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A Message From
Jeff Stern
Best viewed on Windows Media Player 9.0
Houston Office:
4909 Bissonnet Street
Suite 100
Bellaire, TX 77401
Phone: 713-661-9900
Toll Free: 1-877-661-9900
Mc Allen Office:
721 East Esperanza Ave, Suite C
Mc Allen, Tx 78501
956-226-4236
Fax 956-992-971
*By Appointment only
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If you or a family member has been involved in a collision with a truck, most likely someone has been seriously injured or killed. What might not be immediately apparent, however, is that you are not on an even playing field with the opposition, which can have a big impact on your chances of obtaining the fair and reasonable compensation you deserve. You are taking on big business, big insurance, and big money on the other side.
Do I need a lawyer if the trucking company has already offered to pay me a large sum of money?
Will any personal injury lawyer be experienced in handling big truck cases?
Do I need a lawyer if the trucking company has already offered to pay me a large sum of money?
Yes. Even before the vehicles leave the scene of the accident, a trucking company or their insurance company will have an investigator at the scene or on the way to the crash site. There are insurance claims adjusters "on call" twenty-four hours a day, just for truck accidents. They are to drop whatever they are doing and head to the scene of the accident, whatever time it happens, night or day. Drivers are instructed to immediately notify the company and the company knows to immediately contact the insurance company. The investigator or claims adjuster's purpose is to preserve any evidence that favors the trucking company, and minimize any evidence that favors you. The investigator is trained to try to develop a rapport with you and/or your family. They are trained to be very nice and to show concern and sympathy for the injured claimant. Do not be fooled! These investigators or claims representatives for the trucking company will often try to create the appearance that they are your friend, rather than your adversary. They do this by telling you that it was all their fault or that they will "take care of everything" for you.
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Will any personal injury lawyer be experienced in handling big truck cases?
No. Big truck accident cases can be very complex. If you or a loved one has been involved in a truck crash, you need a law firm that is experienced in litigating trucking cases. Stern, Miller, and Higdon is qualified to handle this type of complex case and provide you with the level of legal representation you deserve. You need a lawyer who will investigate and discover the "facts" behind the facts. A fully loaded tractor/trailer can weigh more than 80,000 lbs. The training, qualifications, and mental and physical capabilities of the driver of that big rig, as well as the physical condition of the tractor and trailer, all greatly affect the safe operation of that particular truck. Trucking in the United States is big business. It can also be a very dangerous business to others sharing the same roadway. Experience is needed to properly prosecute a big truck accident case.
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We will preserve the scene through the use of accident reconstruction experts
Various safety factors which can come into play in causing or contributing to cause a highway crash involving a truck must be understood and analyzed in order to place responsibility for the accident on the proper parties. Figuring out all of the legally responsible parties can be tricky, close isn't good enough. Because of the complexities in the legal arrangements used by truck owners and operators (some designed to attempt to avoid liability) it can take many months of litigation involving a review of leases, trip leases, contractor agreements, shipping agreements, bills of lading, and other trucking documents, as well as review of State and Federal DOT regulations, and insurance coverage’s, plus taking depositions of key witnesses, just to figure out all of the parties that need to be properly made defendants in any lawsuit arising from a truck accident.
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We will use the regulations
Unlike the general rules of the road, with which most of us who drive a car are reasonably familiar, there are hundreds of State and Federal Department of Transportation Regulations that govern the ownership, operation, repair, maintenance, and use of a commercial motor vehicle. A lawyer must be familiar with these regulations in order to successfully prosecute a case against a trucking company. You can bet the lawyers for the trucking companies know these regulations forwards and backwards.
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We will use truck driving and safety training experts
We hire truck driving and safety-training experts to help us analyze the facts, apply the regulations to the truck operation facts, and apply industry standards for truck driving and trucking company safety training.
If a Big Rig truck has seriously injured you or a loved one, call Stern, Miller & Higdon today for a free initial consultation of your case.
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