Free Texas Truck Accident Guide
A truck crash is not a bigger car accident - it is a fundamentally different legal event. Trucking companies send rapid response teams within hours. Evidence disappears within days. The steps you take in the first 24 hours determine what your case can become.
Why This Guide Exists
The steps that protect you after a car accident are not enough after a truck crash. These are the four differences that change everything.
Dashcam footage overwrites in 24 - 72 hours. Black box data overwrites in days. ELD records purge in 7?30 days. Car accident evidence doesn't work this way ? a fender-bender has no black box, no FMCSA records, no electronic logs to preserve.
Preservation demand must go out within 24 - 72 hours of the crash.
Major carriers dispatch rapid response teams and defense lawyers, crash investigators, accident reconstruction is to serious crash scenes within hours. They document and preserve evidence favorable to the company before most victims leave the hospital.
The other side has a process. You need one too.
In a car accident, there is typically one defendant. In a truck crash, liability can extend to the trucking company, driver, cargo loader, maintenance contractor, parts manufacturer, and leasing company - each with a separate insurance policy.
More defendants means larger combined coverage limits.
FMCSA regulations govern every aspect of commercial trucking - driver qualifications, hours of service, vehicle maintenance, drug testing, cargo securement. Violations of these rules are treated as negligence per se under Texas law.
Car accidents don't involve federal regulatory violations.
The Guide
Every step below is specifically calibrated for a truck accident. The order matters — some of these actions have a window measured in hours, not days.
At the Scene
18-wheelers carry diesel fuel, compressed air systems, and sometimes hazardous cargo. Move away from the truck if it is safe to do so — but do not leave the scene. Leaving before law enforcement arrives is a criminal offense in Texas. Stay close enough to speak with police when they arrive.
If cargo has spilled: Do not approach. Cargo can include chemicals, gases, or unstable loads. Keep others away and tell emergency responders what the truck was carrying if you know.
Photograph and video the scene before anything is moved, cleaned, or removed. Truck accident scenes are cleared quickly — sometimes before investigators arrive. Your phone video may be the only record of vehicle positions, skid marks, and debris patterns.
Give your factual account to law enforcement only. The truck driver's dispatcher may call the scene. The carrier's rapid response team may arrive. Do not speak with any of them. You have no legal obligation to give a statement to the trucking company, their insurer, their investigators, or their attorneys — at the scene or ever.
What not to say: "I'm sorry." "I didn't see the truck." "I'm okay." "I think I ran the light." Every word is potential evidence. Speak only to police, and only state facts you are certain of.
Within 24 Hours
Go to an emergency room immediately. Truck crashes involve forces and trauma that ordinary car accidents do not — the weight differential alone (your vehicle vs. 80,000 lbs) creates injury mechanisms that may not be apparent for hours. Traumatic brain injuries, internal organ damage, spinal injuries, and aortic tears can all present with delayed symptoms.
Every day between the crash and your first ER visit is a gap the defense will use. Same-day care — even if you feel fine — is the single most important thing you can do to protect your claim.
This step must happen within 24 hours. A preservation demand must be served on the trucking company before dashcam footage overwrites (24–72 hours) and before the carrier's legal team has any more time to work unopposed. An experienced truck accident attorney can issue that demand, open an independent investigation, and identify all potentially liable parties the same day.
AK Law Firm offers free consultations — no fee to start. There is no financial reason to wait. The evidence deadline is already running.
Report the accident to your own insurer as required by your policy. Give only basic facts: date, time, location, and that a commercial truck was involved. Do not give a detailed account. Do not speculate about fault. Do not give a recorded statement to any party — including your own insurer — before speaking with your attorney.
Trucking companies and their insurers sometimes make fast settlement offers — before an attorney is involved, before the full extent of injuries is known, and before you understand how much coverage is available. Commercial trucking policies are significantly larger than personal auto policies. An early offer is almost always a fraction of what the claim is worth.
Once you sign a release, your claim is closed permanently — even if your injuries prove far more serious, even if new liable parties are identified later. Do not sign anything before attorney review.
Ongoing
Start a daily journal immediately. Document every symptom, every medical appointment, every medication, every limitation on your work and daily life, and every conversation with any insurance representative. Truck accident damages include pain and suffering, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, and loss of enjoyment of life — a detailed record supports all of them.
Attend every appointment. Complete every referral. Finish every course of physical therapy. Gaps in treatment are one of the defense's primary tools — if you stop treatment, they argue you must have recovered. Your medical records are the foundation of your damages claim, and consistency in treatment is critical.
Evidence at Risk
Every item on this list exists right now. Without a preservation demand, most of it will be gone within days. There is no legal obligation to preserve evidence until notice is given.
Forward-facing and interior cab cameras loop and overwrite continuously. No federal minimum retention period — this data is gone unless a preservation demand freezes it within hours of the crash.
Speed, brake application, throttle position, steering inputs, and seatbelt status in the seconds before impact. Overwrites based on ignition cycles — approximately 250 cycles per NHTSA. Data from a crash can be gone within days of the truck returning to service.
