After a serious wreck, choosing a lawyer means finding someone who can investigate what happened, identify every responsible party, and prepare the case for trial if necessary. When injuries require surgery, prevent someone from working, or permanently change a family’s life, that experience matters.
Leatherwood & Schindler Trial Lawyers represents people seriously injured in Houston car accidents, trucking collisions, and complex commercial vehicle wrecks. Our approach starts with understanding the full extent of the harm and investigating every available avenue of recovery.
Experience handling serious trucking and commercial vehicle cases
Our firm’s attorneys’ experience includes managing a docket of trucking and commercial vehicle cases involving serious injuries. Claire and Hogan have taken both trucking cases and car wreck cases to trial and have obtained seven-figure results in personal injury matters.
That experience informs how we investigate cases at Leatherwood & Schindler. A serious wreck may involve far more than a driver’s mistake. The evidence may point to unsafe hiring, inadequate training, poor maintenance, dangerous scheduling, or decisions made by other companies involved in the transportation of a load.
We investigate those issues because they can affect both who is responsible and what resources may be available to compensate an injured person.
Why an 18-wheeler case requires a different investigation
An 18-wheeler wreck is not simply a larger car accident. Commercial trucking cases can involve several businesses, extensive electronic records, and evidence that must be preserved promptly.
Depending on the circumstances, our investigation may include:
- Driver qualifications, training, and driving history.
- Hours-of-service records and electronic logging device data.
- Truck maintenance and inspection records.
- Dispatch messages and communications about the load.
- Available camera footage and vehicle data.
- Contracts identifying the companies involved in arranging and transporting the shipment.
These records can help establish how the collision happened and whether unsafe business practices contributed to it. They can also reveal responsible parties that are not obvious from the crash report.
What if the available insurance appears limited?
One insurance policy does not always tell the whole story.
A driver or trucking company may initially identify coverage that appears insufficient for the injuries involved. Before accepting that as the full picture, a lawyer should investigate the relationships among the people and companies involved, the applicable policies, and whether additional parties bear legal responsibility.
Claire and Hogan’s experience includes pursuing claims against freight brokers when the facts and applicable law support those claims. A broker’s involvement in arranging a shipment does not automatically make it liable for a wreck. Broker claims can involve significant legal obstacles, including federal preemption, and require careful analysis.
The question is whether the evidence supports an additional claim—not simply whether another company has insurance. Identifying and establishing another party’s liability may reveal additional coverage or other sources of recovery.
Trial experience matters in car accident cases, too
A serious car wreck can produce disputes over fault, the cause of an injury, the need for future treatment, or the effect on someone’s ability to work.
Hiring a lawyer with trial experience means choosing someone who understands what must be proved if those disputes reach a courtroom. Claire has taken car accident and trucking cases to trial. That experience helps guide the collection of evidence, preparation of witnesses, and presentation of damages from the beginning of a case.
At Leatherwood & Schindler, we prepare cases with the understanding that a fair resolution may require litigation.
Questions to ask before hiring a Houston accident lawyer
Before choosing a lawyer for a serious motor vehicle accident, ask:
- Have you personally taken car accident or trucking cases to trial?
- What experience do you have with injuries like mine?
- Who will handle my case and communicate with me?
- How will you investigate other responsible parties and available insurance?
- What evidence needs to be preserved now?
The answers should help you understand the lawyer’s experience and how your case will be handled.
Talk with Leatherwood & Schindler Trial Lawyers
If you or a family member suffered serious injuries in a Houston car accident, commercial vehicle collision, or 18-wheeler wreck, contact Leatherwood & Schindler Trial Lawyers to discuss your case.
We investigate beyond the initial crash report, examine the available evidence and insurance, and prepare to hold responsible parties accountable.
Each case depends on its own facts, and past results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any other matter. The amounts do not describe fees, expenses, or the amount any client received.