San Antonio has witnessed significant economic growth in recent years, and a large part of the credit goes to its roadways that enable commercial trucks and 18 wheelers to carry a heavy interstate trade volume. The massive size and weight of semis and tractor-trailers moving freight through San Antonio makes them more dangerous and accident-prone on the road for other people.
Click the Number Below to Call San Antonio Truck Wreck Attorneys
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.
If you have suffered injuries in a truck wreck or someone you love was killed in a wrongful death truck accident with a commercial truck, you may be entitled to significant financial damages from the liable parties. The award winning San Antonio truck wreck lawyers at Miller Weisbrod Olesky are determined to fight for your rights, and will not rest until you receive justice and get fully compensated for your injuries and losses caused by a truck wreck.
Why You Need a Law Firm Specializing in Truck Wreck Claims?
Our client was hit head on by a company truck. Her vascular system was badly damaged and over the course of a month her lower leg’s blood flow was so compromised that serious gangrene set in leading to an amputation. We recovered $7,000,000 Dollars for our client.
Fighting Powerful Defendants
Unlike passenger vehicle accidents, truck wrecks often lead to catastrophic injuries, permanent disability or wrongful death of the victims. This means the defendants, including insurance companies and large trucking companies, have a much higher financial stake and will use all their legal firepower and even bullying tactics to deny or diminish the injured victim’s legal claim.
Miller Weisbrod Olesky has the resources and winning track record to take on these powerful defendants and level the playing field. Once hired we will immediately begin to collect evidence with our in-house investigation team and retain expert witnesses such as accident reconstructionists to maximize the preparation of your case.
What is an accident reconstructionist?
Accident reconstruction is a field dedicated to the analysis of factors that lead to a crash. Both government agencies and companies in the private sector hire accident reconstructionists to assist with determining the cause of collisions involving a wide variety of vehicles.
This intense investigation process combined with our record of large settlements and jury verdicts gives us negotiating power with the defendants, who know that we will not hesitate to take your case to trial if they fail to pay you the maximum compensation you deserve.
Proving Liability of the Trucking Company
Unlike most passenger vehicle accident cases, where the straightforward goal is to prove the driver’s negligence, in truck wrecks the objective of a seasoned attorney will be to identify multiple at-fault parties and hold each one of them liable for maximum damages. Trucking companies in San Antonio often have vicarious liability (which means, they are indirectly responsible for the truck driver’s negligent actions.)
Sometimes third parties, such as a cargo loader or truck maintenance provider may also be at fault. The burden of proof in these cases lies on the injured victim, so it is crucial to obtain evidence and prove the negligence of these defendants in order to claim the largest possible damages on your behalf. At Miller Weisbrod Olesky, our skilled San Antonio truck wreck lawyers will move fast to secure evidence and pursue an aggressive legal strategy to get you the highest possible compensation you deserve.
Types of Violations Committed by Trucking Companies in San Antonio
To establish the liability of a trucking company, our San Antonio truck wreck lawyers will deeply investigate and provide evidence of potential violations committed by the company. These violations may include:
Violation of FMCSA's Hours of Service Rules by the Trucking Company
Imposing demanding schedules on drivers, leading them to exceed their hours of service unofficially by speeding or making up additional miles.
Offering drivers bonuses based on unrealistic driving goals, creating an incentive for them to work beyond their allowed hours and potentially falsify their records.
Compensating drivers based on the number of loads delivered, motivating them to work off the clock and omit such hours from their logs in order to maximize their load count.
Implementing policies that favor drivers who regularly violate the rules, creating an unfair advantage over those who adhere to the regulations.
Threatening drivers with retaliation if they refuse to exceed their authorized schedule.
Negligent Hiring Practices of the Trucking Company
Negligent hiring refers to a legal concept asserting that a trucking company neglected to exercise reasonable care in the process of hiring a skilled and competent truck driver. In accordance with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations, a trucking company is obligated to conduct a thorough investigation into the applicant's background before hiring them as a truck driver.
In addition, all trucking companies are required to maintain a driver qualification file, which serves as documentary record of their adherence to FMCSA rules regarding the hiring of drivers. Hiring less qualified or inexperienced truck drivers, conducting inadequate background checks, or failing to maintain proper hiring and training records can create liability of the trucking company for your accident and injuries.
Negligent Retention of Truck Drivers with a Poor Record
Negligent retention occurs when a trucking company retains a truck driver who, despite being initially qualified, no longer possesses the qualifications necessary to operate a truck. This could be attributed to a history of accidents, substance abuse issues, or health problems. If a trucking company chooses to retain such a driver and they subsequently cause an accident, the company may bear responsibility for the consequences.
