A Texas truck accident lawyer builds your claim from the records the trucking company keeps about the truck and the driver. State law then sets the filing deadline and how shared fault affects recovery.
You pay nothing unless we win. Zinda Law Group offers a free consultation about a truck accident at (800) 863-5312.
Article summary
Key things to know
- A Texas personal injury lawsuit generally must be filed within two years of the day the claim accrues.
- Texas bars recovery above 50 percent responsibility and otherwise reduces damages by the claimant’s share.
- A claim against a city, county or state agency generally needs notice within six months, and a city charter can set a different period.
- By NHTSA’s count, Texas had more large trucks in fatal crashes than any other state in 2024.
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What a Texas truck accident attorney does
A Texas truck accident attorney handles claims for truck accident victims against the trucker and trucking company behind a crash. The work starts at the very beginning, with evidence. The law firm asks the trucking company in writing to preserve evidence, including its driver logs, driver file and repair records. Its legal team gathers police reports and witness statements.
A personal injury lawyer answers the insurance company and checks each offer against your medical bills and lost wages. If the insurer will not make a fair settlement offer, you can file a lawsuit. Look for a law firm whose experienced truck accident attorney knows the federal rules.
Our Texas personal injury lawyer page covers car accident and other injury claims.
Texas rules that shape a truck collision claim
Most Texas truck accident cases follow the general rules below.
| Rule | What the statute says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Injury lawsuit deadline | Generally two years from the day the claim accrues | Section 16.003(a) |
| Shared fault | Damages are reduced by the claimant’s percentage of responsibility. No recovery above 50 percent | Sections 33.001 and 33.012 |
| Claims against government | Notice is generally due within six months of the incident, and a city charter can set a different period | Section 101.101 |
| Medical expenses | Recovery is limited to the amount actually paid or incurred | Section 41.0105 |
Sections are from the Civil Practice and Remedies Code. The rules above are general, as of October 2026, and have exceptions.
Filing deadlines
Questions about how much time you have?
Trucking rules that leave records after a crash
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) writes the safety regulations for the trucking industry. A broken regulation does not prove fault by itself.
Federal hours of service regulations limit a property-carrying truck driver to 11 hours of driving inside a 14-hour window that starts when the driver comes on duty after 10 consecutive hours off. Drivers in intrastate commerce follow a state rule that allows 12 hours of driving after 8 consecutive hours off duty and bars driving after 15 hours on duty. Most interstate carriers must have drivers use an electronic logging device, with exceptions, and keep the logs for at least six months.
Carriers must keep inspection records and maintenance records for the trucks they control, generally for one year. Drivers generally must report safety defects they find in vehicle inspections, and carriers keep those reports for three months. Under federal drug and alcohol testing rules, a carrier must generally test its surviving truck driver after a crash that kills someone. Attempts stop after 8 hours for the alcohol test and 32 hours for the drug test.
Our Texas truck licensing fraud article covers falsified driver documents and bribed officials.
Federal rules set minimum liability insurance for interstate for-hire carriers, higher for oil and listed hazardous materials. Our national truck accident lawyer page covers these federal rules in more detail.
Texas truck crash statistics
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) counted 38,533 crashes involving a commercial motor vehicle in Texas in 2025. Of those, 469 were fatal crashes in which 528 people died. A crash counts in TxDOT’s data when the investigating officer checked the CMV box on the crash report. That is not a count of 18-wheelers, and it says nothing about fault.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) counted 699 large trucks in fatal crashes in Texas in 2024, more than in any other state. It also counted 720 people killed in Texas crashes involving large trucks, the highest total. NHTSA’s definition covers any truck rated over 10,000 pounds, commercial or not.
The figures are counts and not rates, and they do not show fault.
Types of truck collisions in Texas
A truck crash is not a car accident between two passenger vehicles.
Tractor trailers, 18-wheelers and big trucks
Tractor trailers are often called semi trucks, big rigs or 18-wheelers. Federal rules require cargo on tractor trailers and other big trucks to be secured so it does not leak, spill, blow or fall off. Our 18-wheeler accident page explains crashes with them.
Commercial vehicles, delivery trucks and tow trucks
For a lawsuit over a commercial vehicle collision, Texas law defines a commercial motor vehicle as one used for commercial purposes to transport property or passengers, deliver or transport goods, or provide services. It has no weight threshold and leaves out a vehicle used for personal, family or household purposes at the time. A commercial vehicle accident can involve a tow truck or a delivery van.
