5 Ways Trucking Companies Can Blame YOU for a Galveston Truck Accident

Most people are relieved after they’ve survived a Galveston semi accident. Even if they have a few broken bones, they are fully covered by insurance and realize that they could easily have been killed. They file an insurance claim and wait for a payment, trying to make the best of a bad situation.

But then the impossible happens: their claim has been denied. The adjuster explains that they—the driver of the small family car—caused the truck accident.

If it seems incredible, you have to realize how trucking companies’ insurance policies work. Since their vehicles are on the road for many hours at a time, there is an overwhelming chance that one of their rigs will be involved in an accident. They pay enormous sums of money to insure their rigs and to protect themselves with defense lawyers (who go to great lengths to prove the truck driver was not at fault in the crash).

The trucking company may avoid liability for the accident by claiming that YOU:

• Were distracted. The easiest way to assign blame to a driver is alleging that he was on a cell phone, talking to a passenger, or was tired to a point of impairment at the time of the crash.
• Were speeding. Since speed is a factor in most traffic accidents, evidence that you were traveling over the speed limit could hurt your case—whether it caused the accident or not.
• Were breaking traffic laws. If you made any driving errors, such as failing to signal before a lane change, the trucking company’s attorney may take that as evidence of reckless driving.
• Were going to crash anyway. In a strange method of defense, trucking companies have been able to claim that a driver’s actions, such driving while distracted, would have eventually caused you to crash whether the truck was involved or not.
• Admitted it was your fault. Unfortunately, truck drivers have been trained to gather evidence against the other driver after a crash. It’s important to never speak with anyone other than the police about the crash. Also, it’s critical to only tell the police the facts, and only the facts! Do not speculate, and never admit fault.

Our Houston truck accident attorneys know that if a trucking company can convince a judge that you were at fault, even in some small way, it can greatly influence the outcome of your case. To find out how our attorneys can help your Houston truck wreck case, call Vujasinovic & Beckcom at (877) 724-7800 today for a free consultation.

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