There are many causes of large truck accidents. Oftentimes, these causes can be lumped into the leading category of human error, as opposed to road defects or truck defects.

Examples of human error include:

• Drunk driving
• Driving under the influence of prescription medications, illegal drugs, or other controlled substances
• Fatigued and drowsy driving
• Inadequate commercial vehicle and big rig training
• Violation of hours-of-service rules and how many hours the driver can go without a break
• Aggressive driving
• Distracted driving
• Overloading the cargo or loading it in an unbalanced manner
• Brake system failure
• Failure to use runaway truck ramps when an emergency arises

Even if some of the items in the list aren’t the error of the truck driver themselves, they may be an error on the part of the company responsible for operating the big rig, hiring drivers, training drivers, loading the truck, or maintaining the truck.

How the Cause May Affect Your Claim

In an accident claim handled by our experienced attorneys, we are working to demonstrate how the accident that injured you was someone else’s fault, and that you deserve full compensation for damages including:

• Medical bills
• Loss of income
• Pain and suffering
• Diminished quality of life
• Reduced earning capacity

Negligence must be proven in these cases. You can think of negligence as carelessness; carelessness of another driver, the truck driver, the trucking operation, or the architect of the roadway. If one of the liable parties was careless and caused the truck accident that ultimately injured you or your loved one, then you probably have a case. Most truck crashes can be traced to the fault of some person or company. When you think about it, very few accidents are caused purely by an act of God or some incident that was not preventable.

What To Do About Your Truck Accident Injuries

If you were injured when your vehicle got involved in a collision with a large truck or tractor-trailer, you may have options for pursuing compensation and justice. The key is to consult an attorney experienced in these cases who will not be intimidated by powerful trucking operations. For a consultation with the lawyers at Shaw Cowart, please call our Austin law firm at 512-499-8900.

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After getting into a serious car accident, you need answers and options you can rely on. Our experienced attorneys in Austin, Texas, know just how overwhelming your situation is because we work with accident victims every day. At a time when you are dealing with severe pain and physical injury, you have to simultaneously worry about medical bills and being unable to work. A car accident claim handled by our lawyers, if you choose to pursue one, exists to seek maximum injury compensation on your behalf. The first step is the consultation.

During this consultation, the attorneys at Shaw Cowart want to get to know you, and how this injury has impacted not only your livelihood but also your quality of life. We want to hear from you during this consultation so that we can fully understand your situation. During the meeting, you can expect to discuss:

• Medical expenses and bills
• Whether you’ve been able to return to work or if the injury has prevented you from going back to your job and for how long
• Whether you are going to have to switch to a new career because you can no longer do your former duties
• How you are experiencing the symptoms of your injury, including the degree of pain and daily inconvenience that the trauma has caused
• Whether you’ve had to make significant modifications to your life, such as in-home nursing care, modifications to your vehicle or home, the constant need for assistive equipment, and an inability to return to the activities you used to enjoy

We know that filing a lawsuit may feel overwhelming and next to impossible when you’re also dealing with a severe physical injury. But it’s so important to learn about your options for maximizing your injury compensation. While your insurance company may give you an initial settlement offer, it is possible that you can recover a higher amount in a car accident claim. Getting the full amount of compensation you deserve is not only a form of justice, it’s also quite necessary to moving forward with your life by being able to pay for your medical care and the other ways your life has been impacted.

Learn More About Accident Claims

If you or a loved one has been injured in a motor vehicle accident in Austin or the surrounding areas of Texas, please call the law firm of Shaw Cowart at 512-499-8900.

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Texas gets its share of serious motor vehicle accidents every day. Unfortunately, people are injured and killed in these crashes regularly. What you may not know is that the vast majority of crashes are caused by human error and are therefore preventable. When you are hurt in an accident caused by someone else’s carelessness, then you may be able to pursue compensation above and beyond the initial insurance company offer.

Top Causes of Crashes in Texas

According to the Texas Department of Transportation, the top causes of motor vehicle accidents in our state are:

• Speeding
• Failure to yield
• Driving under the influence of alcohol
• Following too closely
• Running red lights and stop signs

Sometimes a person is being dangerous and reckless, and sometimes just a little careless and inattentive. In both cases, the cause of the accident can be described as negligence, which is the basis for a personal injury case handled by our lawyers. We will work tirelessly to show how negligence caused the crash that injured you, and to show why you deserve the fullest compensation award possible.

