Truck accident lawyer in San Antonio: how we handle a case against a trucking company

Truck Accident Lawyers SATX is the website of LAWBOSS – Uvalle Law Firm, PLLC, a Texas personal injury law firm with an office in Fountainhead Tower on I-10 in San Antonio. This page explains what we do when a semi, a box truck or another commercial vehicle has hurt you or someone in your family, in the order we do it.

Why a truck case is not a car case

A crash between two cars usually comes down to two drivers, two insurance policies and a police report. A crash with a tractor-trailer brings in a business that is regulated by the federal government, that keeps records about the driver and the truck it is required to keep, and that usually has an insurer and a claims team working on the file the day of the crash.

• More than one party can be responsible. The driver, the motor carrier, the owner of the tractor or trailer, a freight broker, the shipper that loaded the trailer, a repair shop and a parts maker can each carry part of the fault. Our truck accident attorney San Antonio page goes through each one.
• Federal safety rules set the standard. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations in Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations cover hours of service, driver qualification, drug and alcohol testing, cargo securement, brakes and maintenance. Texas adopts most of them for trucks that never leave the state. Our trucking accident lawyer San Antonio page lists them part by part.
• The insurance is larger and fought harder. A for-hire interstate carrier hauling ordinary freight in a truck of 10,001 pounds or more must carry at least 750,000 dollars of public liability coverage under 49 CFR 387.9, and more for oil and hazardous materials. Larger policies mean the insurer defends the claim more closely.
• Texas has its own trial rules for commercial vehicle cases. Since 2021, Chapter 72, Subchapter B of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code lets a trucking company ask for a trial split into two phases. Our Texas truck accident laws page explains what that changes.

The first days after we are hired

Most of what decides a truck case exists on the day of the crash and is at risk soon after. The truck goes back into service or to a salvage yard. The electronic logging device keeps rolling. Inspection reports reach the end of their retention period. Dashcam footage is overwritten. So the first days follow a set order.

1. We hear what happened and who is hurt. Where, when, which road, which direction, what kind of truck, the company name on the door, the USDOT number if anyone saw it, and the injuries. We also ask whether anyone from the trucking company or its insurer has contacted you.
2. We identify the carrier and the policies. The company name and USDOT number lead to the carrier’s federal registration and its insurance filings. The crash report, when it is available, names the driver, the vehicle and the insurer the driver gave at the scene.
3. We send the preservation letter. A written demand goes to the motor carrier, and where they are known, the owner of the trailer, the broker and the insurer. It lists every record and every piece of equipment we want kept, and it says why.
4. We look at the scene and the vehicles. Photographs, measurements and, where the vehicles can still be reached, an inspection before repairs or salvage. Where the case needs it, an accident reconstruction engineer joins us.
5. We deal with the insurers so you do not have to. Calls and letters from the trucking company’s insurer come to us. You can concentrate on getting treated.

The preservation letter, and why it goes out first

A preservation letter, sometimes called a spoliation letter, is a written notice that a claim is coming and that the records and equipment listed in it are evidence. It does two things. It asks the company to keep what it would otherwise be allowed to discard. And it removes any doubt that the company knew a claim was likely.

That second point matters under Texas law. In Brookshire Brothers, Ltd. v. Aldridge (Texas Supreme Court, July 3, 2014), the Court held that a duty to preserve evidence arises when a party knows or reasonably should know that there is a substantial chance a claim will be filed and that evidence in its possession or control will be material and relevant to that claim. A letter that names the crash, the claim and the evidence puts that knowledge on paper.

Federal record rules set how long a carrier must keep some items when nobody asks it to keep them longer. These are the clocks the letter is written against:

Record	Federal minimum the carrier keeps it	Rule
Driver’s record of duty status (the electronic log) and supporting documents such as bills of lading, dispatch records, fuel and expense receipts and fleet messages	6 months from receipt	49 CFR 395.8(k) and 395.11
Driver vehicle inspection reports and the repair certifications on them	3 months from the date of the report	49 CFR 396.11
Inspection, repair and maintenance records for each vehicle	1 year, and 6 months after the vehicle leaves the carrier’s control	49 CFR 396.3(c)
Driver qualification file	While the driver is employed and 3 years after	49 CFR 391.51
Accident register and copies of crash reports	3 years after the crash	49 CFR 390.15

Some of the most useful evidence has no federal retention period at all. Dashcam video, the engine control module’s record of speed and braking in the seconds before impact, GPS and telematics data, cell phone records and the truck itself are kept only as long as the company chooses, which is why the letter names each of them.

