Who can be sued in a commercial truck accident case?

More parties than in a car accident. The driver. The driver's employer (the motor carrier). The trucking company itself if separate. Sometimes the broker or shipper that arranged the load, if their conduct contributed. Sometimes the manufacturer of a defective component (brakes, tires, coupling). Identifying every potentially liable party early shapes evidence preservation and insurance disclosure.

What does the carrier's USDOT number tell us?

It opens the FMCSA Safety Measurement System file — the carrier's CSA scores across seven safety categories, prior crash history, hours-of-service violations, vehicle out-of-service rates. If the carrier has a documented pattern of safety violations, that pattern becomes part of the case.

Do federal hours-of-service rules apply if the truck was intrastate?

Often yes. Texas adopted the FMCSA hours-of-service framework for most commercial vehicles operating in the state. The 11-hour driving limit, 14-hour duty window, and 70-hour rolling cap apply to intrastate commercial drivers in Texas under 37 TAC §4.11. The exceptions are narrow and depend on vehicle class and cargo type.

What is a spoliation letter and when does it need to go out?

It's a preservation-of-evidence demand sent to the motor carrier requiring them not to destroy, overwrite, or alter the ELD logs, dashcam footage, GPS data, driver qualification file, post-trip inspection reports, and the truck itself. ELD data overwrites on a fixed cycle, dashcam loops are short, and trucks return to service within days. The letter goes out the first week, no later.

Will the trucking company's insurance treat this differently than a car accident?

Yes. Federal regulations require commercial trucking companies to carry minimum liability insurance of $750,000 to $5,000,000 depending on cargo type. The insurance defense team that responds is typically a national firm with deep experience in commercial vehicle litigation. They arrive on scene fast and start managing the narrative immediately. Engaging counsel quickly evens the field.

Austin Truck Accident Lawyer

On this page

Do you have a truck accident case?

If a commercial truck — a tractor-trailer, box truck, dump truck, delivery van, any vehicle requiring a CDL or operating under a USDOT number — caused your crash on Travis or Williamson County roads, you almost certainly have a case. Commercial truck cases run on a different track than passenger vehicle cases: more potential defendants, federally regulated evidence, faster carrier response, and bigger insurance policies. The two-year deadline under Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code §16.003 is the same; the work in the first weeks is heavier and more time-sensitive.

We handle commercial truck accident representation across Austin and the I-35 corridor north into Williamson County. The pages that follow walk through the federal regulations that change the case, the Texas-specific procedural framework, the local geography that shapes how these cases get litigated, and the process from first call through resolution.

What to do in the next 24 hours

Before anything else, before calling any attorney:

See a doctor today. Truck-accident impact forces routinely produce delayed-onset injuries — soft-tissue damage, concussion symptoms, internal injuries that don't surface until day two or three. A same-day medical record anchors your timeline.
Photograph the truck. Capture the carrier's USDOT number on the cab door or trailer, the tractor's license plate, the trailer plate (different jurisdictions are common), the company name on the trailer, and any markings on hazardous-material placards. The USDOT number is the key that opens the FMCSA file.
Capture the scene. Skid marks, debris field, signage, lane markings, traffic-control devices. Scene physics deteriorate within hours.
Get witness contact info. Truck cases turn on independent witnesses more than passenger crashes — the size disparity makes physics arguments contestable. Names, phone numbers, what they saw, where they were.
Don't talk to the trucking company's insurer. Commercial carriers dispatch claims investigators to the scene fast. A recorded statement to their adjuster is not required and is rarely in your interest. Get advice first.
Save everything. Discharge papers, prescriptions, mileage to and from appointments, repair estimates, towing receipts, lost-wage documentation. Keep one folder.

None of the above requires an attorney. It costs nothing. It is the single most useful thing you can do in the first day.

What makes a Texas truck accident case different

Three structural differences shape every commercial truck case in Texas, and they change the evidence and the strategy.

Federal hours-of-service rules. Under 49 CFR Part 395 and Texas's adoption at 37 TAC §4.11, commercial drivers face strict limits: 11 hours of driving per shift, 14-hour duty window, 70 hours over 8 days, mandatory rest breaks. Drivers working past those limits are operating in violation of federal regulation, and the violation is often the cause of the crash. Hours-of-service data lives on the truck's electronic logging device (ELD). The ELD data overwrites on a fixed cycle. Preservation in the first week is the difference between proving fatigue and arguing it.

