San Antonio Tractor Trailer Accident Attorney

Michael Grossman Explains Truck Accident Litigation : San Antonio Tractor Trailer Accident Attorney

Spend any amount of time stuck in a bumper-to-bumper line on I-35 or 410, and you will quickly discover that 18-wheelers constitute a sizable portion of the traffic on the highways in and around San Antonio.

Tractors trailers pass through the Alamo City constantly, dispersing goods from the area throughout the state and bringing products to Texans from all over the globe. Truck drivers are paid hourly wages and expected to meet demanding delivery timetables. Couple those factors with the sheer amount of 18-wheelers on the road, and accidents, injuries, and sometimes fatalities will be the inevitable and steep price of doing business.

If a loved one has been killed or you have been injured in an accident with a commercial truck, then San Antonio tractor trailer accident attorney Michael Grossman and his team of legal specialists at Grossman Law Offices want to help you recover from the harm or loss you have suffered. We’ve spent the last 20 years resolving 18-wheeler accident cases, and we’ve seen the tremendous harm that can befall innocent motorists due to these enormous vehicles. We know what you’re going through, and we sympathize with your plight. Unfortunately, we also know that your struggles have only begun. Not only will you need to exert great effort to recover physically from your injuries, but also to pursue compensation, allowing you to recover financially and emotionally from the harm that has been done to you. In order to ease the stress and fiscal turmoil created by personal injury litigation process, we want to inform you about the legal options you have and the obstacles you will face, permitting you and your family to make the best decisions to secure the equitable compensation you deserve.

Who was at Fault?

If you’ve been injured in a wreck with a commercial truck, you must first figure out who caused the accident. While your initial reaction is to assume the trucker was at fault, that assumption might not actually be the case. Much of the time, 18-wheeler accidents are the result of negligence from multiple parties, so you cold be seeking compensation from more than one defendant. Since Texas recognizes a legal concept called respondeat superior that holds employers responsible for the actions or inaction of their employees, a trucking company is responsible for the negligence of its drivers. Thus, if the trucker was negligent, then you will automatically have two defendants in any action to recover damages.

However, liability is rarely limited to just the trucker and the trucking company in most 18-wheeler accident claims. Several other third parties could have caused or contributed to the cause of the wreck with their negligence and thus be a viable target for a personal injury lawsuit. The company that planned the route could have sent the truck into an area that was not safe or zoned for trucking. The company that loaded the cargo could have failed to properly secure the payload, leading to load shift that toppled the trailer and caused the wreck. If a part on the truck malfunctioned and caused the accident as a result of a design or assembly flaw, then the manufacturer could be liable. Of course, another motorist could have drive his or her car unsafely, causing the truck to hit your vehicle. With so many different possibilities to consider, you need the assistance of a skilled and experienced San Antonio tractor trailer accident attorney to make sure all of the liable parties are held accountable and you receive the maximum compensation you deserve for the injuries you have suffered.

Can You Represent Yourself?

The state of Texas does allow you to represent yourself in any legal action, but winning a personal injury lawsuit stemming from an 18-wheeler accident is not very likely if you choose to do so. Non-attorneys lack the accumulated knowledge and experience to succeed with such a claim. Truck accident litigation and procedure can be highly technical and intricate, requiring specialized knowledge and skill. You wouldn’t attempt to perform the functions of another specialized professional. You wouldn’t perform brain surgery on your wife or build a full-sized replica of the Alamo in your backyard. Just like successfully litigating a truck accident claim, those tasks require the deft touch of a trained authority. In just the same way that someone with a tumor under their skull needs a well-trained and highly experienced brain surgeon, you require the assistance of a well-seasoned San Antonio tractor trailer accident attorney.

You’re Taking on Big Business

Did You Know?

Our San Antonio 18 wheeler accident attorneys have won thousands of cases. Call us today to discuss your case. 1-855-393-0000

Since the federal government mandates that all trucking companies purchase enormous insurance policies, many people incorrectly assume that the compensation process will be simple and hassle-free following an accident with a commercial truck. Sadly, this is simply not usually the case. Insurance companies are not in business to help injured accident victims; they’re out to turn a profit. With huge sums of money at risk in trucking policies, the insurance company stands to lose a great deal of money if it allows injured truck accident victims to secure the compensation they deserve. Since the size of a commercial trucking insurance policy is significantly larger than for a standard passenger car, the insurance company will expend much greater effort into trying to limit or outright deny these claims. Insurance companies fear the domino effect will go into action, if they give you the compensation you request. They think that giving in to you will only make the next injured truck accident victim demand that much more. Therefore, they will do whatever they can to deny your claim.

While you may deserve compensation for the injuries you’ve sustained in an accident with an 18-wheeler, the Texas Civil Practices and Remedies Code does not require the responsible party or its insurer to volunteer payment. According to law, the plaintiff bears the burden of proof to establish that the liable party caused the accident and the victim’s injuries with his or her negligence. Once those facts have been established, the plaintiff also must prove that the amount of compensation he or she has suggested represents a fair and adequate amount for the harm suffered. In order to protect its assets, the insurance company will likely contest the amount of compensation suggested or deny the liability of its policy holder altogether. To ensure your best chance of securing the maximum compensation you deserve, you need the assistance of an experienced San Antonio tractor trailer accident attorney with a long track record of proving liability and estimating damages in personal injury cases.

