Truck Driver Sought After Fatal I-10 Accident
San Antonio law enforcement is seeking a truck driver who fled the scene after causing the death of a motorcyclist, and injuries to several other motorists, in an accident on I-10 one recent night. The truck had been traveling too fast for the flow of traffic and wound up jackknifing across the lanes of I-10 East. Fleeing the scene of an accident is a crime, but in addition, the families of those injured can bring suit for negligence and wrongful death if they believe they have a case to do so. If you have been injured in a similar case, you have options to try and recover your expenses.
Truck Crashes All Too Common
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) statistics for 2018 (the most recent available data) show that approximately 465 fatal crashes happened on state roads that involved a semi-truck or tractor-trailer that year, and over 3,000 injury-related crashes in the same time frame. This adds up to about 13 percent of all crashes on Texas roads that year. There are trends within these numbers, including a higher percentage of accidents happening in rural areas.
There are also a handful of causes that continue to reappear in police reports. Excessive speeding, use of alcohol or other substances, and poor road maintenance are among the most common, but the most often reported reason for crashes is driver fatigue. Truck drivers are routinely pushed by their employers to drive beyond regulation limits on hours and miles, and the resulting fatigue very often results in accidents.
Employer Liability Is a Question
One of the major differences between an automobile accident and an accident with a large truck is that a trucker’s employer is very often a potential defendant in an accident case. When truckers are on the road, they are almost always at work, if technically. When an employee commits a tort (basically the civil equivalent of a crime), an employer will be on the proverbial hook for damages if it can be proven that the employee was acting within the scope of their employment. This is a doctrine called vicarious liability.
In order to hold the truck driver’s employer liable (as well as the trucker), you must be able to show that the driver failed to exercise reasonable care toward the other motorists on the road with them (a duty that every motorist owes), and that their negligence was the direct cause of your injuries, with no other intervening cause. Be advised that there is a statute of limitations on filing suit, however; you must bring your case within two years from the date of your injuries, which can elapse far more quickly than you think.
Contact a New Braunfels Truck Crash Attorney
While the truck driver from the I-10 accident is still at large as of this writing, the families may bring suit against them if he is ever located. If you have been injured in a truck accident, you also have the right to file suit against a negligent trucker and try to recover for the harm you suffered. The skilled New Braunfels truck accident attorneys at the Bettersworth Law Firm are ready to try and help you with your case. Contact us today at 888-392-0039 for a free consultation.
Source:
https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/Police-searching-for-truck-driver-involved-in-15101565.php
