Trucking Accident Liability

Holding Drivers and Trucking Companies Accountable

In most 18-wheeler accidents, the trucking company and the driver are at fault. Texas, Tarrant County or the city of Dallas or Fort Worth may also be responsible for poor road conditions. An auto part manufacturer, a construction company or another driver may also be named as defendants.

Fort Worth trucking accident lawyer Bill Berenson at Berenson Injury Law has handled car and truck accident recovery cases exclusively for 40 years. This level of focus has allowed our firm to refine our investigation and trial preparation process to hold the negligent parties liable for damages. We have the resources and the knowledge to go toe-to-toe with large transportation corporations whose actions put your safety on the line.

Collecting Evidence of Corporate Liability

The aftermath of a tractor-trailer crash is a chaotic scene. Rescue workers try to save lives and police direct traffic away from the crash site as investigators determine what happened. Amidst the confusion, the trucking corporation usually sends its own team to mitigate damages and deflect responsibility. Trucking companies commonly push the blame onto their drivers or onto the injured occupants of the passenger vehicles.

Serving people in Fort Worth and beyond, trucking accident lawyer Bill Berenson has regularly encountered this scenario during his nearly four-decades career. He takes decisive, effective steps to prove corporate liability and recover damages.

We perform our own thorough investigation of the crash site, including road conditions, debris scatter, skid marks and positions of the vehicles. We interview witnesses while their memories are still fresh. We inspect the tractor-trailer for clues, typically petitioning the court for an emergency injunction to prevent the corporation from dismantling or “repairing” the truck and consequently destroying crucial evidence. We analyze black box data to reconstruct the driver’s behavior and the truck’s condition in the moments before impact. We also consult with some of the most knowledgeable experts in the trucking industry who create a comprehensive report and can testify on your behalf. Our exhaustive preparations help us get to the bottom of what happened and who is liable.

Liability of the Trucking Company

Whereas the driver may be liable for his actions, the trucking company typically carries some or all of the blame. For this reason, our trucking accident attorney helps Fort Worth residents and other victims pursue the big transportation entities involved in the crash. We hold the company liable for:

• Vicarious liability
  Vicarious liability is a legal concept in which the employer is held responsible for its employees’ negligence that occurred during the course of business. The trucking corporation is, thus, liable for a driver’s reckless driving just by virtue of being his employer.
• Negligent hiring
  Trucking companies have a duty to conduct a thorough background check and to decline to hire recruits with a history of accidents and excessive traffic citations. The employer also has a responsibility to discipline or terminate reckless drivers.
• Negligent training
  Many trucking companies have shifted responsibility to independent contractors and expect them to pay for their own schooling and training. This trend has created a workforce of less experienced drivers who are unprepared to effectively handle emergency situations. We demonstrate the gaps in skills that the company negligently failed to address.
• Negligent policies
  Often employment policies push drivers to act negligently. For example, an unrealistic deadline could pressure a driver into speeding to make the delivery on time. Likewise, demanding immediate response from drivers could encourage texting and cell phone use while behind the wheel.
• Poor truck maintenance
  Tire blowouts and brake wear render a tractor-trailer extremely dangerous to the driver and to the public. The trucking corporation has a duty to conduct regular inspections of its fleet and to repair unsafe conditions.
• Negligence per se
  A violation of the law is negligence per se. Therefore, our firm investigates possible noncompliance with regulations governing hours of service, electronic logging devices, texting while driving, use of a handheld cell phone while driving, drunk or drugged driving and excessive speeding.

Hold the Negligent Corporation and Driver Liable for Your Injuries

Call Bill Berenson at 817-885-8000 to schedule a free consultation with a Fort Worth trucking accident attorney. Berenson Injury Law takes your claim on contingency, so you do not owe attorneys’ fees or expenses until we recover damages in your case.