Insurance Companies Will Arm Themselves with Experienced Specialists

While you are likely considering whether or not to hire an attorney and shopping around for the right one, the insurance was ready to combat your injury claims before you even made them. Insurance companies keep a staff of attorneys who specialize in fighting personal injury claims on the payroll year round just waiting for truck accidents to happen. Just like the attorneys at Grossman Law Offices are experts at defending the rights of plaintiffs, these defense specialists have made a living protecting the insurance companies, and they know every trick to slant the case in their favor. As soon as the accident happens, the truck driver will report the wreck to the insurance company, which then immediately dispatches its defense specialists to the scene to conduct their investigation. They’re not looking for evidence that will reveal the truth about what happened in the wreck but instead of any shred of proof that will suggest the plaintiff was liable for the accident and thus responsible for his or her own injuries. While you’re sitting around trying to decide whether or not you need a lawyer, the defense specialists will have completed their investigation and fully devised a strategy for combating your claim. If you hesitate before hiring a San Antonio tractor trailer attorney after being injured in a wreck with a commercial truck, then you’re putting your counsel at a severe handicap to keep pace with the defense. Not to mention, if you don’t have an advocate in the scene investigating the accident, then who’s to say whether or not the insurance company’s lawyers will conduct their investigation with integrity.

Pushy Insurance Adjusters

Aggressive insurance adjusters can present just as big an obstacle to securing compensation as experienced defense specialists. This is not your friendly neighborhood insurance adjuster who is interested in helping you. These insurance adjusters’ interests are directly in conflict with yours – they want to deny your claim and protect company profits. Moreover, the insurance companies reserve only their most experienced and shrewdest adjusters to protect their sizable policies for commercial trucks. The adjusters prey upon your previous amicable relationship with your own insurance agent and pretend to be your friend, assuring you that they’re interested in helping you secure compensation for your injuries. They’ll then tell you that they just need you to answer a few questions. In fact, they’re trying to trick you into saying something that admits your own liability for the accident. If you’re totally liable, then they can deny your claim. An admission of partial liability, however, could allow the insurance company to greatly reduce the amount it owes you. In some cases, particularly pushy insurance adjusters will try to bully accident victims into surrendering their right to sue in exchange for a paltry settlement that doesn’t even remotely compensate them for the total extent of their injuries. They’ll tell the victim that the settlement offer is the best they can expect and that the insurance company doesn’t even need to give that. Rest assured that if you don’t have a lawyer and the insurance company is making a settlement offer, then that offer is far less than you actually deserve.

When insurance companies come down from New York or Chicago to negotiate settlements, they love nothing more than finding someone without any legal experience sitting across the negotiating table. They know inexperienced non-lawyers can be manipulated and pushed around. Only an experienced lawyer with a long track record of success can scare the insurance company into respecting a victim’s rights and offering an adequate settlement. With an aggressive San Antonio tractor trailer accident attorney on your side combating the tricks of the insurance companies, their adjusters and lawyers, you can get the compensation you deserve. When the insurance company knows your lawyer has a history of beating them, then they will respond with an equitable offer.

Don’t Trust the Truck Driver

While we’d all like to think that people are essentially good and trustworthy, you should not make the mistake of relying on the sense of decency and honest of the trucker who caused your accident because he or she has every incentive to lie. Truckers who cause accidents and injuries with their negligence resulting in a sizable insurance settlement against the policy of the company who employs them will surely be fired. Moreover, such a trucker with a major black mark on his or her record will not likely find employment any time soon with another reputable trucking company. Considering the state of the economy and the soaring unemployment rate, even some normally trustworthy people will lie to protect their livelihoods and their ability to provide for their families. The world is not a perfect place. Not just truckers, but various witnesses will lie to get what they want in court.

For example, our San Antonio tractor trailer accident attorneys once represented a man who had been accused of driving without his headlights at night, resulting in a wreck with an 18-wheeler. However, our client claimed that his lights were in fact shining at the time of the accident. Thus, our investigators raced to the scene of the accident as soon as we were hired to search for evidence. We noticed a security camera perched outside a nearby store that appeared to have an excellent view of the point of impact in the background of its footage. After obtaining a copy of the video, our attorneys watched it and found rock solid evidence that our client’s lights were in fact on as the truck driver negligently slammed into his car. In the past two decades, our lawyers have conducted thousands of depositions and searched countless accident scenes for evidence. Our attorneys know how to conduct an investigation and a deposition to reveal the lies of witnesses.

