
Truck Accident Attorneys in Austin
What to Do if You Are Injured in a Semi-Truck Collision
Due to their sheer size, semi-trucks cause significant damage when they collide with other vehicles. Many people believe that large truck accidents are rare, but statistics from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) reveal that trucks or buses were involved in an estimated 119,000 crashes that resulted in injuries in 2016 alone. Of those accidents, 4,440 were fatal.
If you were injured in a semi-truck accident or your family member was killed in a similar crash, the aftermath can be overwhelming. You are likely facing incredibly steep medical bills for emergency care and ongoing treatment, not to mention lost wages from time taken off work, severe physical pain, and extensive mental distress. At Howry Breen & Herman, we believe you shouldn’t have to face all of these consequences on your own. Our Austin truck accident attorneys can help you fight for a just recovery. With every case we take on, we strive to recover the full and fair compensation our clients are owed. We have decades of litigation experience and are well-equipped to help you navigate the legal process.
Reach out to our award-winning attorneys today for a free consultation; call (512) 430-4844 or fill out a contact form to get started.
Common Types of Truck Accidents
A truck accident refers to a collision or incident involving a truck, which is a large motor vehicle designed for transporting cargo. These accidents can result in damage to property, injuries, or even fatalities. Trucks include various types such as tractor-trailers, semi-trucks, delivery trucks, and dump trucks.
Common types of truck accidents include:
- Rear-End Collisions: When a truck collides with the vehicle in front of it. This can happen if the truck driver fails to maintain a safe following distance.
- Jackknife Accidents: This occurs when the trailer of a truck swings out to the side, forming a V or L shape with the cab. It often happens when the truck loses control or the brakes lock up.
- Underride Accidents: When a smaller vehicle gets trapped underneath the rear or side of a truck, often due to the truck suddenly stopping.
- Override Accidents: Opposite of underride accidents, where a truck runs over a smaller vehicle.
- Tire Blowouts: If a truck's tire blows out, it can lead to loss of control and result in an accident.
- Roll-Over Accidents: Large trucks, especially those carrying heavy loads, can tip over if the driver loses control, leading to a roll-over accident.
- Wide Turns: Trucks making wide turns can sometimes collide with vehicles in adjacent lanes.
- Cargo Spills: Accidents involving the spillage of cargo from a truck, which can pose additional hazards to other vehicles on the road.
- Brake Failure: A malfunction or failure of the truck's braking system can lead to accidents, especially on downhill slopes.
- Driver Fatigue: Accidents can occur if truck drivers are fatigued, leading to impaired judgment and slower reaction times.
Common Causes of Truck Accidents
Just as with car and motorcycle accidents, many factors can lead to a truck accident. While truly blameless accidents do occur, many truck crashes are the result of negligence.
Some of the most common causes of semi-truck accidents include:
- Insufficient truck driver training
- Negligent hiring of truck drivers
- Distracted driving, including cell phone use
- Driving while intoxicated (DUI/DWI)
- Speeding or reckless driving
- Drifting into other lanes of traffic
- Improper supervision
- Lack of truck maintenance
- Faulty or defective trucks/truck parts
- Unsafe road design
- Dangerous road conditions
Unfortunately, many semi-truck and other commercial vehicle collisions are preventable. When careless, reckless, or negligent actions lead to an accident that leaves you seriously injured, we are here to help. Our Austin truck accident lawyers can thoroughly investigate your case to determine who is liable for your damages. We are not afraid to take on large insurance companies and other at-fault parties in our pursuit of the justice you deserve.
Why You Want Us On Your Side
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Committed to Protecting Your Rights and Future
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Prepared to Take Every Case to Trial for Full Compensation
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Highly Recommended and Recognized Attorneys
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Relentless Advocacy for the Compensation You Deserve
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Aggressive and Dedicated Legal Representation
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Extensive Jury Trial Experience You Can Trust

Our Settlements & Verdicts
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$53.9 Million Electric Burn & Spinal Cord Injury
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$50 Million Breach of Fiduciary Duty
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$20 Million Traumatic Brain Injury
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$17 Million Traumatic Brain Injury
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$15.8 Million Product Liability
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$12.4 Million Premises Liability
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$12 Million Traumatic Brain Injur
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$10 Million Bad Faith Insurance
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$10 Million Construction Defects
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$10 Million Premises Liability Guardrail Failure
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$8 Million Guest Negligently Injured at A Resort Facility
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$7.4 Million Wrongful Death

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I could not have found more caring people, better lawyers or a better law firm than Howry Breen & Herman.M.A.
