More than 10 percent of all traffic deaths each year are caused by 18-wheelers.

This is why every major trucking company has 24-hour response teams. If one of their big rigs is involved in a truck wreck, these companies can react quickly. This means that within 24-48 hours after an accident, the trucking company will know what happened— and that’s bad news if you or your loved one was hurt in a truck wreck.

Here’s why it’s bad news: If the trucking company knows exactly what happened, you can be sure that the company’s lawyers know what happened. And, it the company seems in any way at fault — because the driver had been pushed to drive too many miles in one day or because the company did a poor job maintaining the rig, or any number of faults — the trucking company’s lawyers have had a head start building a case against you.

If you’ve been injured in a truck accident, you need someone on your side, someone who really understands vehicle accident law. And, you need to get that person involved in the case as quickly as possible.

In Texas, vehicle accident attorneys at Cappolino Dodd Krebs LLP are expert at helping victims recover damages for their truck accident injuries.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is making a West Virginia company pay a high price for its poorly maintained watering and equipment trucks.

The MSHA has proposed $165,000 in civil penalties against Bresee Trucking and $45,000 against Guest Mountain Mining Corp because of an truck wreck caused by brake failure on one of these trucks that led to the permanent disability of a contract truck driver.

“Federal law states that every miner is required — and entitled — to receive the necessary training to perform his job safely and correctly,” said Richard Stickler, acting assistant secretary of Labor for mine safety and health. “Due to inadequate training and faulty equipment, a miner has been seriously injured. The mine operator and contractor must be held accountable for their violation of the law.”

The MSHA said the driver was watering a main haul road from a water truck and missed a gear as he was descending a steep grade. He accelerated downhill in neutral, and “he was unable to slow the truck due to a brake system malfunction”

“The truck left the road, crossed a ditch and decelerated rapidly in drainage sumps, causing the water tank to detach from the truck frame and slide onto the cab,” the agency said. “MSHA’s accident investigators examined the brake system and discovered missing components and significant air leaks.

Bresee Trucking was cited for failing to provide task training and hazard training to the driver, as well as failing to have adequate brakes equipped on its mobile equipment. The mine operator was cited for failure to provide hazard training.”

This year, the MSHA has issued $162 million in civil penalties with 170,000 citations.

The case to decide who should pay for injuries suffered at the hands of a man while he was running from the police is going to the Texas Supreme Court.

Back in 1999, Richard Gibbons was being chased in his truck by the San Marcos police when he hit a car carrying Greg and Maribel Tanner, as well as their 7-year-old son Roney. Roney was badly injured. He spent a week in a coma, a month in the hospital and five years in physical therapy as a result of the accident.

Though Gibbons is obviously at fault, the question is whether or not his $300,000 insurance policy from Nationwide will pay the Tanners for Roney’s medical bills. The discrepancy is over an “intentional act” exclusion that basically means that if Gibbons knew, or ought to have known, that the police chase would end in a wreck, Nationwide does not have to cover the costs of the accident.

Nationwide attorneys say that Gibbons “ought to have known” that ignoring traffic signals and speed limits would cause him to wreck, and that they are therefore financially absolved from his actions. However, attorneys for the Tanners point out that braking and swerving in an attempt to prevent a wreck shows that Gibbons’ collision with their vehicle was not, in fact, an “intentional act.”

So far, two lower courts have sided with Nationwide. The Texas Supreme Court will rule on this case sometime next year.

The Texas accident lawyers at Cappolino, Dodd & Krebs are here to help families who have been injured at the hands of negligent drivers. Think you have a case? Call us today and find out.