By retaining a driver who is no longer qualified, the trucking company assumes the risk of potential accidents or incidents that may arise due to the driver's diminished abilities. It’s crucial for trucking companies to assess and monitor the ongoing qualifications and fitness of their drivers to ensure the safety of both their employees and the public. Failure to take appropriate action in cases of negligent retention can result in legal liability if an accident occurs.
Liability of Highway Construction Companies for Your Truck Accident
During highway construction and repair projects, it is the responsibility of the highway construction companies involved to prioritize traffic safety. Regrettably, highway construction sites do not always meet the necessary safety standards, leading to numerous car and truck accidents attributed to the negligence of highway construction companies and their workers.
Inadequate markings and unclear signage within construction zones can create confusion for drivers, potentially obstructing their vision and increasing the likelihood of accidents. Malfunctioning flashing lights on barricades and other traffic control devices can pose significant risks, particularly during nighttime when visibility is reduced. Even drivers familiar with the area can become disoriented while navigating through the maze of cones and barricades. The presence of flashing lights can also cause distractions and impair drivers' visual perception.
It's essential for highway construction companies to address these issues and ensure the proper safety measures are in place to protect motorists. Failure to meet these obligations can result in the highway construction company being held liable for any truck wrecks that occur in San Antonio as a result of their negligence.
Liability of the Cargo Loading Company for Your Truck Accident
Improper cargo loading can result in truck rollover accidents, especially when the cargo is not secured correctly or placed in a way that creates a significant weight imbalance. These kinds of accidents often occur when drivers make sharp turns. In these cases, the cargo loading company may bear substantial liability for the truck accident and resulting injuries.
Our San Antonio truck wreck lawyers will examine the role of various parties whose negligence could contribute to improper cargo loading, such as:
The driver, who might have neglected to assess the cargo balance before going ahead with the trip.
The workers responsible for loading the cargo, who may have disregarded the required procedures and plans to ensure proper and balanced loading.
The cargo loading company that failed to provide adequate guidance to the workers and supervisors.
The trucking company, which may have not established sufficient protocols to mitigate the risk of improper cargo loading.
Liability of the Truck Maintenance Company for Your Truck Accident
Trucking companies, along with third-party maintenance providers, have the responsibility of ensuring the proper maintenance of their fleets. Essential components such as brakes, engine parts and tires play a crucial role in ensuring the safe operation of commercial trucks. If the repair and maintenance teams fail to adhere to federal and state regulations, they can be held accountable for any severe accidents that occur due to truck breakdowns.
When brake pads become worn, they increase the stopping distance, making it more challenging for truck drivers to perform emergency maneuvers. Similarly, worn-out tires are more susceptible to blowouts, which can potentially lead to major highway truck wrecks. Proper maintenance practices can help identify and prevent these issues. Neglecting to do so can result in serious liability for both the third-party truck maintenance company and the trucking company. Our San Antonio truck wreck attorneys will investigate these issues to establish liability of all the negligent parties.
Hours of Service (HOS) Regulations for Trucks in San Antonio
Maximum driving time of 11 hours after an off-duty period of at least 10 hours consecutively.
Not driving beyond the 14th hour (including off-duty time).
Mandatory break time of 30 minutes or more after 8 consecutive hours of driving.
Up to 60 hours of driving in a 7-day workweek, or up to 70 hours in an 8-day workweek.
Mandatory off-duty period of 34 hours off-duty after the completion of a workweek.
Driver Fatigue: A Key Cause Of San Antonio Truck Wrecks
An Allstate research report on driving behavior in the US ranked San Antonio among the cities with the worst driving records and having an accident likelihood of more than 24% during a driver’s lifetime. Another study from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) showed that truck driver fatigue was a contributing factor in about one in three commercial truck wrecks.
According to the study, a vast majority of truck drivers report feeling fatigued or drowsy at some point of time behind the wheel. Truck driver fatigue in these cases could be physical fatigue from a demanding job that requires high-level attention and quick reflexes for prolonged periods or simply tiredness or drowsiness from a lack of sleep.
Fatigued Driving = Drunk Driving
Studies have shown that a commercial truck driver who hasn’t slept for 24 hours has an impairment equivalent to that of a drunk driver with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.10 (well beyond the 0.04 permissible limit for truck operators in San Antonio.)
The effects of fatigued or drowsy driving are similar to that of driving while intoxicated, such as:
Difficulty maintaining focus, keeping eyes open, or holding up head
Distracted thoughts that stray from the road
Swerving, tailgating, or drifting between lanes
Abrupt jerking movements of the steering wheel
Delayed reaction times
Inconsistent driving speed
Running stoplights, missing exits, and neglecting to use turn signals
Memory lapses and inability to recall recently passed situations
These symptoms are concerning for any driver, but they pose an even greater risk for truck drivers who transport massive or oversized cargo loads. The dangers escalate when operating an 18-wheeler or big rig under these conditions.
