Third-Party Liability Claims in Truck Accidents

What Third-Parties Are Potentially Liable?

Your Texas truck accident lawyer will have many responsibilities after taking on your case, but none are more critical than establishing liability. To win your truck accident insurance and civil claims, you must prove that another party is responsible for causing your injuries.

Your attorney closely evaluates the details of your case to ensure all parties are held accountable. For many truck accidents in Texas, there are third parties who share liability for the injuries you sustained. These individuals and entities could include:

Commercial Truck Parts Manufacturers

One of the most common causes of truck accidents in Texas is auto part malfunctions. When commercial truck parts are defective or malfunction, commercial truck parts manufacturers, designers, and distributors can all be held accountable.

Product liability claims are unique in that nearly anyone involved in the distribution chain of the particular product could be partially responsible. Your lawyer will need to conduct an in-depth investigation to determine where the malfunction occurred and who is accountable.

Dram Shops

When a drunk driver causes your truck accident, whether the driver is a third-party driver or the truck driver, you may be surprised to learn that dram shops could be held accountable. Dram shops are establishments that serve or sell alcohol, such as bars or restaurants.

If an establishment serves or sells alcohol to an individual already under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and that individual causes a motor vehicle collision, the establishment that overserved or sold alcohol to them could be partially responsible for your damages.

Trucking Companies

The trucking company is often held accountable when their drivers cause collisions. Trucking companies are required to adhere to federal trucking regulations through the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).

When they overwork their drivers, fail to adhere to the driver guidelines such as enforcing breaks after every few hours of driving, do not conduct due diligence before hiring a driver, or fail to make necessary repairs to commercial trucks, they can be named as liable parties in injury victim’s truck accident claims.

Cargo Loaders

One of the reasons commercial trucks are so dangerous is because of their size. Trucks are considerably larger than any other type of vehicle, but they also carry significant amounts of cargo.

The workers responsible for loading the cargo can be partially liable for your injuries when they fail to properly secure the cargo as required, overfill the truck, or make other careless mistakes.

Establishing Fault in a Truck Accident Caused By a Third Party

Only a thorough investigation into the cause of your accident will reveal who is responsible for causing your injuries. There are many ways your truck accident lawyer will go about proving liability.

We can re-create the accident by hiring an accident reconstructionist to uncover valuable information. We might find defective auto parts that can be traced back to manufacturers, which can help determine if other vehicles are partially at-fault.

Interviewing the truck driver may reveal that their trucking company failed to provide them with the brakes required under federal law. These are just a few ways your attorney might gather the evidence to support your case.

Compensation in a Third-Party Liability Truck Accident Claim

There are generally two ways to recover maximum compensation after a truck accident. First, Texas is a fault state for car accidents. This means when you have been involved in a motor vehicle accident of any kind, you will need to file an insurance claim with the liable party.

However, insurance companies rarely cover injury victims’ damages in full. They often only provide compensation for certain types and amounts of economic damages.

If you hope to recover your economic damages in their entirety and your non-economic damages in full, you need to be prepared to bring your case to court as well. Filing a third-party liability lawsuit could be the only way to get the most out of your claim.

Statute of Limitations for Truck Accident Claims in Texas

If you are interested in moving forward with your Texas truck accident claim against a third party, you need to act quickly. The statute of limitations for commercial truck accident claims across Texas is only two years.

If your claim is not filed before the statute of limitations runs out, you will no longer have the authority to seek compensation in the Texas civil court system.