Have you recently suffered injuries or lost a close family member in an accident involving a commercial vehicle in Cypress, Texas? Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers can help when you contact us at (281) 843-9777. We offer a free consultation with a Cypress commercial vehicle accident lawyer so you don’t have to face the costs and trauma of this life-changing accident on your own.
By partnering with our top-rated legal team, you can force the commercial vehicle operator and its insurance company to take your claim seriously. We understand what’s at stake and work to help accident victims pursue the compensation they deserve while navigating the challenges that often come with commercial vehicle accident claims.
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Why Hire Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers After a Commercial Vehicle Accident in Cypress, TX
The driver of the commercial rig won’t rush to take the blame for your accident. Their employer might try to blame you for the crash, hide valuable evidence, and use other tactics to limit your chances of recovering compensation. You certainly can’t count on the insurance company to fight for you. You can, however, count on Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers.
Here’s why clients in Cypress, TX, choose us:
- Our team brings over 45 years of combined experience to each injury case we handle.
- Our personal injury lawyers have been trusted by injury victims and families for decades because we’re honest, aggressive legal advocates with a track record of tens of millions recovered for our clients.
- Members of our team are Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
- We’ve been recognized as Best of the Best by the Houston Chronicle, Avvo Top Attorneys, Avvo Clients’ Choice Award Recipients, Super Lawyers, and The National Trial Lawyers Top 100.
- Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum members.
When you ask for our personal injury law firm’s help after your commercial vehicle accident, everything we’ve learned and the winning legal strategies we’ve developed can be deployed to help you win your case and obtain the best possible outcome.
Contact us today to schedule a free consultation with a Cypress personal injury attorney.
How Does Federal Law Define a Commercial Vehicle?
According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, a commercial vehicle is defined as “any motor vehicle used on a highway in interstate commerce to transport property or passengers” that:
- Hauls hazardous materials
- Can transport nine or more people for compensation
- Can transport 15 or more people for any reason
- Has a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of more than 10,001 pounds
Combination vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating exceeding 26,001 pounds also qualify as commercial vehicles under federal law.
What Types of Vehicles Are Considered Commercial Vehicles?
The federal definition of a commercial vehicle covers a wide range of vehicles commonly seen on Texas roadways, including:
- Buses
- School buses
- Tractor-trailers
- Box trucks
- Semi-trucks
- Dump trucks
- Refrigerated trucks
- Garbage trucks
- Tow trucks
- Tanker trucks
- Flatbed trucks
- Delivery vans
- Specialized construction vehicles
- Food trucks
- Utility trucks
Each of these vehicles presents unique risks on the road due to its size, weight, or purpose.
Why Are Commercial Vehicle Accidents So Dangerous and Legally Complex?
Commercial vehicles are much larger and heavier than other vehicles on the road and tend to be more difficult to drive safely. When they are involved in traffic accidents, they can cause serious damage, and it is often occupants of smaller vehicles who suffer the most severe injuries.
Because these vehicles are operated commercially, pursuing compensation after a crash can be more challenging than in a standard car accident case. These claims often involve complex regulations, multiple potentially liable parties, and insurance companies that work aggressively to limit payouts.
What Causes Most Commercial Vehicle Accidents?
Many accidents involving commercial vehicles are caused by:
- Violations of safety regulations established by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)
- Drowsy driving
- Inexperienced drivers
- Vehicles operated by someone without a valid commercial driver’s license (CDL)
- Speeding
- Illegal turns
- Unsafe passing
- Distracted driving
- Backing errors
- Unsafe braking
- Following too closely
- Overloaded rigs
- Unsecured cargo
- Blind spot errors
- Drug and alcohol use
- Auto defects
- Road defects
- Bad weather
- Road construction
- Lost loads
Once the cause of your commercial vehicle accident is known, you can establish liability. Depending on why and how the crash happened, you could have a legitimate claim against the commercial vehicle driver, a transportation service, a property owner, the vehicle’s owner, a manufacturer, or even a government agency.
How Much Is My Commercial Vehicle Injury Claim Worth?
