San Antonio TX 18-Wheeler Accident Attorney

Experience Matters in a San Antonio 18-Wheeler Accident Case

Plenty of lawyers throughout San Antonio and Deer Park would take your 18-wheeler accident case in a heartbeat, but there aren’t lots from that group that have several years of experience handling 18-wheeler and other types of commercial vehicle accident cases.

There is an exception, however. The 18-wheeler accident lawyers at The Snow Law Firm have been handling 18-wheeler accident cases for the past 20 years and have succeeded in countless cases, including those for clients in San Antonio and Laredo, Tx.

One thing many don’t realize is that commercial vehicles can be found in a multitude of different forms. We’ve prevailed in personal injury and/or wrongful death claims that have included everything ranging from rock haulers to dump trucks, all types of construction vehicles, moving vans, buses, tankers and other types of commercial vehicles. There are many forms of commercial vehicles, but these types of cases have some similarities:

They’re way bigger and cause far more damage than normal cars

Many more laws apply to them, than normal vehicles

The last but most essential ingredient is they’re owned by major corporations that will develop a sturdy defense that aims to prevent plaintiffs getting proper compensation.

Fighting fire with fire is our kind of approach. If you want to provide your San Antonio 18-wheeler accident case with the best chances of prevailing, you’ve got to hire an attorney that combines experience, talent, wisdom and a long, consistent track record at defeating the opposition in trial of getting them to obtain a fair settlement that they normally would have devoted plenty of effort to avoid paying.

If you elect to hire The Snow Law Firm to work your San Antonio 18-wheeler accident case, you’re obtaining 20 years of experience from veteran lawyers who have won numerous 18-wheeler accident cases (and considerably more personal injury cases overall) throughout our firm’s history.

We’re giving you this information in an effort to provide you with further insight on the case-flow process found in a commercial vehicle accident case, and discover some of the key problems you’ll be faced with in getting a proper recovery.HOW 18-WHEELER ACCIDENT CASES WORK

Handling any accident isn’t easy, but there are few accidents that equal the incredible damage found following 18-wheeler accidents. Commercial trucks in San Antonio and Deer Park can have a weight that goes up to 80,000 pounds, so immense damage occurs when they’re involved in accidents. Since truckers receive an hourly salary, they usually work brutal schedules that don’t include many breaks, but all this does is cause additional issues with concentration and staying awake, plus more accidents, property damage and even fatalities.

In the last two decades, the San Antonio 18-wheeler accident lawyers at The Snow Law Firm have handled personal injury cases that have included trucks, and we know that victims will be face with tons of medical and legal questions they’re looking for answers for after they’ve been harmed or had a loved one die in a San Antonio 18-wheeler accident. What’s essential here is seeing you’re examined by a doctor after your wreck. You don’t need to get treatment just for your injuries but also need to see to it they’re officially documented. If you don’t have insurance or barely any to cover your needs, we can see to it you meet a doctor who will factor in your financial matters and form a payment plan that will consider your finances and budget.

Once your injuries have been looked at, you need to think about what legal options are out there and form a strategy so you can receive compensation for the harm you’ve incurred. No laws exist which say negligent parties have to instantly pay you for the injuries you’ve sustained. The victim, also known as the plaintiff in the legal world, has the duty to show they should get assistance. Only a skilled San Antonio 18-wheeler accident lawyer gives you the best ability to get the compensation you’re seeking. Before that, however, our lawyers want to make sure you know what your legal options are so you can make the best decisions for your family’s well-being. Let’s begin by talking about the different components of 18-wheeler accident law:

Reasons to file a lawsuit

Individuals who most regularly cause 18-wheeler accidents

Why a San Antonio 18-wheeler accident lawyer can help you.

