San Antonio Truck Wreck Lawyer

• Practices Areas
• 18-Wheeler Accident
• San Antonio Truck Wreck Lawyer

San Antonio Truck Wreck Attorneys

San Antonio has witnessed significant economic growth in recent years, and a large part of the credit goes to its roadways that enable commercial trucks and 18 wheelers to carry a heavy interstate trade volume. The massive size and weight of semis and tractor-trailers moving freight through San Antonio makes them more dangerous and accident-prone on the road for other people.

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San Antonio Truck Wreck Attorneys

(888) 987-0005

Our Truck Accident attorneys are led by Clay Miller who is Board-Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law. Less than 3% of all Texas attorneys have achieved board certification and less than that have a personal injury trial law board certification which required numerous jury trials and the passing a rigorous exam in the specialty.

Our law firm has recovered more than $1.3 Billion in settlements for clients in all kinds of personal injury, wrongful death, car accident cases, truck accidents, construction accidents and even medical malpractice lawsuits.

If you have suffered injuries in a truck wreck or someone you love was killed in a wrongful death truck accident with a commercial truck, you may be entitled to significant financial damages from the liable parties. The award winning San Antonio truck wreck lawyers at Miller Weisbrod Olesky are determined to fight for your rights, and will not rest until you receive justice and get fully compensated for your injuries and losses caused by a truck wreck.

Why You Need a Law Firm Specializing in Truck Wreck Claims?

In truck wreck personal injury or wrongful death lawsuits in San Antonio, the success of your case will greatly depend on whether you have an experienced San Antonio truck wreck lawyer on your side with a history of winning large settlements after a serious truck wreck.

Our client was hit head on by a company truck. Her vascular system was badly damaged and over the course of a month her lower leg’s blood flow was so compromised that serious gangrene set in leading to an amputation. We recovered $7,000,000 Dollars for our client.

Fighting Powerful Defendants

Unlike passenger vehicle accidents, truck wrecks often lead to catastrophic injuries, permanent disability or wrongful death of the victims. This means the defendants, including insurance companies and large trucking companies, have a much higher financial stake and will use all their legal firepower and even bullying tactics to deny or diminish the injured victim’s legal claim.

Miller Weisbrod Olesky has the resources and winning track record to take on these powerful defendants and level the playing field. Once hired we will immediately begin to collect evidence with our in-house investigation team and retain expert witnesses such as accident reconstructionists to maximize the preparation of your case.

What is an accident reconstructionist?

Accident reconstruction is a field dedicated to the analysis of factors that lead to a crash. Both government agencies and companies in the private sector hire accident reconstructionists to assist with determining the cause of collisions involving a wide variety of vehicles.

This intense investigation process combined with our record of large settlements and jury verdicts gives us negotiating power with the defendants, who know that we will not hesitate to take your case to trial if they fail to pay you the maximum compensation you deserve.

Proving Liability of the Trucking Company

Unlike most passenger vehicle accident cases, where the straightforward goal is to prove the driver’s negligence, in truck wrecks the objective of a seasoned attorney will be to identify multiple at-fault parties and hold each one of them liable for maximum damages. Trucking companies in San Antonio often have vicarious liability (which means, they are indirectly responsible for the truck driver’s negligent actions.)

Sometimes third parties, such as a cargo loader or truck maintenance provider may also be at fault. The burden of proof in these cases lies on the injured victim, so it is crucial to obtain evidence and prove the negligence of these defendants in order to claim the largest possible damages on your behalf. At Miller Weisbrod Olesky, our skilled San Antonio truck wreck lawyers will move fast to secure evidence and pursue an aggressive legal strategy to get you the highest possible compensation you deserve.

Types of Violations Committed by Trucking Companies in San Antonio

To establish the liability of a trucking company, our San Antonio truck wreck lawyers will deeply investigate and provide evidence of potential violations committed by the company. These violations may include:

Violation of FMCSA's Hours of Service Rules by the Trucking Company

The trucking company may disregard the federal hours of service (HOS) regulations through various means, such as:

• Imposing demanding schedules on drivers, leading them to exceed their hours of service unofficially by speeding or making up additional miles.
• Offering drivers bonuses based on unrealistic driving goals, creating an incentive for them to work beyond their allowed hours and potentially falsify their records.
• Compensating drivers based on the number of loads delivered, motivating them to work off the clock and omit such hours from their logs in order to maximize their load count.
• Implementing policies that favor drivers who regularly violate the rules, creating an unfair advantage over those who adhere to the regulations.
• Threatening drivers with retaliation if they refuse to exceed their authorized schedule.

