Accidents are an unfortunate reality in the Texas trucking industry. In 2023, there were 38,909 crashes involving commercial vehicles in the state, resulting in 620 fatalities and thousands of injuries, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. As truck crashes involving fatalities or serious injuries can result in millions of dollars in damages, trucking companies must be well-prepared to respond and defend themselves in the event of an accident.
Negligence in Trucking Accidents
In a commercial trucking accident, negligence generally refers to the failure of drivers or trucking companies to exercise reasonable care on the road. Trucking companies and drivers owe a duty of care to everyone on the road to follow all applicable laws and operate their vehicles safely. If they breach this duty of care, and it causes harm to another party, this constitutes negligence, and the negligent party can be found liable for the other party’s losses.
Rules concerning comparative negligence apply to Texas trucking accidents. In a collision involving a truck and another vehicle, for instance, several parties can be partially responsible for the accident – the truck driver, the driver of another vehicle, the trucking company, a trucking parts manufacturer or a third-party maintenance provider. If two or more parties are partially at fault in an accident, an injured party can recover damages from the other(s) as long as the injured party is not determined to be 51% or more at fault. The total compensation will be impacted by the percentage of each party’s fault in the accident.
Obey All Applicable Laws
Trucking companies can help limit their exposure by obeying all applicable federal and state regulations for their industry. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulates the trucking industry on a federal level, while the Texas Department of Public Safety (TxDPS) has oversight for trucks and drivers who operate solely in Texas, without crossing other state lines or the Mexican border. Both governing bodies have rules regarding maximum hours of service and required breaks for drivers in a given time period to help ensure fatigue does not create an unsafe situation. A trucking company’s drivers must have commercial driver’s licenses that are appropriate for the class of vehicle they are driving, and they must be 21 or older for interstate driving and 18 or older to drive trucks within Texas. Drivers are also required to obey speed limits and all other rules of the road. Trucking companies must perform pre-employment drug testing on all drivers, as well as random drug and alcohol testing and testing upon suspicion of impairment. There are also post-accident, return-to-duty and follow-up testing requirements.
Trucking companies must also meet specified minimum insurance requirements to operate in Texas. Furthermore, they must ensure their vehicles are inspected, repaired and maintained in accordance with regulations, and that all parts and accessories are safe and in proper working order at all times.
Maintain Thorough Records
Trucking companies can further limit their liability by maintaining accurate records, including driver logs, vehicle maintenance records, drug and alcohol testing records and hiring documents. Depending on the circumstances, these documents can play a critical role in a trucking company’s defense following an accident.
24/7 Accident Response Plan
An effective defense is also largely dependent on an effective response in the immediate aftermath of an accident. Your company should have a 24/7 accident response plan in place, including who should be contacted at the company and who should be deployed to the scene of the accident. The person receiving the call should record the available details, including injuries or fatalities, location and type of roadway, number of vehicles involved, property damage, cargo information, roadway conditions, oral statements by the driver, and which law enforcement agencies are investigating the accident. Your attorney and insurance company should be contacted immediately, and an attorney or investigator should be dispatched to the scene to conduct an investigation and collect evidence. Names and addresses of injured people and/or fatalities, witnesses, investigating officers and law enforcement, the wrecker service and its employees, the ambulance service, and any other parties present at the scene should be collected. The attorney or investigator should also interview the investigating officers and Department of Transportation (DOT) vehicle inspection officers and determine whether citations were issued to your driver or other drivers involved.
Protecting Your Driver
When an accident occurs, drivers may discuss the accident with multiple people at the scene, often giving incoherent, speculative statements that may be distorted by guilt or confusion. But these statements are often given more weight than later ones, since they are made when memories are fresh, and can be used against the driver or your company later. Caution your drivers to only give statements to members of law enforcement. When they arrive on the scene, your attorney or investigator should determine the content of any statements given by the driver prior to their arrival.
Your attorney or company representative should coordinate the post-accident alcohol and drug testing required under federal trucking company regulations. If criminal charges are being considered, the attorney must ensure that the driver’s rights are not violated. The attorney should help the driver retain criminal counsel if possible, and consult with the criminal counsel to see if pleading the Fifth Amendment is advisable.
Preserving Evidence
As documents tell a story about what happened in the crash, they need to be preserved. Data from the vehicle’s “black box” and GPS must be kept safe. Some black boxes will reset if the truck is restarted; in such cases, the truck should be towed rather than driven off the road. Data must be downloaded and copied, with a hard copy produced as well, to preserve this crucial evidence.
Get a copy of the police report and other documents related to the investigation. These include any DOT vehicle inspection reports issued; citations issued, preliminary, final and supplemental accident reports; weather reports; and photos/videos taken by the authorities or others.
Gathering a wide variety of proof in the immediate aftermath of the accident can go a long way in helping you mount an effective defense.
The transportation and trucking attorneys at Pappas Grubbs Price PC represent trucking and transportation companies in all aspects of transportation-related litigation. Our 24/7 rapid response emergency team, which consists of attorneys, investigators and accident reconstruction experts, is available for nationwide on-the-scene response immediately after an incident. To speak to a trucking and transportation attorney, contact Pappas Grubbs Price.