Self-Insured can be Even More Treacherous

In order to protect against the accidents and injuries that occur as a result of doing business, some trucking companies opt to set aside a portion of their total assets as opposed to purchasing a typical insurance plan. While the insurance industry is regulated by the federal government, requiring that companies be registered, agents be licensed and ethical standards be followed, no such encumbrances contain self-insured companies. Therefore, seeking just compensation form a self-insured company can be like surviving a barroom brawl. Instead of negotiating with an insurance adjuster, you’ll be dealing with an officer of the company who likely derives at least part of his or her salary from profit sharing and thus is personally vested in the outcome of the negotiations. In other words, any amount of compensation this company officer allows you to have will literally be coming out of his or her bank account. With their personal income at stake, self-insured companies and their officers have been known to stoop to extremely unscrupulous methods to deny claims – bribing witnesses, destroying damning evidence and even threatening victims. If you’re are being bullied or harassed by a self-insured company, then our firm can take legal action to compel them to cease and negotiate with you in good faith.

Legal Knowledge isn’t Enough to Ensure Success

Anyone can learn about the legal concepts involved in a truck accident case by using and online search engine. However, more than knowledge of the law is required to prevail with a personal injury claim. In fact, knowledge of the law comprises only about one fifth of the prerequisites for succeeding with such a claim. Success in court requires skills that can’t be learned with a Google search. You need someone who’s spent years trying such cases and knows the necessary procedures, can develop an effective legal strategy and then carry that strategy to fruition by convincing an insurance company of the wisdom of settling (or a jury of your right to the compensation you deserve) and then carry that strategy to fruition by convincing an insurance company of the wisdom of settling or a jury of your right to the compensation you deserve. If you don’t know how to answer an interrogatory, prepare a demand packet or respond to a list of admissions or react to a counter-suit, then you need the help of someone who does.

Only a San Antonio tractor trailer accident attorney with a strong track record of success can convince an insurance company to give you the settlement you deserve. Grossman Law Offices have won hundreds of cases over the past 20 years, securing many millions of dollars for our clients from every major insurance company in the country. While insurance companies can’t wait to take on non-lawyers, they quail from facing our experienced and successful attorneys. In many cases, they will sit down and negotiate, offering our clients fair settlements pretrial rather than taking us on in court. Thus, our clients can concentrate on recovering from their injuries and trying to rebuild their lives with as little stress and uncertainty as possible.

How Should You Proceed?

Right now, it’s critical that act quickly to preserve the evidence that is vital to your chances of winning your case. Evidence begins to fade quickly after an accident – videos get erased, witnesses disappear and the physical conditions of the accident evolve. For every moment that you wait to hire a lawyer and allow your counsel to begin investigating, the proof you need to win your case is disappearing. You need to hire a lawyer before the trail of evidence is lost. In order to find proof of the liability of the truck driver, the trucking company or any other negligent third parties, our attorneys conduct a thorough investigation of the accident scene as soon as we’re hired. We spare no expense for our investigation while charging no out-of-pocket expenditure to our clients. We locate and interview any available witnesses, sequester and examine all vehicles involved in the wreck, measure the distance from skid marks to the point of impact, search for any video or photographic evidence, consult with any responding policemen and review their reports. Any evidence we find is cataloged, so that it will be admissible in court. If there is evidence to prove our clients’ case, then we will find it.

For instance, the families of two men who suffered a terrible wreck with a tractor trailer once hired us to represent them. The driver was killed, and his passenger was critically injured when their car slammed into the trailer at night. The truck driver in this case had attempted to make an excessively tight turn only to get the trailer stuck in the middle of road, completely obstructing the ability to safely pass. Since darkness had fallen, the only part of the trailer that was visible to oncoming traffic were the small taillights at the curb, leaving the body of the trailer virtually invisible to drivers coming down the road in either direction. Our clients’ loved ones rounded the bend and crashed directly into the trailer, ripping off the top of the car, killing the driver instantly, and sending the passenger into intensive care. Our attorneys raced to the scene after being hired the next day only to find the totaled car had already been towed to a nearby salvage yard. When our attorneys arrived at the salvage yard to examine the damaged vehicle, they were shocked to find the car was missing headlights. Worried about our clients’ ability to recover damages for the death and injury suffered by their loved ones, our attorneys continued to investigate, noticing a security system at the salvage yard. When we obtained and watched the video, we were again shocked – this time to discover the truck drive breaking into the salvage yard and stealing our clients’ headlights. When the trucking company claimed that our client had been driving without his lights, we had their lie caught in the headlights, if you’ll excuse the pun.

However, this case could easily have been lost had the family of the injured and killed men waited even one more day before hiring us. The security cameras in the salvage yard were set to tape over their own memory every 48 hours, so the video would have been lost. You must hire a lawyer now, so that he or she can begin investigating before the evidence you need will be gone.

Grossman Law Offices can Help You

The San Antonio tractor trailer accident attorneys at Grossman Law Offices have been resolving personal injury cases resulting from commercial truck accidents for 20 years, so we know how to help you. We will put our expertise to work for you, if you’ve been injured or a loved one has been killed in an accident with an 18-wheeler and secure the fair and adequate compensation you deserve for the pain and suffering you have sustained. After taking on every major insurance company in the country and winning millions of dollars for hundreds of clients, we know how to cope with any eventuality that might arise in your case. If you or a family member has been injured in a trucking accident in San Antonio or anywhere in the Lone Star State, call us today for a free consultation on our toll-free line at 1-855-393-0000. We’re happy to discuss the details of your case, explain any legal concepts you don’t grasp, and tell you how we can help.