Negligent Hiring Practices of the Trucking Company

Negligent hiring refers to a legal concept asserting that a trucking company neglected to exercise reasonable care in the process of hiring a skilled and competent truck driver. In accordance with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations, a trucking company is obligated to conduct a thorough investigation into the applicant's background before hiring them as a truck driver.

In addition, all trucking companies are required to maintain a driver qualification file, which serves as documentary record of their adherence to FMCSA rules regarding the hiring of drivers. Hiring less qualified or inexperienced truck drivers, conducting inadequate background checks, or failing to maintain proper hiring and training records can create liability of the trucking company for your accident and injuries.

Negligent Retention of Truck Drivers with a Poor Record

Negligent retention occurs when a trucking company retains a truck driver who, despite being initially qualified, no longer possesses the qualifications necessary to operate a truck. This could be attributed to a history of accidents, substance abuse issues, or health problems. If a trucking company chooses to retain such a driver and they subsequently cause an accident, the company may bear responsibility for the consequences.

By retaining a driver who is no longer qualified, the trucking company assumes the risk of potential accidents or incidents that may arise due to the driver's diminished abilities. It’s crucial for trucking companies to assess and monitor the ongoing qualifications and fitness of their drivers to ensure the safety of both their employees and the public. Failure to take appropriate action in cases of negligent retention can result in legal liability if an accident occurs.

Our San Antonio truck wreck lawyers will closely evaluate these aspects to hold the trucking company liable for any negligence that contributed to your accident and resulting injuries.

Liability of Highway Construction Companies for Your Truck Accident

During highway construction and repair projects, it is the responsibility of the highway construction companies involved to prioritize traffic safety. Regrettably, highway construction sites do not always meet the necessary safety standards, leading to numerous car and truck accidents attributed to the negligence of highway construction companies and their workers.

Inadequate markings and unclear signage within construction zones can create confusion for drivers, potentially obstructing their vision and increasing the likelihood of accidents. Malfunctioning flashing lights on barricades and other traffic control devices can pose significant risks, particularly during nighttime when visibility is reduced. Even drivers familiar with the area can become disoriented while navigating through the maze of cones and barricades. The presence of flashing lights can also cause distractions and impair drivers' visual perception.

It's essential for highway construction companies to address these issues and ensure the proper safety measures are in place to protect motorists. Failure to meet these obligations can result in the highway construction company being held liable for any truck wrecks that occur in San Antonio as a result of their negligence.

Liability of the Cargo Loading Company for Your Truck Accident

Improper cargo loading can result in truck rollover accidents, especially when the cargo is not secured correctly or placed in a way that creates a significant weight imbalance. These kinds of accidents often occur when drivers make sharp turns. In these cases, the cargo loading company may bear substantial liability for the truck accident and resulting injuries.

Our San Antonio truck wreck lawyers will examine the role of various parties whose negligence could contribute to improper cargo loading, such as:

• The driver, who might have neglected to assess the cargo balance before going ahead with the trip.
• The workers responsible for loading the cargo, who may have disregarded the required procedures and plans to ensure proper and balanced loading.
• The cargo loading company that failed to provide adequate guidance to the workers and supervisors.
• The trucking company, which may have not established sufficient protocols to mitigate the risk of improper cargo loading.

Liability of the Truck Maintenance Company for Your Truck Accident

Trucking companies, along with third-party maintenance providers, have the responsibility of ensuring the proper maintenance of their fleets. Essential components such as brakes, engine parts and tires play a crucial role in ensuring the safe operation of commercial trucks. If the repair and maintenance teams fail to adhere to federal and state regulations, they can be held accountable for any severe accidents that occur due to truck breakdowns.

When brake pads become worn, they increase the stopping distance, making it more challenging for truck drivers to perform emergency maneuvers. Similarly, worn-out tires are more susceptible to blowouts, which can potentially lead to major highway truck wrecks. Proper maintenance practices can help identify and prevent these issues. Neglecting to do so can result in serious liability for both the third-party truck maintenance company and the trucking company. Our San Antonio truck wreck attorneys will investigate these issues to establish liability of all the negligent parties.