Layered defendant structure. A commercial truck crash typically has more potentially liable parties than a passenger crash. The driver. The motor carrier (employer). A separate trucking company if the carrier leased the equipment or used owner-operators. The broker who arranged the load, if broker negligence in carrier selection contributed. The shipper, in narrow circumstances. The manufacturer of a defective component. Identifying every party early changes evidence preservation, insurance disclosure, and the negotiation calculus.

HB 19 bifurcated trial. Texas HB 19 (2021) restructured commercial vehicle litigation. Many cases now run as two-phase trials: phase one decides liability and compensatory damages; phase two — triggered only by a jury finding of gross negligence in phase one — decides exemplary damages. The change affects what evidence comes in during phase one and how prior carrier incidents get framed. It rewards thorough phase-one preparation.

PIP, UM, and UIM coverage on your own auto policy still apply when a truck is involved. The federal minimum liability policy on a commercial truck (typically $750,000 to $5,000,000 depending on cargo) sits above those.

Texas and federal law that governs recovery

The legal framework most often invoked in a commercial truck case:

Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §16.003 — two-year statute of limitations for personal injury and wrongful death.
Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §33.001 — modified comparative responsibility; recovery barred at 51% fault.
Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §41.008 — caps on exemplary damages (relevant in HB 19 phase-two proceedings).
49 CFR Parts 350-399 — Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations governing driver qualifications, hours-of-service, vehicle maintenance, and inspection requirements.
49 CFR §395 — hours-of-service rules and ELD requirements.
37 TAC §4.11 — Texas's adoption of FMCSA standards for intrastate commercial vehicles.
Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §72.052 — HB 19 bifurcated trial structure for commercial vehicle litigation.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) — the regulatory body that issues USDOT numbers, runs the Safety Measurement System, and publishes the carrier's safety scores.

For freight-broker cases, the Texas Supreme Court's analysis under Aceros Inoxidables del Norte, Inc. (relevant common-law authority) governs broker-shipper distinctions. For defective-component cases, the Texas products-liability statute (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Chapter 82) applies.

Where Austin truck accidents happen

Austin's commercial truck traffic concentrates along predictable corridors, and the geography shapes both the crash patterns and the venue.

I-35 north corridor. The single highest-volume commercial truck route through Austin. The stretch from downtown Austin through Round Rock, Pflugerville, Hutto, and Georgetown carries thousands of commercial vehicles daily. Crashes concentrate at the I-35 / SH-45 interchange, the I-35 / SH-130 junction, and the on-ramps north of Round Rock. Williamson County District Court handles many of these cases.

SH-130 toll road. The eastern bypass route designed to relieve I-35. Speed limits are higher (85 mph on some stretches), commercial truck volume is significant, and crash injury severity is correspondingly higher.

US 183 commercial corridor. Heavy commercial truck use through Cedar Park and Leander, plus the segment running south through Austin to Mueller and the eastern industrial areas.

IH-35 / Loop 1 (MoPac) interchange. The downtown convergence point. Commercial trucks routing through downtown Austin are over-represented in crash counts here.

East Austin / Mueller / Manor commercial routes. Local distribution truck traffic and the Mueller industrial cluster generate crash density different from the highway pattern — more left-turn and intersection crashes, often involving smaller commercial vehicles (delivery vans, box trucks).

Travis County District Court handles most Travis County truck cases. Williamson County District Court handles cases arising from the I-35 north stretch. The choice of venue affects jury composition, docket speed, and motion practice.

What is recoverable

Truck accident damages typically run higher than car accident damages because crash forces are higher and injuries more severe. Categories of recovery in Texas:

Past medical expenses subject to the Haygood paid-or-incurred rule.
Future medical care projected via a life-care plan when ongoing treatment is required.
Past lost wages with documentation of pre-crash earnings.
Future lost earning capacity — a more substantial component in catastrophic-injury cases involving career disruption.
Pain and suffering — past and future.
Mental anguish — typically requires evidence beyond the injury itself.
Disfigurement and physical impairment — separate categories under Texas pattern jury charges.
Property damage — vehicle, contents, towing.
Exemplary (punitive) damages — only on a finding of gross negligence, capped under §41.008, decided in HB 19 phase two.
Loss of consortium for the spouse in catastrophic cases.

