How Serious Are Truck Crashes in Harris County?
Truck crashes are common in Harris County, and the people hurt in them are usually not the truck drivers. According to 2025 crash data from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), Harris County recorded 5,913 crashes involving commercial motor vehicles, about 15% of the 38,533 reported statewide. Those Harris County crashes killed 43 people and left 125 with suspected serious injuries.
Who Gets Hurt Most Often
National data shows the same pattern. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found in its large-truck report that 70% of the 5,340 people killed in 2024 truck crashes were in other vehicles. In Texas, 511 of the 720 people killed were in those other vehicles.
Behind each number is a family dealing with medical bills, missed work, a damaged car, and a life that may never be the same. That is the gap our work is meant to close.
How Is an 18-Wheeler Accident Claim Different From a Car Wreck Claim?
A Houston 18-wheeler accident claim is built on federal safety rules, larger insurance policies, and multiple possible defendants. Those differences change who you deal with and what evidence matters. Three of them shape nearly every case:
- Federal safety rules apply. Interstate carriers follow the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, and Texas applies most of the same rules to trucks that stay in the state, according to the state's safety guide.
- Insurance limits are higher. Federal minimum coverage for for-hire interstate carriers starts at $750,000, while a Texas driver needs only $30,000 per person.
- Several parties may share fault, and each can bring its own insurer and defense lawyers.
Each difference affects how we investigate a truck claim from the first week.
Federal Trucking Rules That Often Decide Fault
Many truck cases turn on whether the carrier and driver followed federal safety rules. A violation does not prove fault on its own, but it often explains why a crash happened. The rules below come up most often:
| Rule | What it requires | Why it matters |
|---|
| Hours of service | No more than 11 hours of driving after 10 hours off duty, plus a 30-minute break after 8 hours of driving (property-carrying driver); no more than 10 hours of driving after 8 consecutive hours off duty (passenger-carrying driver) | Logs can show a tired driver |
| Electronic logging devices | Most drivers record duty status on an electronic logging device (ELD) | ELD data shows driving time and location |
| Driver qualification files | Carriers keep each driver's record checks, road test, and medical certificate | Gaps can show an unqualified driver |
| Post-crash testing | Drug and alcohol tests after a fatal crash or certain injury and tow crashes | Results, or a missed test, become evidence |
| Vehicle maintenance | Carriers must inspect, repair, and maintain their trucks | Brake and tire failures can trace back to skipped work |
Under Texas law, a jury does not automatically hear about every safety rule a trucking company broke. When the trial is split into two parts, a violation can come into the first part only if the rule applied to the company, its driver, or its truck, and the evidence suggests the violation helped cause the injury or death. That is why we connect each violation to the crash itself, not just to the carrier's record.
Who Can Be Held Responsible for a Houston Truck Accident?
More than one company is often responsible for a truck crash. Finding each one matters because each may carry its own insurance policy. A careful investigation may point to:
- The truck driver, for speeding, distraction, fatigue, or unsafe lane changes
- The motor carrier, which usually answers for an employee driver and may face its own negligent hiring claims
- A shipper or loader, when poorly secured cargo shifted or spilled
- A maintenance shop or parts maker, when faulty work or a defect played a role
Leases, owner-operators, and freight brokers can blur who controlled the truck, so we sort out those relationships early. Identifying every responsible company also matters for coverage, because a carrier, a shipper, and a maintenance vendor may each carry a policy that responds to the same crash.
What Should You Do to Protect a Truck Accident Claim?
The most useful thing you can do is get medical care and keep records, then let us handle the trucking company. Carriers must keep drivers' duty logs for six months, and engine data or dashcam video can be overwritten sooner. If you are able, take these steps:
- Get medical care promptly, even if symptoms seem minor at first, to protect your health and document your condition.
- Write down the trucking company's name, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) number on the truck, and any witness contacts.
- Photograph your vehicle from every side before it is towed or repaired.
- Order the Texas Peace Officer's Crash Report (Form CR-3) through TxDOT's crash report system.
Once we are involved, we send a preservation letter asking the carrier to keep its logs, ELD data, dispatch records, inspection reports, and the truck itself.
