Truck Accident Lawyer: Why You Should Never Trust the Insurance Company

Truck Accident Lawyer Explains Why You Should Never Trust the Insurance Company After an Accident

It’s simple advice that’s been proven time and time again. In the many cases our Law Office has seen over our twenty years of practicing law: Don’t trust the insurance company. You may have already gone through a negative experience with an insurance agent or insurance company.

On the other hand, maybe you’ve never had to deal with an insurance agent and aren’t aware of the possible pitfalls that can occur when seeking compensation for a claim. In either case, there are many instances where the interests of the insurance company often outweigh your best interests. In other words, some insurance agents might not be quite like good neighbor. Because insurance agencies are still a for-profit business, this often means that, if an insurance agent can deny our greatly lessen your claim, they stand to save their company the most amount possible. In other words, your loss is often their gain. The Texas truck accident law firm of our Law Office provides the following story as proof that you shouldn’t automatically trust the insurance company.

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When An Insurance Company Takes Advantage

As an example of the statement, “Don’t trust the insurance company,” a woman once contacted our Law Office after her husband and the father of her children was killed while changing a flat tire on the side of the road by a reckless 18-wheeler driver. Because the truck driver knew he was at fault, he contacted his company, and his company subsequently contacted their insurance company. This insurance company then quickly deployed a team of highly trained professionals, involving accident recreation specialists, defense attorneys, and top-notch insurance agents, to the field in order to pursue all possible routes towards vindicating the negligent driver. However, this team was unsuccessful at disproving the driver’s fault at the scene of the accident.

But insurance agencies, especially in the case of accidents involving 18-wheelers where large sums of money are on the line, seldom give up so easily. Employing an oft-used tactic that preys on the emotional vulnerability of those in the initial stages of the grief process, this particular insurance agency sent an agent to visit the recently bereaved woman while she was at the morgue identifying her husband’s body. Hoping to catch her during this understandably difficult time, the insurance agent was attempting to get her to agree to a settlement offer that was far less than fair. Fortunately for the woman, her brother was also there and was able to escort the offensive insurance agent away from his sister. This is a common tactic that often results in an aggrieved party agreeing to a less than fair settlement because they were not in the right emotional or mental state to make a rational decision regarding their legal rights. If you ever happen to be in the same circumstances, it’s in your best interest to contact competent legal help before agreeing to any settlement offered by an insurance agent. As a reminder, it’s best to have a healthy skepticism when it comes to what an insurance agent may be offering you, or, in other words, don’t trust the insurance company.

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The saga continues. The lady who lost her husband because of a negligent truck driver simply wanted fair compensation in order to take care of herself and her three children in light of her husband’s death. Assuming that this was quite fair grounds for compensation, she agreed to later meet face-to-face with an insurance adjuster. This seemingly innocuous meeting would eventually be the undoing of any possible legal remedies she could have sought in a wrongful death lawsuit.

For starters, the insurance agent blatantly lied to her that she would only receive compensation for her husband’s lost wages if she chose to sue the insurance company. The agent was fully aware of his lie, but the woman believed he was telling the truth. The truth was that many different types of damages could be sought in such a case, including loss of future earnings, which would have likely greatly increased the amount of compensation this lady could have received. Because she believed the insurance agent honestly had her best interests at heart and was telling her the truth, she stood to lose a sizable, and justly due, amount of compensation because of her innocent and trusting nature. Since she was under the impression that this was the only way she would ever receive any type of compensation, and that this would be the only way in which she’d be able to take care of herself and her family, she was on the brink of signing the insurance agent’s prepared papers in order to agree to the settlement.

However, she still had some misgivings about the situation and asked if she could speak with a lawyer before signing the papers. Rather quickly after that moment, an attorney arrived at her door, looked over the papers, and agreed that the settlement was fair and likely all she would receive. Because of this “outside” source of knowledge, she signed the papers, agreeing to a paltry settlement that was far less than what was fair or necessary for her to able to provide for herself or her family. What she was not aware of in this particular situation was the fact that the lawyer who happened to appear at her house at the right time was in fact hired by the insurance company to do exactly what he did. In other words, the “outside” attorney was in fact “on the inside” and was going to always agree that the settlement was just and all she could hope for. Her innocence in dealing with insurance companies was taken advantage of, and she wound up losing immense amounts of possible compensation because of it.

