Houston Truck Accident Lawyer
If a commercial truck hit you, you are the one carrying the injuries and the bills. Seventy percent of the people killed in large-truck crashes are in the other vehicle, not the truck, and Harris County sees more commercial vehicle crashes than any county in Texas. I'm Jeff Todd, and I handle Houston truck accident cases myself. When you hire me, you get my cell number, and I am the one who answers it.
— answered 24/7, by a person Tell me what happened
No attorney's fee unless I win · Avvo 9.8, "Superb"
Usually more than the driver, and that is the main way a truck case differs from a car wreck. In a car wreck there is one driver and one policy. In a truck case there can be:
- The driver
- The motor carrier that employed him
- The company that owned the trailer
- The freight broker who arranged the load
- The shipper who loaded it
- Whoever maintained the brakes
Each may carry its own insurance, so every additional defendant can mean another policy. Working out who is responsible for what is most of the job, and it is why these claims are worth handling properly instead of taking the first number an adjuster offers.
If you were driving a commercial vehicle for work, there may be a separate workplace injury claim alongside the truck claim. Worth asking about on the first call. If you were hurt in or by an oilfield truck, see my page as a Houston oilfield accident attorney.
Not sure how many companies are involved in your crash? Working that out is my job, not yours.
How common are truck crashes in Houston?
Harris County recorded 6,313 commercial motor vehicle crashes in 2024, more than any other county in Texas and about 16 percent of the state's total. Those included 41 fatal crashes and 112 suspected serious injuries. Statewide there were 39,393 crashes and 608 deaths.
I handle these cases across Harris, Fort Bend, Montgomery and Galveston counties: port container traffic, the petrochemical corridor toward Pasadena and Deer Park, and freight on I-10, I-45 and Beltway 8.
If you lost someone in a truck crash, that is a wrongful death claim, and I handle those too.
What causes truck accidents?
FMCSA's Large Truck Crash Causation Study examined 967 truck crashes and recorded the conditions present in each. Brake problems were the most common vehicle factor, coded for about 29 percent of the trucks. Driver fatigue was recorded for 13 percent. The study is careful to say these are not proof of what caused a crash, but they tell you where to look. When brakes come up that often, the maintenance records matter as much as the driver.
The rest of what I see in Houston cases: schedules that could not be run legally, pay that rewards speed, bald or retreaded tires, overloaded cargo, and distracted driving.
How long does a trucking company have to keep the evidence?
Not long. Federal rules tell trucking companies how long to keep the records that prove your case. Once that window closes, the company can destroy them lawfully and without telling anyone.
- Hours-of-service and electronic logging device records: six months (49 CFR 395.8)
- Driver vehicle inspection reports: three months (49 CFR 396.11)
- Maintenance files: one year, plus six months after the truck leaves the company's control (49 CFR 396.3)
- Driver qualification file: three years after that driver stops working there (49 CFR 391.51)
The engine control module — the truck's black box — is worse. It records speed, braking and throttle in the seconds before impact, and that data can be lost the moment the tractor is repaired and put back in service. No rule requires anyone to save it for you.
That is why a truck case needs a lawyer early. A spoliation letter — a written demand that the company preserve records instead of processing them normally — has to go out before the retention clock runs out.
Don't have your crash report yet? I will pull your Texas Peace Officer's Crash Report for you, free, whether or not you hire me. Request your crash report
What should I do in the first 48 hours after a truck crash?
Get treated, and keep every record.
A gap in treatment is the first thing an adjuster uses to bring a claim down.
Photograph the truck's door.
The company name, USDOT number and trailer number identify who you are actually making a claim against.
Do not give a recorded statement to the carrier's insurer or its investigator.
You are not required to, and they are not working for you.
Do not sign the medical authorization they send you.
It is usually broader than your crash.
Get the preservation letter out.
This is the step with a clock on it, and the one I handle the same day you call.
I can send the preservation letter today.
How long do I have to file a truck accident claim in Texas?
Two years from the crash under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code §16.003, and two years from the date of death in a wrongful death claim. That deadline ends a claim. The evidence deadlines above are the ones that quietly decide what it is worth.
Some are far shorter. If a government vehicle was involved, the Texas Tort Claims Act requires written notice within six months, and the City of Houston's charter cuts that to 90 days.
If you are not sure which clock is running on your case, that is a two-minute phone call.
Call (832) 243-4953
How do federal trucking rules affect my claim?
Commercial carriers operate under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, which gives a truck case something a car case lacks: a written standard the company either met or did not.
Hours of service comes up most. A property-carrying driver can drive no more than 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty, cannot drive past the 14th hour of a shift, and must take a 30-minute break after 8 cumulative hours of driving. Most drivers now log duty status electronically, which makes a violation easier to prove.
When a company breaks one of these rules, that is not only a regulatory problem for the company. It is evidence in your case.
What if the truck driver was an independent contractor?
The carrier is often still responsible. Trucking companies classify drivers as contractors, then argue they cannot be held accountable for what the driver did. What matters is control, not the label: who dispatched the load, who set the delivery window, whose operating authority the truck ran under. When an adjuster tells you the driver was a contractor, that is a position, not a finding.
What if the trucking company is based in another state?
It changes the logistics, not your rights. Interstate carriers can generally be sued where the crash happened, so a Houston crash is normally a Houston case. What changes is that the records sit at a terminal elsewhere and large carriers run through layered entities, so identifying the right defendant takes work.
What does a truck accident lawyer cost in Houston?
You pay nothing up front, and no attorney's fee unless I win. My fee comes out of the recovery: 33 percent if the case settles before I file a lawsuit, 40 percent if a lawsuit is filed, and 45 percent if it goes to appeal. The percentage goes up because filing suit and handling an appeal take more time and resources.
Case expenses — filing fees, records, depositions, experts — are separate from the fee. I advance them, and I go over that at the free consultation, before you sign.
For a fuller explanation of how injury fees work in Texas, I wrote one.
Speak with Jeff Todd
I spent the early part of my career defending insurance companies. I know how they value a truck claim, what they look for to bring it down, and how long they will wait you out. I have been licensed in Texas since 2000, and I am also admitted in New York, New Jersey and Georgia. I try cases, and the other side knows it.
No intake screener, no associate you meet at the end of the case. Call any time and a real person picks up, and I will give you a straight answer — including whether you need a lawyer at all. Avvo rates me 9.8, "Superb," with 4.9 out of 5 across 15 client reviews, as of September 2026. You can also read what my clients say.
Jeff Todd, Personal Injury Attorney
12929 Gulf Freeway, Suite 301, Houston, TX 77034
(832) 243-4953 — phones answered 24/7
Jeff Todd handles every case at this firm personally. More about Jeff
General information about Texas truck accident claims, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. See the full disclaimer.
More cases I handle
Car Accidents 
Slip & Fall Injuries 
Swimming Pool Accidents 
Premises Liability 
Cattle & Livestock Accidents Distracted Driver Accidents 
Dog Bites & Animal Attacks 
Gun & Shooting Accidents 
Boating Accidents 
Construction Accidents 
Oilfield Accidents Workplace Accidents 
Medical Malpractice 
Health Care Worker Claims 
Product Liability