A Texas man is suing a Florida-based trucking company and the Texas Department of Transportation after a one-vehicle wreck last year left him severely injured.

Temple Drennan’s lawsuit alleges that an 18-wheeler owned by Florida’s Southern Trucking Inc. collided with a bucket truck which the plaintiff was using to repair a traffic light, and the plaintiff alleges that the crash violently ejected him from the bucket and caused him to strike an aluminum trailer.

The suit faults Southern Trucking for hiring and retaining the driver of the 18-wheeler, arguing that he disobeyed local traffic rules and regulations at the time of the incident. TxDOT is accused of failing to properly maintain the intersection.

“The Texas Department of Transportation failed to exercise ordinary care to reduce or eliminate the unreasonable risk of harm caused by a special defect of the roadway condition, which the state knew about or reasonably should have known about,” it says.

The families of the victims of a deadly motorcycle accident are suing the employer of the supposed illegal immigrant who caused the car wreck.

The lawsuit alleges that hiring the man made the company responsible for the deaths of two people who were on a motorcycle when a pick-up truck crossed the centerline and struck them. It is believed that Herlin Alvarez, who has not been seen since the wreck, drove the truck.

According to the lawsuit, Alvarez was on his way to pick up a check from Porter Roofing Contractors when the accident occurred and that he did not have a valid driver’s license. The suit also alleges that Porter Roofing paid its employees through a sham company.

The plaintiffs are asking that the state suspend the roofing company’s licenses, and that a jury be commissioned to award them upwards of $260 million for the loss of their two family members.

In addition to facing manslaughter charges as a result of a fatal wreck, an Oregon woman is also being sued by the wife of the man who died.

Terressa D. Breidel, 41, of Pistol River, Ore., was arrested on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter, driving under the influence of drugs causing injury or death, and possession of a controlled substance after the collision last Oct. 24.

In addition to driving under the influence of drugs, the woman may have been sending a text message on her cell phone when she drove her Ford Explorer into the back of a line of stopped cars.

Ronald L. Rudisill was killed in the four-vehicle pileup, and his wife is filing a wrongful death suit against Breidel and the two Oregon courier companies (GTW Distributing LLC and Senvow LLC) she was working for at the time of the wreck. Rudisill is believed to have been making a delivery on the day of the accident directly for GTW.

If you were injured in a car accident or in an accident involving an 18-wheeler, it’s likely a mistake to represent yourself. An experienced, knowledgable car wreck attorney can help maximize your settlement.