An out-of-control 18-wheeler rolling down the highway is like a Scud missile in its destructive power. If you have suffered the trauma of a truck accident, we understand the immense medical and financial challenges you face.
Fear not, a Dallas, Texas commercial work truck accident lawyer can help you during this overwhelming process. Jay Murray Personal Injury Lawyers is a trusted Dallas firm with a nearly 30-year legacy of successfully seeking justice for our clients. During these productive decades, we have recovered over $100 million for our Texas personal injury clients.
Contact a skilled Dallas, TX commercial work truck accident lawyer with Jay Murray Personal Injury Lawyers at (214) 855-1420 to schedule a free consultation today.
How Our Dallas, Texas Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help You With Your Commercial Work Truck Accident Claim
At Jay Murray Personal Injury Lawyers, we believe in compassion and accessibility. When you choose us, you’re not just another case number; you’re part of our family. We’ll fight tirelessly against insurance companies to secure the fair compensation that you and your family deserve.
More specifically, our Dallas truck accident lawyers can help you in the following ways, among others:
- Use our legal expertise to simplify complex cases involving multiple parties, extensive regulations, and confusing insurance issues.
- Perform a preliminary investigation of your claim. In a best-case scenario, such an investigation could uncover enough evidence to stimulate an immediate and fair settlement offer.
- Identify appropriate defendants. In a truck accident claim, this could include a driver, the trucking company, the maintenance company, or even a traffic light manufacturer.
- Ensure that you file your claims properly and within any applicable statute of limitations or insurance deadlines.
- Negotiate your claim with the other side. Much of the value of your claim arises from the negotiating skill that you or your lawyer bring to the table. Nevertheless, all major case decisions are yours to make, including whether to accept a settlement offer.
- Calculate your estimated future damages. If you anticipate future medical expenses or future lost earnings, a skilled personal injury lawyer can retain an expert to help you calculate them.
- Providing objectivity. An experienced personal injury lawyer can operate with a degree of objectivity that can be difficult for others to duplicate. There is no aspect of your case that does not benefit from objectivity.
Jay Murray Personal Injury Lawyers can do all this and more for you to increase your chance of getting fair compensation.
How to Use Federal Trucking Regulations to Win Your Dallas, TX Truck Accident Claim
The federal and state governments heavily regulate commercial trucking. Trucking regulations govern everything from truck maintenance to driver sleeping hours. Federal trucking regulations apply everywhere in the United States and may trump state regulations in the event of a conflict of laws.
If you can find a trucking regulation that the driver violated, you may be able to use that violation to establish negligence per se. Negligence per se allows you to prove negligence by establishing that the truck driver violated a regulation.
Proving negligence is not enough by itself to establish liability, but it’s a good start. To establish liability, you must also show the amount of your damages and prove that the truck driver’s negligence caused the accident.
Common Defenses to a Dallas Commercial Work Truck Claim
There are probably hundreds of different defenses that the opposing party might at least try on you. Some of them are complete defenses, meaning that if they are successful, the defendant owes you nothing. Others are partial defenses, meaning that if they are successful they reduce rather than eliminate the defendant’s liability.
Defenses apply in settlement negotiations as well as trials. The reason for this is that if you prove you can win at trial, the defendant is more likely to settle with you and for a higher amount.
Some of the defenses that the defendant might try on you include:
Failure to Mitigate Damages
Failure to mitigate damages might apply, for example, if you were riding a motorcycle without a helmet and suffered a concussion. The other side might argue that you should not receive compensation for your head injuries because they should not have to pay for damages that you could have easily avoided.
Comparative Fault
Under the comparative negligence defense, the defendant asserts that the accident was partly your fault. If the court agrees, it will deduct from your damages in direct proportion to your percentage of fault. If your percentage of fault exceeds 50%, the court will deduct 100% of your damages.
Failure to Comply With the Statute of Limitations Deadline
In Texas, you usually have two years after an accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. If you miss the deadline, you cannot recover compensation for your injuries.
Lack of Evidence
The “lack of evidence” defense is a general denial that the plaintiff has proven their case. The plaintiff has the burden of proving all of the elements of their personal injury claim. Negligence claims, for example, require you to prove duty of care, breach of duty, harm, causation, and foreseeability. The plaintiff must prove each of these elements on a “more likely than not” basis. The defendant can always deny that the plaintiff has met their burden.
How Much Does a Dallas Commercial Work Truck Accident Lawyer Cost?
Many personal injury lawyers in Dallas, TX work on a contingency fee basis. This means that you will not pay anything upfront and you only pay if you win.
If your lawyer wins compensation for you, they will take a pre-agreed percentage of compensation as their legal fee (typically 30% to 40%).
Schedule a Free Consultation With Our Truck Accident Lawyer in Dallas
Commercial work truck accidents can lead to severe injuries and serious property damage. It can be challenging to go through this alone. At Jay Murray Personal Injury Lawyers we can help you hold the responsible parties accountable. Contact our Dallas commercial work truck accident lawyers today to begin the process of pursuing the compensation you deserve.