How You Can Reduce Your Crash Risk

It can be frustrating to know that there is nothing anyone can do to completely eliminate the risk of getting in an accident. It comes with the territory of owning and operating a motor vehicle. But you can do a lot to lower your risk:

• Don’t text, talk on the phone, read, or do anything that distracts you from the task of driving. Distracted driving kills a few thousand people every year in the U.S.
• Don’t drive drowsy, which causes similar issues as drunk driving, such as blurred vision, inattention, loss of coordination, poor concentration, and poor judgment.
• Obey the speed limit. It’s easy to exceed it, but doing so creates dangerous driving conditions for everyone on the road and reduces your ability to control your vehicle. Higher speeds also involve more catastrophic injuries in the event of a crash.
• Obviously, don’t drive after drinking. Take a cab, use a ride-hailing app, take the bus, or designate a sober driver beforehand.
• Match your driving to the current conditions. If it’s rainy, high winds, or low visibility, you should reduce your speed a bit.

How To Pursue Compensation for Your Injuries

If you or a loved one was injured in a car accident in Austin or the surrounding areas of Texas, please call the experienced attorneys at Shaw Cowart, at 512-499-8900. We have worked with so many Texans over the years as they seek to maximize their injury compensation to pay for medical bills, replace lost wages, and compensate them for all the various consequences of the injury.

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If you have a teenage child getting ready to start driving in 2022, or if you are a teenaged driver new to driving, you may have heard the statistics about teen accident rates and feel concerned about safety. An awareness of safety and an understanding of the need for attentiveness is a great place to start your driving career!

Driving is a skill that takes time and experience to master. But there are things you can do as a new driver to reduce the risk of car accidents:

• Always, always buckle up. Seat belts save lives and reduce the severity of injuries in the event of any type of crash. Always buckle up and demand all your passengers do as well, no matter which seat they are in.
• Be attentive. Don’t allow distractions. Distracted driving is a major cause of accidents across all age groups. With the commonplace presence of phones in our lives, it can be tempting to peek at a text or quickly send a reply while driving. Remind yourself to never do this because it’s dangerous and leads to crashes every day.
• Take a deep breath. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and it’s normal to be afraid of new situations as you learn to drive. Remember to take a deep breath, keep a level head, and let your parent or other adult in the vehicle with you know if you’re uncomfortable and need to pull over to gather yourself.
• Introduce new driving conditions gradually. Driving in the dark, driving on the interstate, driving in bad weather – these are all examples of added driving conditions on top of dry roads, slow speeds, and full daylight. Add them gradually as you gain confidence and experience.
• Don’t drive with too many passengers. Loading all your friends in the car can be really exciting, but it can increase the risk of a crash. More passengers cause more disruption and distraction. Try to take only one friend along at a time until you gain more experience.
• Never drive under the influence of any amount of alcohol or recreational drugs (and certain prescription drugs). Alcohol and drugs severely impact your ability to operate a motor vehicle, even in the tiniest amounts. Plus, you could be in criminal trouble if you’re pulled over by police. Drive sober, always.

While these measures cannot eliminate the risk of a crash, they are important driving habits that will serve you well throughout a lifetime of driving.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident caused by someone else in Austin or the surrounding areas of Texas, please call the law firm of Shaw Cowart for a case review at 512-499-8900. We look forward to providing the clear and honest guidance you need in order to decide what to do next.

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The aftermath of a motor vehicle accident can be scary, isolating, and overwhelming. The experienced Austin accident lawyers at Shaw Cowart are prepared to evaluate your claim and help you decide what to do next. For a case review, please call Shaw Cowart at 512-499-8900.

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A traumatic brain injury is one that causes sudden and severe brain trauma or damage. A TBI may result from something penetrating or stabbing the skull and brain, or when the head is bumped, jolted, or shaken. Traumatic brain injuries vary in severity and may be as mild as a concussion, or may be as serious as brain damage that causes permanent disability.

We encourage you to contact our personal injury lawyers if you are wondering if you have a case to pursue justice and compensation. If the brain trauma was caused by someone else’s negligence, by a motor vehicle accident, or by a defective product, then you may have a claim.

For example, a brain injury victim may have a case if the injury was caused by one of the following situations or similar:

• A motorist runs a red light and hits the victim’s car at a high rate of speed
• A defective tire blows out on a vehicle and causes a car accident
• A dangerous merchandise display at a shopping mall collapses and falls on top of a shopper
• A poorly designed roadway shoulder fails and causes a catastrophic car accident
• A defectively designed scaffolding system collapses and injures construction site workers

These are examples only and not an exhaustive description of the causes of traumatic brain injury. Anytime someone else’s carelessness – whether it’s an individual, corporation, or government agency – causes you to suffer a catastrophic injury, you may have a case.

