Commercial Vehicle Accident Attorney in San Antonio

deployed airbag after commercial vehicle accident

Commercial vehicles like semi-trucks, cement mixers, and cargo vans are some of the largest and heaviest vehicles on the road. When these vehicles collide with passenger cars, motorcycles, cyclists, or pedestrians, severe, catastrophic, or fatal injuries are likely to occur.

For more than 30 years, the San Antonio injury attorney and support staff at the Law Offices of Troy A. Brookover have fought for fair compensation on behalf of those injured by negligent drivers, commercial carriers, government entities, and others. Our legal team is led by attorney Troy A. Brookover, who is Board-Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law, which is a distinction extended to just over 1 percent of personal injury lawyers in the state. Troy’s board certification from the Texas Board of Legal Specialization demonstrates his proven knowledge in representing victims of accidents.

If you have been injured in a crash involving a commercial vehicle, turn to a San Antonio commercial vehicle accident lawyer from the Law Offices of Troy A. Brookover for a free initial consultation. Troy is ready to hold those at fault accountable for the harm you’ve suffered. He’ll handle the legal “heavy lifting” of your situation so that you can focus your energy on healing from your injuries.

Common Types of Commercial Vehicles Involved in Crashes

Our firm handles all kinds of commercial vehicle accidents. Some of the most common commercial vehicle accident types that we represent include:

Semi-trucks/18-wheelers
Box trucks
Heavy-duty pickup trucks
Cargo vans
Passenger vans
Buses and minibuses

Trolleys
Limousines
Ice cream trucks
Cement mixers
Tow trucks
Dump trucks

What Compensation Can Be Recovered in a Commercial Vehicle Accident?

You should never be held responsible for paying for someone else’s negligent, reckless, or intentionally harmful conduct. This includes accidents caused by the policies of large trucking companies or the poor choices of their employees. If you were hurt in a truck accident caused by another party, we will be ready to demand fair compensation on your behalf. Your damage award could include reimbursement for:

Medical bills and rehabilitative costs of injuries you sustained in a commercial vehicle accident
Costs of long-term care for permanent disabilities that you suffered in the accident
Loss of wages/income stemming from an inability to work or a need to take a part-time/light-duty position while recovering from your injuries
Loss of future earnings and employment benefits if permanent disabilities have rendered you unable to return to your job or other gainful employment
Pain and suffering, including loss of quality of life due to permanent disabilities or scarring and disfigurement

Who Can Be Held Liable for a Commercial Vehicle Accident in San Antonio?

Commercial truck drivers are not the only ones who cause severe injury accidents. Other entities involved in the operation of these vehicles could be liable (or share liability) as well. These parties could include:

The driver’s employer
A state or local government that employs the driver or a third-party contractor who employed the driver
Third-party mechanics who maintain commercial vehicles
Freight or charter brokers
Vehicle or auto part manufacturers

Additionally, others involved in the accident and even government entities responsible for road maintenance could be held liable for your harm. Once our firm evaluates your circumstances, we’ll objectively assess who could be held legally and financially accountable for your situation

Common Injuries Caused by Commercial Vehicle Accidents

Common injuries that result from commercial vehicle accidents include:

Lacerations and bruising
Skin abrasions or avulsions
Broken bones
Ligament sprains
Muscle or tendon strains
Cartilage damage
Herniated disc injury
Nerve damage

Whiplash injury
Internal organ injuries
Burn injuries
Crush injuries
Spinal cord injuries and paralysis
Facial injuries
Traumatic brain injury
Amputation

If you were not injured as a result of your accident, you won’t be able to file a personal injury lawsuit. However, if you sustained significant property damage, our firm can help you to pursue a fairly valued insurance settlement.

Why Are Commercial Vehicle Accident Claims Often More Complex Than Others?

Pursuing compensation after a commercial vehicle accident can be challenging. Some of the reasons why commercial vehicle accident cases are more complex than other accident claims include:

Commercial vehicle accidents often cause more serious injuries – Accidents involving commercial vehicles can result in more severe injuries for those affected due to the size and weight of at least one of the vehicles involved in any given crash. Accounting for future medical expenses and loss of earning power as a result of severe injuries isn’t an easy task.
Accident victims typically incur more substantial losses – The severity of injuries in commercial vehicle accidents means that an accident victim will have greater financial and personal losses. Higher losses can complicate settlement negotiations in commercial vehicle accident claims, as liable parties and insurance companies may push back against a substantial settlement amount. Difficulties may also arise if multiple accident victims incur significant losses, as all those losses together may exhaust at-fault parties’ insurance coverage or financial resources.
Investigating commercial vehicle accidents involves unique kinds of evidence – Determining the true cause of a commercial vehicle accident case often requires reviewing pieces of evidence unique to these kinds of accident cases, including commercial vehicle driver hours-of-service logs, cargo/passenger manifests, vehicle electronic/event data recorder logs, and vehicle inspection reports. In many cases, experts may be needed to help review and understand complex evidence.
Multiple parties can have liability – A commercial vehicle accident may have been caused by parties other than or in addition to the driver. In this case, two or more at-fault parties may try to shift blame onto one another to limit their liability to the accident victims.
Commercial vehicle operators can have complex insurance policies – Commercial vehicle operators often use layered insurance policies, by which certain coverage is only triggered when the coverage from other policies is exhausted under certain circumstances. This complexity can make it harder to determine how much insurance coverage may be available to compensate you.

Texas Laws for Drivers of Commercial Vehicles

Commercial vehicle drivers are subject to more stringent laws and regulations compared to regular drivers. These are some of the Texas laws that govern drivers of commercial vehicles which may impact your case in various ways. Violation of these regulations may make it more plain that a commercial vehicle driver should be rightfully held liable for causing you harm:

Commercial drivers are required to hold the class of commercial driver’s license appropriate to the type of vehicle being operated, in addition to needing an endorsement to their CDL to operate certain types of commercial vehicles or to carry certain kinds of cargo.
Commercial drivers must be at least 18 years old to operate vehicles within Texas and 21 years old to operate commercial vehicles in interstate commerce.
Drivers may not operate a commercial vehicle with a blood alcohol content of 0.04 percent or more; drivers who are found to have a BAC over the legal limit must be put out of service for at least 24 hours and may have their CDL suspended or revoked.
Drivers must perform an after-trip vehicle inspection and complete a written report at the end of the driver’s trip or daily shift.
When parked on the side of the road, commercial vehicle drivers must activate their emergency flashers and place emergency warning devices on the roadway within 10 minutes of stopping.