Flatbed Truck Accident Attorney on Texas Falling Cargo Accidents
As dangerous as accidents involving massive 18-wheeler trucks can be, accidents involving flatbed trailers can be even more devastating. The cargo carried by flatbed trailers is usually extremely large and bulky; so much so that it cannot be carried by the typical trailer of a regular truck.
The flatbed trailers traveling on the major roads in and around can haul all kinds of huge, odd-shaped objects. They can include manufactured homes, extremely long pipes, and even windmill blades. All of these objects hauled by flatbed trailers can pose a significant risk to other motorists on the road if they are loaded in an improper fashion.
If you have suffered an injury in an accident involving either a flatbed trailer or the cargo that is was hauling, then you will probably be able to pursue restitution for the injuries you have incurred. You should contact a flatbed trailer accident attorney to fully comprehend your rights. This article is designed to provide you information as to the parties you can take legal action against in a flatbed trailer accident case, the common obstacles that will block your path to securing compensation, and how a flatbed trailer accident attorney can help you. This article, however, is not designed to replace the counsel of an actual lawyer.
Who is Liable for the Injuries you have Suffered?
In an accident involving a flatbed trailer, there may be more than one party that might be responsible for the injuries you have suffered. You were only injured once, of course, but you can take legal action against each and every person or entity that in some way contributed to the accident, and sue each of them for the same amount of damages. Our Truck Accident Attorney will launch a thorough investigation of the accident scene, and all of the circumstances surrounding the accident, in order to determine who was to blame for your injuries.
The most obvious responsible party is, of course, the driver of the truck that caused your accident. Many truckers, in order to make a living, are required to drive an incredible number of miles and meet rigid deadlines. Although the law requires them to take rest stops on a regular basis, many of them ignore that requirement and drive on without proper rest. And when a distracted or exhausted driver is behind the wheel of one of these immense flatbeds, a devastating accident can occur that can result in debilitating injuries or death.
If you sue the driver, however, that is just the first of what could potentially be several legal actions you take. Almost every time that it is determined that a careless driver causes an accident, the injury victim can also sue the company that hired that driver as well. This can be a significant benefit to you, as trucking companies normally have extensive cash reserves that can lead to you obtaining just compensation for the injuries you have suffered. Personal injury law in Texas subscribes to the doctrine known as respondeat superior. This theory mandates that an employer is legally liable for any injuries that its employee causes while on the job. What this means, basically, is that even if the employer did nothing wrong, you can still sue the company for the negligence of its employee because of the theory of respondeat superior.
There can also be several other parties that in some way contribute to a flatbed trailer accident. For instance, the company responsible for planning the route of the truck, the company that manufactured the straps used to secure the cargo, the company responsible for securing that cargo, and others could be held liable for your injuries. Consider a scenario where a truck is hauling a piece of a modular home that is extremely tall. Say that truck travels under a low bridge, and part of the home is knocked off, strikes your car, and you suffer an injury as a result. You can more than likely sue the company that planned the route and led the truck to go under that bridge. There are other times where the cargo on a flatbed trailer can become loose, even though that truck was not pushed or hit by anything else. In this case, the straps holding that cargo could have been defective, or the company charged with securing that cargo could have been negligent in the performance of its duties. When this takes place, you might be able to pursue legal action against either one of those companies, or both of them.