The personal injury attorneys at Shaw Cowart tirelessly pursue compensation for all of the ways a traumatic brain injury has affected a person’s life, such as:

• Medical expenses, both present and future
• Diminished earning capacity
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Loss of income
• Pain and suffering
• Need for adaptive and assistive devices and home modifications

While some amount of physical rehabilitation from a brain injury is often possible, the injury also tends to have lifelong effects. We passionately advocate for our clients by pursuing maximum compensation on their behalf so that they can begin to rebuild their lives and recover from this serious trauma.

Call Today to Find Out if You Have a TBI Case

If you are interested in learning more about what a personal injury lawyer can do for you following a traumatic brain injury caused by someone else’s negligence, please call the Austin, Texas law firm of Shaw Cowart at 512-499-8900.

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Construction is one of the most dangerous job industries in the United States. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 1,102 fatal injuries in the construction industry in 2019. Those deaths made up more than 20 percent of all work-related deaths in the U.S. that year. There were tens of thousands of non-fatal injuries.

Falls from heights, slipping and tripping, electrocution, burns, toxic chemicals – these are just several of the life-threatening hazards facing construction professionals in their daily work. The injuries can easily be catastrophic:

• Traumatic brain injury
• Spinal cord trauma
• Third-degree burns
• Cancer or other terminal illnesses caused by exposure to hazardous substances
• Loss of fingers, toes, hands, or limbs
• Paralysis

Even if the injury is ultimately non-fatal, the consequences can be life-altering. Invasive surgery may be necessary, and the victim could still end up partially or completely disabled. They may be unable to perform their job duties as they did previously. Excessive pain and lingering trauma may be inevitable. For all of these things and others, an injured construction worker deserves justice and compensation.

Workers’ compensation must be provided by most types of employers, with a few exceptions. If you are injured on the job, then workers’ compensation insurance pays for your medical care and replaces a portion of your lost wages. In exchange, you cannot sue your employer for negligence. You are eligible for the benefits unless it’s determined that you caused your own injury by way of intoxication, the influence of illegal drugs, or egregious behavior.

Under certain circumstances, a lawsuit can be brought against a negligent third party. Unlike workers’ comp insurance and your employer, you are not barred from suing a negligent third party, such as contractors, sub-contractors, property owners, and equipment manufacturers. These situations can be complex and you can benefit from having an experienced work injury attorney on your side. We will investigate your claim to determine if someone is liable for your injuries. We pursue maximum compensation and justice for our clients.

If you are an injured Texas construction worker living in Austin or any of the surrounding region, please call the experienced work injury attorneys at Shaw Cowart for a case review, at 512-499-8900.

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It’s the season of holiday travel in the U.S., and many Americans will travel by car. In fact, according to AAA, there should be a big jump in holiday car travel compared to 2020, when many people were staying at home amid the pandemic.

AAA reports the following predictions for Thanksgiving 2021:

• 90 percent of people surveyed plan to travel by car for Thanksgiving
• 4 million are expected to travel overall for the holiday
• 3 million people are expected to travel by car
• Car travel is expected to rise 8.4 percent compared to Thanksgiving 2020

Unfortunately, with a rise in traffic volume usually comes an increase in car accidents.

If you are planning to hit the road this month, please keep these road trip tips top of mind:

Prep your car. Your car should be ready for the road:

• Check the tire pressure
• Check the wiper blades and replace if they look worn or if they are streaking
• Test the battery
• Fill the window washer fluid
• Schedule routine maintenance with your mechanic, if the car is due for that

There’s nothing worse than unexpected car trouble. Not only is it inconvenient for your schedule and your pocketbook, but car problems can place you in a dangerous situation. You may be stranded on the road, or a mechanical failure or tire blowout could cause a collision on the road. Maintenance and a few safety checks beforehand could help you avoid car trouble.

Prepare your mind. An alert, attentive, clear, rested mind is essential for safe travel. Distractions, fatigue, and a lack of concentration can lead to a crash. Be sure to prioritize a full night of sleep before your trip. Eliminate texting and other distractions. And remind yourself to keep your mind focused on the task of driving.

