A Houston truck accident lawyer builds the case around the company that put the truck on the road, not only the driver. That company holds the logbook data, the repair files and the driver’s hiring records. Federal rules let it discard some of them after six months.
So the first job after a crash is to ask for those records in writing. The next is to learn which Texas and federal rules fit your case.
Most Texas filing deadlines start running on the day of the crash. Call Zinda Law Group at (800) 863-5312 for a free consultation.
Article summary
Key things to know
- A trucking company can answer for its driver’s negligence and for its own choices on hiring, hours and maintenance.
- Federal rules set how long a commercial truck may be driven and how long the carrier must keep the records that show it.
- A Houston truck accident case can be filed in Harris County, and some cases belong in federal court in Houston.
- Texas reduces your recovery by your share of fault and bars it if that share is more than half.
Free case review
Hit by a commercial truck on a Houston highway?
Trucking companies keep the driver logs and repair files that can decide these cases. A written request sent early can help keep them from being erased.
How a truck accident case starts in Houston
Truck accident victims may hear from the carrier’s insurer before they hear from anyone on their side. That call is not where your case starts. A Houston truck accident attorney starts somewhere else, with the paper trail. A commercial truck leaves records that a passenger car never does.
The carrier must generally have its drivers log their hours on an electronic logging device. It must keep those duty status records for at least six months. It must also keep inspection and repair records for each truck for one year, and for six months after the truck leaves its control.
After a commercial truck accident that kills someone, the employer must test the surviving truck driver for alcohol and drugs. If the alcohol test is not done within 8 hours, or the drug test within 32 hours, the employer stops trying. Some injury and tow-away crashes trigger the same tests.
Our Houston truck accident attorneys send a preservation letter to the trucking company early. It asks the company to keep the logs, the engine data, any dashcam video, the driver qualification file and the dispatch messages. The police report and scene photos come next. Together they can show what happened in the seconds before impact and what the company knew long before it.
Truck accidents in Houston
Houston sits where several freight routes meet. Interstate 10 crosses the city east to west. Interstate 45 runs north toward Dallas and south toward Galveston, and US-59 and I-69 cut across the southwest and northeast sides. The Loop 610, Beltway 8 and the Sam Houston Tollway ring the city, and SH-288 runs south.
The port adds commercial truck traffic of its own. Port Houston reports that it is the fifth-ranked U.S. container port by total TEUs and handles 75 percent of U.S. Gulf Coast container traffic. Containers unloaded there move inland by road and rail, so trucks share these highways with commuters.
Houston truck accident statistics
TxDOT does not publish a truck count for the city alone, so county figures are the closest measure of truck accidents in Houston. In 2024 the county recorded 6,313 crashes involving a commercial motor vehicle. Those crashes included 41 fatal crashes that killed 41 people, and 98 crashes with 112 suspected serious injuries (TxDOT). At that pace, a commercial vehicle crash happened in the county about 17 times a day.
Statewide, TxDOT counted 39,393 commercial motor vehicle crashes in 2024, with 608 people killed in 546 fatal crashes. TxDOT builds these figures from peace officer reports of motor vehicle accidents. Its commercial vehicle category also counts buses and other work vehicles, so the figures cover more than large truck accidents alone.
Federal rules for commercial trucks and their drivers
Federal law sets many of the safety rules a trucking company must follow. A commercial motor vehicle, under federal safety regulations, includes a truck with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,001 pounds or more used in interstate commerce. The federal motor carrier safety rules then reach the driver, the truck and the company.
Hours of service
Federal rules generally limit a property-carrying truck driver to 11 hours of driving after 10 consecutive hours off duty. The driver may not drive beyond the 14th hour after coming on duty. A 30-minute break is required after 8 hours of driving, and weekly limits of 60 hours in 7 days or 70 hours in 8 days apply.
Trucks that never leave Texas follow state rules instead. An intrastate driver may drive 12 hours after 8 consecutive hours off duty and may not drive after 15 hours on duty.
