There are time limits on how long you have to file a truck wreck lawsuit against a trucking company, but not all of those limits are imposed by law.

Most states, including Texas, have laws that limit how much time can pass between the truck wreck and the time you file your lawsuit. In Texas, that statute of limitations is typically two years.

However, your insurance company — or the company that insures the truck that injured you — could have other different time limits. This is because many drivers have Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist Coverage (UM or UIM). With these options, there may be notice provisions that place a much shorter requirement on the state’s statute of limitations in filing a lawsuit against a negligent truck driver.

Since these are considered optional kinds of coverage, the insurance policy contract has precedence over the state-established time limits for filing your lawsuit.

These two factors play a critical role in determining how long you might have to file a lawsuit against a negligent truck driver or trucking company.

This is why it is critical that you consult a law firm if you are unfortunate enough to be involved in a wreck with a big rig. An experience truck wreck law firm can help you protect your rights.

Eleven workers are still missing after a massive explosion aboard an oil platform off the Louisiana coast.

In addition to the missing, 17 workers were injured — four critically — and evacuated to hospitals onshore. The remaining 111 people who were on the offshore platform “Deepwater Horizon” when the explosion occurred have been safely evacuated to Port Fourchon, La. They were checked by doctors before being brought to a hotel in suburban New Orleans to reunite with their relatives.

According to an Associated Press report, rescue crews had covered the 1,940-square-mile search area by air 12 times and by boat five times, by Thursday morning. Officials hoped the 11 missing workers might have been able to get to a covered lifeboat with enough supplies to survive for an extended period.

The rig, owned by Transocean Ltd., was under contract to oil giant BP and was doing exploratory drilling about 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana.

The 400-by-250-foot rig is roughly twice the size of a football field, according the Transocean’s website. After the explosion, a column of boiling black smoke rose hundreds of feet over the Gulf of Mexico. Officials said environmental damage appeared minimal so far.

Company officials said the explosion appeared to be a blowout, in which natural gas or oil forces its way up a well pipe and smashes the equipment. But precisely what went wrong was under investigation.

Workers typically spend two weeks on the rig at a time, followed by two weeks off. Offshore oil workers typically earn $40,000 to $60,000 a year — more if they have special skills.

Since 2001, there have been 69 offshore deaths, 1,349 injuries and 858 fires and explosions in the Gulf, according to the federal Minerals Management Service.

Source: The Associated Press

A 10-year-old girl was killed last month in Missouri when the ATV on which she was riding with a friend flipped. It landed on top of her.

Madison County Sheriff’s Capt. Brad Wells said the department was called to the 11000 block of Bononi Road in New Douglas at 6:20 p.m. for a report of an ATV accident.

Montana Niccole Garner of Livingston was a passenger on a four-wheel, adult-size ATV being driven by a 12-year-old female friend. They were on the private farmland of the 12-year-old’s family, which is not far from the victim’s own home, Wells said.

“They were making a turn and it flipped and then landed on the child,”  said Madison County Sheriff’s Capt. Brad Wells. “This appears to be strictly an accident.”

Emergency personnel were summoned to the scene, and the girl was taken first to Community Memorial Hospital in Staunton, then flown to a St. Louis area hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The ATV’s driver suffered minor injuries, Wells said.

Area police have seen a number of fatal ATV incidents in the last few years. Wells said people using ATVs should follow warning stickers that indicate the limits of the vehicle and the recommended ages of drivers, and should wear appropriate safety gear.

Source: The Telegraph