An 18-wheeler in Austin usually combines a tractor-trailer with up to five axles and 18 wheels. These massive commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) are difficult to operate because of their size and weight, requiring up to 50% more distance for stopping compared to an average passenger car. When an 18-wheeler driver is fatigued, drowsy, distracted, intoxicated or in a rush to meet a tough delivery deadline, it endangers others on the road.
If you were injured in an accident with an 18-wheeler, or someone you love was killed in a wrongful death accident involving this large commercial vehicle, you do not have to take on the is battle alone. The trucking company’s legal department and the insurance company’s lawyers will aggressively fight to deny their liability or limit the amount of damages they should be paid to the least amount possible regardless of the losses. Manipulative and bullying tactics to are common to intimidate the injured victims.
Click the Number Below to Call Austin 18 Wheeler Accident Lawyers
When you hire the Austin 18-wheeler accident lawyers at Miller Weisbrod Olesky, you will have attorneys that know these tactics and strong history of fighting for innocent victims and their families to win. We have the trial capabilities and financial resources to take on powerful trucking companies and insurance giants in Austin to recover the largest possible compensation you deserve.
Our Truck Accident attorneys are led by Clay Miller who is Board-Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law. Less than 3% of all Texas attorneys have achieved board certification and less than that have a personal injury trial law board certification which required numerous jury trials and the passing a rigorous exam in the specialty.
Interstate 35
An 18 Wheeler was traveling through Austin to drop off its load, and crashed into our client on Interstate 35. The attorneys of Miller Weisbrod Olesky held the trucking company responsible for deaths of 2 people from Mexico.
This is my first time needing a law firm and I can’t think of anyone better, they were extremely courteous, and determined to get me exactly what I am owed. I can’t thank them enough for what they have done for me they really do care when it comes to their clients!
Ryan
Miller Weisbrod Olesky Client
Who can be Held Liable for Your Austin 18-Wheeler Accident?
To maximize your compensation in an 18-wheeler personal injury or wrongful death claim, it is important to identify all negligent parties and prove their liability. Our Austin 18-wheeler accident lawyers will thoroughly investigate the role of the following parties that may have contributed individually or jointly to your injuries and losses:
18-Wheeler Driver: Negligent driving, such as speeding, dangerous or aggressive driving, ignoring traffic rules, violation of Hours of Service regulations, or drunk driving by the trucker.
Trucking Company: Pressurizing the driver to meet unreasonable deadlines, negligent hiring practices, poor fleet maintenance, ignoring the driver’s HOS violations, and other federal or state law violations.
Cargo Loader: Cargo overloading, loose cargo, unsecured cargo, hazardous cargo without permissions, or improper loading on part of the cargo loading contractor.
Third-Party Vendor: Negligence in driver recruitment, training, 18-wheeler inspections, maintenance and repair, when these services are outsourced to a third party vendor.
Truck Manufacturer: Tire blowouts, braking failures, steering system defects, trailer defects, or other truck part malfunctions due to manufacturing or design fault.
Maintenance Company: Improper or faulty inspection, repair or maintenance of the 18-wheeler by a mechanic or workshop may lead to malfunction and accident.
Truck Brokers: Third party logistics provider making cargo hauls on behalf of shippers could knowingly hire incompetent or unsafe trucking companies to save on costs, leading to an accident.
Road Construction Company: Failure of a construction company or contractor to keep the work zone safe during road construction may result in serious 18-wheeler accidents.
Government Agencies: Road defects, debris on the road, poor lighting, failure to maintain the road, defective signals, absence of road signs, and other road hazards may cause an accident.
Negligent Practices in Hiring, Retention, and Supervision of 18-Wheeler Drivers
Failure to strictly evaluate a new candidate’s driving record and CDL (commercial driving license) compliance or their history of unsafe driving behaviors.
Avoiding a professional background check or performing inadequate candidate screening before hiring.
Failure to carry out a pre-service alcohol and drug test.
Having no policy to require the 18-wheeler drivers to undergo independent medical fitness exams sponsored by the company.
