Fatal 18-Wheeler Accidents

Texas Wrongful Death Lawyer Michael Grossman Discusses Fatal 18-Wheeler Truck Accidents

If you have lost a loved one in a fatal truck accident in San Antonio, you need someone you can count on to help you bring those responsible for your loved one’s death to justice.

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The fact is that truck accident lawsuits are complex, and far beyond the skills of virtually all non-attorneys. Many people mistakenly assume that truck accidents are just like car accidents, except bigger. While it is certainly true that damages in an 18 wheeler accident are typically greater than those in a car accident, the differences go far beyond the extent of damages. Litigating a truck accident case is almost nothing like litigating a car accident case, and it requires an entirely different skill set. Experienced San Antonio fatal truck accident attorney Michael Grossman is here to help you understand what you are up against and how Grossman Law Offices can help you seek justice.


Commercial Insurance Policies

Trucking companies and their drivers are protected by large commercial insurance policies. These policies are typically worth fifty times more than standard passenger vehicle policies. In other words, there is a lot of money on the line for these insurance companies, particularly in a wrongful death case. They will do everything in their power to avoid compensating you and your family. They will assign a senior insurance adjuster to your claim – someone who has years of experience denying claims just like yours. This insurance adjuster may seem cooperative and friendly, asking you questions about your accident, trying to get you to describe what happened.

While this may seem innocuous enough, what they are actually doing is trying to get you to say something incriminating. Talking to insurance adjusters is almost always a bad idea. They have particular ways of asking questions that illicit self-incriminating answers from truck accident victims. In other cases, they will repeat back to you the details of your accident in almost the same words, but even small adjustments to your statement can severely damage your claim to compensation. Most victims do not even realize they have damaged their case when they do so. This is why it is imperative that you do not talk to insurance adjusters. Leave that to the legal professionals from Grossman Law Offices who know every trick the insurance adjusters have up their sleeves.


Defense Attorneys and Accident Recreation Experts

Moments after your loved one’s accident, the trucking company will send a team of accident recreation specialists and defense lawyers to investigate the scene. This team of professionals has one goal: to build a case against your loved one, trying to prove that he or she was responsible for the accident. They will comb over the accident scene with a fine tooth comb looking for evidence against your loved one. This evidence can include anything from physical evidence from the crash scene to trucking logs and witness statements. This team knows how to investigate a truck accident, so you need an equally skilled team of your own. Our legal professionals move quickly to secure physical evidence from a crash scene to ensure that we can determine exactly how the accident happened. We are dedicated to making sure you and your family are compensated for the death of your loved one.

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Compensation in a Wrongful Death Case

Wrongful death claims are unique in that you are typically seeking compensation for two broad types of damages: wrongful death damages and survival damages. Wrongful death damages compensate a plaintiff for the loss of a loved one. This compensation includes a number of different types of damages:

  • Funeral expenses
  • Any medical expenses prior to the victim’s death
  • Loss of financial support caused by the victims death
  • Mental and emotional turmoil and the loss of companionship caused by losing a loved one

Obviously, no amount of money can fairly compensate a family for the loss of a member, and as such, calculating these damages is complex process. But the truth is that losing a family member can put an immense financial burden on a family, in addition to the emotional suffering caused by such a loss. Our attorneys want to make sure that your family does not suffer under the weight of this financial burden.

Survival damages are different in that they compensate the family for the damages for which the victim could have sought compensation if the victim had survived the incident. These damages include:

  • Medical expenses
  • Lost wages
  • Lost income potential
  • Pain and suffering
  • Mental and emotional turmoil

Due to the many different types of damages typically sought in a wrongful death claim, the lawsuit can be completely overwhelming for a non-attorney. Additionally, in many truck accident lawsuits, there are multiple defendants, and each one must be handled using a specific legal tactic. A non-attorney has almost no chance of filing this claim correctly, to be perfectly honest. But our legal professionals can help you build a strong case against every liable defendant. We will fight aggressively to make sure that you receive the compensation you deserve and that every party responsible for your loved one’s death is brought to justice.


Do Not Act Alone

Many people mistakenly believe that they can successfully represent themselves against trucking companies. They feel that they can research the law, threaten to file a lawsuit, and that this will scare insurance companies into giving them an adequate settlement. This could not be farther from the truth. Do you know how to prove up damages? Do you know how to respond to a list of admissions? Do you know what goes into a demand packet? If you do not know the answers to all of these questions without even having to think, then chances are, insurance companies will not be frightened if you file a lawsuit on your own. In the twenty years our firm has been practicing truck accident law, we have heard countless horror stories of truck accident victims trying to represent themselves and walking away with nothing. We have never heard of a case where a non-attorney successful represented him or herself against a trucking company. Do not try to file this lawsuit on your own.

