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How Can I Recover Compensation for the Reduced Value of My Vehicle After an Accident?
Car crashes happen every day in Texas. Some are caused by driver inattention, drunk driving, or traffic law violations. Others are caused by defective vehicle components such as defective tires or brakes. Whatever the reason, car accidents have a major personal and financial impact on victims.
Many car crash victims are able to recover financial compensation for vehicle repair, medical bills, and other costs. However, even after a vehicle is repaired, the vehicle may not recoup its original value. Fortunately, Texas law allows car accident victims to seek compensation for the diminished value of their vehicle.
Addressing the Difference in Value Before and After a Collision
Mechanics can repair vehicle damage after a car accident, but there is no way to go back in time and make it so the accident never occurred. Regardless of the repairs performed on the vehicle, the vehicle has still been involved in an accident and potential buyers will no longer pay top dollar for it.
How Can Expert Testimony Support a Truck Accident Injury Claim?
Semi-trucks and other commercial vehicles were involved in over 30,000 auto accidents in Texas last year alone. While 18-wheelers and other commercial trucks are an essential means of transporting goods across the state, these vehicles can also do massive damage in an accident. If you were injured or your loved one was killed in a wreck involving a large commercial truck, you may be entitled to compensation for your losses. Medical bills, funeral expenses, lost income, lost society, and pain and suffering are just some of the damages to which truck accident victims may be entitled. However, a strong case backed by compelling evidence is needed to recover compensation. Expert witnesses are often a crucial component of a successful claim.
Accident Reconstructionists in a Texas Truck Accident Case
There are countless factors involved in a truck collision. Understanding exactly how and why a truck wreck occurred is often one of the most challenging parts of building a claim. Accident reconstructionists are often highly skilled in the fields of engineering, physics, and computer modeling. They evaluate the accident scene, vehicle damage, video footage, event data recorder information, and other evidence to understand how an accident took place. They can then use models and computer programs to explain the sequence of events in a crash.
3 Legal Considerations in Defective Tire Personal Injury Claims
Statistics show that a great number of car accidents are caused by negligent driving. However, some car crashes are the result of faulty vehicle components. Defective tires can be especially dangerous because tread separation and blowouts often cause a driver to lose control of the vehicle. In 2000, Firestone recalled 6.5 million tires because the tires treads were separating from the core, causing severe auto accidents. The defect is linked to almost 300 deaths. If you or a loved one were injured in a car crash caused by a faulty tire, you may be entitled to compensation.
Liability for Tire Defects is Not Always Clear
Defective tires can lead to tire explosion, blowouts, belt separation, tread separation, and other dire consequences. These defects may be caused by a number of different factors. Sometimes, a tire contains a defect because of oversights or mistakes during the design process. Other times, manufacturing errors cause faulty tires to reach consumers. Retailers may knowingly sell tires that contain defects. When a tire company discovers a defect, it may issue a recall. Unfortunately, recalls do not always prevent serious and fatal accidents. Identifying which party or parties are legally responsible for an injury or death caused by a tire defect is often the first step toward recovering compensation.
4 Ways a Personal Injury Attorney Can Help With Your Texas Personal Injury Claim
The area of personal injury law deals with injuries to persons and property caused by negligent or malicious actions. Many personal injury claims follow a car accident or truck accident in which someone is hurt or killed. Slip and fall accidents, amusement park accidents, work accidents, and other incidents can also lead to a personal injury claim.
Injured victims and their families often experience immediate financial upheaval after being hurt in an accident. Vehicle replacement costs, medical bills, and lost income make the process of healing even harder than it already is. A personal injury claim may help victims recover financial compensation for these and other financial losses after an accident. Working with an experienced personal injury lawyer during this process benefits injured victims in a multitude of ways.
What Action can be Taken After a Hit and Run Accident in Texas?
Every car accident is shocking and upsetting. Some car accident victims are left completely stunned upon realizing that not only did another driver hit them, but also that the driver fled the scene. In Texas, leaving the scene of an accident resulting in serious injury is a felony offense. Although this is a crime, it does not stop some negligent drivers from attempting to evade responsibility for a crash by speeding off. If you or a loved one were hurt in a hit and run accident, read on to learn about your legal options.