Ignoring the 18-wheeler operator’s driving records periodically to identify their rate of traffic rule violations on and off the job.
No program in place to conduct random drug tests on 18-wheeler drivers.
Mistakes in maintain updated employment records for the CDL drivers.
Ignoring complaints receiving from the general public about the 18-wheeler driver’s behavior on the road.
Failure to provide proper training when the 18-wheeler driver is required to operate a new or different commercial truck.
Turning a blind eye to the trucker’s failure to complete daily pre-trip inspection reports or maintain accurate hours of service logs.
Having faulty HR policies that incentivize meeting unrealistic delivery deadlines, and dis-incentivize safe driving practices.
Permitting 18-wheeler drivers to ignore routes that have been determined as safe by the company’s safety department.
Not enforcing disciplinary action or termination of 18-wheeler drivers that have repeatedly engaged in FMCSA and state law violations.
How Does Modified Comparative Fault Rule Affect Your 18-wheeler Accident Claim in Austin?
Unlike many other states, Texas follows a harsh rule of modified comparative negligence for 18-wheeler accidents. According to this rule, if your percentage of fault for your own accident and injuries is found to be 51% or more, you cannot recover any damages from the other liable parties. As long as your fault is 50% or less, the court will reduce the proportion of your fault from the damages you are awarded.
Clearly, the trucking companies, insurers, and other liable parties will try to put at least 51% of the blame on you for the accident so that they don’t have to pay anything to you. The judge and the jury will be bound by this rule of modified comparative negligence. At Miller Weisbrod Olesky, we will build a powerful, evidence-backed case and use top expert witness testimonies to prove 100% negligence and liability of all the defendants, and get you the maximum financial compensation you are entitled to.
Protect Your Right to Financial Compensation
At Miller Weisbrod Olesky, our Austin 18 Wheeler Accident Lawyers will explore every possibility to increase your financial compensation and hold all the negligent parties liable for damages. Once you have us on your side, we will move aggressively to obtain truck data recorder evidence, driver logs, witness information, and evidence from the crash site in order to build a strong claim for damages, while you and your family can focus on your recovery.
We will fight to make sure you get all financial compensation you deserve through settlement against the responsible trucking company and their insurers or take your case to trial with through preparation of evidence and a winning legal strategy if they fail to pay you the money you are owed. Schedule your free consultation with our legal team today. Our proven record of success in obtaining substantial settlements and verdicts for our injured clients speaks for itself.
Meet The Leader In Truck Accident Litigation With A Record Of Multi-Million Dollar Settlements And Verdicts
With a 30-year history heading the Truck Accident Department of Miller Weisbrod Olesky, firm partner Clay Miller has a proven record of holding trucking companies accountable and achieving multi-million dollar settlements and court verdicts for his clients. Clay has been consistently listed in Super Lawyers as one of the Best Lawyers in Texas, published in Texas Monthly, for over 15 years.
Clay is regularly invited to speak to Trial Lawyer Groups around Houston and across the state of Texas on the topics of trucking laws, trial tactics and techniques, and how to prepare evidence and a winning legal strategy in Truck Accident Cases throughout Texas. Clay was the featured speaker for the Texas Trial Lawyers Association on the new changes to trucking laws passed by the state of Texas.
Our truck accident legal team includes Josh Birmingham, who is currently on the Dallas Trial Lawyers Board of Directors and served as the president of the Mesquite Bar Association for four years. Josh was named Thomson Reuters | Texas Super Lawyers Rising Star in 2016 and 2017.
We also have on our team Michael Orth, a board certified personal injury trial lawyer who has spent the last decade representing injured Texans and their families. Michael’s success in scores of personal injury cases across federal and state courtrooms has earned him the coveted Board Certification in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
Miller Weisbrod Olesky Austin 18 Wheeler Accident Lawyers
Clay Miller
Clay is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Clay has practiced solely in the field of catastrophic injury and wrongful death since graduating from law school. His practice has been limited to the representation of victims. Over the past twenty-four years, Clay has successfully settled or tried to verdict cases in the areas of vehicular negligence, medical malpractice, construction site accidents, workplace injury, premises liability, and commercial trucking and a nationwide business loss case (suits filed in a dozen different states) involving defective truck engines sold to trucking companies.
