We rely on commercial vehicles every single day, but distracted and reckless truck drivers, truck loaders, and other trucking company employees also make San Antonio’s roads dangerous. If your someone you love suffered life-changing injuries after a wreck, a San Antonio flatbed truck accident lawyer can help you get justice.
Crosley Law helps crash victims and their families get compensation for medical bills, property damage, and other expenses caused by truck driver negligence. If you have been a victim of a flatbed or semi accident and want to better understand your legal options, schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with Crosley Law by calling us at 210-LAW-3000 | 210-529-3000 or taking advantage of our simple online form:
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Recovering Hundreds of Millions for San Antonio Families
Our San Antonio commercial vehicle lawyers have earned a fearsome reputation with insurance companies and their attorneys. We prepare every case like it’s going to trial and use sophisticated legal strategies that get results.
- $20 million: A delivery truck struck our client, who was on a bicycle. Our aggressive tactics resulted in a settlement that will care for him for years to come.
- $9 million: Our client was walking home when a delivery driver hit him, causing severe injuries. It was one of the largest recoveries for this type of case in the country that year.
- $2.1 million: A work truck rear-ended the vehicle that our client, a three-year-old child, was riding in. He suffered a traumatic brain injury and facial fractures.
San Antonio Commercial Truck Accidents 101
While it would be nice to report that flatbed truck and semi-truck accidents are rare incidents, tens of thousands of them happen in Texas every year. If you find yourself a victim of a San Antonio truck accident, contact Crosley Law and request a free consultation.
Our law firm demands compensation for our clients’ medical bills, lost income, property damage, pain and suffering, and other expenses caused by truck driver negligence, and we’d welcome the opportunity to do the same for you.
Flatbed Trucking Accidents: The Essentials
While commercial trucks and semi-trailers can be lumped together into a general category, it is worth singling out flatbed trucks as a specific entity. In this instance, we are referring to the large vehicles on the road that have a flat body (“bed”), without any walls or roof.
Flatbeds were more commonly used in the transport of all kinds of cargo in the past, but now they are mainly utilized for immense or oddly shaped loads that don’t fit inside a standard semi-trailer. Typically, the cargo is secured to the tractor trailer bed with straps or chains. When fastened correctly with proper equipment, this system can work well but that doesn’t always happen.
Sometimes, cargo is improperly loaded onto the flatbed, or a strap breaks, and heavy objects fall off the back and cause an accident. This kind of accident can happen when the object hits your car directly or you need to swerve out of the way to avoid it (and then crash into other vehicles or physical structures). Even smaller items on flatbed trucks pose a risk, as slamming on your brakes or swerving to avoid them when they fall could result in an accident.
Other times, the driver is distracted, drowsy, or decides to break the rules. Many truck wrecks are due to speeding, maintenance issues, distracted driving, and other driver errors.
Most flatbed truck accidents are preventable.
If the responsible parties met their obligations, there would be fewer “commercial truck accidents” on our roads:
- Following San Antonio’s rules of the road and trucking regulations
- Replacing worn equipment
- Using appropriate fastening materials
- Not overtightening any straps
These obligations are not always met, and a personal injury attorney can help you demand justice and accountability.
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Most flatbed truck accidents are preventable.
Determining Liability in a Flatbed Truck Accident
Many times, there are more people at fault than just the truck driver. To determine liability in a flatbed truck accident, your legal team at Crosley Law will carefully review all available evidence. Depending on your case, this may include:
- The commercial vehicle, your car, and any other vehicles involved
- Road conditions, debris, and skid marks from the accident site
- Dash cam, GPS, and other company data
- Police reports
- Witness statements
- The commercial trucking company’s human resources documents (employment records, training)
- Truck driver activity logs
In some cases, court orders are needed to obtain a release of the truck for inspection and records from the trucking company.
Accident reconstruction could also be integral for interpreting crash site data and conducting a proper forensic analysis. These important elements of large truck accidents can be difficult for a non-legal professional to arrange and procure. When you hire experienced truck accident lawyers, though, they can handle matters like these for you.
If you have a truck accident case and are going up against a commercial trucking company or insurance company, you may want to seek an experienced truck accident lawyer to stand by your side. Large companies have abundant resources at their disposal, and this can be intimidating for accident victims who already have so much to deal with from the truck accident itself. Hiring personal injury lawyer experienced in car accidents involving large trucks can help to level the playing field.
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Potential At-Fault Parties in a San Antonio Truck Accident
There are a variety of possible parties who could be liable in a flatbed or semi-truck accident. And one of the reasons you might want to consider hiring a San Antonio truck accident lawyer is to have an experienced attorney who knows how to investigate the matter.
Crosley Law has a proven track record of helping numerous clients throughout the years fight for what they deserve. This means we aren’t afraid to go against an insurance company that won’t offer a fair settlement or a commercial truck company that isn’t accepting their responsibility in a trucking accident that results in lost wages, medical expenses, and disruption to your normal life.
The Flatbed Truck Driver
In some cases, it is determined that a negligent truck driver was at fault for the accident. Distracted driving, driving under the influence of drugs (prescription, OTC, illegal) or alcohol, and fatigued driving are all examples of negligence by a truck driver that can cause semi-truck accidents. Other possible decisions that could lead to an accident include speeding and trying to push through poor weather conditions.
