Beaumont Truck Accident Lawyer

According to the National Safety Council (NSC), in 2021, over 5,700 large trucks were involved in fatal crashes, representing a 49% increase over a 10-year period. Additionally, in 2021, 117,300 large trucks were involved in crashes resulting in injury. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) reported a 52% increase in fatal crashes involving large trucks and buses between 2010 and 2021. Accidents involving large trucks are increasing, and the consequences are generally catastrophic. These trucks, weighing tens of thousands of pounds, can be like missiles traveling down the highway.

Steven Toups has over three decades of experience handling large truck accident cases in Southeast Texas. As an attorney born and raised in Beaumont, Texas, Steven takes great pride in helping Southeast Texans who suffer from the devastating effects of an accident with a large truck.

Truck accidents are caused by a variety of factors, including but not limited to:

• Fatigue
• Maintenance issues
• Overloaded trucks
• Poorly maintained vehicles
• Speeding
• Running off the road
• Failing to yield the right of way
• Aggressive driving behavior
• Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs
• Driving too fast for various weather conditions
• Unsafe reflectors, lights, or other warning devices

Why a truck accident claim is different from a car accident claim

A commercial truck crash is governed by a layer of federal law that never touches an ordinary car wreck. Interstate carriers must follow Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration rules on how many hours a driver may be behind the wheel, how the truck is inspected and maintained, how drivers are screened and drug-tested, and how cargo is loaded and secured. Every one of those rules generates records — electronic logs, inspection reports, driver qualification files, dispatch and GPS data — and a violation found in those records is often the heart of the case.

The crash also usually involves more than one responsible party. The driver, the carrier that employed him, the company that owns the trailer, the shipper or broker that loaded or scheduled the haul, an outside maintenance contractor, and the manufacturer of a failed part may each share the blame — and each carries its own insurance. Federal law requires most interstate carriers to carry at least $750,000 in liability coverage, and many carry far more, which is precisely why their insurers fight so hard from day one. Identifying every responsible party, and every policy, is one of the first things a Beaumont truck accident lawyer does.

Should I contact a lawyer to handle my truck accident case?

Almost always, yes. Few people know their rights after a collision with a commercial truck, and without a truck accident lawyer you will be negotiating directly with the carrier's insurer and its attorneys — whose entire job is to prevent or shrink your recovery. They begin that work the day of the crash. Nobody should be taking them on from a hospital bed.

Trucking cases are also unlike other injury claims in one critical way: the best evidence lives on the truck. The engine control module records speed, braking, and throttle in the seconds before impact; electronic logging devices record how long the driver had been on the road; dashcams and telematics capture the rest. That data can be lawfully overwritten or discarded within days or weeks unless a lawyer sends a preservation demand first. The legal deadline is longer — in Texas, generally two years from the date of the occurrence, with narrow exceptions for minors, incapacitated individuals, and active-duty military — but the evidence deadline is measured in days.

Call Steven as soon as you can after a large truck accident so the preservation demand goes out and the investigation starts on your side. He handles the legal fight; you concentrate on getting well.