Fatal Trucking Accident Cases - Houston, Texas

Our Houston attorneys have years of experience investigating & litigating fatal truck accident cases.

A tractor trailer, semi-truck, commercial truck, or 18 wheeler can cause massive damage from the sheer mass of the vehicle. A typical 18 wheeler can weigh in excess of 80,000 pounds, while the typical car weighs approximately 3,000 pounds.

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Houston trucking accident wrongful death cases can be highly litigated cases and as such it is critical to obtain and preserve all relevant evidence. The evidence that must be marshaled immediately includes obtaining prior accident records, maintenance records, the drivers log books, witness statements and first responders to the scene, qualcom data and the trucking companies safety policies and procedures.


Possible Trucking Accident Causes

There are many possible causes of trucking accidents including but not limited to driver inattention, driver fatigue, improper distances, inadequate driver training, improper inspection, improper maintenance, and an overloaded truck.

I have recently heard of a Houston trucking accident that involved an 18 wheeler that was on a highway overpass above the plaintiff. The load that the 18 wheeler was carrying shifted causing the driver of the 18 wheeler to lose control. The tractor trailer fell over the overpass and down onto the top of the plaintiff crushing her.


How Can Grossman Law Offices Help me With my Houston Trucking Accident Case?

The benefit of hiring our Houston fatal trucking accident attorneys in these types of cases is that we can help preserve and obtain all of the evidence immediately and before the trucking company would have an opportunity to manipulate the evidence. Preserving all of the evidence at the beginning of the case can make the difference between winning and losing.


Bus Accidents

Bus accidents are similar to trucking accidents in that they involve large vehicles. Bus occupants who are injured or killed due to the negligent operation of a bus may have a cause of action against the bus driver and the bus company through the legal theory of respondeat superior.

Some of the same legal concepts apply in bus accidents as they do in trucking accidents in terms of obtaining all of the available evidence as early as possible. Bus companies have been known to alter or destroy critical evidence in a case.

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Accident-Preventing Trucking Laws

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration created the Act that governs the rules and regulations applicable to the safe operation of 18 wheelers. The purpose of the statute is to make the roads and highways safer for everyone.

Both state and federal laws limit the number of hours that a truck driver can drive in a 24 hour period. That is why driver log books and the computer data available in board the 18 wheeler is important. One of the main causes of tractor trailer accidents is fatigue and these state and federal laws help to prevent fatigue related accidents.

In 2003, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration adopted new more restrictive laws limiting the number of hours an 18 wheeler driver could drive in a day. Since the law change statistics have shown that the number of fatigue related wrongful death cases has been reduced by 20% to 40%.

Another common cause of trucking accident wrongful death cases is an intoxicated truck driver. Both state and federal law prohibit the consumption of alcohol while operating an 18 wheeler. The driver of an 18 wheeler has a legal and moral obligation to the public to be a responsible driver.

Trucking companies are required by law to properly maintain its trucks. Failure to routinely inspect and maintain the trucks can result in catastrophic failure of brakes, tires or other critical operating components. When a trucking company fails to properly maintain the trucks it puts out on the streets and highways it is certainly foreseeable that a catastrophic accident could occur.


What is the Trucking Company's Recourse in the Event of a Fatal Accident?

Lets discuss the chain of events that occur when a trucking company learns that one of its trucks has become involved an a fatality accident. Initially the truck driver radios in to dispatch to notify the trucking company what has happened. Immediately, representatives from the trucking company and insurance company are sent to the scene of the accident.

The representatives from the trucking company would most likely include the senior risk manager, a team of accident reconstruction experts, a private investigator, the trucking company lawyer or lawyers and possibly others. The insurance company for the trucking company would most likely deploy its own risk manager, investigator and team of lawyers.

These people are immediately sent to the scene if the accident to investigate and take inventory of what happened. All of these precautions are taken by all of these people on behalf of the trucking company and its insurance company for one reason. They want to develop all of the evidence necessary in order to pay as little as possible to the deceased person’s family.


What is my Recourse in the Event of a Fatal Accident?

Surely, if the trucking company and its insurance company are mounting such an aggressive defense, the family of the deceased should and needs to do the same thing in order to protect themselves. Your fatal trucking injury lawyer will assist the family of the deceased as aggressively or more than the trucking company and its insurance company.


Some of Our Most Recent Successful Cases
$95,035.00 Recovery - Wrongful Death / Automobile Accident
Recovery for the father of a young man who was killed in a car accident.
Total Recovery:
$95,035.00
Attorney Fees:
$31,678.00
Litigation Expenses:
$25.00
$250,000.00 Recovery - Wrongful Death / Commercial Vehicle Accident
(policy limits) A young mother was killed in an accident involving two commercial vehicles, one an 18-wheeler. The accident occurred as the young woman was a passenger in a vehicle that was traveling down a highway in the early morning hours. Without warning, the vehicle in which she was a passenger collided with a stalled 18-wheeler that parked in the right of way, resulting in catastrophic injuries that claimed the young woman's life soon thereafter.

The authorities initially faulted the driver of the vehicle in which the victim was a passenger, stating that he was using an electronic device rather than paying full attention to the roadway. However, the 18-wheeler was indeed blocking the roadway and plaintiff alleged that the vehicle did not follow the requirements of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act in regard to providing adequate reflective or laminated warning at specific intervals. Further, the plaintiffs alleged that the defendant failed to remove his vehicle from the roadway when he first noticed signs of mechanical failure.