The purpose of this article is to provide additional insight. It shouldn’t be used as a fill-in for the legal expertise you’d get from an experienced, skilled lawyer when it concerns the specific details of your case. To learn about how the law applies to the details of your case, call us immediately to get the answers for the specific questions you may have.Why You Should File an 18-wheeler Accident Injury Lawsuit

Our San Antonio lawyers have seen first-hand the incredible emotional and physical devastation caused by San Antonio 18-wheeler accidents. Because of our extensive experience, we’ve learned that several 18-wheeler accident victims are weary about seeking legal action because they don’t like the concept of developing a price for their injuries and this makes them just return back to the past and think about that incident all over again. Filing a claim isn’t a pleasant, enjoyable process, but we’ll discover later in this article that swift action is need for your claim’s success so you’ll have to act immediately after the accident happens.

Two things happen when you seek a lawsuit for the injuries caused by a Deer Park 18-wheeler accident: the first is that it allows the injured party to rebound from the financial and emotional pain created by the accident and it also makes sure those responsible for the accident are held accountable for their actions. No amount of money can wipe away the damages created by your accident or remove the pain from your psyche, but the fact is that you have serious financial losses to still deal with. The only way to see that your family gets back on track after issues like those is to get compensation from who was responsible. Chances are you’ve probably already missed a considerable amount of work because of your injuries, so dealing with medical and repair bills can be impossible unless you discover which individual or parties caused your injuries.Did You Know?

Our San Antonio 18 wheeler accident attorneys have won many cases. Call us today to discuss your case.

The other goal of an 18-wheeler accident lawsuit in Deer Park is that it provides the opportunity to lessen the chance of further negligence by punishing those responsible for your accident. People who have lost considerable sums of money in Deer Park 18-wheeler accidents usually don’t repeat the same behaviors. If you’d like to create lasting change, go after someone’s pocketbook.Common Negligent Causes of 18-Wheeler accidents

If you’re trying to determine who to sue, the first part is figuring out how the accident occurred, and who was responsible. Many people are involved in transporting goods via an 18-wheeler, so in lots of Deer Park 18-wheeler accident cases for instance, more than one party may have shown negligence that led to, or played a role, in a Deer Park 18-wheeler accident. A veteran Deer Park 18-wheeler accident lawyer can rely on previous lessons obtained over many years of litigating 18-wheeler accident claims to properly figure out why your accident happened and who all was at fault. Any amount of negligent individuals could have been liable in various degrees in an 18-wheeler accident: the trucking company, the manufacturer, the company the mapped the route, the company that loaded the truck, and various other third parties. For example:

Truckers

Truckers devote lots of time, for countless days on end, traveling our highways and interstates all over America, and in most 18-wheeler accident cases, they are found responsible either somewhat or totally for the injuries that occur. Truckers cause accidents with negligence like driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, ignoring the speed limit, floating stop signs, or sudden swerving. In other matters, 18-wheeler accidents in Deer Park occur due to the trucker being exhausted. Federal law has attempted to solve this by implementing required rest breaks, but most truckers ignore this in order to reach company deadlines. Studies show that the odds of a trucker being in an 18-wheeler accident grow after eight consecutive hours behind the wheel, and 20 percent of truckers openly admit to falling asleep at the whole more than once in the month before being surveyed. Whether intentional or accidentally, if a trucker’s negligence led to an accident that harmed you, then you can seek a lawsuit against that individual.

Trucking Companies

Texas follows what’s known as respondeat superior, which means employers can be found liable and face punishment for the choices or negligence of its employees. If a trucker’s negligence was the cause of your accident, then the trucking company could face the same manner of punishment. So if information surfaced that a trucker had a ton of previous DUI convictions, and was found liable for an accident while drunk, then the trucking company would be ruled liable too for the injuries resulting from the accident.

It’s also important to note here that the trucking company doesn’t have to behave negligently to be deemed responsible for the negligence of its truckers. As long as the trucker behaves in a negligent manner, then a lawsuit can be pursued to obtain damages from the trucking company. Many times the trucking company is the preferred defendant that plaintiffs aim to get damages from, because they have considerably more resources than truckers.