What our preservation letter lists

• The tractor and the trailer, unrepaired, with their brakes, tires, lights, rear impact guard and coupling as they were
• Engine control module and any event data recorder downloads, and the electronic logging device data with its edit history
• Forward-facing and driver-facing camera video, and telematics, GPS and fleet management messages
• The driver’s logs and supporting documents for the trip and the days before it
• The driver qualification file: application, motor vehicle records, road test, medical examiner’s certificate and prior employer checks
• Drug and alcohol testing records, including any post-crash test under 49 CFR 382.303
• Inspection, maintenance and repair records, and the driver vehicle inspection reports
• Bills of lading, load records, dispatch and route plans, and the broker and shipper paperwork for the load
• The lease or contract between the carrier and the owner of the equipment
• Internal crash reports, photographs, witness statements and the accident register entry

What the investigation looks for

With the records in hand, the questions are concrete. Was the driver over the 11 hours of driving or past the 14-hour window that 49 CFR 395.3 allows? Was the driver using a hand-held phone, which 49 CFR 392.82 forbids? Did the carrier check the driver’s history before hiring, as 49 CFR 391.23 requires? Were the brakes in adjustment and the cargo secured? Was the post-crash drug and alcohol test done in time? Did a dispatcher set a schedule the driver could only meet by speeding, which 49 CFR 392.6 forbids?

Each answer points at a party. A logbook violation points at the driver and at the carrier that allowed it. A hiring gap points at the carrier. A brake failure may point at a repair shop or a parts maker. A shifted load may point at the shipper that loaded the trailer. That is why we gather the whole file before deciding whom to claim against.

How the claim moves forward

1. Your treatment comes first. We do not value a claim while the doctors are still finding out what is wrong. We keep track of your medical records and bills as treatment goes on.
2. We document the losses. Medical expenses past and future, lost earnings and lost earning capacity, physical pain, mental anguish, physical impairment and disfigurement, and damage to your vehicle.
3. We present the claim to the insurers. A written demand sets out how the crash happened, who is responsible under the rules they broke, and what the losses are, with the records behind each point.
4. Negotiation, or a lawsuit. Many claims are resolved without trial. When an insurer will not deal fairly, we file suit in a Texas district court, and the case moves to discovery, depositions and, if needed, trial.
5. You decide. No claim is settled without your agreement.

Texas gives most injured people two years from the day of the crash to file suit, under Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 16.003. A claim against a city, a county or the state may need written notice within six months under section 101.101, or sooner if a city charter says so. Those deadlines are real, but the more pressing clock in a truck case is the one on the evidence.

How long a truck case takes

There is no fixed timetable. A case usually takes longer when the injuries are still being treated, when several companies point at each other, when a government entity is involved, or when the insurer refuses to accept fault and the case has to be prepared for trial. It moves faster when the facts are clear and the evidence was secured early. We tell you where your case stands at each stage.

Fees and the first conversation

The consultation is free. LAWBOSS takes injury cases on a contingency fee, which is a percentage of what is recovered. If there is no recovery, you owe no attorney’s fee and no case costs; the firm advances the costs of investigating and pursuing the claim. The percentage, and how advanced costs are handled when there is a recovery, are set out in the written fee agreement before you sign.

Bring what you have to the first conversation: the crash report or its number, photographs, the name on the truck, insurance cards, medical paperwork and any letters or messages from an insurer. If you have none of it, call anyway. We can find most of it.

Michael Uvalle, founding attorney

Michael Uvalle founded LAWBOSS – Uvalle Law Firm, PLLC. Before he became a lawyer he worked for several of the largest insurance companies in Texas, where he saw how injury claims are evaluated and defended. He then switched sides, and built the firm to use what he learned for people who are injured. Several of the firm’s attorneys also came from the insurance side, as adjusters or as lawyers for insurers. The firm’s motto is Work Hard and Do Right.

That background is useful in a truck case, where the other side is an insurer and a claims team from the first day. LAWBOSS has offices in San Antonio, Dallas and Houston. More about the firm is on our about page and on lawboss.com.

On Google, LAWBOSS – Uvalle Law Firm, PLLC in San Antonio is rated 4.8 from 701 reviews, as read in October 2026.

More about truck crashes in San Antonio

• 18 wheeler accident lawyer San Antonio: underride, jackknife, rollover, wide turns, cargo spills and the equipment rules
• Truck wreck lawyer San Antonio: I-35, I-10, Loop 410, Loop 1604 and TxDOT’s Bexar County figures
• After a truck accident: what to do at the scene, the CR-3 crash report and calls from insurers
• Truck accident questions: short answers to what people ask us

Questions people ask