What to do after a truck accident in Dallas

At the scene

1. Call 911 if anyone is hurt. Texas requires drivers in a crash with injury or death to stop, check whether anyone needs aid and stay to give information (Transportation Code 550.021).
2. Exchange information. Each driver must give name, address, vehicle registration number and the name of the liability insurer, and show a driver’s license if asked (550.023).
3. Photograph the truck. The cab door, the trailer’s side and rear, any names or numbers, the lanes, the signals and the damage.
4. Get witnesses. Names and phone numbers of anyone who saw it or stopped to help.
5. Ask for the report number. The officer will file the crash report later; the number lets you find it.

In the first 48 hours

• Get checked by a doctor, even if you feel fine. Some injuries show up later, and the record of when you were seen matters.
• Write down what you remember while it is fresh: the time, the weather, what the truck did, what the driver said.
• Keep every paper: discharge instructions, prescriptions, receipts, towing and storage bills.
• Do not post about the crash on social media. Insurers read it.

When the trucking company’s insurer calls

Expect a call. It may be friendly and it may come quickly. Several of our attorneys worked on the insurance side, and we tell clients the same thing every time: be polite, take the adjuster’s name and the claim number, and do not give a recorded statement or sign anything before you talk to a lawyer. A signed release ends the claim.

Getting the crash report

The officer who investigated files the Texas Peace Officer’s Crash Report (CR-3) with TxDOT within 10 days (Transportation Code 550.062). People involved, their representatives and the insurers involved can buy a copy for a small fee through TxDOT’s Crash Report Online Purchase System at cris.txdot.gov (550.065). We order it for our clients.

Why the first weeks matter

You have two years to file suit for personal injury in Texas (CPRC 16.003), but the trucking company’s duty status records may be discarded after six months (49 CFR 395.8). Dashcam footage and the truck’s own data can be lost sooner. A preservation letter, sent early, tells the company to keep all of it. Our truck accident lawyer Dallas page explains what goes in that letter.

If a government vehicle was involved, such as a city truck, written notice is due within six months of the crash, and a city charter can set a shorter period (CPRC 101.101).

Health insurance, PIP and your own policy

Texas auto policies include personal injury protection unless a named insured rejected it in writing (Insurance Code 1952.152). PIP is paid without regard to who caused the crash (1952.155), and it must be paid within 30 days of satisfactory proof of the claim (1952.156). Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is also part of every Texas policy unless it was rejected in writing (1952.101). Your own coverage can help with bills while the claim against the trucking company moves forward.

What not to do

• Do not sign a release, a medical authorization or a check from the trucking company’s insurer before you understand what it covers.
• Do not guess at the scene about who was at fault, or apologize for something you did not do. Stick to what happened.
• Do not let your vehicle be scrapped before it has been photographed and, if needed, inspected.
• Do not stop treatment because the bills worry you. Tell us, and we will look at what coverage applies.

Keep a simple recovery journal

A few lines a day are enough: how you slept, what hurt, what you could not do, which appointments you went to and which days of work you missed. It helps your doctors, and months later it helps you remember what the first weeks were really like.

When to call us

As soon as you have had medical care. The first conversation is free, the line is answered 24 hours a day, and we can start the preservation letter the same week. Michael Uvalle, the attorney responsible for this site, practices from our Dallas office.

Questions people ask