After a crash with an 18-wheeler in Fort Worth, TX, the carrier holds key records. Its driver logs, repair files and vehicle data can show what happened before the tractor trailer hit you.
Zinda Law Group offers a free consultation about your crash at (800) 863-5312. You pay nothing unless we win.
Article summary
Key things to know
- A loaded tractor trailer can weigh up to 80,000 pounds, and that weight raises the risk of severe injuries in a crash.
- Some carrier records have short retention periods, so ask to preserve them early.
- Under Texas law, an injured person’s share of fault lowers the damages, and a share above 50 percent bars recovery.
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Trucking crash in Tarrant County?
Carrier records and the Texas deadline both shape a claim. Ask us about each in a free case review.
What an 18-wheeler lawyer does in Fort Worth
An 18-wheeler is a tractor pulling a semitrailer, also called a tractor trailer or a big rig.
A truck accident lawyer handles personal injury claims against truck drivers and the trucking companies behind them. A lawyer can send the carrier a written request to preserve its logs, inspection reports, maintenance records and other electronic records. Your lawyer answers the insurance company while you pursue compensation for your medical bills and lost wages.
A box truck or dump truck crash in Fort Worth, TX, is still a Fort Worth truck accident claim. Texas law sets the fault rule for a Texas truck accident claim. Federal safety rules can reach an interstate 18-wheeler accident.
Why an 18-wheeler crash differs from a car accident
TxDOT counted 2,183 crashes involving a commercial motor vehicle in Tarrant County in 2025. Fifteen were fatal crashes, and 71 people had a suspected serious injury. The countywide count does not show fault.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) lists these differences between big trucks and cars in truck accidents.
- Blind spots, which are large on big trucks
- Stopping distance of up to two football fields
- Wide turns that can start with a move to the left
- Underride, where a car slides under a truck in a crash from behind
Those blind spots and wide turns can also lead to a Fort Worth motorcycle accident with a big rig.
Truck accidents and 18-wheeler traffic in Fort Worth
TxDOT describes I-35W through Fort Worth as a major national trade corridor. At its busiest point downtown it carries over 165,000 vehicles per day, and trucks average 11 percent of daily traffic on the interstate.
In Tarrant County, I-35W meets I-30, I-820, I-20 and U.S. 81/287. Truck accidents and other serious crashes happen on streets in Fort Worth, TX, as well.
Rules for trucking companies in Fort Worth, TX
For covered interstate carriers, federal safety rules set these recordkeeping periods.
| Carrier record | Minimum time kept | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Hours of service logs and supporting documents | At least six months | 49 CFR 395.8 |
| Inspection, repair and maintenance records | One year, and six months after the truck leaves the carrier’s control, for a truck it controls 30 consecutive days | 49 CFR 396.3 |
| Driver records in a qualification file | Generally while the driver is employed and for three years after | 49 CFR 391.51 |
A lawyer can check the hours logs for signs of driver fatigue and the repair file for poor truck maintenance. A truck accident lawyer can ask for these records after any truck accident.
The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles lists a $500,000 minimum liability policy for intrastate motor carriers over 26,000 pounds in its general category.
Who can be liable for a Fort Worth truck accident
A truck accident lawyer can check these possible responsible parties.
- The truck driver, who may be liable for unsafe driving such as speeding, distracted driving, driving while fatigued or an unsafe lane change
- The trucking company, for its own negligence or its driver’s negligence within the scope of employment
- A maintenance provider or maintenance contractor, when its negligent maintenance caused the crash
- A shipper or loader, when its negligent loading caused the crash
- A truck manufacturer, when a defective part it made caused it
Commercial carriers and their contractors can each have their own insurance coverage. You can pursue compensation from more than one at-fault party in the same truck accident claim. A dock worker hurt loading a trailer may have a Fort Worth workplace accident claim.
What a Fort Worth truck accident claim can cover
Accident victims can ask each at-fault party to pay for what the truck accident cost. In truck accidents, Texas law and the records set which losses a claimant can recover compensation for.
Medical expenses and lost income
Medical expenses come first. They include hospital bills, medical treatment, medical equipment and future medical care. Recovery for past medical bills is limited to amounts actually paid or incurred. Lost wages and other lost income count when injuries keep you from work.
Waiting to reach maximum medical improvement does not generally pause the filing deadline.
Ask a Fort Worth medical malpractice lawyer about a later treatment error.
A truck accident claim can also include property damage to your car.
Pain, mental anguish and physical impairment
Texas law lists physical pain, mental anguish and physical impairment among noneconomic damages. Emotional distress falls in the same group. Catastrophic injuries such as traumatic brain injuries can raise these losses.
Wrongful death damages for the family
After a fatal tractor trailer crash, Texas law gives the wrongful death claim to the surviving spouse, children and parents. The eligible family members have their own deadline, which generally runs from the death.
Filing deadlines
Questions about how much time you have?
What to do after an 18-wheeler accident in Fort Worth
- Seek medical care. A same-day visit documents your injuries.
- Call the police. A police report, also called a crash report, can record the truck and the carrier.
- Photograph the accident scene.
- Gather witness statements.
- Keep your records. Save your medical records, medical bills and medical documentation.
- Hold off on a recorded statement. The carrier’s insurer may call for one. Ask a Fort Worth truck accident lawyer before giving it.
Short record retention is why early truck accident investigations matter.
How the legal process works for truck accidents
The legal process can start with notice to the insurers and a written request to preserve records. When you hire us, our injury lawyers can request the carrier’s records, document your medical needs and work to recover compensation.
Some truck accidents settle after a demand for fair compensation. Others go to a lawsuit. Tarrant County’s civil district courts sit in the Tom Vandergriff Civil Courts Building in Fort Worth. The choice to accept an offer of fair compensation is yours.
Ask us about the deadline to file a truck accident claim and who is paid from the settlement check.
When you are ready
Talk through the next step.
Free consultation with a Fort Worth truck accident lawyer
Start with a free consultation or our free case evaluation page. Ask our injury lawyers about your legal rights and the deadline that applies.
Zinda Law Group is a personal injury law firm. Our local office is at 5601 Bridge St, Ste 300, Fort Worth, TX 76112.
Our firm works on a contingency fee basis, so there is no out-of-pocket cost to secure the legal representation you need.
Ask our Fort Worth personal injury lawyers about injuries with no vehicle involved, such as a Fort Worth dog bite. East on I-30, truck traffic reaches Arlington and Grand Prairie. South of the city, I-35W joins I-35 toward Waco and San Antonio.
An employer may answer for a delivery driver’s crash, as in Dallas pizza delivery crashes. Off-road vehicles raise other questions, as in El Paso ATV accidents. Rail crossings bring Texas train accidents, including in Austin.
Founder and CEO
John C. (Jack) Zinda
Jack founded Zinda Law Group and focuses his practice on catastrophic personal injury, 18-wheeler accidents and wrongful death.
