Finesilver Curve Causes Another Truck Accident
The ramp between I-35 South to I-10 West in San Antonio is known as the Finesilver Curve, and it is very common to witness accidents there at all hours. On June 4, traffic was slowed nearly the entire second half of the day due to an 18-wheeler crash just off the ramp itself. No injuries were reported, but this is frequently not the case when big rigs crash. Truck accidents are responsible for significant numbers of fatalities and injuries each year, and if you wind up in such a situation, you need to know just how to bring suit to receive compensation for any injuries.
Stagnation in Numbers
While the total number of fatalities in large truck accidents has actually decreased (for the most part) in the last decade, the most recent available data still shows 4,564 fatalities in 4,075 crashes in 2016 and approximately 180,000 injuries in 119,000 crashes in the same year. This is roughly similar to figures from the previous five years, which may have any number of causes, from increased efficacy of highway safety programs to higher standards required by trucking companies from their employees in terms of maintenance and documentation.
The causes of such accidents are legion, though many of them can be laid at the door of either the truck driver or the truck driver’s employer. Many trucking companies, for example, push their drivers to put in more hours than federal rules recommend, or cut corners on maintenance to keep more employees on the road. An accident is almost always due to shared fault, however, and many auto drivers will drive without sufficient sleep, with distractions, or after indulging in substances, all of which can make their driving much less safe than it should be.
You Have Options
If you are injured, and an 18-wheeler or other large truck played a role in your accident, you may be able to bring suit against them, their employer, or both, to potentially obtain compensation for your medical bills. It may even be possible in some rare situations to bring suit against a road maintenance entity or another driver (a third party, in other words) if you are able to prove that any such actors were negligent. Doing so under Texas law can be somewhat difficult, however, just because of the number of criteria that need proving.
Be advised that regardless of which legal theory you choose to pursue in bringing suit, you must be able to show that you were less than 50 percent at fault for the accident. If you are judged to be more than 50 percent responsible for your own injuries, you are not permitted to recover under Texas’ comparative fault law. The rationale is that if someone was mostly responsible for their own injuries, they do not have the right to be compensated for the lesser effect an outside actor might have had.
Call Our New Braunfels Truck Accident Lawyers
Finesilver Curve is somewhat notorious for accidents occurring there, but there are too many other spots in the area that may take you by surprise. The passionate New Braunfels trucking accident lawyers at the Bettersworth Law Firm can help talk you through the best ways for you to obtain compensation for your injuries and try to answer any questions you may have. Contact us to set up an appointment.
Sources:
https://www.ksat.com/news/18-wheeler-crash-at-finesilver-curve-shuts-down-traffic-in-downtown-area
https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CP/htm/CP.33.htm
https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmcsa.dot.gov/files/docs/safety/data-and-statistics/398686/ltbcf-2016-final-508c-may-2018.pdf