Who may drive a commercial truck
Commercial truck drivers in interstate work must generally be at least 21, physically qualified and licensed by one state. They must also have passed a road test or an accepted equivalent. A carrier may not let an unqualified driver drive.
The carrier must keep a driver qualification file for each truck driver. It holds the job application, driving records, the road test certificate, the yearly review of the driving record and the medical examiner’s certificate. The file must be kept while the driver works there and for three years after.
Maintenance and inspections
Every motor carrier must inspect, repair and maintain the trucks it controls. A worn brake or tire written up in the repair file and never fixed is the kind of record that can prove a truck accident claim.
Insurance minimums
Federal rules set minimum liability coverage for trucking companies. A for-hire carrier hauling general freight across state lines in a truck rated at 10,001 pounds or more must carry at least $750,000 in liability coverage (49 CFR 387.9). The minimum is $1,000,000 for oil and many hazardous materials, and $5,000,000 for some of those hauled in bulk. A truck accident lawyer checks which minimum applies to the carrier that hit you.
Common causes of truck crashes
Truck collisions can have more than one cause. Truck accidents happen when a driver, a company or a load fails, and sometimes all three do.
- Driver fatigue. A driver who stays on the road past the hours limits may react late. The log data and the trucking company’s dispatch records can prove it.
- Distracted driving. A phone, a dispatch screen or a meal at the wheel takes a driver’s eyes off traffic.
- Speeding and following too closely. A loaded semi truck or tractor trailer needs more room to stop than a car.
- Poor maintenance. Worn brakes and bald tires are a company decision as much as a driver’s.
- Improper loading. Cargo that shifts or goes over the weight rating can tip a trailer.
- Blind spots and wide turns. Cars and other passenger vehicles beside a trailer can vanish from the driver’s mirrors.
Distracted driving and fatigue leave traces in phone records and logs. In most truck accidents, the carrier keeps the records that can show what went wrong.
Who may be liable after a Houston truck accident
Truck accident liability can reach past a single company. The potentially liable parties depend on who owned the truck, who hired the driver and who loaded the trailer.
Truck driver and trucking company liability
A truck driver who speeds, drives distracted or breaks the hours rules can be liable for the crash. Under Texas law, an employer can also be liable for an employee’s negligence on the job. A trucking company can face claims for its own conduct as well, such as hiring a driver it should have screened out or setting schedules that could not be met within the hours limits.
Brokers, shippers and loaders
Freight can pass through several companies. A shipper or loading crew that overloaded a trailer or failed to secure the cargo can share the blame. Whether a broker can be liable depends on its role and on the facts. Each company named in a truck accident claim may have its own insurance company.
Maintenance shops and manufacturers
A repair shop that serviced the brakes, or a company that built a defective part, may face a separate claim. The truck’s maintenance records show who worked on it last. A defect claim turns on the design, the manufacturing or the warnings.
State-specific deadlines
Questions about how much time you have?
Types of truck accidents in Houston
Our lawyers handle truck accident cases in Houston, TX involving many kinds of trucks.
18-wheeler and tractor trailer crashes
An 18-wheeler is a tractor that pulls a semi trailer. People also call it a big rig or a tractor trailer. TxDOT counted 42,146 crashes involving a trailer of any kind in Texas in 2024, and 537 people died in them.
Some of these crashes have their own names. In a jackknife, the trailer swings out and folds toward the cab. Underride truck collisions happen when a car slides under the side or back of the trailer. A rollover can spill the load across several lanes.
Everything on this page applies to an 18-wheeler crash. The federal rules, the carrier’s records and the Texas deadlines are the same.
Other trucks on Houston roads
- Semi truck accidents. A semi truck pulling a single trailer carries the same federal duties as a longer rig.
- Delivery and box trucks. Local routes put commercial trucks on neighborhood streets.