Seeking Justice and Compensation After a Hit and Run
Leaving the scene of an accident is against the law. While it is possible that witness statements, traffic cameras, vehicle debris, and other evidence may lead law enforcement to the reckless driver, some hit and run offenders are never found. One reason that a driver who committed a hit and run may leave the scene of the crime is that he or she does not have auto insurance.
Safety Violations May Be Crucial Evidence in Your Truck Accident Injury Claim
Numerous federal and state laws regulate safety in the trucking industry. Unfortunately, this does not prevent injury-causing and fatal truck crashes from occurring. If you or a loved one were involved in a truck collision, you may be able to seek justice through a civil claim against the liable party. Financial compensation may be available for medical bills, funeral and burial expenses, lost income, and other damages. Evidence of safety violations is often a crucial piece of evidence in truck accident injury claims.
FMCSA Requires Trucking Companies to Meet Certain Standards
Large commercial trucks can cause catastrophic damage in an accident. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) requires trucking companies and truck drivers to abide by certain safety regulations, including:
Worker Fatalities in the Oil and Gas Industry
The oil and gas industry is consistently cited as one of the most dangerous industries to work in. Between 2013 and 2017 nearly 500 workers were killed on the job. When a worker dies in a work accident, they often leave behind shocked and grief-stricken family members. If your loved one died on a drill site or an oil and gas worksite, you know first-hand the devastation a fatal work accident can bring to a family.
Nothing can make up for your tragic loss. However, there may be legal options at your disposal that can help you recover financial compensation and hold the at-fault party responsible for your loved one’s death.
Negligence Can Cause Preventable Work Accidents
The death of a family member is always heartbreaking, but when the death was preventable, the loss is even more painful. Some oil and gas industry work accidents are caused by negligence. For example, improper storage of corrosive chemicals or hazardous materials can lead to horrible chemical burns and lung damage. Negligent design or manufacture of equipment or supplies can lead to lacerations, broken bones, head injuries, electrocution, and more. Struck-by and caught-between accidents can be caused by a contractor’s oversight. These are just a few examples of how a party’s negligence can lead to a fatal work accident.
Was Your Accident Caused by an Intoxicated Truck Driver?
Few would argue that being a truck driver is a challenging occupation. Truck drivers must contend with unpredictable sleep patterns, long hours, loneliness, and boredom. However, these challenges do not excuse drug or alcohol use behind the wheel. Any driver who drives under the influence of alcohol or drugs puts himself and other motorists in harm’s way. However, semi-truck drivers create an even more dangerous situation when they drive under the influence.
Accidents involving large commercial trucks often result in severe and fatal injuries. If you or a loved one were hurt in a crash and you suspect that drug or alcohol use may have contributed to the wreck, contact a skilled truck accident injury attorney for help.
How Common is Drug Use Among Commercial Truckers?
What Are Your Legal Options Following a Workplace Accident in Texas?
Texas is full of hard workers and sometimes those workers are injured. Whether at a construction site, oil and gas drilling site, an office, or another work environment, work accidents can have devastating consequences. Individuals who are injured at work may be left facing not only a painful recovery but also significant financial implications. Between medical expenses and lost income from missed work, getting hurt on the job can represent a major financial burden.
If you or a loved one were hurt in a work accident in Texas, you may have questions about your legal rights and options. Do you have a right to workers’ compensation? Can you sue your employer? What if another party caused the accident?
Truck Accident Injury Investigations in Texas
Car accidents involving 18-wheelers, flatbeds, semi-trucks, and other commercial trucks lead to severe and fatal injuries every year in the U.S. One out of every ten vehicles involved in a fatal traffic accident is a large truck. Unfortunately, the number of injuries and deaths resulting from truck collisions is increasing.
If you were injured or a loved one was killed in a wreck involving a tractor-trailer or other large truck, you should know that you may be able to hold the truck driver, trucking company, or another at-fault party accountable through a personal injury case. You may also be entitled to compensation for damages such as your medical bills, lost income, lost financial support from a deceased family member, and more. Building a strong case against a negligent trucker or trucking company starts with launching a thorough investigation into the circumstances of the crash and the at-fault party’s role in causing the accident.