Manufacturers

Eighteen wheelers and trailers constructed with thousands of wires, screws and other components, all meshed together to ensure that the vehicle is operated in a safe manner. If any of these parts don’t work properly when the truck is moving, then an accident will occur. If this error was because of a design flaw or manufacturing error and an accident occurs, then anyone who was injured in a Deer Park accident has the option to seek compensation from the manufacturer.

The Company that Mapped the route

If you travel plenty, you’ll discover that many roads and neighborhoods aren’t made for 18-wheelers and other types of commercial vehicles. There are also bridges that have established height and weight restrictions. To ensure that everything is safely operating, trucking companies will look to other companies to map out the safest routes for 18-wheelers to take. If this company maps a route that is deemed unsafe and harmful for 18 wheelers, then a lawsuit can be pursued against this company.

The Company that Loaded the Cargo

There are times when the company that loaded the cargo can put the cargo on properly, but there are other instances when they use another company for this issue. If the company that loaded the cargo did so in a poor fashion, this can lead to an accident that causes tons of injuries this company would be responsible for. Cargo in 18-wheelers can weight upwards of 80,000 pounds, but many companies attempt to avoid this by loading additional goods at a smaller cost, and basically avoid this rule. Weight limits are established for a purpose since overloaded trucks have a much greater chance at topping and creating far more damage when an accident happens.

When the company that loads the cargo on board does so in a poor manner, the cargo can wind up being loosened during transport, which creates a load shift that will overturn the trailer and cause an accident with other vehicles. When flatbeds are involved, cargo that isn’t loaded properly can fall onto the road and create immediate panic for all the vehicles and frightened drivers who are driving behind the big rig.

Other Drivers

An 18-wheeler may have been involved in an accident, but that doesn’t mean you should immediately assume the big rig or its driver were at fault. A lot of times other motorists ignore their obligation to keep other drivers safe on the roadways, and an 18-wheeler accident will occur, which causes further damage and injuries for other motorists. When this happens, victims can seek damages from third parties like these.

Any of these groups or combinations of several of them could have somewhat or totally been behind the cause of the Deer Park 18-wheeler accident that led to your injury. You need the guidance of a skilled Deer Park 18-wheeler accident lawyer who can determine the cause and all of the key defendants, so you can get obtain the compensation you need from all the parties who harmed you with their negligent behavior.Prompt Investigation is Important

If you’re trying to obtain all key evidence, figure out who’s at fault and manage to prove your case in a Deer Park 18-wheeler accident, then it will be key to do a speedy, thorough investigation. Since numerous parties could have been negligent and played a role in the wreck that harmed you, a detailed investigation is essential to figure out all of the key parties and their degree of negligence. It will be key to obtain evidence to get a jury to rule for you and evidence can begin vanishing immediately after any wreck. You need to hire a San Antonio 18-wheeler accident lawyer and let him immediately begin searching for evidence. Every day you hesitate and and don’t get a lawyer you feel comfortable with you’re doing more damage to your case because the proof you’re seeking is disappearing – witnesses relocate and their memories can become foggy, videos get tossed or recorded over and the accident scene will physically evolve.

Our San Antonio 18-wheeler accident lawyers at The Snow Law Firm have spent two decades learning how to master the art of investigating accident scenes. Once we’re hired we go to the accident, free of charge to clients, so we can find any pertinent evidence that will help us with our client’s case. We’ll do what’s needed – and within ethical constraints – to reach the truth – securing any vehicles that were involved in the wreck, taking photos, searching for key video evidence, looking at police reports, taking measurements of the distance between skid marks and points of impact, conducting forensic tests, searching for witnesses and securing any other pertinent evidence that could later be of help in trial.

Chances are, you’re probably behind the efforts and investigation being mounted by the defense. Many times what occurs is the trucking or insurance company will send its investigators to the accident scene immediately after the trucker reports it. The defense investigators aren’t consumed with discovering how the accident really happened; they’re just wanting to obtain evidence that supports the notion that your injuries were a result of your own ignorant choices. If you don’t already have lawyers there conducting their own investigation, you’ll have no idea if evidence tampering was committed, or if the defense did an ethical investigation. If they discover any evidence that backs up your alleged negligence, then they can get your claim turned down if they can prove you were totally responsible. Or your damages can be decreased if they can prove your negligence was a contributing factor.

