Truck accident questions: short answers for people hurt in San Antonio

A personal injury lawyer who handles commercial vehicle cases. LAWBOSS is a Texas personal injury firm, and truck and 18-wheeler crashes are one of its practice areas.

Nobody can say honestly before the facts are known, and this site does not quote figures. What decides it: how serious the injuries are and what they mean for work and daily life, the medical expenses past and future, lost earnings, the evidence of who was at fault, your own share of fault if any under Chapter 33, the parties involved and the insurance behind them.

Usually two years from the day of the crash under Civil Practice and Remedies Code 16.003. A claim against a city, county or the state needs written notice within six months under 101.101, or less if a city charter says so. The evidence deadlines are shorter: a carrier may discard inspection reports after three months and logs after six.

An officer who investigates a collision with injury, death or apparent property damage of 1,000 dollars or more must make a written report and file it with TxDOT within 10 days (Transportation Code 550.062). Copies are sold through TxDOT’s Crash Report Online Purchase System.

You can still recover if you were not more than 50 percent responsible (33.001). Your damages are reduced by your percentage (33.012).

Possibly the driver, the motor carrier, the owner of the tractor or trailer, a freight broker, the shipper or loader, a repair shop, a parts maker, a government entity and other drivers. Each is tied to the crash by different evidence.

It can, for loads that cross state lines. In Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, LLC, decided May 14, 2026, the Supreme Court held that a negligent hiring claim against a company that hired a carrier to move goods is not preempted by federal law. Brokers arranging loads that stay inside Texas are treated differently under the same statute.

A written notice to the trucking company that a claim is coming, listing the records and equipment it must keep: logs, camera video, engine data, inspection and maintenance records, the driver’s file and the truck itself.

You do not have to give a recorded statement or sign a medical authorization for the other side. Its adjuster works for the trucking company. Once you have a lawyer, refer the calls to the lawyer.

Everything, including what you think may hurt your case: earlier injuries, earlier claims, what you said at the scene, and anything you posted online. What you tell your lawyer is confidential, and surprises later are what hurt.

Under 49 CFR 395.3, a property-carrying driver may drive 11 hours within a 14-hour window after 10 hours off duty, with a 30-minute break after 8 hours of driving, and is limited to 60 hours in 7 days or 70 in 8. Texas sets 12 hours of driving after 8 off for intrastate drivers (37 TAC 4.12).

After a crash with a death, always. After an injury crash with treatment away from the scene or a tow-away crash, when the driver is cited for a moving violation arising from it (49 CFR 382.303).

There is no fixed timetable. Serious injuries, several companies blaming each other, a government entity, or an insurer that will not accept fault all make it longer. Early evidence and clear facts make it shorter.

The consultation is free. The fee 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 in the written fee agreement before you sign.

LAWBOSS – Uvalle Law Firm, PLLC. Truck Accident Lawyers SATX is the firm’s website for truck and 18-wheeler crash cases in San Antonio. Calls from this site reach the firm.

Yes. If you are in the hospital, a family member can call to start the preservation letter and deal with the insurers while you are being treated.

The wrongful death claim belongs to the surviving spouse, children and parents under Civil Practice and Remedies Code 71.004, and the two-year limit runs from the date of death.