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Let Grossman Law Offices Help

San Antonio fatal truck accident attorney Michael Grossman has twenty years of experience helping truck accident victims. Our legal professionals know how to thoroughly investigate an accident and bring strong claims against every liable party. We have successfully investigated and litigated hundreds of high-profile truck accident cases against every major insurance carrier in the country. Trucking companies and their insurance providers know who we are and how successful we have been. They often fully cooperate with our settlement demands, simply because they are afraid to face our lawyers in court. We can frighten insurance adjusters into offering you a fair settlement, so that you can get on with your life. Our attorneys are dedicated to helping you hold trucking companies accountable for the death of your loved one. So if you have lost a family member in an 18 wheeler accident, contact aggressive San Antonio fatal truck accident lawyer Michael Grossman from Grossman Law Offices today. Let us help you get the compensation you need and the justice you deserve.


Some of Our Most Recent Successful Cases
$335,000.00 Recovery - Wrongful Death/ Commercial Vehicle Accident
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.
Total Recovery:
$335,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$134,000.00
Litigation Expenses:
$63,000.00
$19,000.00 Recovery - Commercial Vehicle Accident (Pulled Muscle)
Recovery for client who sustained a pulled muscle in an 18-wheeler accident.
Total Recovery:
$19,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$6,270.00
Litigation Expenses:
$100.00
$150,000.00 Recovery - Automobile Accident (Nerve Damage)
Recovery for client who suffered nerve damage and required steroid injections as a result of a car accident.
Total Recovery:
$150,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$50,000.00
Litigation Expenses:
$4,800.00
$475,000.00 Recovery - Commercial Vehicle Accident / Motorcycle Accident (Shoulder Injury Requiring Surgery)
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.
Total Recovery:
$475,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$158,333.00
Litigation Expenses:
$5,000.00
$102,500.00 Recovery - Commercial Vehicle Accident (Both Legs Broken)
Recovery for client who suffered injuries to both legs in a truck accident.
Total Recovery:
$102,500.00
Attorney Fees:
$40,833.00
Litigation Expenses:
$19,984.00
$700,000.00 Recovery - Commercial Vehicle Accident / Work Injury (Fractured Pelvis, Other Internal Injuries)
A loading dock employee suffered a fractured and damage to internal organs as the result of a crushing injury sustained when an 18-wheeler backed into him and crushed him between the trailer and loading dock.
Total Recovery:
$700,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$175,000.00
Litigation Expenses:
$1,084.00
$2,000,000.00 Recovery - Wrongful Death / Commercial Vehicle Accident
The family of a deceased woman hired our firm following a fatal 18-wheeler accident. The fatal accident occurred as the driver of an 18-wheeler lost control of his vehicle and veered out of his lane, resulting in a massive collision. The decedent, a passenger in a vehicle, died on the scene.

Her adult children consulted our firm to initially investigate the accident and make sense of the facts and circumstances since the family felt that the police report did not make it clear enough precisely what occurred. We launched a full investigation an immediately deposed the investigating officers.

Upon the completion of our investigation, it was apparent that the trucking company was indeed negligent and a lawsuit was soon filed. The defendant's launched an aggressive defense whereby they initially claimed that the truck driver was overcome by his passenger who allegedly grabbed the steering wheel and deliberately drove the truck off the road, despite the truck driver's best efforts.

We refuted this claim by illustrating that the tire marks that were present clearly show the truck gradually moving across the road and eventually onto the grass, which is entirely inconsistent with an abrupt lane change caused by someone taking control of the wheel. It was quite an unusual defense strategy that we were frankly surprised to even find ourselves having to refute.

The defendants then argued that a tire blowout may have contributed to the accident, which is significant because it would enable the defendant to offset some portion of their liability to a tire manufacturer or installer. Through deposition testimony of the investigating officer we established that there was absolutely no indication at the scene of the accident that a tire had blown out.

Finally, the defendants argued that the company which loaded the trailer may have improperly loaded the cargo. This argument was most plausible considering that the precise cause of the decedent's death was that she was essentially pummeled by cargo that broke through trailer and struck her person.

Our firm consulted several experts in the fields of heavy cargo transportation and physics. Our experts felt that the cargo was secured in a manner that is perfectly consistent with industry standards and that due to the forces involved, the cargo would not have behaved any differently irrespective of how it was secured. In short, the collision caused the cargo to break free and the negligence lay squarely on the trucking company and not any other entity. The case was successfully resolved through litigation.
Total Recovery:
$2,000,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$775,000.00
Litigation Expenses:
$25,000.00
$187,500.00 Recovery - Commercial Vehicle Accident (Back Injury Requiring Surgery)
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.
Total Recovery:
$187,500.00
Attorney Fees:
$61,875.00
Litigation Expenses:
$2,500.00
Confidential Recovery - Wrongful Death / Commercial Vehicle Accident
(policy limits) Our attorneys secured a recovery against a major trucking company for the daughter of a man who was killed after his vehicle collided into an 18-wheeler which was blocking the roadway. Litigation is ongoing against additional defendants.
Total Recovery:
Confidential
Attorney Fees:
Confidential
Litigation Expenses:
Confidential
$41,000.00 Recovery - Commercial Vehicle Accident (Soft-Tissue Injuries)
Recovery for client who suffered soft tissue injuries when she was struck by an 18-wheeler.
Total Recovery:
$41,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$13,666.00
Litigation Expenses:
$135.00

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