One case we dealt with recently in San Antonio illustrates the importance of a fast, thorough investigation. What happened in this instance is that our firm was hired by the driver of a vehicle that was a part of a nighttime accident with an 18-wheeler. The trucking company was saying that our client was traveling without headlights when the accident occurred. Once we were retained to work on behalf of the plaintiff, our client’s demolished car had already been taken from the accident scene and to a nearby salvage yard. Once our San Antonio attorneys first notice the car at the junkyard, they immediately noticed it was without its headlights. Our first thought immediately was making sure our client could get properly compensated, but our investigators noticed there was a surveillance camera mounted in the premises, so they were able to obtain video footage. This particular program had been developed to record over its memory every 48 hours and we were able to secure it shortly before it was supposed to be recorded over. Once we found it, we noticed a worker from the trucking company illegally taking the headlights and leaving the yard with them in tow. When the trial began, the trucking company’s defense team was attempting to argue that our client’s car never had headlights. At that moment, we had the physical proof to show their lies and get compensation for our client. If our client had hesitated any longer in hiring us for legal representation, the video would have been meaningless, odds of restitution would have been zero and the trucking company would have been able to commit felonious evidence tampering.

Our San Antonio attorneys have handled lies and deception regularly when it concerns 18-wheeler accident cases, so you need to hire a San Antonio attorney and allow him to begin conducting an in-depth investigation as immediately as you can. Sometimes our investigators can still manage to get the necessary proof long after an accident happened, but the faster we start investigating the better our chances of getting the proof we’re seeking to obtain the compensation you rightfully deserve. Don’t wait any longer in discussing your case with a San Antonio 18-wheeler accident lawyer.Common Obstacles that Plaintiffs Must Overcome

You may have filed an insurance claim after a normal car wreck, but that doesn’t immediately mean you’re able to handle an 18-wheeler accident claim by yourself. Trucking insurance policies are deemed to be 50 times more costly than your normal auto insurance policy. Because of the enormous size of 18-wheeler insurance policies, litigation to handle 18-wheeler accident cases is far more complex than your normal car passenger case. Plaintiffs who’ve tried to save additional money on lawyers fees by handling their own case end up hurting themselves even more with paltry compensation. People who have no legal background, and lawyers who are just out of law school become frustrated and puzzled when trying to file lawsuits after 18-wheeler accidents because of several issues: showing the burden of proof, the size of insurance policies, self-insured trucking companies and truckers who choose to lie.Burden of Proof

There’s nowhere in the law that stats the defendant or defendants have to pay you a dime after you’ve been injured in an 18-wheeler accident unless you, as the plaintiff, can prove they should. If you want to get restitution for your injuries, you’ll have to have the ability to submit quality, credible evidence to be used with your case. Other types of negotiation may be used to handle your claim, but evidence must be discovered to get the defense or insurance to work in good faith. You’ll need to show each of these four parts found in an 18-wheeler accident case:

Duty

The first part in this process is showing the defendant owed you a duty to maintain your safety by behaving properly. The law has established certain legal duties for specific circumstances and for each individual party, all contingent on their relationships. When it’s dealing with 18-wheeler accident cases, accomplishing this is pretty easy, since every driver has to operate their vehicle in a proper fashion that keeps other drivers, pedestrians and passengers safe on our roads.

Breach

If you’re trying to prove your case, the next step is showing the defendant or defendants disregarded their duty of care you were owed. This usually happens when the defendant harmed others in a way that normal people wouldn’t or by not acting when regular citizens would be expected to take action. You’ll have to get evidence that proves the defendant disregarded his or her legal duty of care through action or inaction if you want to show this duty had been broken. Plus, you’ll also have to get a Deer Park 18-wheeler accident lawyer who can use the evidence and convince a jury to see the defendant or defendants acted in an improper manner.

