Large commercial trucks are essential links in the nation’s supply chain, bringing goods and services into Texas. In addition to freight carriers, Texas highways and communities are crowded with construction trucks, delivery trucks, and even tank-like garbage trucks.
As much as Texans rely on large commercial trucks, these immense vehicles far outweigh standard cars, leaving motorists vulnerable to catastrophic injuries and fatalities in truck accidents in Baytown and the surrounding Texas communities. If you lost a loved in a fatal truck accident, reach out to our proven Baytown truck accident attorneys for a free consultation today.
What Causes Fatal Truck Accidents In Baytown?
A fully loaded truck can legally weigh as much as 80,000 pounds and share the road with average 4,000-pound cars. Trucks also have large blind spot areas on both sides, and are difficult to operate and maneuver. The most common causes of fatal truck accidents in Baytown include the following:
- Speeding
- Unsafe lane changes (blind spot accidents)
- Distracted driving
- Drowsy driving
- Improper merging
- Failure to yield the right of way
- Tire blowouts
- Improper passing
- Wide turn accidents
- Improper braking
- Inexperienced driving
- Inadequate truck maintenance
- Unbalanced or improperly secured freight
- Equipment failures
- Impaired driving
The trucking industry falls under regulation by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). When a trucking company or driver cuts corners, takes chances, or fails to adhere to FMCSA regulations, the results can be a fatal accident. About 70% of truck accident fatalities and injuries occur to those in other vehicles, not the truck driver.
Compensation For a Truck Accident Death In Baytown, TX
Although no legal action can bring back a loved one who suffered fatal injuries in a truck accident in Texas, the closest surviving family member has a right to recover compensation for their economic losses, grief, and anguish. Our Baytown wrongful death attorney can help walk you through the legal process during this difficult time.
This could be a spouse, parent, or child under the state’s wrongful death laws. Compensation in these cases varies depending on the family’s financial losses, but may include a recovery for damages such as the following:
- Reimbursement for medical expenses if the fatally injured truck accident victim received emergency medical care before their death
- Funeral and burial expenses
- Compensation for the decedent’s lost income for the number of earning years they would have had remaining
- Compensation for lost benefits, such as health insurance and retirement fund contributions
- Compensation for loss of household services
- Compensation for emotional damages, like grief, anguish, and loss of companionship, consortium, or a parent or child’s love and support
A successful claim after a fatal vehicle accident in Baytown gives a lost loved one back their voice for justice through financial accountability.
Who May Be Held Liable for Damages After a Fatal Truck Accident In Baytown?
Proving liability after a fatal truck accident is typically a more complex process compared to accidents between two privately owned cars. The trucking industry involves multiple separate entities that could be liable or share portions of liability, depending on the circumstances of the accident. Common liable parties include:
- The truck driver
- The trucking company
- A negligent truck maintenance company
- A negligent freight loading company
- The manufacturer of a defective part
Less commonly, an investigation may reveal other parties at fault or who contributed to the cause of a truck accident fatality. For instance, a negligent road maintenance agency or the manufacturer of a defective truck or trailer part.
How Can a Baytown Fatal Truck Accident Attorney Help?
An experienced Baytown truck accident lawyer maximizes your family’s compensation after a truck accident fatality by pursuing all available avenues of compensation under the state’s modified comparative negligence laws, which assign a portion of liability to all involved parties.
Call Linebaugh Dority & Associates, LLP for a free consultation with our personal injury attorney in Baytown.