North of Forth Worth, two semi-trucks collided last night and caused a huge four-vehicle accident that tragically claimed the life of an innocent motorist. According to a report by WFAA 8 ABC, the accident occurred at 7:00 p.m. on Highway 114 between Rhome and Decatur.
The driver of one of the trucks noticed that a rock truck heading towards him was drifting into his lane. The first semi-truck driver tried to move over allow the encroaching truck room to get by. However, his efforts were not successful and the two trucks collided head-on at highway speed of 60 miles per hour.
The truck that was drifting into the oncoming lane then crashed into two other vehiclesantra. The driver of the Elantra was unfortunately killed. The driver of the semi-truck who was at fault for the collision was injured and air flighted to JPS Hospital in Fort Worth. Two other motorists were also injured in the crash. What a disaster.
Drifting: A Tell-Tale Sign of The Three Deadly D’s: Drowsy, Drunk, or Distracted Driving
Obviously, truck drivers don’t drift in and out of a lane when they are wide-awake and paying attention to traffic conditions. So something obviously happened here to cause this major crash. That truck driver was guilty of one of the three often deadly D’s of highway travel: driving while drowsy, driving while drunk, or driving while distracted.
I’ve handled cases involving the 3 D’s. And the photo above is not from the case described here since I don’t have one, but is from a case involving a fourth D — dumbness — that I found from a case where my client’s pickup truck sustained moderate damage when he was side swiped by a tractor trailer at an intersection in east Fort Worth. I obtained a total of $750,000.00 after he had his neck operated on and incurred a total of approximately $90,000.00 in medical bills ($50,000 of those were paid by his health insurance carrier, reducing the value of his case). More info is here.
Similar case
I’m currently representing a woman who could have been killed when an 18-wheeler attempted to turn left in front of her nearby on this same road. As you can see from the picture, the whole top half of her car was sheered off when she drove under the rock truck that had suddenly cut across 114. If she hadn’t ducked or had hit the cab or wheels instead of going under the trailer, she would likely have been killed immediately. I’m in the process of filing a lawsuit to recover her damages.The Three D’s
Whenever a truck driver engages in any of the three D’s, he is putting himself and others at an increased risk for an accident. The law calls this kind of behavior negligence and allows for the victims of accidents caused by negligence to recover financially from the negligent driver.
In most cases, accident victims must prove several elements in order to succeed on a negligence claim. But, put simply, the accident victim must prove that the other driver was negligent, and that his or her negligence is what caused the victim’s injuries. In order to help prove a case of negligence, an experienced personal injury attorney is beneficial to walk you through the trial process and explain to you what you will need to prove at trial.
Have You Been Involved in a Texas Truck Accident?
If you have had the ill fortune of being involved in a Texas truck accident, you may be entitled to monetary damages to help compensate you for your injuries. However, be prepared for a fight because a trucking company and its insurance company rarely give in without one. To ensure that you do everything you can to make sure that you are treated fairly by the system and by the defendants, obtain the assistance of a dedicated Fort Worth truck accident attorney to help you with your case. Call 817-885-8000 or toll-free at 1-888-801-8585 to schedule a free initial consultation with a top-rated Fort Worth injury attorney.
Related Posts:
Texas DPS Cracks Down on Unsafe 18 Wheel Trucks, July 23, 2014.
Using The Truck’s Black Box To Win The Case, August 27, 2014.