Hours of Service (HOS) Regulations for Trucks in San Antonio

According to the FMCSA’s HOS regulations commercial truck drivers and trucking companies are subject to the following hours of service rules:

• Maximum driving time of 11 hours after an off-duty period of at least 10 hours consecutively.
• Not driving beyond the 14th hour (including off-duty time).
• Mandatory break time of 30 minutes or more after 8 consecutive hours of driving.
• Up to 60 hours of driving in a 7-day workweek, or up to 70 hours in an 8-day workweek.
• Mandatory off-duty period of 34 hours off-duty after the completion of a workweek.

Driver Fatigue: A Key Cause Of San Antonio Truck Wrecks

An Allstate research report on driving behavior in the US ranked San Antonio among the cities with the worst driving records and having an accident likelihood of more than 24% during a driver’s lifetime. Another study from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) showed that truck driver fatigue was a contributing factor in about one in three commercial truck wrecks.

According to the study, a vast majority of truck drivers report feeling fatigued or drowsy at some point of time behind the wheel. Truck driver fatigue in these cases could be physical fatigue from a demanding job that requires high-level attention and quick reflexes for prolonged periods or simply tiredness or drowsiness from a lack of sleep.

Fatigued Driving = Drunk Driving

Studies have shown that a commercial truck driver who hasn’t slept for 24 hours has an impairment equivalent to that of a drunk driver with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.10 (well beyond the 0.04 permissible limit for truck operators in San Antonio.)

The effects of fatigued or drowsy driving are similar to that of driving while intoxicated, such as:

• Difficulty maintaining focus, keeping eyes open, or holding up head
• Distracted thoughts that stray from the road
• Swerving, tailgating, or drifting between lanes
• Abrupt jerking movements of the steering wheel
• Delayed reaction times
• Inconsistent driving speed
• Running stoplights, missing exits, and neglecting to use turn signals
• Memory lapses and inability to recall recently passed situations

These symptoms are concerning for any driver, but they pose an even greater risk for truck drivers who transport massive or oversized cargo loads. The dangers escalate when operating an 18-wheeler or big rig under these conditions.

Trucking Company Liability in San Antonio for Fatigue Driving Accidents

Trucking companies in San Antonio can be held liable for the fatigued or drowsy driving behavior of truck drivers that result in catastrophic truck wrecks. Examples of trucking company negligence in these cases include:

• Neglecting to enforce the submission of required reports and documentation, such as hours-of-service logs or pre-trip inspection reports
• Not suspending or terminating truck drivers diagnosed with medical conditions that make them unfit to operate a commercial truck
• Encouraging or requiring drivers to engage in unsafe or reckless truck driving behaviors, such as speeding, aggressive driving, or exceeding hours of service limits
• Allowing truck drivers to choose their own routes or not enforcing adherence to routes confirmed as safe by the trucking company
• Failing to impose disciplinary measures against truck drivers who engage in unsafe behaviors, including the failure to terminate truck drivers who pose a significant risk of causing accidents
• Failing to regularly check truck drivers' driving records for recent traffic violations, both on and off the job
• Not implementing a random drug testing program or testing truck drivers suspected of drug or alcohol abuse
• Failing to maintain updated employment records for commercial vehicle drivers
• Failing to review an applicant's driving record to ensure they are licensed to operate a commercial truck and have no history of accidents or safety issues
• Neglecting to perform a background check on a truck driver applicant
• Omitting pre-service drug and alcohol testing of trucking employees
• Neglecting to require mandatory medical fitness screenings for truck driver applicants
• Neglecting to document incidents or complaints and disregarding people's complaints regarding the company's commercial vehicle drivers

Historic Shortage of Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) Drivers in San Antonio

According to the estimates of the American Trucking Association (ATA), there is a historic shortage of skilled and experienced truck drivers in the trucking industry today with nearly 100,000 unfilled positions industry-wide. On the one hand, trucking companies do not want to pay sufficiently to hire qualified drivers, and on the other hand, they provide poor working conditions and pressure drivers directly or indirectly to meet unrealistic delivery deadlines.

At Miller Weisbrod Olesky, our experienced truck wreck attorneys in San Antonio will investigate and prove if the trucking company was responsible for the driver’s hours of service violations, which contributed to your accident. We will also investigate whether the trucking company lowered its hiring standards, ignored background checks or red flags about the driver’s risky behavior, or created systems and incentives that encouraged drivers to commit FMCSA violations, which led to your accident and injury.