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We don’t have enough words to describe how thankful we are for everything HBH did to win our business case for us. We are so grateful they believed in us and partnered with us to do it. They are amazing at what they do and we could not have had a better team. They made an enormous, positive difference for us and our business. I could not recommend them more highly.J.K.
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My lawyers at HBH were so smart and aggressive – we were always on offense and one step ahead. They just kept hammering and the other side had no answer.T.B.
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HBH went above and beyond to help out following a crisis. Over the course of a 3 year case, I was always kept in the loop by their amazing team. Their preparation and execution was flawless and made the whole process run smoothly. Cannot speak highly enough of their team and how they care for their clients. Will never recommend another personal injury firm besides HBH.K.M

Award-Winning Representation
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Law.com: Top 100 Verdicts 2024
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Howry, Breen & Herman is proud to have been named a Tier 1, 2 and 3 Austin “Best Law Firm” in 9 practice areas by U.S. News – Best Lawyers® (“U.S. News” and BL Rankings, LLC). Law firms are selected for inclusion in this prestigious ranking based on a series of quantitative and qualitative criteria. Our specialty and tiers are listed here: https://bestlawfirms.usnews.com/profile/howry-breen-herman-llp/overview/36628
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The Austin Bar Association was founded in 1893 as a nonprofit professional organization for attorneys. Its mission is to enhance the legal profession, administration of justice, and the community through education, networking, and public service.
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Abota Foundation Patriot
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Howry Breen & Herman, LLP was selected the Top Personal Injury Law Firm in Austin by Texas Lawyer, “Best of 2020”. The annual special supplement contains the results of Texas Lawyer readers’ poll, wherein readers cast their votes for the best providers of services and goods to the legal profession.
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Attorney Sean Breen and Attorney Chris Lavorato placed in California’s Top 100 Settlements for 2019, as tracked by The Recorder and VerdictSearch.
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Our law firm is proud to have been recognized in the Texas Verdicts Hall of Fame. Texas Lawyer in conjunction with VerdictSearch, recognize attorneys and law firms for their verdicts of $10 million or more. In 2011 Sean Breen was a Hall of Fame Award Recipient for the #1 Premises Liability Top Texas Verdict, awarded by Texas Lawyer, for the jury verdict award in the case VanDusen v. Aspen Square Management. In 2016 Sean Breen was inducted into the Texas Verdicts Hall of Fame, awarded by Texas Lawyer, for an outstanding verdict in Nester v. Textron.
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Selection to America’s Top 100 Personal Injury Attorneys® is by invitation only and is reserved to identity the nation’s most exceptional litigators for high-value personal injury, catastrophic injury, wrongful death, product liability, and medical malpractice matters. HBH is proud that Sean Breen has been selected for this award. Less than one-half percent (0.5%) of active attorneys in the United States will receive this honor — truly the most exclusive and elite level of attorneys in the community. (2017-2022)
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Best Lawyers - Lawyer of the Year | Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs (by BL Rankings, LLC d/b/a Best Lawyers and Co., LLC)
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Best Lawyers - Lawyer of the Year | Litigation - Trusts & Estates (by BL Rankings, LLC d/b/a Best Lawyers and Co., LLC)
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Best Lawyers - Lawyer of the Year | Personal Injury - Plaintiffs (by BL Rankings, LLC d/b/a Best Lawyers and Co., LLC)
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Lifetime Achievement selection to America’s Top 100 Attorneys® is by invitation only and is reserved to identify the nation’s most exceptional attorneys whose accomplishments and impact on the legal profession merit a Lifetime Achievement award. Selection is not achieved based on a single accomplishment or a single great year of success, but rather on a lifetime of hard work, ethical standards, and community enriching accomplishments that are inspiring among the legal profession. Both Sean Breen (since 2017) and Randy Howry (since 2018) are honored to receive this award.