Trucking Company Liability in San Antonio for Fatigue Driving Accidents
Trucking companies in San Antonio can be held liable for the fatigued or drowsy driving behavior of truck drivers that result in catastrophic truck wrecks. Examples of trucking company negligence in these cases include:
Neglecting to enforce the submission of required reports and documentation, such as hours-of-service logs or pre-trip inspection reports
Not suspending or terminating truck drivers diagnosed with medical conditions that make them unfit to operate a commercial truck
Encouraging or requiring drivers to engage in unsafe or reckless truck driving behaviors, such as speeding, aggressive driving, or exceeding hours of service limits
Allowing truck drivers to choose their own routes or not enforcing adherence to routes confirmed as safe by the trucking company
Failing to impose disciplinary measures against truck drivers who engage in unsafe behaviors, including the failure to terminate truck drivers who pose a significant risk of causing accidents
Failing to regularly check truck drivers' driving records for recent traffic violations, both on and off the job
Not implementing a random drug testing program or testing truck drivers suspected of drug or alcohol abuse
Failing to maintain updated employment records for commercial vehicle drivers
Failing to review an applicant's driving record to ensure they are licensed to operate a commercial truck and have no history of accidents or safety issues
Neglecting to perform a background check on a truck driver applicant
Omitting pre-service drug and alcohol testing of trucking employees
Neglecting to require mandatory medical fitness screenings for truck driver applicants
Neglecting to document incidents or complaints and disregarding people's complaints regarding the company's commercial vehicle drivers
Historic Shortage of Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) Drivers in San Antonio
According to the estimates of the American Trucking Association (ATA), there is a historic shortage of skilled and experienced truck drivers in the trucking industry today with nearly 100,000 unfilled positions industry-wide. On the one hand, trucking companies do not want to pay sufficiently to hire qualified drivers, and on the other hand, they provide poor working conditions and pressure drivers directly or indirectly to meet unrealistic delivery deadlines.
At Miller Weisbrod Olesky, our experienced truck wreck attorneys in San Antonio will investigate and prove if the trucking company was responsible for the driver’s hours of service violations, which contributed to your accident. We will also investigate whether the trucking company lowered its hiring standards, ignored background checks or red flags about the driver’s risky behavior, or created systems and incentives that encouraged drivers to commit FMCSA violations, which led to your accident and injury.
Significance of Truck Driver’s Log Book
A log book is a traditional method truck drivers use to record their service hours. The log book must account for all 24 hours of each day of the workweek, including off-days. The log book must also include at least the previous 7 days’ entries on any given date, apart from total miles of driving, total hours, special remarks, and shipping details.
Most trucking companies in San Antonio have installed electronic data recorders (EDR), which can reveal crucial information about what happened in the moments leading to your accident. The moment you sign up with Miller Weisbrod Olesky, we will take swift action to preserve this black box data, have it downloaded in our presence, and get it analyzed by our accident reconstruction experts.
Critical information related to the engine use, speed of the truck, braking information, and communication of the driver will help us determine the liability of the defendants.
Statute of Limitations for Truck Wreck Claims in San Antonio
According to the Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code Section 16.003, you have two years from the date of your accident and injury or two years from the date of wrongful death of a loved one to file your claim. Time is of essence in these cases because evidence may disappear, get diluted, distorted, or tampered with if you too much time passes.
The goal of our San Antonio truck wreck lawyers at Miller Weisbrod Olesky is to seize the advantage over the defendants and build rock-solid evidence to get you the financial compensation you rightful deserve for your injuries and losses. Call us for a free, no-obligations consultation. We work on a contingency fee basis, which means you don’t pay anything unless we obtain for you the compensation you deserve.
Click the Number Below to Call San Antonio Truck Wreck Attorneys
Our San Antonio Truck Wreck Attorneys 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 San Antonio Truck Wreck Attorneys
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 represented dozens of trucking companies in lost profit and diminished value claims against Caterpillar in 2010 through 2012. These cases were filed in over a dozen states with the bellwhether trial set in Federal Court in Davenport, Iowa. After intense litigation and trial preparation, a global confidential settlement was reached for all the clients.
Clay's most recent 2017 victories are a $30,800,000 jury verdict in Tennessee arising from fraud claims in the sale of heavy-duty truck engines and a $26,500,000jury verdict in a construction accident, obtained within 60 days of each other.
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.
