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Thompson Coe has an experienced practice group dedicated to the transportation industry.  The firm represents motor carriers, brokers, shippers, and third-party logistics companies in catastrophic injury (burn, amputation, traumatic brain injury (TBI)), wrongful death, property damage, cargo loss, and subrogation claims across the nation.

Our transportation clients vary in size, ranging from long-haul carriers operating coast to coast with thousands of tractors to oilfield service companies with a single truck, along with the companies that insure them. Thompson Coe fully understands the competitive needs as well as the unique regulatory structure of the trucking industry. Our attorneys are active members of the Trucking Industry Defense Association, Transportation Lawyers Association, and the Trucking Law sub-committee of the Defense Research Institute, and routinely give speeches and presentations to regional and national industry groups.


Group Highlights

  • Trial experience defending motor carriers in State and Federal court
  • Attorneys certified in Civil Trial Law and Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization
  • Decades of combined trial experience in hundreds of personal injury, wrongful death, property damage, and cargo loss cases

Industry Knowledge

Thompson Coe understands that trucking companies are regulated by a highly specialized body of rules and regulations promulgated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, as well as each State, among others. Our attorneys have intimate knowledge of the standards and requirements applicable to intrastate and interstate motor carriers and utilize that knowledge in the successful defense of our clients. Where expert consultation or testimony on these issues is required, Thompson Code works closely with these individuals to ensure the best possible outcome for each claim.


Litigation

Thompson Coe has recognized the inescapable shift toward the approach to prosecuting personal injury cases popularized by David Ball and Don Keeton’s book: Reptile, The 2009 Manual of the Plaintiff’s Revolution (2009).  In response, as Thompson Coe prepares transportation cases for trial, our team places particular emphasis on combating these popular trial tactics.

From the filing of the first pleading through discovery and trial, the firm’s focus is on obtaining the best possible result for our clients during the paradigmatic shift that has developed over the last several years with regard to how personal injury cases are litigated and tried. We have secured numerous favorable jury verdicts in “reptile” cases due in no small part to exhaustive research on preferred methods of evidence presentation, data retention, and winning trial tactics.


Transportation Industry Consultation

In addition to representation in litigation, Thompson Coe can be of immediate assistance in any government audit or investigation by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) or other local, state, or federal governmental or regulatory entity.

The firm has represented all sizes of trucking companies during and after compliance audits and has successfully overturned the findings of both state and federal regulatory authorities, saving our clients thousands of dollars.


Transportation Investigation & First Response

When there is an accident, time is of the essence in getting investigators to the scene in order to start building the best possible defense. The Emergency Response Team was developed to help our corporate and insurance clients with their need for legal assistance during a catastrophic event such as a construction or transportation accident.

Our ERTs can be on the scene of an accident shortly after being notified and are specialized in preserving evidence at the scene, maintaining investigative privileges, securing eyewitnesses, and immediate analysis of accident causation. Further, each ERT has the ability to quickly retain the necessary expert consultants to immediately document the scene and equipment, as well as retain any relevant physical evidence.

The firm has assembled a team of attorneys that can be called upon at a moment’s notice to assist with the gathering of facts and other data necessary to represent the clients’ best interest in anticipation of future litigation. We maintain offices in Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Saint Paul, and New Orleans, and can coordinate an investigation for a trucking accident that occurs in any part of the region. If one of your insureds has been involved in an accident that requires immediate expertise and assistance, please contact one of the individuals listed below.

We are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

People

Jennifer D. Aufricht
Partner

Jennifer D. Aufricht

214-871-8276
Email

Kevin M. Mosher
Partner

Kevin M. Mosher

651-389-5007
Email

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