Applicable maintenance records generally must be retained for one year where the vehicle is housed or maintained and for six months after it leaves the carrier's control. Required post-crash alcohol-testing attempts end after eight hours and drug-testing attempts after 32 hours; the carrier must document why testing was not completed. This is why engaging a law firm early can be critical to securing information important to your case.
Getting Your Vehicle Repaired or Replaced After a Truck Crash
A tractor-trailer can total a car, while a repaired vehicle may lose market value. The vehicle and injury claims may be negotiated separately, but a property release must be carefully limited so it does not waive injury or other claims.
Depending on the facts, that claim can cover repair or replacement, towing and storage, a rental, and diminished value. We handle the vehicle claim alongside the injury claim so neither one undercuts the other.
Using Your Own Collision Coverage First
Your own collision coverage may get repairs started faster, subject to your deductible. After you pay, your insurer can seek reimbursement from the trucking company's insurer. Keep every towing bill, rental receipt, and repair estimate, because those records support both the vehicle claim and the injury claim.
Texas Rules on Fault, Trial, and Filing Deadlines
Texas law limits recovery when you share fault, gives trucking defendants a two-phase trial, and sets a two-year deadline for most claims. Each rule affects how a case is valued and when you must file it.
Proportionate Responsibility
Trucking defendants often argue that the other driver shared the blame. If a jury finds you more than 50% responsible, you cannot recover damages. If you are found 50% or less responsible, your damages are reduced by your share.
For example, a person with $500,000 in damages who is found 20% at fault could recover $400,000. A defendant found more than 50% responsible can be jointly liable for the recoverable damages.
Two-Phase Trials
When a commercial-vehicle defendant timely requests it in a covered case, the court must split the trial into two phases. The jury first decides liability and compensatory damages, then considers exemplary damages. In that first phase, evidence of a company's safety violations is limited to the rules that apply to it and that tend to show what caused the crash.
Statute of Limitations
Most Texas truck accident lawsuits must be filed within two years of the crash, or two years from the date of death in a wrongful death claim. Exceptions can change that period, including a rule that generally pauses the deadline for injured minors.
Claims involving a government vehicle move much faster. Governmental units must provide notice within six months, and the City of Houston requires notarized notice within 90 days.
What Compensation Can a Truck Accident Claim Include?
A truck accident claim can include your medical costs, lost income, and the personal toll of the injury. Every case depends on its facts, and no lawyer can promise a result. Texas law allows injured people to seek:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Lost wages and lost earning capacity
- Pain, mental anguish, physical impairment, and disfigurement
Exemplary damages require clear and convincing evidence of fraud, malice, or gross negligence, and Texas caps most awards. When a crash takes a life, the spouse, children, and parents may bring a wrongful death claim.
Why Truck Crash Clients Choose GoRo Law
Truck cases often turn on how a company documented its safety compliance. Our partners served as military Judge Advocates and then held senior in-house legal roles, including Chief Compliance Officer, so they know how companies keep records and evaluate claims.
GoRo Law is a Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB) in West Houston. Every case follows The GoRo Standard of Integrity, Preparation, and Results:
- Edgar Gonzalez, Partner, grew up in Alief. He is a veteran U.S. Coast Guard Judge Advocate, a trial attorney who led trial teams in complex litigation, and currently serves as General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer.
- Ben Rothchild, Partner, grew up in Katy. He is a veteran U.S. Marine Corps Judge Advocate and trial attorney who served 8 years on active duty, attained the rank of Major, and served as a prosecutor and U.S. Naval Academy professor.
- Nadia Sadeghian Gonzalez, Of Counsel, is licensed in Texas and the District of Columbia and works on injury and accident cases, as well as wills, trusts, and estates. She previously served as director of operations for an international non-profit organization.
We prepare each truck case with trial in mind, and you decide whether to accept any settlement. Our office at 14800 Westheimer Road is a short drive from the I-10 corridor for anyone looking for a Katy truck accident lawyer.
To talk with Edgar or Ben about your crash, call (346) 483-2688 or start online intake 24/7 to book a free consultation.
