Following a tractor-trailer wreck, you might be wondering who can be held liable for your injuries and property damage. Because determining liability in Austin truck accident claims can be difficult to do alone, you should consider contacting legal counsel to help you navigate the process. An experienced truck crash attorney could help you gather evidence and negotiate with insurance companies to fight for the financial compensation you deserve for your injuries.
Proving Negligence in Tractor-Trailer Accidents
All licensed motorists are required to drive as safely as possible while traveling on Austin’s roads. However, when a trucker does not drive safely and breaches their duty of care, they may be considered negligent when their recklessness leads to a collision, injuries, and property damage.
Additionally, multiple people can be considered negligent in a truck wreck case. The truck driver, their employer, or other motorists can all be considered liable, which can make proving negligence in a trucking accident claim difficult.
An Austin attorney who is experienced in litigating commercial truck accident claims could help determine liability by gathering evidence and pertinent information, including police reports, witness interviews, and medical records and interviews from the physician who treated the victim after the crash.
Black Boxes in Truck Accident Cases
In addition to the evidence an attorney can get from other individuals, they could also retrieve the black box information from the truck’s dashboard to analyze what happened right before the accident. For example, the information in the box might indicate a hard brake event, swerving, and more to potentially present to insurance companies or a court. In these cases, it may be easier to analyze the truck crash by recreating it to determine who is liable.
Comparative Negligence in Austin
Texas is considered a comparative negligence state, which means if a victim is found to be partially liable for their own injuries but is less than 51 percent responsible for the collision, they can still recover damages from at-fault parties. However, if they are more responsible than the defendant, they are not entitled to recover damages.
Otherwise, an injured claimant’s compensatory award would be reduced in proportion to their assigned percentage of fault. For example, if they are 40 percent responsible for the trucking accident, they are entitled to only 60 percent of the total
damages available. A court takes into consideration a variety of factors to determine negligence and fault, so it is important to have a skilled lawyer provide evidence that the injured individual is less liable than the defendant.
Negligence of Another Party
In most commercial vehicle accident cases, the truck driver is not the only party that bears civil liability. For example, if a trucking company has a history of violating
federal regulations for hours of service, a court might consider those violations when determining liability for a truck collision in Austin. Under these circumstances, the truck driver could be held partially accountable, but
a local attorney could seek to hold the trucking company liable, as well, for their contributions to the claimant’s losses.
Let an Austin Attorney Help Determine Liability for a Truck Accident
Determining liability in Austin truck accident claims takes the careful examination and analysis of a qualified attorney. If you were harmed in one of these wrecks and want to know how to hold the correct parties responsible, call our firm right away to
schedule a consultation.