Every situation is different. The potential value of your commercial vehicle injury claim will depend on a variety of things, including:
- Your injuries and their severity
- Time away from work while you recover
- Changes in your earning capacity
- Shared responsibility
- The likelihood of a permanent disability and/or impairment
- How the injury affects your overall quality of life
- Your age
- Available insurance benefits and policy limits
The more your life changes because of an accident with a large commercial truck or bus, the more money you can potentially recover for your financial losses, emotional distress, and other struggles.
What Damages Can Be Awarded After a Commercial Vehicle Crash in Cypress?
In Texas, the plaintiff in a personal injury lawsuit has the right to request compensatory damages. Generally, you can recover economic and non-economic damages.
Compensatory damages can include economic damages for financial losses, such as:
- Current and future medical bills
- Lost wages and job benefits
- Diminished earning capacity
- Property damage
- Out-of-pocket expenses
- Nursing care
- Rehabilitation
You may also be able to recover non-economic damages for things like:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Disfigurement
- Disability
- Physical pain
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
There can also be a potential for punitive damages if your lawsuit gets to trial. These are limited to situations where a jury is clearly convinced that the defense acted with malice or displayed a conscious disregard for a plaintiff’s safety.
Can I Recover Compensation if I’m Partly To Blame for a Commercial Vehicle Wreck in Texas?
Under Texas’s modified comparative negligence law, damages are reduced proportionately to fault up to 50 percent. This means that you can receive compensation for a commercial vehicle accident even if you share half of the blame for your injuries. In this scenario, your damages would be reduced by half of their value.
Once you’re assigned most of the blame for an accident (51% or more), you lose the ability to demand compensation from other parties – even if they also contributed to the crash in which you were injured.
What Does It Cost To Hire a Commercial Vehicle Accident Attorney?
Our Texas commercial vehicle accident lawyers in Cypress represent clients on a contingency fee basis. We don’t get paid until we recover compensation for our clients. When we take your case, you’ll pay nothing out of pocket.
Instead, we’ll front the costs of litigation and fight to win compensation on your behalf. We’ll only get paid when we’re successful. Our fees are deducted from your monetary award, so there’s no risk or added financial pressure when hiring our personal injury law firm.
If we don’t win your case, you pay us nothing.
Common Commercial Vehicle Accident Injuries
Thousands of people are injured in car accidents with commercial vehicles in Cypress and other large cities in Texas every year.
Some of the most commonly reported commercial vehicle accident injuries include:
- Crushing injuries
- Nerve damage
- Burn injuries
- Soft tissue injuries
- Degloving injuries
- Amputation injuries
- Brain injuries
- Concussions
- Broken bones
- Eye injuries
- Neck injuries
- Back injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Paralysis injuries
- Herniated disc injuries
- Chest injuries
- Thoracic injuries
- Leg injuries
- Knee injuries
- Catastrophic injuries
- Wrongful death
Because of the size and weight of commercial vehicles, these accidents often result in severe or life-altering harm. The injuries listed above can require extensive medical treatment, long-term rehabilitation, and, in the most serious cases, permanently change a person’s quality of life or lead to fatal outcomes.
What Is the Statute of Limitations on Commercial Vehicle Accident Lawsuits in Texas?
When you seek damages in a civil commercial vehicle accident lawsuit, you’ll have two years from the date of your injury to assert your rights. There are limited exceptions, typically involving injuries to children, claims for workers’ compensation benefits, or government tort claims.
If the statute of limitations runs out before you file your case, you lose the ability to demand compensation from a transportation service, an insurance carrier, or another at-fault party.
Schedule a Free Consultation With an Experienced Cypress Commercial Vehicle Accident Lawyer
Call the skilled legal team at Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers for help after a commercial vehicle accident in Cypress, Texas. Whether you got hurt because of a negligent driver, violations of FMCSA regulations, or defective vehicle components, we can help you fight for financial justice.
Our Cypress commercial vehicle accident lawyers have helped clients recover tens of millions in life-changing financial awards. We’re here to make a difference in your life after a devastating accident with a large commercial motor vehicle, too.
We offer a free case review, so call our law office to speak with a member of our trusted team today.