Had he simply moved to the shoulder of the road, plaintiffs argued, his lack of adequate warning signs would have been inconsequential. An initial settlement has been obtained in this case, yet litigation has commenced in full against the remaining defendant, and is currently ongoing.
Total Recovery:
$250,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$78,000.00
Litigation Expenses:
$370.00
$250,000.00 Recovery - Wrongful Death / Commercial Vehicle Accident
Our attorneys were hired to investigate a fatal motor vehicle accident involving an 18-wheeler that claimed the lives of several men, the family of one in particular which our firm represented, felt that the official version of events as outlined in the police report was not an accurate portrayal of the facts and circumstances of the collision.

Our firm launched an investigation, the findings of which served as the basis for a subsequent lawsuit. We were able to determine that the defendant's accusations of contributory negligence on behalf of he driver of the vehicle did appear to be valid and plaintiffs conceded as much. However, the plaintiffs were adamant that the contributory negligence did not entirely overshadow the negligence on behalf of the defendant truck driver.

Through physical evidence and an admission of liability that our attorneys were able to importune from the defendant under oath, we were able to show that the defendant had indeed pulled into the path of the decedent's vehicle, which was of consequence irrespective of the decedent's own contributory negligence, and that icontact.com
Total Recovery:
$250,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$82,500.00
Litigation Expenses:
$10,000.00
$400,000.00 Recovery - Wrongful Death / Medical Malpractice
A young handicapped woman lost her life when a long-term care facility failed to provide her with treatment for obvious symptoms of severe illness. The defendants maintained that there were no outwardly visible signs of illness. The medical evidence showed otherwise. The case was successfully resolved through litigation, though damages caps imposed by tort reform were a factor.
Total Recovery:
$400,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$132,000.00
Litigation Expenses:
$25,000.00
$1,000,000.00 Recovery - Wrongful Death/ Commercial Vehicle Accident
(policy limits) A husband and father of three was killed when the driver of an 18-wheeler veered into oncoming traffic, striking the young man's vehicle and several others. The defendant was employed by a small construction company that operated only a single 18-wheeler. As such, the defendants were largely underinsured and were not financially solvent.

Furthermore, the defendants had an eroding insurance policy and numerous other parties were intent upon filing claims of their own since the 18-wheeler struck multiple other vehicles. This created the need for an aggressive and rapid response before the other claimants could erode the policy.

Defense counsel made it clear that they wished to litigate the case despite the insurmountable liability arguments that our attorneys presented. They intended to designate a third party as a responsible defendant since the accident happened in a construction zone, even though it was abundantly clear that the construction zone played no role in the crash.

Additonally, the defendants made it clear that they wished to downplay the extent of the damages by virtue of a character assasination on the decedent. Fortunately for our clients, our firm has successfully litigated against the defendant's insurer in nearly a dozen cases, so the carrier was quite aware of our courtroom capabilities. We presented a sample lawsuit to the defendant's insurance carrier and informed them that the lawsuit was to be filed the moment that they refused to settle.

Additionally, our attorneys submitted a Stowers' Demand with a brief window of time for the defendants to respond. We made it abundantly clear that we intended to seek punitive damages and that we would assert the full limits of the carrier's exposure under the Stowers' Demand should the carrier not offer policy limits.

The defendant's attorney adamantly persuaded the carrier to litigate, however, our attorney's threats of litigation, past track record, and incredibly aggressive pre-litigation actions convinced the insurance carrier to disregard their own attorney's advice and to settle the case, lest they face our attorneys in court.

Had our clients been represented by virtually any other firm who did not have our specific track record or who would have not recognized that this case required special and immediate attention coupled with an abnormally aggressive stance, the client's would have certainly been tied up in litigation for years, with the limited supply of funds rapidly depleting since the other claimants who did not need to litigate would have essentially had right of first refusal.
Total Recovery:
$1,000,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$333,333.00
Litigation Expenses:
$0.00
$97,500.00 Recovery - Wrongful Death / First-Party Dram Shop Accident
(policy limits were $100k) Recovery for wife of a motorcyclist who was killed in a drunk driving accident.
Total Recovery:
$97,500.00
Attorney Fees:
$48,750.00
Litigation Expenses:
$0.00
$550,000.00 Recovery - Wrongful Death / Workers' Compensation Gross Negligence
(policy limits) A father of two was killed on the job when he fell from a personnel platform atop an elevated piece of machinery. The defendant was initially afforded protection from a liability suit by virtue of their workers' comp policy. Upon thorough investigation, it became evident that gross negligence was at the root of the accident, and suit was filed accordingly. A successful outcome was obtained through litigation.
Total Recovery:
$550,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$220,000.00
Litigation Expenses:
$40,000.00
$3,200,000.00 Recovery - Wrongful Death / Automobile Accident
Our attorneys were hired to represent the family of a middle aged woman who was killed in a car accident. The incident occurred as another vehicle struck the car that the decedent was a passenger in, head-on on the passenger side. The impact resulted in catastrophic injuries which claimed the life of the decedent.

Our attorneys were hired soon after the accident and we launched a full investigation. Through the course of our investigation, it was soon determined that the head-on collision was caused a failed component in the defendant's vehicle (the particulars of which cannot be elaborated upon per the resolution agreement). Suit was filed against the manufacturer of said component and litigation commenced. The case was successfully resolved through litigation.
Total Recovery:
$3,200,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$1,280,000.00
Litigation Expenses:
$50,000.00
$150,000.00 Recovery - Wrongful Death / Workplace Accident
(policy limits) Recovery of a disputed life insurance policy for the family of a contractor who died on the job.
Total Recovery:
$150,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$50,000.00
Litigation Expenses:
$341.00
$625,000.00 Recovery - Wrongful Death / Medical Malpractice
Recovery for family of victim who died after receiving the wrong medication.
Total Recovery:
$625,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$206,250.00
Litigation Expenses:
$5,000.00

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