Our commercial vehicle accidents page covers commercial truck crashes with large commercial vehicles. Our Amazon delivery accident page covers crashes with a delivery driver.
Serious injuries after a truck crash
A truck wreck can leave truck accident victims with serious injuries. FMCSA says trucks are often 20 to 30 times heavier than a passenger vehicle and a tractor-trailer can weigh up to 80,000 pounds fully loaded.
That weight raises the risk of severe injuries. The worst cases involve catastrophic injuries or fatal truck accidents. How painful injuries affect your work and daily life shapes what you ask for.
Who can be held liable for a Texas truck accident
The truck driver and the trucking company are the first two potentially liable parties. A truck driver’s logs and the crash report can show speeding, distracted driving or reckless driving. Under Texas law an employer is vicariously liable for its employee’s negligent acts within the course and scope of employment.
A trucking company also has duties of its own under federal rules. It may not let an unqualified person drive, or require or permit a driver to drive while driver fatigue or illness makes driving unsafe. A claim can name the company for breaking one of those duties and causing the crash.
A truck accident lawyer checks who loaded the cargo, who repaired the truck and who made its parts. Multiple liable parties can share one claim, and you can pursue compensation from each of the responsible parties.
A governmental unit is liable for injury caused by an employee’s negligent operation of a motor-driven vehicle within the scope of employment, provided the employee would be personally liable. Texas limits the damages in those claims, and notice has its own deadline, shown in the table above.
How shared fault works in Texas
Texas calls its fault rule proportionate responsibility. The jury or judge assigns a percentage, based on the evidence, to each claimant, each defendant, each settling person and each responsible third party a defendant has designated.
If your percentage is more than 50 percent, you may not recover damages. At 50 percent or less, the court reduces your damages by your percentage. Trucking companies and their insurance companies may try to shift blame to the injured person. The police report and the carrier’s records help answer that.
What a truck injury claim can cover
In truck accident cases, a personal injury claim asks the liable parties to pay for what the crash cost. The proof decides whether you recover compensation for each loss. Texas separates economic damages, such as medical bills and lost income, from non-economic damages, such as physical pain and suffering, mental anguish and loss of enjoyment of life.
Exemplary damages require clear and convincing proof of fraud, malice or gross negligence. In truck accident cases with a commercial vehicle, the court must order a two-phase trial on a defendant’s timely motion. The first phase decides liability and compensatory damages, and the second decides exemplary damages. No lawyer can promise an amount.
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When a truck crash in Texas is fatal
When fatal injuries follow a truck crash, the family can have a claim of its own. In fatal truck accidents, a Texas wrongful death action is for the exclusive benefit of the surviving spouse, children and parents. Its deadline runs from the death and not from the crash. The injured person’s own personal injury claim survives to the heirs, legal representatives and estate.
Our Texas wrongful death attorneys page explains who can file. For fatal crashes with commercial trucks, see our truck wrongful death page.
Truck accident lawyers across Texas
Our law firm handles claims in cities across the state.
- North Texas. Dallas truck accidents, Fort Worth truck accidents, Arlington truck accidents, Carrollton truck accidents, Denton truck accidents, Frisco truck accidents, Garland truck accidents, Grand Prairie truck accidents, Irving truck accidents, McKinney truck accidents, Mesquite truck accidents, Plano truck accidents, Richardson truck accidents
- Central Texas. Austin truck accidents, Round Rock trucking accidents, San Marcos truck accidents, Temple truck accidents, Waco truck accidents, Killeen truck accidents, College Station truck accidents
- South Texas and the coast. Houston truck accidents, San Antonio truck accidents, Corpus Christi truck accidents, Baytown truck accidents, Beaumont truck accidents
- West Texas. El Paso truck accidents, Lubbock truck accidents, Midland truck accidents
Talk to a Texas truck accident law firm
Our Texas truck accident attorneys go over the crash, the records to request and the deadline that applies when you send your details on the case evaluation page. If you hire our law firm, our legal team works to recover compensation while you focus on treatment.
Zinda Law Group is a personal injury law firm that represents injured people across Texas. Our firm works on a contingency fee basis, so there is no out-of-pocket cost to secure the legal representation you need. Our fee agreement article explains how paying a lawyer works.