Be mindful about travel times and stops to take a break. Although it is sometimes impossible to get on the road ahead of everyone else, you may want to try to leave before the peak travel times. The Wednesday before and the Sunday after Thanksgiving tend to be the busiest. It’s also important not to get into a frenzied rush in your mind, because that can be dangerously distracting. Plan plenty of time to get to your destination, and include regular breaks to get out of the car and stretch.

What To Do After an Accident

If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, you may be able to pursue maximum compensation. For a case review with our experienced car crash lawyers in Austin, TX, please call Shaw Cowart at 512-499-8900.

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According to new data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 20,000 people were killed in traffic accidents in the U.S. from January through June of 2021. This is an increase of 18.4 percent compared to the same time period in 2020. Furthermore, the NHTSA says this is the largest six-month jump ever recorded in the agency’s history of fatal accident reporting.

These very sobering numbers are much more than just numbers. Each of those 20,160 fatalities represents a life taken in a way that was completely preventable, and a family shattered by the premature loss of a loved one.

At Shaw Cowart, we have worked with numerous families over the years who are dealing with the wrongful death of a spouse, sibling, child, grandparent, or other loved one taken from them in a motor vehicle accident caused by someone else’s negligence. We have seen just how devastating these situations are. Not only is the family of the deceased dealing with immeasurable grief, they also have the medical bills, loss of income, burial/cremation expenses, and funeral expenses to contend with. All of these damages ought to be fully compensated. We pursue justice and maximum compensation on behalf of our clients.

One of the most tragic aspects of these motor vehicle deaths is that they are largely preventable. The vast majority of crashes are a result of human error, and human error is often avoidable. Our attorneys urge the following as preventive measures:

• Don’t speed
• Don’t drink and drive
• Don’t drive distracted
• Always wear a seat belt
• Insist your passengers wear a seat belt
• Keep your eyes, hands, and mind on the task of driving

Unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do to control the behavior of other motorists on the road. Sometimes the most attentive of drivers finds themselves involved in an accident through no fault of their own.

Pursue Justice with the Guidance of an Experienced Attorney

For a review of your car accident case in Austin, TX, please call the experienced attorneys at Shaw Cowart at 512-499-8900. We are proud to advocate for car accident victims from throughout the state.

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Several thousand people are killed in pedestrian accidents each year in the U.S. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that in 2019, 6,205 pedestrians were killed in traffic accidents. Many thousands more are seriously injured each year.

October is National Pedestrian Safety Month, and it’s a fitting time to revisit some basic safety pointers. The fall season ushers in fewer daylight hours, which means commuters are driving and pedestrians are walking at dusk or in the dark. The limited daylight can make a car crash more likely because it’s more difficult for motorists to see pedestrians, especially if the motorist is being inattentive and careless.

At all times of the year, consider these tips if you are walking, running, jogging, or otherwise traveling on foot:

• Wear an article of brightly colored clothing, like a bright red hat or jacket
• Don’t use headphones while you are near lanes of traffic (it’s a good idea to keep your ears open to the sounds of approaching traffic)
• Don’t text or use your phone while traveling near a roadway, even if you’re on the sidewalk
• Obey crossing signals at crosswalks
• Don’t assume motorists will see you in crosswalks – try to make eye contact before walking in front of the vehicle

All of us are pedestrians at some point, whether walking to a restaurant for dinner, walking from our cars into the office for the day, traveling on foot to meet a friend – we all have an interest in making it safer to be a pedestrian. There are of course things you should do as a motorist as well, to prevent pedestrian crashes:

• Don’t speed, which makes it difficult to see people in time to slow down and stop
• Stay alert, don’t text or otherwise get distracted from keeping your mind and eyes on the road
• Obey traffic signals and stop signs
• Always be ready for the presence of pedestrians in crosswalks and on sidewalks
• Don’t assume pedestrians will yield to you, even if they are jaywalking. Pedestrians sometimes do unexpected things, so you must be aware of your surroundings

When a serious accident occurs, a lawsuit may be filed by the injured victim against the party who caused the incident. In such a claim, the injured party seeks maximum compensation for all of the ways the injury has affected their life and livelihood.

Consult our Experienced Pedestrian Accident Attorneys

If you or a loved one was injured in a pedestrian accident in Austin or the surrounding region of Texas, please call the experienced attorneys at Shaw Cowart, at 512-499-8900. We have been passionately advocating for injury victims for many years, and we will investigate the cause of the accident that injured you and discuss your options for what to do next.

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