- Tanker and hazmat trucks. Fuel and chemical haulers can carry higher federal insurance minimums.
- Oilfield trucks. Water, sand and crew trucks serving oil and gas work are covered on our oilfield truck accident page.
- Other commercial vehicles. Vans, work trucks and company cars are covered on our Houston commercial vehicle accident lawyer page.
Commercial truck crashes like these raise the same first questions. Who employed the driver, and what do the records show?
Texas truck accident law in a Houston case
Texas law decides fault, damages and how the trial runs when a truck accident lawsuit is filed in state court.
Shared fault
Texas uses proportionate responsibility. If you are found more than 50 percent responsible, you recover nothing under section 33.001 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. At 50 percent fault or less, section 33.012 reduces your damages by that percentage. In Texas truck accident claims, the trucking company’s insurer will often argue that the car driver was to blame.
The 2021 two-phase trial law
A 2021 Texas law, House Bill 19, added special trial rules for injury and death lawsuits arising from commercial motor vehicle crashes. It took effect September 1, 2021. Under it, a trucking defendant can ask the court to split the trial in two. The first phase decides fault and compensatory damages, and the second decides exemplary damages.
The law also changes what evidence a jury hears in the first phase of a truck accident case. If the trucking company admits the driver was its employee acting on the job, a claim such as negligent entrustment is limited to a list of federal safety facts. Claims that do not depend on the driver’s negligence, such as negligent maintenance, stay open.
What a claim can recover
Texas separates economic damages from noneconomic damages. Economic losses include medical bills, future medical treatment, lost wages and lost earning capacity. Noneconomic losses cover physical pain, mental anguish, physical impairment and disfigurement. Exemplary damages need clear and convincing proof of fraud, malice or gross negligence, and a statute caps them.
Our Texas truck accident lawyers page covers the state rules in more detail.
Harris County and federal courts for Houston truck crashes
In Texas, venue rules pick the county where a personal injury lawsuit is filed. A case can be filed in the county where all or a substantial part of the events happened. A case against a company can also be filed in the county of its principal office in Texas.
Harris County district courts
As of September 2026, Harris County’s 27 civil district courts sit in the Harris County Civil Courthouse at 201 Caroline in downtown Houston, TX. Personal injury cases, truck accident lawsuits among them, are heard there.
Federal court in Houston
Some truck cases belong in federal court. A federal case from Harris County is heard in the Houston Division of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Which court fits your case depends on the parties and the claims. A truck accident attorney weighs that choice before anything is filed.
How a truck accident case differs from a car accident case
Truck accident cases differ from a car accident case in ways that matter to you. The defendant is often a company with its own insurer and lawyers. Federal rules create records and duties that no car accident involves. And the 2021 trial law applies only to commercial vehicle crashes.
Those differences change how the claim is built. A car accident claim may turn on a police report and a few photos. A truck claim also turns on log data, the driver’s file and the company’s safety history. A commercial truck under the federal rules starts at a 10,001-pound rating, and the largest rigs weigh far more than an average passenger vehicle.
Catastrophic injuries truck accident victims face
Truck accident injuries can be catastrophic injuries because of the weight and speed involved. People in passenger vehicles have far less protection around them.
- Traumatic brain injuries that change memory, mood and the ability to work.
- Spinal cord injuries that can cause partial or full paralysis.
- Broken bones and crush injuries that need surgery and long rehabilitation.
- Burns from fuel fires or hazardous cargo in a tanker truck accident.
- Internal injuries that may not show until hours after the truck accident.
Serious injuries mean medical treatment that can last for years. That future care, and the lost wages that come with it, become part of the claim.
What is a truck accident case worth?
Every truck accident case depends on its own facts, so no page can give you a number. The value starts with your medical bills, lost income and what the injuries take from daily life. It then moves with your share of fault and the insurance company behind each defendant.
A truck accident settlement is an agreement that closes the claim for a set amount. An early offer can arrive before anyone knows how long treatment will last.
