintiff alleged that the vehicle did not follow the requirements of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act in regard to providing adequate reflective or laminated warning at specific intervals. Further, the plaintiffs alleged that the defendant failed to remove his vehicle from the roadway when he first noticed signs of mechanical failure.
Had he simply moved to the shoulder of the road, plaintiffs argued, his lack of adequate warning signs would have been inconsequential. An initial settlement has been obtained in this case, yet litigation has commenced in full against the remaining defendant, and is currently ongoing.
$250,000.00
$78,000.00
$370.00
(policy limits) A husband and father of three was killed when the driver of an 18-wheeler veered into oncoming traffic, striking the young man's vehicle and several others. The defendant was employed by a small construction company that operated only a single 18-wheeler. As such, the defendants were largely underinsured and were not financially solvent.
Furthermore, the defendants had an eroding insurance policy and numerous other parties were intent upon filing claims of their own since the 18-wheeler struck multiple other vehicles. This created the need for an aggressive and rapid response before the other claimants could erode the policy.
Defense counsel made it clear that they wished to litigate the case despite the insurmountable liability arguments that our attorneys presented. They intended to designate a third party as a responsible defendant since the accident happened in a construction zone, even though it was abundantly clear that the construction zone played no role in the crash.
Additonally, the defendants made it clear that they wished to downplay the extent of the damages by virtue of a character assasination on the decedent. Fortunately for our clients, our firm has successfully litigated against the defendant's insurer in nearly a dozen cases, so the carrier was quite aware of our courtroom capabilities. We presented a sample lawsuit to the defendant's insurance carrier and informed them that the lawsuit was to be filed the moment that they refused to settle.
Additionally, our attorneys submitted a Stowers' Demand with a brief window of time for the defendants to respond. We made it abundantly clear that we intended to seek punitive damages and that we would assert the full limits of the carrier's exposure under the Stowers' Demand should the carrier not offer policy limits.
The defendant's attorney adamantly persuaded the carrier to litigate, however, our attorney's threats of litigation, past track record, and incredibly aggressive pre-litigation actions convinced the insurance carrier to disregard their own attorney's advice and to settle the case, lest they face our attorneys in court.
Had our clients been represented by virtually any other firm who did not have our specific track record or who would have not recognized that this case required special and immediate attention coupled with an abnormally aggressive stance, the client's would have certainly been tied up in litigation for years, with the limited supply of funds rapidly depleting since the other claimants who did not need to litigate would have essentially had right of first refusal.
$1,000,000.00
$333,333.00
$0.00
The mother of a young man hired our firm to investigate the death of her son following a fatal car accident. The incident occurred as one of the two vehicles involved ran a red light and drive into the path of the other. The defendant was driving a work vehicle for a construction company. The defendant survived the accident and stated to police that the decedent caused the accident. The police could not conclusively determine who was at fault, yet the police report strongly implied that the decedent was likely at fault based on the statement provided by the defendant.
The plaintiff's mother was not convinced. Through a thorough investigation, we ultimately determined that the stoplight that the defendant claimed that our client ran, in fact, worked on a timer whereby the light was always green between certain hours unless a vehicle traveling on the intersecting road had been stopped at the right light for more than 30 seconds. Based on an analysis of the vehicles and tire markings, it was conclusively determined that both vehicles were traveling at the speed limit, which clearly indicates that the defendant driver had not accelerated from stop, rather, he was traveling at the speed limit, which would not have triggered a green light for the defendant.
The logical implications of this information is that the light could not have been red for the plaintiff, and it certainly would have been red for the defendant. As a consequence of this information, the case was resolved through litigation.
$335,000.00
$134,000.00
$63,000.00
Recovery for client who suffered soft tissue back injuries when he was rear ended by a delivery truck.
$75,000.00
$25,000.00
$100.00
Our attorneys were hired to investigate a fatal motor vehicle accident involving an 18-wheeler that claimed the lives of several men, the family of one in particular which our firm represented, felt that the official version of events as outlined in the police report was not an accurate portrayal of the facts and circumstances of the collision.
Our firm launched an investigation, the findings of which served as the basis for a subsequent lawsuit. We were able to determine that the defendant's accusations of contributory negligence on behalf of he driver of the vehicle did appear to be valid and plaintiffs conceded as much. However, the plaintiffs were adamant that the contributory negligence did not entirely overshadow the negligence on behalf of the defendant truck driver.
Through physical evidence and an admission of liability that our attorneys were able to importune from the defendant under oath, we were able to show that the defendant had indeed pulled into the path of the decedent's vehicle, which was of consequence irrespective of the decedent's own contributory negligence, and that icontact.com
$250,000.00
$82,500.00
$10,000.00
Recovery for the driver of car that was side-swiped by an 18-wheeler. Plaintiff suffered muscle aches, pains & dizziness.
$30,000.00
$10,000.00
$500.00
A delivery driver hired our firm to pursue a negligent trucking company following a collision with insecure cargo. Our client was driving his work vehicle when numerous large metal pipes fell from the back of a flatbed trailer onto the roadway. Our client took evasive action but was unable to avoid the debris, which resulted in a fairly severe accident. As a result, our client sustained lower back injuries including two herniated discs which required surgery to correct. The defendants conceded liability early on but would not make a reasonable settlement offer. As such, suit was filed and the case was ultimately successfully resolved through litigation.
$300,000.00
$120,000.00
$1,500.00