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Your No-Nonsense Guide to Negligence & Truck Accident Claims

Your No-Nonsense Guide to Negligence | Truck Accident Lawyer

Negligence is the cornerstone of any truck accident claim. In fact, the nature of the negligence that caused a truck wreck can impact everything from the at-fault parties to the complexity of the case and the available compensation.

But what exactly is negligence?

To answer this question, here’s a jargon-free explanation of negligence and Texas law on negligence, along with some real-world examples of how negligence commonly causes truck accidents.

Negligence Defined

Negligence has three critical elements:

  1. A duty of care: One party, like a trucking company or a trucker, has a duty to operate in a safe manner. This can include an obligation to take certain actions and not take others.
  2. A breach of the duty: This means that the party with a duty of care fails to honor that duty. This can involve doing (or not doing) something necessary to ensure safe operations.
  3. Injury and damages: The breach of the duty of care causes physical and/or psychological injuries and financial losses.

The goals of a truck accident case are to:

  1. Prove negligence caused a wreck
  2. Hold the at-fault party liable
  3. Help victims secure compensation for their injuries, suffering, and damages.

Texas Law on Negligence

Texas negligence law, codified in Texas Civ. Prac. & Rem. 33.001, puts forth a form of modified comparative negligence or “proportionate responsibility.” Specifically, Texas uses the 51% bar rule.

This means that:

  • Truck accident victims can seek compensation even if they were partly at fault for the accident: Victims have to be 50% or less at fault for an accident to still be eligible for compensation. So, if they are 51% or more at fault, Texas negligence law will bar them from seeking financial recovery.
  • When victims share fault, their compensation can be reduced: If a victim is partly at fault for a truck accident, any compensation (s)he receives will be reduced in proportion to their level of fault. For example, if a victim is 25% at fault for an accident that results in $100,000 in compensation, the resulting recovery would be $75,000 (or $100,000 reduced by 25% or $25,000).

Common Forms of Negligence in Truck Wrecks

Negligence can take several forms when it comes to truck accidents. In general, some of the most common types of negligence in truck wreck cases include:

  • Driver negligence: This can include any form of reckless or careless driving, like impaired driving, distracted driving, speeding, and more. It can also include failures to inspect and maintain trucks, as well as any violation of transportation code or trucking regulations, like hours-of-service rules.
  • Motor carrier negligence: This can involve hiring unsafe drivers, failing to train drivers, and failing to maintain trucks. It can also include any failures to comply with trucking regulations, as well as incentivizing truckers to violate these regulations.
  • Other negligence: This can include the negligence of other drivers on the road, highway work crews, road maintenance workers, shippers, and many others.

The best way to identify the negligence involved in your truck accident—and get on the path to recovery—is by contacting the Amaro Law Firm.

Get More Answers About Negligence & a Potential Truck Accident Claim: Contact the Amaro Law Firm

If you or someone you know has been hurt in a truck crash, you can count on a truck accident lawyer at the Amaro Law Firm for exceptional advocacy in the pursuit of justice and recovery.

Call (713) 955-5521 or Contact Us
for a Free, Confidential, No-Obligation Case Evaluation

At the Amaro Law, we are known for providing the highest quality representation and tireless advocacy. While we understand that compensation cannot reverse the permanent impacts of serious truck wrecks, we also know that the recoveries from truck accident cases can help restore lives.

The Amaro Law Firm’s record of success in truck accident cases has earned us 5-star ratings on Google and Facebook, glowing testimonials from former clients, and a 10 rating on Avvo.

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