Following a Texas accident involving a large truck or commercial vehicle, the injured party will need to file a claim with the trucking company’s insurance. Often, though, the trucking company’s lawyers will mount challenges to your truck accident claim. They will try to blame the accident on the victim. If you’ve been in an accident with a commercial truck driver, here are some defenses used by trucking company attorneys to prepare you for the fight.
In a claim for insurance benefits or in a personal injury lawsuit for damages, the negligence of the responsible party must be established. What’s more, it must also be proved that negligence was the direct cause of the accident and that the accident was the direct cause of injuries. This is known as proof of causation.
In a truck accident claim/lawsuit, attorneys will most likely try to argue that there is no proof of causation. The trucker’s law team may also imply that your injuries cannot be attributed to the truck driver’s actions.
In Texas, Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 33 addresses proportionate responsibility. Under this law, a claimant cannot recover damages from another party if the claimant was 51 percent or more at fault for the accident.
What’s more, if the claimant can pursue a claim/suit then the percent of damages that that claimant can recover will be reduced by the claimant’s percentage of fault. In other words, if you were 40 percent at fault for an accident with a truck driver that resulted in $80,000 worth of damages, you would only be able to recover $48,000, or 60 percent of that.
As such, the attorneys may try to prove that you were more than 50 percent at fault for the accident, or that you were at least partially at fault for the accident.
If you’ve been in an accident with a commercial truck in Texas, you’ll want an attorney who can help you to fight back when it comes to truck company attorneys’ defenses. An attorney can also help you to prove the fault of the truck company/truck driver, and help you to file your claim within the state’s statute of limitations, which is two years in Texas.
At the Law Office of Julie Johnson, PLLC, we’re ready to get to work on your claim today. Reach us at 214-290-8001.