Dallas Tow Truck Accident Lawyers

Tow trucks are necessary for anyone whose car has stalled or who’s been involved in a car accident. These large trucks offer a convenient and necessary service, but sometimes the tow trucks themselves can become involved in serious accidents and cause severe injuries.

If the tow truck driver or their employer was responsible for the crash, you could hold them liable for your expenses and any suffering you endured. Tow truck injury claims are complex, often involving multiple liable parties. With the help of our Dallas tow truck accident lawyers, you can recover the maximum financial compensation you need and deserve to cover your medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and more.

Did you sustain injuries in an accident involving a tow truck? If so, The Benton Law Firm is ready to meet with you to discuss your legal rights and options and how our award-winning attorneys will help you regain your feet. Call us today at (214) 777-7777 to schedule a free consultation.

Types of Tow Trucks

A tow truck is a commercial vehicle that tows or picks up improperly parked, disabled, impounded, or indisposed motor vehicles. There are four major types of tow trucks:

Flatbed tow truck: A hydraulic system lifts the vehicle or allows someone to drive it onto the back of the truck.
Integrated tow truck: This type contains more axles than usual, and the arm is mounted towards the center of the truck instead of at the back to facilitate towing buses and large trucks.
Hook and chain tow truck: An attached hook and chain crane lift the vehicle off the ground by its rear or front. This type is uncommon and is mostly used to tow cars on their way to the junkyard.
Wheel-lift tow truck: A hydraulic boom and crossbars lift a car by the front or rear wheels and transport it behind the truck.

What Causes Tow Truck Accidents?

Tow trucks are similar to semi-trucks due to their large size and weight. However, the most significant difference is the type of cargo loaded on the back. While semi-trucks can carry various goods, such as household products, produce, and toxic chemicals, tow trucks only carry vehicles.

A tow truck that crashes into a small car can cause severe damage. Most accidents are the result of driver error. Others are because of trucking company negligence or a recalled vehicle part. The most common causes of tow truck accidents include:

Texting while driving or another type of distraction
Defective or damaged parts
Speeding
Failure to follow traffic laws
Merging or changing lanes without checking blind spots
Tailgating
Drowsy or fatigued driving
Inexperienced driver
Employer’s negligent hiring practices
Lack of maintenance or repairs

Most people will assume the tow truck driver is responsible, but it’s important to determine whether the towing company might also be liable. Towing companies must ensure other motorists’ safety by hiring qualified and experienced employees. Tow truck drivers are supposed to go through training to understand how to operate the vehicle and how to handle dangerous conditions. If the company doesn’t utilize adequate hiring and training practices, it could become financially responsible for the resulting crashes and injuries.

Hire The Benton Law Firm to Investigate Your Accident

When you get into an accident, there are essential steps you’ll need to take to ensure you can collect compensation. You must find sufficient evidence to prove the tow truck driver caused the crash and you suffered injuries as a result. The insurance company will likely deny your claim if you can’t prove negligence.

Our Dallas tow truck accident lawyers have the resources to obtain crucial evidence for our clients. The Benton Law Firm will handle the recovery of evidence, such as:

Truck driver’s cell phone records, toxicology reports, chemical test results, driving history, etc.
Eyewitness statements
Copies of your medical records, billing statements, car repair estimates, prescriptions, and other documents related to the crash and injuries
Towing company’s vehicle maintenance and repair logs
Load manifest
Truck’s black box data recorder
Traffic crash report
Accident scene photos
Video surveillance footage
Liability insurance declarations page and policy

You shouldn’t worry about your case’s legal aspects while you’re trying to recover from your injuries. We’ll take care of each step on your behalf and aggressively fight for the maximum settlement available. If necessary, we can file a lawsuit against the at-fault party and pursue the financial award you deserve in court.

Determining the Value of Your Case

When you file an insurance claim, the goal is to receive a settlement check that covers your total damages. Damages are supposed to make an injured victim whole after an accident. They can reimburse your expenses and compensate you for the suffering you had to endure.

