Liability for an auto accident refers to legal and financial responsibility. If someone is liable for an accident, it means that person has a responsibility to pay for victims’ injuries and losses. If you get injured in a trucking accident in Texas, you will need to determine liability before you can recover financial compensation for your losses.
Liability is a confusing part of personal injury law. You must determine and prove liability, however, to recover compensation for your medical bills and property repairs. Work with a San Antonio truck accident attorney in Texas for assistance with your case for the best possible outcome.
How Does Liability Work in Texas?
Texas is a tort-based car accident state. Under the fault-based auto insurance system in Texas, the party guilty of committing a tort and causing the accident will have to pay for damages. Tort is the legal word for an act of wrongdoing or negligence, such as driving under the influence or failing to properly maintain a commercial truck. Proving liability, therefore, takes establishing someone else’s fault for your trucking accident.
A tort system is the opposite of a no-fault system. In states that use no-fault insurance rules, such as Florida and New Jersey, fault for a trucking accident will not matter. In no-fault states, injured victims recover compensation from their own insurance providers, regardless of fault for their wrecks. In Texas, however, you or your lawyer must prove fault for the trucking accident before you can receive an award for economic and noneconomic damages.
What Caused Your Truck Accident?
Determining liability for a truck accident in Texas takes identifying who or what caused the wreck. If you are incapacitated after a serious truck accident, hiring a lawyer will give you the opportunity to investigate the cause of the crash. Your lawyer will have the resources and connections with investigators to correctly identify causation.
- Distracted driving
- Drunk or drugged driving
- Drowsy truck driver
- Poorly trained driver
- Speeding
- Broken roadway rule
- Broken federal laws
- Poorly maintained truck
- Lost cargo load
- Roadway defect
Most truck accidents in Texas come down to the fault of the truck driver, trucking company or government. If a negligent or reckless truck driver caused your accident, however, the truck driver most likely will not be individually liable. Instead, the trucking company will be responsible through the rule of vicarious liability.
What Is Vicarious Liability?
Vicarious liability is a law that means let the master speak for the servant. After an accident, vicarious liability may make an employer liable for the actions or misbehaviors of its employees. In other cases, a parent may be held vicariously liable for the actions of his or her child. Vicarious liability often plays a role in trucking accidents in Texas.
A trucking company will be vicariously responsible for the neglect of its employees, including truck drivers. If a negligent trucker caused your crash, the company will most likely have to speak for its driver. The trucking company will also be responsible for its direct influence on your accident, such as poor driver training or lack of fleet maintenance.
Contact a Truck Accident Attorney in San Antonio
Proving a trucking company’s liability for your accident can be difficult. Your side of the case will need clear and convincing evidence of the truck company’s direct or vicarious fault for your collision. You will need to present evidence of liability such as:
- Police reports
- Medical records
- Eyewitness statements
- The truck’s black box
- Accident reconstruction
- Expert testimony
The best way to prove liability for your injuries is with assistance from an attorney. A truck accident attorney in Texas will know how to gather evidence of another party’s fault for your accident, including a trucking company. A lawyer can also help you demand maximum compensation from the at-fault party. Contact Hill Law Firm today for help.