Significance of Truck Driver’s Log Book

A log book is a traditional method truck drivers use to record their service hours. The log book must account for all 24 hours of each day of the workweek, including off-days. The log book must also include at least the previous 7 days’ entries on any given date, apart from total miles of driving, total hours, special remarks, and shipping details.

If the truck driver has a pattern of making errors in recording logs or falsifying the logs, our investigative team along with our San Antonio truck wreck attorneys will cross-check the entries with other available evidence to prove the truck driver’s FMCSA violations and the negligent supervision of the trucking company.

Significance of the Truck’s Black Box

Most trucking companies in San Antonio have installed electronic data recorders (EDR), which can reveal crucial information about what happened in the moments leading to your accident. The moment you sign up with Miller Weisbrod Olesky, we will take swift action to preserve this black box data, have it downloaded in our presence, and get it analyzed by our accident reconstruction experts.

Critical information related to the engine use, speed of the truck, braking information, and communication of the driver will help us determine the liability of the defendants.

About Electronic Data Recorders

Statute of Limitations for Truck Wreck Claims in San Antonio

According to the Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code Section 16.003, you have two years from the date of your accident and injury or two years from the date of wrongful death of a loved one to file your claim. Time is of essence in these cases because evidence may disappear, get diluted, distorted, or tampered with if you too much time passes.

The goal of our San Antonio truck wreck lawyers at Miller Weisbrod Olesky is to seize the advantage over the defendants and build rock-solid evidence to get you the financial compensation you rightful deserve for your injuries and losses. Call us for a free, no-obligations consultation. We work on a contingency fee basis, which means you don’t pay anything unless we obtain for you the compensation you deserve.

Click the Number Below to Call
San Antonio Truck Wreck Attorneys

(888) 987-0005

Protect Your Right to Financial Compensation

Our San Antonio Truck Wreck Attorneys will explore every possibility to increase your financial compensation and hold all the negligent parties liable for damages. Once you have us on your side, we will move aggressively to obtain truck data recorder evidence, driver logs, witness information, and evidence from the crash site in order to build a strong claim for damages, while you and your family can focus on your recovery.

We will fight to make sure you get all financial compensation you deserve through settlement against the responsible trucking company and their insurers or take your case to trial with through preparation of evidence and a winning legal strategy if they fail to pay you the money you are owed. Schedule your free consultation with our legal team today. Our proven record of success in obtaining substantial settlements and verdicts for our injured clients speaks for itself.

If you were hurt or a loved one was severely injured or tragically killed in a trucking accident, immediate investigation and concerted legal action may be necessary to protect your right to seek maximum recovery. Contact our San Antonio Truck Wreck Attorneys for a free consultation.

Meet The Leader In Truck Accident Litigation

With a 30-year history heading the Truck Accident Department of Miller Weisbrod Olesky, firm partner Clay Miller has a proven record of holding trucking companies accountable and achieving multi-million dollar settlements and court verdicts for his clients. Clay has been consistently listed in Super Lawyers as one of the Best Lawyers in Texas, published in Texas Monthly, for over 15 years.

Clay is regularly invited to speak to Trial Lawyer Groups around Houston and across the state of Texas on the topics of trucking laws, trial tactics and techniques, and how to prepare evidence and a winning legal strategy in Truck Accident Cases throughout Texas. Clay was the featured speaker for the Texas Trial Lawyers Association on the new changes to trucking laws passed by the state of Texas.

Our truck accident legal team includes Josh Birmingham, who is currently on the Dallas Trial Lawyers Board of Directors and served as the president of the Mesquite Bar Association for four years. Josh was named Thomson Reuters | Texas Super Lawyers Rising Star in 2016 and 2017.

We also have on our team Michael Orth, a board certified personal injury trial lawyer who has spent the last decade representing injured Texans and their families. Michael’s success in scores of personal injury cases across federal and state courtrooms has earned him the coveted Board Certification in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Led by a formidable legal team with an extraordinary record of court verdicts and settlements in truck accident cases, Miller Weisbrod Olesky is regularly recognized by the US News and World Report as one of the top injury law firms in the United States.

Miller Weisbrod Olesky San Antonio Truck Wreck Attorneys