Unfortunately, by the time the wrongful death attorneys at our Law Office had been contacted by this woman and told about her case, we were unable to assist her as she’d already signed proper documentation. By accepting a settlement, she was then legally prevented from bringing a lawsuit against the negligent driver’s insurance company. Had she contacted us at anytime prior to signing the dotted line, we would have likely been able to help her see all of her possibly legal remedies, and she would have known that she should have likely been compensated for her husband’s loss of future earnings, her own pain and suffering, and funeral expenses. She could have stood the chance to have received over a million dollars in compensation for everything she had been through. However, because of the often unscrupulous and unethical tactics of some insurance companies, and because she believed the lie that her best interests were being looked after by these insurance companies, she wound up with a settlement that included only a few years of her husband’s lost wages that eventually devolved to a measly $600 per month once her children became independents. The sad but true conclusion to this story isn’t that she lost so much, but that the insurance adjuster involved likely received a raise, a bonus, or a promotion for what they did.

Get Legal Help from our Law Office Before Dealing with an Insurance Company

Don’t let what happened in the story above happen to you. By contacting our Law Office quickly in the aftermath of a personal injury, auto accident, or wrongful death case, you can be sure that will work assiduously to protect you from the sometimes unethical treatment and tactics used by some insurance companies. Especially as the stakes of an accident case escalate, such as in the event of wrongful death, it’s vitally important to have experienced legal help on your side to ensure that insurance companies are held liable for the policies they provide to their clients and for their clients’ negligence. Our Law Office has two decades’ worth of experience in personal injury and wrongful death law, as well as a proven track record of success in seeking full and fair compensation for our clients. Call us for a free consultation, especially if you think you might be in over your head dealing with an insurance company. We will listen to the details of your case and inform you as to your possible legal remedies for compensation. Above all, remember one thing: Don’t trust the insurance company. They may not always be on your side, but the Texas personal injury and wrongful death law firm of our Law Office is.

Austin Commuters vs. 18-Wheelers: Protecting I-35 and MoPac Drivers After a Crash

This blog was posted by Shaw-Cowart Personal Injury Lawyer in Austin, representing clients in Austin and the surrounding areas

Austin Commuters vs. 18-Wheelers: Protecting I-35 and MoPac Drivers After a Crash

Austin’s morning and afternoon rush hours put hundreds of thousands of commuters on roads they share daily with a constant flow of commercial trucks. I-35 between Buda, Kyle, San Marcos, and downtown Austin is one of the heaviest freight corridors in the country. MoPac through North Austin carries its own steady mix of delivery trucks and regional freight alongside commuters headed to and from the Domain, the medical district, and the tech campuses that line that corridor. For our Austin truck accident lawyer, the daily collision of commuter traffic patterns and commercial truck operations produces a steady stream of serious injury cases — crashes that happen to people doing nothing more than going to and from work.

What makes these crashes particularly damaging legally and practically is the mismatch between what commuters are equipped to handle and what the trucking industry brings to the encounter. Commuters are in passenger vehicles with standard safety equipment, driving routes they know well, trying to navigate predictable traffic patterns. Commercial truck drivers are operating vehicles that can weigh 20 times more than the cars around them, under delivery pressure, sometimes fatigued from overnight hauls, and often unfamiliar with Austin’s specific traffic rhythms. When something goes wrong in that mismatch, it is almost never the commuter who walks away without serious harm.

The Most Dangerous Situations for Austin Commuters Near Trucks

Rush-hour congestion on I-35 creates the conditions most likely to produce rear-end crashes involving 18-wheelers. Stop-and-go traffic that can transition from 60 mph to a complete stop in seconds demands constant attention from truck drivers — the kind of attention that fatigue, distraction, or following-too-closely eliminates. Our attorneys regularly handle cases where a commuter stopped in traffic on I-35 was rear-ended by a truck whose driver simply did not react in time. The forces involved in those crashes at even moderate highway speeds are devastating for the occupants of passenger vehicles.

