Trucking and Commercial Vehicle Accidents in Texas in 2015
Trucks and other commercial vehicles are involved in thousands of crashes around Texas every year. In 2015, there were 34,230 crashes involving a commercial vehicle in Texas, which left 601 people dead and 1,522 individuals with incapacitating injuries. When someone is in an accident with a commercial vehicle like a semi-truck, the victim needs an attorney who will quickly and thoroughly investigate the situation to determine who is at fault. For a commercial vehicle, the party ultimately responsible for the harm the crash caused could be the driver, his or her employer, the manufacturer of the vehicle, or even the business who designed the vehicle or a defective part. If you were injured in a collision with a truck, it is in your best interests to contact an attorney immediately for help.
Accidents by County Last Year
Some regions are safer than others when it comes to commercial vehicle accidents. This could be because some counties have major highways running through them and others see less commercial traffic.
See how your county fared last year:
- Atascosa: 133 crashes, 4 fatalities;
- Bell: 312 crashes, 2 fatalities;
- Bexar: 2,412 crashes, 12 fatalities;
- Comal: 189 crashes, 4 fatalities;
- Collin: 570 crashes, 4 fatalities;
- Dallas: 3,598 crashes, 31 fatalities;
- El Paso: 1,013 crashes, 9 fatalities;
- Fayette: 64 crashes, 2 fatalities;
- Guadalupe: 189 crashes, 6 fatalities;
- Harris: 5,887 crashes, 37 fatalities;
- Hays: 221 crashes, 3 fatalities;
- Hidalgo: 499 crashes, 7 fatalities;
- Lee: 66 crashes, 5 fatalities;
- Maverick: 50 crashes, 1 fatalities;
- Tarrant: 2,054 crashes, 16 fatalities;
- Travis: 630 crashes, 13 fatalities;
- Val Verde: 30 crashes, 2 fatalities; and
- Williamson: 278 crashes, 7 fatalities.
Common Reasons for Trucking Accidents
Car and truck accidents happen for any number of reasons, but certain key factors tend to increase the risk of a trucking accident. Your collision may have been caused by:
- Driver fatigue;
- Driver distraction;
- Aggressive driving;
- Speeding;
- Intoxicated or drugged driving;
- Improper truck maintenance;
- Dangerously designed parts;
- Defective parts;
- Overloaded trucks; or
- Unsecured loads.
You need to call an attorney right away after a truck accident because it is important to immediately investigate the cause of the accident. If you are not able to investigate the scene of the collision as well as the truck right away, it is possible everything will be cleaned up and the truck disposed of. If the truck is sent to junkyard, you may have lost critical evidence of the cause of the crash.
Benefits of a Trucking Accident Lawyer
If you were injured in an accident with a commercial truck, you will have more to consider than if you had been in an accident with another individual in their personal vehicle. There may be many more parties involved and the person truly at fault might not be the truck driver. It is possible that you will have to head to court against a large business that will have a team of their own attorneys. Instead of being intimidated or taken advantage of during the insurance claims process or when deciding to file a lawsuit, work with a New Braunfels personal injury attorney who is experienced in trucking accidents. The passionate New Braunfels trucking accident lawyers at The Bettersworth Law Firm have years of experience helping people who were hurt in commercial vehicle accidents recover.
Source:
http://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot-info/trf/crash_statistics/2015/29.pdf