Additionally, cargo that hangs over the edge of a truck bed by more than four feet in the back or four inches on the sides must be flagged. If there is not a bright flag indicating the extended size of the truck’s load, drivers may have a hard time recognizing that items are hanging over the back edge. Because this is a clear safety concern, the flag plays a key role for safety and is required by law. Should you be involved in a flatbed truck accident where material was not properly flagged, your truck accident lawyer will make a case for negligence.
In addition to following the typical traffic laws that apply to all motorists, flatbed truck drivers must conduct periodic safety checks and secure cargo in accordance with state and federal regulations. If the driver responsible for a semi-truck accident you were in failed on any of those fronts, your San Antonio truck accident attorney might be able to establish breach of duty to help bolster your case.
The Trucking Company
Between their responsibilities for both vehicles and employees, trucking companies hold a tremendous amount of control over factors that can cause or contribute to semi-truck accidents. These include matters like truck maintenance, employee workloads, and performing adequate background checks (to ensure they aren’t employing drivers who rightfully should not be driving a large truck like a flatbed).
Because trucking companies are responsible for so many factors that could play a role in trucking accidents, they must be insured. Both the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and Department of Transportation (DOT) require proof of liability insurance for commercial trucking companies to apply for their interstate Operating Authority (also known as an MC number).
If you’ve been involved in a San Antonio truck accident, you should place your trust in a law firm that has experience in going against insurers for commercial trucks. At Crosley Law, we know what it takes to go against insurance companies and win.
RELATED: How Does Insurance Work With Commercial Truck Accident Liability?
Other Companies That Load Cargo Onto Flatbed Trucks
Since cargo isn’t always loaded by trucking companies, it’s possible that another company is liable for your accident. In this instance, the improperly loaded or secured cargo may have shifted during transit, thereby causing a jackknife accident. That responsibility can fall on the third party, and not the trucking company itself.
Another plausible scenario is if any of the truck’s load fell off the bed and into the road. If you then hit the cargo, swerve out of the way to avoid it, and hit another vehicle, or brake suddenly, it could cause an auto accident that isn’t your fault. Your San Antonio truck accident lawyer should be able to ensure that the rightful party is held responsible.
Manufacturing Companies
If the commercial truck driver drove responsibly, the trucking company followed routine maintenance procedures and performed due diligence in hiring drivers, and the company that loaded the cargo did their job correctly, a truck accident could still happen. So, then who would be the responsible party? Your San Antonio personal injury attorney would need to investigate the matter, but it could be the company that manufactured the straps or chains that were supposed to secure the cargo. Another potentially liable party could be the truck manufacturer (if faulty parts caused the semi-truck accident).
For instances like these, an important investigation your truck accident lawyer needs to conduct is seeing if the commercial driver had used all parts in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions and specifications. If not, this constitutes negligence on the driver’s behalf. But if the driver followed the right processes and used appropriate equipment, the manufacturer of the parts or large truck could possibly be held liable.
Experienced San Antonio Truck Accident Lawyers Who Fight for You
Going up against an insurance company can be an intimidating experience, especially if you are thinking about doing it all by yourself. And if you are considering this, it’s important to be aware that they have greater resources at their disposal to fight a case than you probably do. Along with that, insurance companies have vast experience in these kinds of situations. For victims of truck accidents, though, it’s quite rare to go through something like this more than once in a lifetime.
So, does that mean you shouldn’t seek the financial compensation you rightfully deserve? Not at all. It just means that you may want to consult with an experienced lawyer who has a proven track record of finding justice for their clients.
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Crosley Law Is the Smart Choice for Your Truck Accident Case
The benefits of having experienced injury attorneys from Crosley Law on your side are numerous. To start, your lawyer will deal with the insurance company, not you. This is important because insurers will usually attempt to push around victims, but they won’t find success in trying to bully or us. We have too much experience in personal injury law to be intimidated by them or affected by any tactics they try to throw at us.
Another advantage of bringing Crosley Law to your side is that we collect, analyze, and organize evidence as we build your case. We have resources to find and obtain evidence that someone who isn’t trained in personal injury law might not be able to. And then we use it to establish who is really at fault for your accident so you can be properly compensated.
Our goal is to help you win maximum compensation for all damages you incurred. If you tried to go up against the trucking company’s insurer on your own, you might settle for an amount that seems like a lot but isn’t actually fair for the damages you’ve incurred. For example, it’s easy not to account for potential future lost wages. But Crosley Law won’t settle for anything less than a just amount.
Along with your free case evaluation, you are also eligible for our no-fee policy: If we take on your case, you only pay if we get you a settlement or win your case in court. We offer this because accidents happen to good people, and you deserve fair compensation for any serious injuries, medical expenses, and all other damages.
Call 210-LAW-3000 | 210-529-3000 or use our simple online contact form to schedule a free consultation.
The content provided here is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject.
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Crosley Law Firm, PC is a professional corporation of trial lawyers focused on representing individuals and families who have suffered serious personal injuries or wrongful death. If you’ve been injured, fill out the form for a free consultation, or call 210-LAW-3000.