Causation

Besides showing the defendant or defendants ignored the legal duty that caused your harm, you’ll also have to show your injuries were caused by this duty being violated. Because countless parties could have taken part or been involved in an 18-wheeler accident, it takes strong, credible evidence to get a jury to see a causal relationship was present between the defendant’s violation of their duty to you and the harm that unfolded. If this doesn’t happen, then the defendant can pick your case apart by moving the blame elsewhere for your injuries. Many times, the defendant or defendant’s best option to dodge blame is to move it squarely on the victim’s shoulders for causing their own injuries with their poor behavior.

Damages

Once you’ve shown the first three parts required for a strong 18-wheeler accident lawsuit, you must then show the damages the defendant owes for the injuries you’ve incurred. Legally, when talking about damages, it’s not concerning just injuries or damaged property, but are referring to the compensation the defendant owes for the harm they’re liable for. The plaintiff can seek damages for issues like medical costs, lost wages, pain and suffering, lost earning capacity, property damage and other losses that happened in the accident.

The most complicated part here is that you can’t just ask the court to compensate you and expect to receive it. You’ve got to give evidence that doesn’t just show your losses, but also how you reached the monetary value for these damages. Many times defendants will try to debate the total compensation requested by the plaintiff and counter with their own amount for damages owed that will likely decrease the total amount of harm the plaintiff is handling. If you’re attempting to show the defendant intentionally tried to short-change you, you’ve got to provide strong, legitimate proof that shows your amount were dead-on.

What is the true amount of my case? Since damages like pain and suffering, or loss of earning capacity, tend to be subjective and open for debate, adding up damages can be very complex for anyone who doesn’t normally handle it. It’s tough to determine a price for matters like things such as pain and suffering or determine the cost of lost earning capacity by adding up potential raises and inflation. In court, you have one opportunity to prove the total compensation you’re after. In the two decades of our firm’s existence, our Deer Park accident lawyers have been totaling damages, and we have become familiar enough with cases such as yours to determine all your losses and come to an estimation on compensation that properly gives you the restitution you’re seeking.

When you’re unable to show any of these parts, that means you’re not going to get compensated for the harm you’ve sustained. You need the help of a San Antonio 18-wheeler accident lawyer – especially if you wind up in court. Our years of handling 18-wheeler accident cases has helped our lawyers discover how to form a strong legal gameplan that meets the burden of proof and helps the juries rule on your behalf. Enormous Insurance Policies

Federal regulations say that trucking companies have to purchase huge insurance policies as a way of protecting against huge accidents, injuries and deaths that occur when doing business with 18-wheelers. Due to this, many falsely believe they’ll get compensated quickly and not encounter any problems. Lots of times, that’s just untrue. Because insurance policies are valued at 50 times the cost of regular cars, the insurance companies usually spend 50 times more energy and willpower to guard their trucking policies.

With everything that’s at stake, insurance companies will resort to using their savviest and most experienced adjusters to handle settlement negotiations. You’ve probably not handled numerous 18-wheeler accident claims, but these adjusters are the premiere workers in their profession and work these claims on a consistent basis. They know how to form immediate bonds with accident victims, who are still shocked and who are quick to trust their local insurance agent, then use the details they’ve obtained against them to get their claim rejected. What happens is they form a false, surfacey friendship and try to get the victim to think they’re helping them get compensated – first, though, they need to answer some basic questions. The truth is they’re not in it to help you; they’re just trying to increase company profits by getting your claim immediately thrown out. Following that, they bombard you with nonstop questions that are using the same statements, then re-word them nonstop, in hopes of getting you to mess up and admit it was your fault the accident happened. Once they get you to confess and say you were at fault, your claim will get turned down. The best move is to not have any interaction with insurance adjusters, so hire a skilled Deer Park 18-wheeler accident lawyer and allow your legal team to deal with the harassing questions being thrown out by insurance adjusters. We usually tell clients not to ever talk with any officials from insurance companies without a lawyer there as protection for your well-being. If you hire our firm, our lawyers will take over all the conversations pertaining to the insurance company and protect you from accident admitting you were guilty.

