An El Paso truck accident lawyer starts with three questions: what kind of truck it was, who put it on the road and which records that company must keep. Delivery trucks, tankers and semi trucks share El Paso streets with local traffic, and each can bring its own rules into a claim.
Zinda Law Group offers a free consultation about your truck accident at (800) 863-5312.
Article summary
Key things to know
- Federal rules require covered trucking companies to keep driver logs, maintenance records and a file on each driver.
- Texas generally allows two years to file a personal injury lawsuit after a truck accident.
- An injury claim against the City of El Paso generally needs sworn written notice to the mayor within 90 days.
- Texas bars recovery for a person more than 50 percent responsible and reduces anyone else’s damages by their share.
Free case review
A work truck hit your car?
Note the company name and DOT number if you can. We explain which records count and which clock is running.
What an El Paso truck accident attorney does
Keeping the truck evidence
The legal team starts with a letter asking the trucking company to keep the truck, its logs and any electronic data. That evidence can show what the truck driver was doing before the crash, including distracted driving. Some records can be lost long before any filing deadline, so preserving them comes first.
Building the claim
An El Paso truck accident lawyer gathers police reports, records from medical professionals and witness names. A legal team may consult accident reconstruction specialists and explain the legal process.
Truck accidents in El Paso
Commercial vehicle crashes in the county
TxDOT counted 1,014 crashes involving a commercial motor vehicle in El Paso County in 2025. Seven were fatal crashes in which 7 people died.
TxDOT also counted 14 suspected serious injury crashes and 117 suspected minor injury crashes. The county count takes in commercial vehicles beyond tractor trailers and says nothing about fault.
City crash counts
TxDOT’s city table counted 14,725 reportable crashes of all vehicles in El Paso in 2025, including 52 fatal crashes in which 54 people died.
Commercial trucks on El Paso streets
Under the federal regulations, a commercial motor vehicle includes a truck used in interstate commerce with a weight rating of 10,001 pounds or more.
Delivery trucks and box trucks
A commercial truck crash with a delivery or box truck can involve the truck driver’s employer and a delivery contractor.
Tanker trucks
Tanker loads of fuel can raise the federal insurance minimum.
Dump trucks and garbage trucks
Dump and garbage trucks are commercial vehicles too, and one owned by the City brings the city notice rules below into play.
Semi trucks and big rigs
A semi truck or big rig accident can involve a heavily loaded truck. Tractor trailer crashes have their own page from our El Paso 18-wheeler accident lawyers, and our El Paso bus accident page covers buses.
How truck crashes differ from car accidents
Large truck accidents are handled differently from a car accident and other motor vehicle accidents. One company may employ the truck driver while another owns the truck or loaded the cargo, so commercial truck cases often involve multiple parties.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) says large trucks are often 20 to 30 times heavier than passenger vehicles and that a tractor-trailer can weigh up to 80,000 pounds fully loaded. That weight increases the risk of more severe injuries. Our El Paso car accident lawyers page covers a car accident that involved no truck.
Interstate 10 and the left lane rule
TxDOT describes the Interstate 10 corridor through El Paso, with five U.S./Mexico ports of entry in the area, as a highly traveled stretch for freight and trucks.
Where the rule applies
A city ordinance keeps trucks with three or more axles, and truck tractors, out of the far left lane on part of the interstate. The stretch runs between the Mesa Street and Zaragoza Road overpass areas. Trucks may still use that lane to pass and to enter or leave the highway.
Federal and Texas trucking rules
The FMCSA writes the federal trucking regulations for the trucking industry, and a Texas rule adopts many of them by reference. A broken rule does not prove fault by itself.
Hours of service
A truck driver hauling property in interstate commerce may generally drive at most 11 hours, inside a 14-hour window after 10 consecutive hours off duty. For intrastate drivers, a Texas rule allows 12 hours of driving after 8 consecutive hours off duty, within on-duty limits. Federal rules bar driving while fatigue makes it unsafe.
Hours records and driver files
Most interstate carriers must have covered truck drivers record hours on an electronic logging device and keep the driver logs and supporting documents for at least six months. A carrier must keep a driver qualification file while the driver works for it and for three years after.
Inspection and repair records
A carrier must systematically inspect, repair and maintain its trucks. It keeps truck maintenance records for each truck it controls for 30 consecutive days. Drivers generally report defects they find after each day’s work. Worn brakes and other poor maintenance can cause a truck crash.
Drug and alcohol testing
After a fatal crash on a public road, covered employers must test the surviving truck driver for alcohol and drugs.
Insurance minimums
A for-hire carrier hauling nonhazardous property across state lines in a truck with a weight rating of 10,001 pounds or more must maintain at least $750,000 in financial responsibility. Oil and many hazardous materials raise the minimum to $1,000,000, and some bulk hazardous loads to $5,000,000.