Lane changes in dense traffic are another constant hazard. 18-wheelers have substantial blind spots on both sides, and drivers who change lanes without fully clearing those zones can sideswipe commuters who are legitimately occupying adjacent lanes. On I-35 and MoPac where multiple lanes of traffic are in constant motion during rush hour, a truck’s blind spot covers multiple cars at once. Our lawyers see sideswipe cases where commuters were struck without any warning while driving in lanes they had every right to occupy.

Merging near on-ramps and off-ramps concentrates risk further. Commuters entering MoPac or I-35 from short acceleration ramps, trucks exiting at the same point, and the resulting weaving creates a narrow window for errors that produce serious crashes. Construction zones — which are a permanent feature of I-35 through Austin — add another layer of risk with reduced lanes, concrete barriers, and sudden slowdowns that leave no margin for error when a truck driver is not paying full attention.

What Insurance Companies Do to Commuter Claims

When a commuter is injured by a commercial truck, the trucking company’s insurance carrier does not treat the claim the way a friend would. Its adjusters are trained to minimize payouts by identifying any argument that shifts blame to the commuter — you were in the truck’s blind spot, you followed too closely, you changed lanes at the wrong moment, you stopped too suddenly. Under Texas’s modified comparative fault rules, assigning even a fraction of blame to the injured commuter reduces compensation, and assigning more than 50 percent eliminates it entirely. Our Austin truck accident attorneys understand those tactics and prepare our cases to neutralize them from the outset.

That means securing dashcam footage before it is overwritten, obtaining the truck’s black-box data showing speed and braking inputs, preserving electronic logging records that establish the driver’s hours, and working with reconstruction experts who can establish precisely how the crash occurred and who bears fault for it. The commuter who was simply driving to work deserves a full and honest account of what actually happened — not a version constructed by an insurance adjuster working to protect the carrier’s bottom line.

MoPac-Specific Truck Crash Patterns

MoPac presents somewhat different conditions than I-35. The corridor runs through densely developed North and Central Austin with restricted shoulders, significant grade changes, and limited escape routes when traffic stops suddenly. Commercial deliveries serving the businesses and residential areas along the corridor add medium and heavy trucks to a road that was not designed for heavy freight volumes. Intersection access at cross streets with limited sightlines creates merge conflicts. Our attorneys handle MoPac truck crash cases with attention to the specific geometry of the corridor — where the truck came from, what the driver’s sightlines were, and whether the crash happened in conditions that demanded more caution than the driver exercised.

Injuries Austin Commuters Sustain in Truck Crashes

Rear-end crashes at I-35 and MoPac speeds produce spinal injuries including herniated discs, vertebral fractures, and in the most severe cases paralysis. Traumatic brain injuries from occupants’ heads striking headrests, windows, and steering columns in the sudden deceleration of a rear-end impact are common. Sideswipe crashes at highway speeds can cause loss of vehicle control, rollovers, and secondary impacts with barriers or other vehicles. Commuters trapped in construction zones following a truck crash face additional risks from exposure to active traffic lanes before emergency services can arrive. Our truck accident lawyers work with medical experts to document the full scope of injuries and their projected long-term impact, ensuring that no element of a commuter’s damages is left out of the compensation claim.

What to Do if You Are Hit by a Truck During Your Austin Commute

Call 911 and get emergency medical attention even if you believe you can drive away. The adrenaline of a crash can mask serious injuries for hours. If you can safely photograph the scene, do so — get the truck and trailer numbers, the trucking company name, and the driver’s information. Do not give a recorded statement to the carrier’s insurer before speaking with our lawyers. Contact our Austin truck accident attorneys as soon as you are able so we can begin preserving the evidence that will determine the outcome of your case.

If you were injured in a crash with an 18-wheeler on I-35, MoPac, or any Austin-area road during your commute, our truck accident lawyers offer free consultations and charge no fees unless we recover compensation for you. Call 512-499-8900 today.