SB I-35 Reopens After Truck Loses Cargo
Recently, southbound I-35 in Austin was closed after a large truck lost its cargo just south of Airport Boulevard. While no injuries were reported, this is far from common when trucks drop cargo on public roads. If you are involved in an accident with a large truck, or with cargo they have left behind, it is very possible that you might sustain serious injuries that breed large medical bills. If you are injured because of someone else’s negligence, you have every right to seek compensation to ensure your bills are covered.
Statistics and Trends
Large trucks are a huge part of traffic on U.S. roads, with approximately 12 million registered single and combination trucks in 2017. Texas shoulders a large part of that burden on its roads, with shipping between the states racking up miles driven every year. While the relative proportion of fatal crashes for all that shipping is relatively low, with only around 600 fatalities and 1,250 injuries registered in Texas crashes involving large trucks, truck accidents are generally more likely to lead to fatalities and serious injuries than crashes that only involve smaller vehicles.
There are several different reasons for this, but most of them boil down to the common-sense fact that a trucker is trying to control a significantly larger amount of mass and weight than an auto or motorcycle driver. If they have to contend with a mechanical failure or other injury to their truck which causes them to lose cargo, this is an even bigger problem that many truckers simply find themselves unable to manage during an accident – depending on the cargo, it may be another obstacle for both the trucker and the auto driver to try and avoid.
Do I Have a Case?
If you have been injured by lost or falling cargo from a large truck, it can be difficult to read the situation and figure out whether you have grounds to bring suit for your injuries or not. One important thing to be aware of is that while most of the time, the only person one can sue in a personal injury accident is the other driver (or drivers) involved in the crash, this is not always the case in trucking accidents. Depending on the situation, you may be able to file against not only the driver, but also the trucking company or those charged with maintaining the vehicle. This doctrine is called vicarious liability.
Vicarious liability is a common-law doctrine that holds that if an employee is negligent, and injures someone due to their negligence, that person can file suit against both the employee and the employer if the event occurred while the employee was acting within the scope of their employment. This is important for an injured person because many truck drivers are judgment proof – that is, they would have no way to pay off any judgment awarded to an injured plaintiff – but most trucking companies are not.
Call a New Braunfels Truck Accident Lawyer for Help
While the cargo spill on I-35 was cleaned up without further fanfare, it is worth noting that many truck and cargo accidents like this are much more hazardous, especially to drivers or pedestrians nearby. If you have been injured in this type of accident (or any other accident involving a large truck), the dedicated New Braunfels trucking accident attorneys at the Bettersworth Law Firm want to help you navigate your way through the legal process with dedicated and compassionate representation. Call our offices today at 888-392-0039 for a free consultation.
Sources:
https://cms8.fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmcsa.dot.gov/files/2020-01/FMCSA%20Pocket%20Guide%202019-FINAL-1-9-2020.pdf
https://www.statesman.com/news/20200123/update-southbound-i-35-reopened-after-truck-lost-its-cargo-police-say