TxDMV lists $500,000 for general carriers inside Texas with vehicles over 26,000 pounds, with other amounts for hazardous loads and buses. Our truck accident lawyer page covers the federal rules for every state.
Truck accident injuries
Brain injuries and paralysis
Serious injuries such as traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injuries can bring partial or complete paralysis. Large commercial trucks can create catastrophic injuries that need long care and leave mounting medical bills.
Burns, fractures and internal injuries
Serious crashes can cause severe burns, broken bones and internal injuries. Truck accident victims may show no visible injuries at first. Prompt care also starts the record a personal injury claim needs. Treatment errors after a crash may warrant review by our El Paso medical malpractice lawyers.
Who can be held liable for an El Paso truck accident
Truck accident cases often have multiple liable parties, and the jury or judge assigns each one a percentage.
The truck driver
A negligent truck driver may have been speeding, tired or distracted. Phone records from the truck accident may help show distracted driving.
The trucking company
Texas law can hold a trucking company liable for its employee truck driver’s negligence within the scope of employment. The company can also answer for its own negligence, such as poor maintenance.
Cargo loaders
Cargo loaders can share fault for a load that was not properly distributed and secured.
Maintenance companies and manufacturers
Maintenance companies, a repair shop or a parts maker may share fault for negligent work or a defect. In Texas a defendant generally pays only its own percentage, but a defendant whose share is above 50 percent is also jointly liable. Our FAQ on determining truck accident fault explains the evidence behind those percentages.
How Texas courts try a commercial truck lawsuit
Chapter 72 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code sets its own procedure for many commercial vehicle injury and death lawsuits. On a defendant’s timely motion, the court splits the trial in two. The first phase decides liability and compensatory damages, and the second decides exemplary damages.
Courts that hear El Paso cases
El Paso County’s district courts for civil cases only are the 41st, 205th and 448th. The county sits in the El Paso Division of the federal Western District of Texas.
Filing deadlines
Questions about how much time you have?
Deadlines after an El Paso truck accident
| Claim | Deadline, generally | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Personal injury lawsuit | Two years from the day the claim accrues | Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 16.003 |
| Wrongful death lawsuit | Two years from the death | Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 16.003 |
| City of El Paso injury claim | Sworn written notice to the mayor within 90 days, or six months for good cause shown | City Code 3.28 |
City claim notice
The sworn notice must include the details the city code lists. State law can excuse formal notice for a city that timely knew of the injury, the parties and its alleged role in causing it.
Before a damages lawsuit, the City Charter requires presenting the claim to the City Council and its failure to grant it or act in time. Statewide rules are on our Texas truck accident page.
What a truck accident claim may cover
Like other personal injury cases, a claim seeks compensation from each responsible party.
Economic and noneconomic damages
- Medical bills, including future medical care
- Lost wages and lost earning capacity in the future
- Pain, mental anguish and limits on daily life from serious injuries
- Damage to the vehicle and other property
Texas law calls these losses economic and noneconomic damages. Past medical expenses a person can recover are limited to the amounts actually paid or incurred. A truck accident lawyer can help value future medical care and lost earning capacity.
Exemplary damages
Texas allows exemplary damages only on clear and convincing proof of fraud, malice or gross negligence, and generally caps them.
Fatal truck accidents in El Paso
Under Texas law, the surviving spouse, children and parents bring a wrongful death claim. The injured person’s own personal injury claim survives death and passes to the heirs, legal representatives and estate. The El Paso wrongful death lawyers page covers these claims.
What to do after a truck accident in El Paso
Medical care right away
Prompt medical care matters, even for someone who feels fine.
The truck accident report
Calling 911 reports the crash. The police report may list the vehicles involved, the truck driver and the company name.
Photos of the scene
Photos of the scene, the damage and the truck’s DOT number on its door are hard to recreate later.
Bills and records
Medical bills, repair estimates and proof of lost income show what the crash cost.
Recorded statements
An adjuster for the trucking company’s insurer may ask for one. Talk to a truck accident lawyer first.
When you are ready
Talk through the next step.
Free consultation with an El Paso truck accident lawyer
The first consultation is free, and our case evaluation form takes your details online. We represent truck accident victims, including passenger vehicle occupants and pedestrians, and our El Paso motorcycle accident page covers a motorcycle accident with a truck.
Zinda Law Group is a law firm with an office at 2300 George Dieter Drive, El Paso, TX 79936. Other injury cases are listed on the El Paso personal injury lawyers page. Pages for Midland truck accidents and Lubbock truck accidents cover other West Texas cities.
Our firm works on a contingency fee basis, so there is no out-of-pocket cost to secure the legal representation you need. That’s our No Win, No Fee Guarantee.
John (Jack) Zinda
Founder / CEO
Over 100 years of combined experience representing injured victims across the country.
Available 24 / 7|Free Consultation
Neil Solomon
Partner
Real results matter. We do not get paid unless we win your case.
Available 24 / 7|Free Consultation