In any accident, the available damages fall under two main categories: economic (expenses) and non-economic (suffering). The most common damages you could expect to pursue after a tow truck accident includes the following:

Medical expenses
Out-of-pocket costs
Lost wages
Lost earning capacity
Pain and suffering
Emotional distress
Disfigurement or disability
Property damage

Economic damages are easy to calculate because an invoice or bill is associated with the expense. Non-economic damages are trickier. It’s difficult trying to monetize something like physical pain. There’s no receipt to refer to for an appropriate value.

When determining the right amount of compensation for non-economic damages, the insurance company will consider the following factors:

Type of injury sustained
The severity of the injury
Length of required medical care
If there’s a permanent impairment or the victim reached maximum medical improvement (MMI)
Duration unable to maintain employment
Availability of evidence proving truck driver negligence
Total economic damages
Percentage of shared fault
Impact of the Injury on Quality of Life
Liability coverage listed on the insurance policy

A skilled attorney will utilize their resources and the evidence they collect on your behalf to build a solid case that you deserve maximum compensation.

How Can Modified Comparative Negligence Affect Compensation?

Under the modified comparative negligence rule, you could receive less financial compensation than you usually would under different circumstances. When the insurance company establishes negligence after a tow truck accident, they will examine both parties and their actions. If they both share percentages of the blame for the crash, their maximum compensation will get reduced by that same percentage.

Let’s say the tow truck driver was 80% at fault, and you were 20% at fault for the accident. If you incurred $100,000 in damages, you would have to subtract 20% to determine the highest compensation you would be entitled to, $80,000.

There’s also the 51% rule. This rule would bar the recovery of any damages if the injured victim were 51% at fault or higher.

Auto Insurance Laws in Texas

When insurance companies are dealing with motor vehicle accidents in Texas, they follow a fault system. That means the liable driver automatically becomes financially responsible for injuries and damages resulting from the crash. Most cases involve the injured party going after the at-fault driver’s insurance company instead of seeking out-of-pocket payment.

It’s a legal requirement for all motorists to carry auto insurance with minimum liability coverage. This coverage provides compensation for a victim’s economic and non-economic damages.

If you discover that the truck driver doesn’t have insurance, you might have to turn to your insurance company for a settlement. UM, insurance is uninsured motorist coverage, which provides reimbursement of an injured person’s damages if the at-fault party doesn’t hold liability coverage.

Much like liability insurance, UM will cover the following damages:

Medical treatment
Out-of-pocket expenses
Lost wages and lost future earnings
Pain and suffering

It’s not a legal requirement to purchase UM, but if you opted for it, you could recover compensation up to the limit you chose on your policy. Another optional coverage is known as personal injury protection (PIP). Instead of waiting until the end of your case to receive a settlement check, PIP works much like health insurance. It will pay upfront for your medical appointments, prescriptions, and other costs associated with treatment. It can also provide payment for a percentage of your lost wages.

I Can’t Afford a Lawyer. What Should I Do?

If you’re worried about the cost of hiring a lawyer, you should speak with one of the Dallas tow truck accident lawyers from The Benton Law Firm. We know you’re struggling financially, and the thought of spending more money on legal representation is stressful. That’s why we take cases on contingency.

A contingency fee is an agreement for the lawyer not to take a fee from the client unless they recover compensation for them. There are no upfront fees or costs you need to pay for us to work on your case. We don’t expect payment unless we win. If we don’t win, you won’t owe us anything.

Injured in a Tow Truck Accident? Call The Benton Law Firm Today

If you were the victim of a tow truck accident in Dallas, you deserve assistance from an experienced and reputable personal injury lawyer. We’ll fight hard to protect your rights and get you the maximum compensation. You deserve to hold the at-fault party accountable for their careless actions. They shouldn’t be the ones to pay for your damages.

If you want to learn more about your legal options, schedule a free initial consultation with our attorneys by calling (214) 777-7777. The skilled Dallas truck accident attorneys of The Benton Law Firm will help make you whole again.