This blog was posted by Shaw-Cowart Personal Injury Attorneys in Austin, representing clients for car accident injuries, truck / 18 wheeler accidents, motorcycle accident injuries, work related accidents, wrongful death claims and much more in Austin and the surrounding areas

Why I-35 Through Austin Is a Truck Crash Hotspot

Anyone who drives I-35 through Austin knows how stressful it can be. Long lines of semis, sudden slowdowns, constant lane changes, and never-ending construction make this corridor one of the most nerve-wracking stretches of highway in Central Texas. For our Austin truck accident lawyers, those daily headaches have a very real cost — a steady stream of serious 18-wheeler crash cases involving commuters, families, and out-of-town travelers. Our lawyers see I-35’s reputation as a truck crash hotspot reflected in our caseload week after week.

I-35 is not just another freeway. It is the main north-south freight spine of Texas, carrying local traffic, regional delivery trucks, and long-haul 18-wheelers all on the same crowded pavement. When you combine that with complex interchanges and ongoing construction, it is not surprising that this corridor produces so many serious truck wrecks. Our Austin 18-wheeler accident lawyers have spent years dissecting I-35 crashes to understand exactly why they happen and how to prove fault when they do.

Several features of the I-35 corridor through Austin and the surrounding counties combine to make it uniquely hazardous for truckers and everyone around them. Crushing traffic volume from commuters in Buda, Kyle, San Marcos, Round Rock, and beyond packs every lane alongside local Austin traffic and interstate freight. Stop-and-go congestion means it is common to go from 65 to 70 mph to a complete stop with little warning — a recipe for […]

This blog was posted by Shaw-Cowart Personal Injury Attorneys in Austin – Truck/18 Wheeler Accident Lawyers, representing clients in Austin and the surrounding areas

Spinal Cord Injuries from 18-Wheeler Accidents

Spinal cord injuries from 18-wheeler accidents change lives forever in an instant. The massive forces generated when commercial trucks collide with passenger vehicles frequently damage the delicate spinal cord, causing paralysis and permanent disability that no amount of rehabilitation can fully reverse. These are among the most catastrophic outcomes in all of personal injury law, and they demand equally comprehensive legal representation. More about our truck and 18-wheeler accident lawyers in Austin here.

The spinal cord carries nerve signals between the brain and every part of the body. When 18-wheeler accidents damage this critical bundle of nerves, the communication pathway between the brain and the body below the injury site is disrupted — sometimes partially, sometimes completely. Spinal cord injuries from 18-wheeler accidents may cause total paralysis with no sensation or movement, or incomplete injuries that preserve some function while eliminating others. Either way, the consequences are permanent, and the financial burden of lifetime care is staggering.

According to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center, vehicle accidents cause the largest percentage of spinal cord injuries in the United States. The catastrophic size and weight disparity between commercial trucks and the passenger vehicles they strike makes truck accidents particularly likely to produce these devastating injuries. When a fully loaded 18-wheeler — weighing up to 80,000 pounds — strikes a passenger car, the forces involved are sufficient to compress, sever, or permanently damage the spinal cord in ways that even the best medical care cannot repair.

Types of Spinal Cord Injuries Caused by Truck […]

Our Texas Truck Accident Injury Lawyer Discusses Common Unsafe Trucking Practices

Unsafe trucking practices lead to approximately 100,000 injuries and 5,000 deaths per year in the United States alone. These astronomical numbers are a somber reminder that this necessary part of modern living has its price. Large commercial trucks, 18-wheelers, semis, big-rigs, and other types of commercial vehicles can cause immense damage when even a small error occurs. Trucking accidents in Texas can be caused by any number of unsafe trucking practices.

Asleep at the Wheel

Truckers earn their wages by spending time on the road and by quickly delivering their goods. This can be a recipe for disaster as it causes some truck drivers to overextend themselves and drive too long under poor, personal physical conditions. Likely causes of truck accidents often involve a driver falling asleep at the wheel, then causing devastating amounts of damage to both themselves and others. While these are well-known risks, Congress recently chose to actually extend the number of possible hours a truck driver is allowed to legally drive from ten hours to eleven hours. Adding that extra hour may not seem like much, but, in reality, it has been a continual cause for unsafe trucking practices.

However, there are rules and regulations stated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, or FMCSA, that define the necessary limits of fatigue and other factors relating to commercial truck drivers:

Article 392.3 – Ill or fatigued operator
“No driver shall operate a commercial motor vehicle, and a motor carrier shall not require or permit a driver to operate a commercial motor vehicle, while the driver’s ability or alertness is so impaired, or so likely […]

Satisfying the Burden of Proof

As we stated previously, in the state of Texas, the law does not require a defendant to pay a victim anything after he or she has been injured in a truck accident. The victim, or plaintiff, has to prove the defendant owes him or her compensation. And in order to get that compensation, the victim has to produce compelling evidence to sway a judge or jury. Evidence still needs to be produced even when negotiating an out-of-court settlement; the defendant or the defendant’s insurance provider must be compelled to negotiate in good faith; that won’t happen if you don’t have evidence on your side. In order to meet the burden of proof, you need to establish duty, breach, causation, and damages. These are detailed below.

Duty – The state of Texas has established that everyone owes everyone else a duty of care. In your case, you have to prove the defendant owed you the duty of providing for your safety by behaving in a responsible manner. There are different levels of duty of care that apply in different ways. In the case of motorists, all drivers owe all other drivers a duty of care to drive in a manner that is safe for everyone else on the road. In the case of a truck accident, this is a fairly easy element to establish.

Breach – You must next prove that the defendant (or defendants) breached that duty of care that you were owed. This breach typically occurs when a defendant places others in danger, either through an action that […]