Many times aggressive insurance adjusters will seek to get accident victims to forfeit their rights to seek a lawsuit in exchange for a small settlement. You don’t want to have to deal with the stress and unknowns that come with a jury trial, but you also don’t want to agree to a settlement that doesn’t adequately help you with the harm you’ve sustained. Only a lawyer with a long track record of success can get the insurance company to accept a fair settlement, since they’re already concerned about losing more money at trial.

The insurance company will also attempt to dodge liability for your injuries by using a talented defense team that will search for any legal loopholes and procedural hurdles they could benefit from, and as a result use to make the plaintiffs harm their chances of getting compensated. You need the assistance of an experienced San Antonio 18-wheeler accident lawyer who can fight any attacks mounted by the defense team. Our lawyers have been granted millions from every major insurance company throughout the country, and we’ve discovered how to anticipate every potential trick they may use.Self-Insured Companies can be More Treacherous

Instead of purchasing a regular insurance policy, many trucking companies will set aside an amount of assets to use for insurance purposes whenever accidents emerge. The federal government regulates the insurance agency, and demands that all businesses be registered, adjusters have licenses and ethical standards are adhered to. Self-insured companies, though, don’t deal with these guidelines and requirements. For this reason, self-insured companies have earned a reputation for behaving in an unethical manner and being hard to handle in negotiations. Many times when you’re trying to handle settlements with self-insured companies, you’ll have to deal with someone from the company’s main headquarters. Since this worker likely gets some of their income from some type of profit sharing, they have numerous reasons to get your claim tossed. This worker would basically be handing you some of their income if they allow you to quickly get the restitution you’re wanting. With their income on the line, self-insured companies tend to put their own interests ahead of the plaintiffs and will try to use a variety of behavior like bullying, evidence tampering and even threatening victims.

If a self-insured company has attempted to bully you or get pushy in any way, then you can get this to hault with the assistance of a Deer Park 18-wheeler accident lawyer. Once we’re hired, our attorneys can get self-insured companies to conduct themselves in good faith, and even use the threat of legal action if necessary.Truckers Can’t Be Trusted

We always want to say people are decent and good, but the trucker who hurt you with their negligence has incentive to lie. If the trucker is ruled to have harmed others while acting in a negligent way, then that person is going to probably be pink-slipped shortly, if they haven’t been canned already. A trucker who’s been deemed negligent will also find it’s basically impossible to land another job like that with such a mark on their record. When you factor in the job market and the nature of today’s economy, many basically honest and decent truckers will resort to lying so they can keep their jobs and have the ability to provide for their families. To get compensation you’re after, you’ve got to prove the trucker was lying.

Our Deer Park 18-wheeler accident lawyers have grown in their ability to investigate and discover the key facts that prove the trucker was lying. We’ll destroy their credibility with all the key facts we’ve obtained and prove their lies.

Like insurance adjusters, who try to get victims to admit their negligence with several questions, our attorneys will try to construct questions to use in the deposition that will seek to trick the trucker into confessing their own lie. The Deer Park 18-wheeler accident lawyers at The Snow Law Firm have deposed countless witnesses over 20 years, and we’re able to form questions that expose the trucker’s lies.How We Can Help

If you’ve been harmed or had a loved one die in an 18-wheeler accident in San Antonio or Deer Park, then you need to retain an 18-wheeler accident lawyer who will safeguard your legal rights and help you get the proper restitution you’re after. From our initial documents we provide to the court’s final decision, our lawyers handle every component of your case and make sure you’re updated on a consistent basis. Other services include:

Investigating to determine how the accident happened

Making sure our clients get adequate medical care.

Chances are the defense has already concluded its investigation and case against you. The longer you hesitate in getting an attorney, the more problems you create in your ability to secure restitution you’re wanting. Call us soon at 1-855-392-0000 (toll free) for a free consultation and discover how we can assist you like countless others in Texas.Some of Our Most Recent Successful Cases$90,000.00 Recovery – Commercial Vehicle Accident (Soft-Tissue Injuries and Leg Contusions)