Texas 18-Wheeler & Truck Accident Lawyers

There is simply more to do. Multiple potential defendants each have to be identified and served, the carrier's records have to be obtained through formal discovery rather than a phone call, and serious injuries take longer to reach maximum medical improvement.

The tradeoff is usually worth it: the layers of coverage available in a commercial case are generally far deeper than a personal auto policy.

Frequently the motor carrier itself, for negligent hiring, training, supervision, or for pressuring a schedule that could not be run legally. Depending on the facts, the trailer owner, a maintenance contractor, a cargo loader, a broker, or a shipper can also be on the hook.

Identifying every responsible party matters because each may carry its own policy.

Electronic logging device data, engine control module downloads, dashcam and forward-facing camera footage, driver qualification files, drug and alcohol testing records, dispatch communications, and maintenance logs.

Much of it is subject to short retention periods, and some of it overwrites itself in days. That is why a spoliation letter putting the carrier on notice to preserve everything should go out as early as possible.

Refer them to your attorney and say nothing else. Large carriers keep rapid response teams that reach the scene and the injured party within hours, and their job is to limit the company's exposure.

A recorded statement given in the first days after a serious crash, before anyone knows the extent of the injuries, is one of the most damaging things that can happen to a claim.

They can be decisive. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations set enforceable standards for driver hours, qualification, vehicle condition, and load securement.

When the records show a rule was broken, the argument shifts from whether the driver was careless to how a company allowed the violation to happen in the first place.

Often, though not because of the vehicle. Commercial policies carry much higher limits than personal auto policies, and injuries from an 80,000-pound vehicle tend to be more severe.

Higher limits also mean a more aggressive defense. These cases are defended by counsel from the beginning, not by an adjuster.

Nothing up front. We work on a contingency fee, which means our fee is a percentage of what we recover for you and there is no fee at all if we do not recover anything.

The case review is free, and you are not obligated to hire us after it.

In most cases, two years from the date of the injury. Miss that window and the court will almost always dismiss the case regardless of its merits.

The exceptions matter in both directions: the clock is paused for a child until their 18th birthday, while a claim against a city, county, or state agency requires written notice far sooner — six months under state law, and as little as 45 or 90 days under some city charters. Because the deadline depends on who is at fault, it is worth confirming early.

You can still recover. Texas uses proportionate responsibility: as long as you are 50% or less at fault, you collect damages reduced by your share of the blame. At 51% you recover nothing.

That threshold is exactly why adjusters work so hard to pin blame on the injured person early. Fault is argued, not decided at the scene.