A collision with an 18-wheeler can look, at first, like a bigger version of a car crash. In legal terms, it often is not. Truck cases tend to involve more parties, more records and more insurance, and the evidence that matters most may sit in a trucking company's files rather than at the scene. This guide explains the main differences and what they mean for someone hurt in a crash with a commercial truck in San Antonio or elsewhere in Texas.
In a typical two-car crash, the main question is which driver was at fault. A truck crash can involve a longer list. Felix Gonzalez Accident and Injury Law Firm lists truck accidents among its practice areas, and its truck accident page explains that in addition to the truck driver, parties such as the truck company owner and the individual, company or entity employing the driver may also be found at fault. If the crash was caused by excess or improperly loaded cargo, the page adds, the cargo company and any third parties involved in loading the truck may also be responsible.
Texas law has a framework for dividing fault among several parties. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 33.003 has the jury or other fact-finder give a percentage of responsibility to every claimant, defendant and settling person, plus any responsible third party a court has allowed to be designated. Under Section 33.013, a defendant is generally liable only for its own percentage of the damages, but one whose share exceeds 50 percent is also jointly and severally liable for everything the claimant can recover.
Commercial trucking is closely regulated, and those regulations create records. Under the federal rule at 49 CFR 395.8, a motor carrier subject to the hours-of-service rules must require each driver to record his or her duty status for each 24-hour period, and carriers generally must have drivers use an electronic logging device to do it. Under 49 CFR 396.3, motor carriers must systematically inspect, repair and maintain the vehicles under their control and keep records of inspections, repairs and maintenance. Under 49 CFR 391.51, a carrier must keep a driver qualification file for each driver it employs, including the driver's employment application, the motor vehicle records obtained from licensing authorities and the medical examiner's certificate.
Texas law points the same way. Section 644.051 of the Texas Transportation Code directs the state's public safety director to adopt rules for the safe operation of commercial motor vehicles, requires those rules to be consistent with federal regulations and allows the federal safety regulations to be adopted by reference.
Records do not last forever, and the federal minimums differ. Under 49 CFR 395.8, carriers must retain duty status records and their supporting documents for not less than six months from the date of receipt. Maintenance records under 49 CFR 396.3 must be kept where the vehicle is housed or maintained for one year, and for six months after the vehicle leaves the carrier's control. A driver qualification file under 49 CFR 391.51 is generally kept for as long as the driver is employed and for three years after, though some items in it may be removed three years after they were executed. Six months is a short window measured against a two-year filing deadline.
The firm's truck accident page says part of its investigative process is making sure such records are preserved for review to help determine fault, including driver log books, driver background and driving history, fleet maintenance records and company hiring and training procedures. Electronic data from the truck, dispatch communications and cargo paperwork can also bear on what happened.
A loaded tractor-trailer is far heavier than a passenger vehicle, and the people in the smaller vehicle absorb much of that difference. Truck crashes can produce the kinds of injuries the firm groups under catastrophic injuries, such as spinal cord and brain injuries. Those cases often involve long-term care, and the firm's catastrophic injury page says that working out those future costs often takes testimony from economists, life-care planners and medical professionals.
Several insurance policies may be involved in a truck crash, belonging for example to the driver's employer, the owner of the truck or trailer, or a company that loaded the cargo. The firm's catastrophic injury page observes that a crash involving commercial vehicles can bring several insurance policies and corporate defendants into the case, which can make negotiation harder.
The basic rules for any collision still apply. Texas Transportation Code Section 550.021 requires a driver in a crash that injures someone, or is reasonably likely to, to stop, check whether anyone needs aid and stay at the scene, and Section 550.023 requires the driver to give his or her name, address, vehicle registration number and liability insurer to an injured person or the other driver. In a truck crash, it also helps to photograph the cab and trailer, including any company name and identification numbers painted on them, and to note whether the name on the trailer differs from the name on the cab.
Truck cases take time to investigate, but they are subject to the same filing deadline as other injury claims. Section 16.003, the state's general two-year statute for personal injury suits, applies to them too, with the two years counted from the day the claim accrues. Given how long some records are required to be kept, and how much investigation a truck case can involve, early advice matters. The firm offers free consultations to people hurt in truck crashes.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Every case turns on its own facts; for advice about your situation, speak with a licensed Texas attorney.