Clay's most recent victories include when general contractor ignored its own requirements for safety training of a subcontractor workforce. As a result, our client never received training in how to properly use his fall protection equipment. Our client fell two stories and hit the ground because the equipment was hooked up improperly. He was left paralyzed. When the general contractor refused to tender their insurance limits, Construction Accident Attorney, Clay Miller tried the case in Texas, and obtained a verdict of $26,500,000, including $15,000,000 of punitive damages.
Clay was raised in Lewisville, Texas and completed his undergraduate degree in Finance at Texas A & M University. Following graduation from Southern Methodist University School of law, Clay worked for two Dallas firms representing victims. In 1998, Clay began his own practice before forming his current partnership. In addition to his law practice, Clay has lectured at seminars and published in the areas of construction accidents, jury selection techniques, medical negligence, trucking accidents and settlement tactics.
Josh Birmingham was born in Las Cruces, New Mexico and raised in the small oil town of Hobbs, New Mexico. He graduated from the University of Nebraska in 2004 where he was a part of the Big 12 champion baseball team and was a College World Series participant.
He obtained his law degree from the University of Tulsa: College of Law in 2007 where he earned numerous awards in Mock Trial and Negotiation competitions.
Josh began his career at another prominent law firm where he fought for the victims of other’s negligence.
After 9 years Josh left being a trial lawyer and became an executive for a healthcare consulting firm but his passion for helping others in the law quickly pulled him back. Josh has tried numerous cases in both state and federal court. Josh began his first day with Miller Weisbrod Olesky in trial with Clay Miller representing an injured construction worker, Fernando Canales. Josh second chaired the trial and handled all of the medical expert testimony in the case.
Josh is a member of the State Bar of Texas, American Association of Justice, Texas Trial Lawyers Association, Dallas Trial Lawyers Association, and Dallas Association of Young Lawyers. He is currently on the Dallas Trial Lawyers Board of Directors and served as the president of the Mesquite Bar Association for four years. Josh was named Thomson Reuters | Texas Super Lawyers Rising Star in 2016 and 2017.
Josh accredits his passion toward helping others to his mother Pam Parkinson, a nurse and business woman, and his father Ray Birmingham a college baseball coach.
Michael is a board certified personal injury trial lawyer who has spent the last decade representing injured Texans and their families. Born and raised in Dallas, Michael attended Texas A&M University where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Political Science. Following graduation, Michael worked in sales for one of the largest trucking companies in the United States. While working in the trucking industry, Michael saw the dangers that can and do occur when companies put profits before safety, and safety is not provided its proper place at the table. It was at this point Michael decided to pursue a career in law to help those harmed by the negligence of others.
Michael attended the University of Houston Law Center, where he served as a Senior Articles Editor for the Houston Journal of International Law. Throughout law school, Michael clerked at one of the 5 law firms that represented the State of Texas against Big Tobacco, where he worked on cases ranging from catastrophic crane collapses, to sexual abuse cases to environmental class action lawsuits. Most importantly, Michael learned the law could be used to do a lot of good in peoples’ lives, and could help those who had been injured because of the carelessness of others.
After obtaining his law license, Michael moved to South Padre Island and practiced personal injury law in the Rio Grande Valley. While practicing in South Texas, Michael tried nearly 20 cases in federal and state courtrooms across South Texas, consistently obtaining verdicts significantly higher than the insurance companies’ offers. As a result of his success in the courtroom, Michael is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, a designation earned by practicing personal injury law almost exclusively, showing substantial success and experience trying personal injury lawsuits, completing extensive Continuing Legal Education in personal injury trial law, and passing a rigorous written exam demonstrating superior competence in handling personal injury cases.
Michael is married to Katlyn and has 2 young daughters, Kathleen and Mary Louise. Michael volunteers for the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program, providing pro bono legal services to others in the community.
