McAllen Delivery Van Accident Lawyer

Delivery van accidents can cause serious injuries that generate unwieldy medical expenses. Coupled with lost income from missed days at work, these collisions can generate hefty financial losses.

If you suffered an injury in a delivery van accident, a delivery van accident lawyer serving McAllen from D. Miller & Associates, PLLC™ can work to hold the negligent parties liable for your damages.

Recoverable Damages in a Delivery Van Accident

As your lawyer, our firm will investigate the damages you sustained in the delivery van accident. The amount of your potential financial recovery via an insurance settlement or court award depends on many factors—most of which stem from the type and extent of your injuries and how they have impacted you financially.

Examples of Damages Common in Motor-Vehicle Collisions

Settlements and jury verdicts generally consider not only your losses to date but also anticipated losses you will sustain because of your injuries. Some of the types of damages we will explore recovering in your case may include:

  • Emergency transportation
  • Surgery costs
  • Doctors costs
  • Hospitalization
  • Prescription medicines
  • Lost wages and benefits
  • Diminished future potential earnings
  • Replacement services
  • Mental anguish
  • Pain and suffering
  • Diminished quality of life

Furthermore, if your loved one passed away from injuries sustained in a delivery van accident, our firm can pursue a wrongful death action on your behalf.

Knowing who Should Pay for Accident Injuries

When someone suffers injury in an accident with a delivery van, the victim might be confused as to whom they should look to recover their damages.

Employers

The truth is that although the van operator’s negligence might have caused the accident, the driver’s employer may hold legal responsibility through the doctrine of vicarious liability. This legal principle holds an employer accountable for their employees’ actions while they are on the clock.

Manufacturers

In some cases, these accidents may occur through no fault of the delivery van driver. If mechanical problems, like defective brakes, cause a collision, the van’s manufacturer and the part manufacturer—along with entities throughout the supply chain—can be held liable for damages.

Maintenance Providers

In still other instances, a mechanical problem resulting from poor vehicle maintenance leads to accidents. In these cases, the entity responsible for maintenance might be responsible for victims’ financial recovery.

How Delivery van Accidents Happen

Delivery van accidents happen for the same reasons other motor-vehicle accidents occur. Depending on the causal factor, however, the trucking company or van driver’s employer may play a substantial role in the heightening of collision risks. Consider the following factors that might contribute to this type of collision:

Driver Fatigue

Any time a tired or sleepy driver gets behind the wheel, an accident can easily happen. In the case of delivery van drivers, who typically work long hours under extreme pressure to meet scheduled delivery commitments, fatigue is not uncommon.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulates how many hours a driver can work in a given day, as well as the number of hours they can drive over the course of a week. If a company forces its drivers to work in excess of these restrictions, they may be responsible for the outcome.

Inadequate Training

Commercial van and truck drivers require specific training to understand how to operate their vehicles, handle traffic, navigate various types of road and traffic conditions, and more. Without the right amount and quality of training, drivers can find themselves in situations for which they are unprepared, and their reactions might lead to accidents.

Hiring Poor Quality Drivers

Delivery companies sometimes ignore—or do not even check for—signs of a bad driver when it comes to hiring. By putting bad drivers with poor driving records on the roads in company vans, the business invites accidents and opens itself up to liability.

Mechanical Difficulties

When a delivery van fails to function properly due to mechanical problems, the entity responsible for the failure may hold responsibility. These issues can arise from:

  • Manufacturing defects or design defects
  • A delivery company failing to maintain the van, causing it to malfunction
  • The maintenance company failing to properly maintain the van

Driver Behavior

Like any other driver, delivery van operators can conduct themselves in ways that cause accidents. Examples of common driving behaviors that cause collisions include:

  • Aggressive driving
  • Driving at excessive speeds for the driving conditions
  • Driving while intoxicated or under the influence of drugs
  • Speeding
  • Driving while distracted

In these situations, even though the driver’s behavior causes the accident, the delivery company can be held liable.

How Texas’s Statute of Limitations Affects Your Case

When you decide to seek financial recovery from a negligent party in your delivery van accident, a lawyer from our firm will investigate the cause of your accident, determine your damages, and present them in a demand letter to the negligent party’s insurance company. We can then negotiate with the insurer for a fair settlement.

However, sometimes insurers refuse to negotiate fairly. In this case, we might want to file a lawsuit on your behalf and have a judge or jury decide the matter. According to Texas law, you have around two years from the date of your accident to file this lawsuit.

Call our Delivery van Accident Lawyers Serving McAllen Today

The process of seeking financial recovery for a delivery van accident may involve uncovering evidence, arguing the facts of liability, and negotiating with insurers. With so much at stake, consider relieving yourself of this burden and hiring a delivery van accident lawyer serving McAllen from D. Miller & Associates, PLLC™.

For a free case evaluation, call us today at (713) 850-8600.