A truck accident lawyer can tell you whether an offer covers the full claim. We pursue compensation for all of it, and a lawsuit can follow if the insurer will not pay.
Dealing with the trucking company’s insurance adjuster
The trucking company’s insurance adjuster may call within days of the crash. The adjuster works for the insurance company, and its job is to limit what the insurer pays.
You do not have to give a recorded statement. What you say can be used to argue that you share the fault. The insurance company may also ask you to sign a medical authorization, and that can wait too.
Ask the adjuster to put any truck accident settlement offer in writing. After that, your lawyer can take the calls.
Deadlines and record windows after a truck accident
Some of the clocks in a truck accident claim belong to you. Others govern the evidence.
| Deadline | Texas or federal rule |
|---|---|
| Personal injury lawsuit | General rule: two years from the injury (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 16.003(a)) |
| Wrongful death lawsuit | General rule: two years from the death (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 16.003(b)) |
| Driver duty status records | Kept at least 6 months by the carrier (49 CFR 395.8(k)) |
| Truck inspection and maintenance records | Kept 1 year, and 6 months after the truck leaves the carrier’s control (49 CFR 396.3(c)) |
| Driver qualification file | Kept while the driver is employed and 3 years after (49 CFR 391.51) |
| Post-crash alcohol and drug tests | Attempts stop after 8 hours for alcohol and 32 hours for drugs (49 CFR 382.303) |
Each rule has exceptions, and all are stated as of September 2026. An attorney can check each date against the facts of your truck accident case.
Steps to take after a truck accident in Houston
For truck accident victims, the first days after the crash shape both your recovery and your case.
- Call 911 and get medical treatment the same day. A head or internal injury can take days to show, and early medical records carry weight.
- Ask for the police report number. Write down which agency came to the scene.
- Photograph the truck and trailer. Capture the company name, the USDOT number on the cab door and the trailer plate.
- Get witness names. Other drivers can confirm speed, lane changes and signals. After a serious truck accident, a family member can gather these for you.
- Keep your records. Save medical bills, pay stubs and any letter from an insurer.
- Hold off on recorded statements. Talk to a truck accident lawyer before you speak with the trucking company’s insurer.
When you are ready
Talk through the next step.
When a truck crash takes a life
Fatal truck accidents raise the same questions about the carrier and its records. In Texas, the spouse, children and parents of the person killed can bring a wrongful death lawsuit. A brother, sister or grandparent cannot bring this claim. Our pages on fatal truck crashes and our Houston wrongful death lawyers explain who may file and what the claim covers.
Choosing a law firm for a Houston truck accident case
A truck accident case asks more of a law firm than a typical car accident. The records sit with the carrier, the rules are federal and state at once, and the other side can have a legal team from the first day.
When you speak with an experienced truck accident attorney, ask how the firm will get the carrier’s records and how fast. Ask whether the law firm has tried cases in Harris County and whether it is prepared to go to trial. Ask which lawyer will run your truck accident case and how you will reach them. A law firm that waits weeks to ask for the logs may find them gone.
How our law firm handles Houston truck accident cases
At Zinda Law Group, a personal injury law firm, our lawyers handle truck accident cases for people hurt by commercial trucks across Houston and the rest of Texas.
Your case starts with a free consultation with a truck accident lawyer. You tell us how the crash happened, and we tell you which claims look open and when each one is due. Our firm works on a contingency fee basis, so there is no out-of-pocket cost to secure the legal representation you need.
From there, the lawyer on your case requests the trucking company’s records and identifies each company involved. We pursue compensation from each of them once your losses are known. If the insurers will not pay what the claim is worth, we are prepared to try the case in court.
Read about our truck accident lawyers nationwide, or talk to a Houston personal injury lawyer at our law firm about the next step. Our Houston-area office is at 711 W Bay Area Blvd, Suite 285, in Webster.
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