For wrongful death cases, the §71.004 statutory beneficiaries (spouse, children, parents) have separate recovery rights distinct from the survival action.

What the process looks like

Truck accident representation runs in four overlapping phases.

Phase 1: investigation and evidence preservation (weeks 1-3). Spoliation letter to the carrier covering ELD data, driver qualification file, dashcam footage, post-trip inspections, GPS data, drug-and-alcohol testing records, and the vehicle itself. FOIA-equivalent request to FMCSA for the carrier's safety profile. Independent accident reconstruction if circumstances warrant. Witness statements. Treating-doctor records.

Phase 2: medical and damages development (months 1-12). Treatment continues. Damages workup. Vocational and life-care planning if catastrophic injuries. Insurance disclosure tracking — federal regs require commercial carriers to disclose policy limits on demand.

Phase 3: pre-suit negotiation OR filing (months 6-18). Most truck cases that resolve pre-suit do so in this window. Cases that don't resolve get filed in the appropriate district court (Travis or Williamson). Discovery, depositions, and the designation of retained witnesses on accident reconstruction, FMCSA compliance, and life-care planning.

Phase 4: trial OR settlement (months 18-30). Mediation typically occurs 60-90 days before trial. Cases that proceed to trial under HB 19 structure run as two-phase proceedings. Most cases resolve before final verdict, but the trial calendar is the leverage that drives meaningful settlement.

Why this firm

Direct attorney access. When you call us, you reach an attorney, not an intake coordinator routing you to a paralegal. Anselmo Aguirre handles your case personally — intake, investigation, negotiation, and trial.

Smaller caseload than the firms that advertise on the freeway. We turn down cases for conflict, for fit, and when another firm is a better match for the facts. The cases we take get attention, not assembly-line treatment.

Real Texas-specific work. Statutes by section, hospitals by name, courts by location. The pages on this site are the firm's own analysis, reviewed by Anselmo Aguirre — not borrowed from a content mill.

Frequently asked questions

Who can be sued in a commercial truck accident case?: More parties than in a car accident. The driver. The driver's employer (the motor carrier). The trucking company itself if separate. Sometimes the broker or shipper that arranged the load, if their conduct contributed. Sometimes the manufacturer of a defective component (brakes, tires, coupling). Identifying every potentially liable party early shapes evidence preservation and insurance disclosure.
What does the carrier's USDOT number tell us?: It opens the FMCSA Safety Measurement System file — the carrier's CSA scores across seven safety categories, prior crash history, hours-of-service violations, vehicle out-of-service rates. If the carrier has a documented pattern of safety violations, that pattern becomes part of the case.
Do federal hours-of-service rules apply if the truck was intrastate?: Often yes. Texas adopted the FMCSA hours-of-service framework for most commercial vehicles operating in the state. The 11-hour driving limit, 14-hour duty window, and 70-hour rolling cap apply to intrastate commercial drivers in Texas under 37 TAC §4.11. The exceptions are narrow and depend on vehicle class and cargo type.
What is a spoliation letter and when does it need to go out?: It's a preservation-of-evidence demand sent to the motor carrier requiring them not to destroy, overwrite, or alter the ELD logs, dashcam footage, GPS data, driver qualification file, post-trip inspection reports, and the truck itself. ELD data overwrites on a fixed cycle, dashcam loops are short, and trucks return to service within days. The letter goes out the first week, no later.
How does HB 19's bifurcated trial change strategy?: Texas HB 19 (2021) requires a two-phase trial in many commercial vehicle cases. Phase one decides liability and compensatory damages. Phase two — only if the jury finds gross negligence in phase one — decides exemplary damages. The structure changes how evidence about carrier safety practices, prior incidents, and driver-qualification failures gets presented and to which jury.
Will the trucking company's insurance treat this differently than a car accident?: Yes. Federal regulations require commercial trucking companies to carry minimum liability insurance of $750,000 to $5,000,000 depending on cargo type. The insurance defense team that responds is typically a national firm with deep experience in commercial vehicle litigation. They arrive on scene fast and start managing the narrative immediately. Engaging counsel quickly evens the field.