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America’s Top 100 High Stakes Litigators® is reserved to identify the nation’s most exceptional trial attorneys in high value, high stakes legal matters. To be considered for selection, an attorney must have litigated (for either plaintiff or defendant) a matter (1) with at least $2,000,000 in alleged damages at stake or (2) with the fate of a business worth at least $2,000,000 at stake. These minimum qualifications are required for initial consideration. Thereafter, candidates are carefully screened through comprehensive Qualitative Comparative Analysis based on a broad array of criteria, including the candidate’s professional experience, litigation experience, significant case results, representative high stakes matters, peer reputation, and community impact in order to rank the candidates throughout the state. HBH is privileged to honor Partners Sean Breen (2017- 2022) and Randy Howry 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2021 for selection of this award.
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Expertise - Howry Breen & Herman was recognized and featured in an article by expertisecommunity.com as one of the Best Real Estate Lawyers in Austin. 2020
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America’s Premier High-Stakes Trial Lawyers®” – 7 Figure Litigators®, 8 Figure Litigators®, is meant to recognize the nation’s most respected and preeminent high-stakes trial lawyers based on their verifiable verdicts and/or settlements. It is a tremendous honor for Sean Breen (member since 2019) and Randy Howry (member since 2020) to be recognized among this elite group.
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America’s Premier High-Stakes Trial Lawyers®” – 7 Figure Litigators®, 8 Figure Litigators®, is meant to recognize the nation’s most respected and preeminent high-stakes trial lawyers based on their verifiable verdicts and/or settlements. It is a tremendous honor for Sean Breen (member since 2019) and Randy Howry (member since 2020) to be recognized among this elite group.
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The National Trial Lawyers – Top 100, a highly respected legal organization that limits its members to premier trial attorneys who demonstrate superior qualifications of leadership, reputation, influence, stature and public profile measured by strict qualification requirements. Sean Breen Top 100 Civil Plaintiff, since 2009.
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Top 10 Business Tort Trial Lawyers by the National Trial Lawyers. Randy Howry 2012-2013; Sean Breen since 2016.
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The Best Lawyers in America® recognizes the top 5% of the most skilled attorneys in the nation. The robust selection process requires attorneys to nominate and review fellow lawyers based on their ethics, skill, knowledge, and ability to obtain results for their clients. The Best Lawyers in America® list is a way for plaintiffs to identify the leading attorneys in their region, known for their ability to get results with honesty, strength, and skill. Tim Herman, Sean Breen & Randy Howry have been featured by The Best Lawyers in America® (consecutively from 2006-2023) running alongside some of the most qualified firms in the nation. More info here.
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Top Attorneys As Published In Texas Monthly
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Sean Breen has been recognized for obtaining the Number 1 Verdict in Texas for electrical injury and utility negligence. This win underscores his relentless commitment to achieving justice for his clients and showcases the firms dedication to exceptional advocacy.
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Sean Breen was honored by TopVerdict.com for recovering one of the Top 50 Verdicts in Texas in 2017. This is an honorable distinction, reserved for those attorneys that achieve the highest settlements and verdicts in the state.
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Sean Breen was honored by TopVerdict.com for recovering one of the Top 50 Verdicts in Texas in 2016. This is an honorable distinction, reserved for those attorneys that achieve the highest settlements and verdicts in the state.
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Sean Breen has been a member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum since 2011, a renowned legal organization whose membership is restricted to trial attorneys who have achieved seven-figured settlements and/or jury verdicts.
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Martindale-Hubbell® is widely regarded as one of the most renowned peer-review rating organizations in the legal field. Randy Howry (2018), Sean Breen (2001), Tim Herman (1998), and Glen Wilkerson (2014) at Howry, Breen & Herman have achieved the organization’s highest distinction of AV Preeminent®.
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Each year, Super Lawyers® magazine publishes its list of peer-nominated/evaluated and independently reviewed attorneys. We are proud to have attorneys who have been selected for inclusion in the prestigious Texas Super Lawyers® List, by Thomas Reuters since 2003, running through 2020.
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Membership in Top American Lawyers is limited to only 1% of all attorneys in the United States. Randy Howry is proud to be honored with a Lifetime Charter Membership in this exclusive organization (2017).
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Randy Howry was honored by Austin Monthly’s Top Attorneys in 2023.