Hour-by-hour driver location, duty status, and driving time logs stored on-device. Can prove Hours of Service violations — fatigue is a factor in a significant portion of large truck crashes. On-device data purges in 7–30 days.
Traffic cameras, business parking lot cameras, and storefront cameras may have captured the crash or the moments before it. Most systems overwrite in 24–72 hours. These must be requested immediately — businesses have no obligation to preserve without notice.
Daily pre-trip inspection reports the driver completes on the truck. Federal minimum retention is 90 days (49 CFR § 396.11). These can reveal known brake, tire, or light defects that were ignored before the crash.
Hours-of-service summary data required to be retained for 6 months under 49 CFR § 395.8(k). Lower risk of loss than detailed data, but still requires a preservation demand to ensure the carrier does not let it lapse.
AK Law Firm issues preservation demands immediately. Once the trucking company receives notice, destroying any evidence can result in an adverse inference instruction — the jury is told to assume the destroyed evidence was harmful to the company.
What Not to Say
The trucking company's adjuster, investigator, and legal team are professionals. They handle commercial truck claims every week. These are the statements they are specifically trained to get from you.
"I'm sorry."
Treated as a fault admission. Texas's 51% bar means partial fault assigned to you directly reduces — or eliminates — your recovery. Never apologize at a truck crash scene.
"I'm okay" or "I feel fine."
Truck crash injuries regularly present hours or days after impact. This statement is used to argue injuries were pre-existing or unrelated to the crash. Never characterize your medical condition at the scene.
"I didn't see the truck."
Can be construed as an admission of inattentive driving. Trucking companies routinely use this against victims in modified comparative fault calculations.
"I think I was speeding."
Speculation about your own conduct creates an admission without any certainty. Only state facts you are certain of. Investigation — not your initial impression — determines what happened.
"Sure, you can record this."
Trucking company adjusters are not neutral. A recorded statement from hours after a serious crash will be combed for inconsistencies with your later account. You are not legally required to provide one.
"That sounds like a fair offer."
Commercial trucking policies carry far larger limits than personal auto policies. An early offer is made before the full extent of injuries is known — before a lawyer has examined all available coverage. Accepting it closes your claim permanently.
Texas uses a 51% bar rule. If you are found 51% or more at fault, you recover nothing. At 50% or less, your damages are reduced proportionally. In a truck case, the defense team is specifically focused on assigning you a percentage of fault that meets or exceeds 51% — every statement you make at the scene is evidence they can use.
Know Their Tactics
Commercial truck adjusters are not the same as personal auto adjusters. They handle large, complex claims regularly and are backed by legal teams that specialize in minimizing truck accident payouts.
Commercial truck adjusters are notified immediately when a serious crash occurs. They call victims before attorneys are involved, while you are in the ER or still in shock — when your account is most raw and most exploitable.
This is standard procedure — and it is not neutral. The recording is used to lock in your initial account while you are still confused and in pain, then compared to later accounts for inconsistencies that suggest fabrication.
Commercial policies are large. Carriers want to resolve claims before you hire an attorney, before discovery begins, and before the full picture of their driver's violations and the company's liability is exposed. Speed benefits them, not you.
Adjusters try to settle only the driver's personal liability — obscuring the carrier's separate liability for negligent hiring, inadequate training, maintenance failures, and HOS pressure. Each of those theories carries its own damages exposure.
If you delay getting medical care — even by one day — the adjuster will argue your injuries were not caused by the crash, or were not serious enough to require immediate treatment. This argument has succeeded in reducing claims significantly.
Anything you say to a dispatcher, investigator, adjuster, or even the truck driver at the scene can become evidence. In commercial trucking cases, calls between the driver and dispatcher immediately after a crash are often recorded — and reviewed by defense counsel.
FAQ
(1) Check for injuries — call 911. (2) Get clear of the truck without leaving the scene. (3) Wait for police — a commercial crash requires a full report. (4) Document everything with photos and video. (5) Don't speak with the driver's dispatcher or the carrier's investigators. (6) Seek medical care the same day. (7) Call a truck accident attorney within 24 hours — a preservation demand must go out before dashcam footage overwrites.
Truck cases involve evidence that disappears in hours (dashcam, black box, ELD data); a rapid-response team the carrier dispatches to the scene; multiple defendants, each with separate insurance; and federal FMCSA regulations that create additional liability theories not available in car-accident cases.
Dashcam footage overwrites within 24–72 hours. Black-box (EDR) data overwrites within days to weeks based on ignition cycles. ELD detailed records purge in 7–30 days. Nearby surveillance video may be gone in 24 hours. A preservation demand issued immediately creates a legal duty to retain all of it.
No. Commercial truck adjusters handle large claims, are backed by specialized legal teams, and are not neutral. Their job is to close your claim for as little as possible. Do not give a recorded statement to any party — including your own insurer — before speaking with a truck accident attorney.
Texas gives you two years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit (Texas CPRC § 16.003); wrongful-death claims carry the same deadline. But the legal deadline and the evidence deadline are completely different — dashcam footage is gone in hours.
Houston Office
Dallas Office
San Antonio Office
Available 24/7
