Truck accident attorney in Dallas: who can be held responsible for the crash

How Texas divides fault

Texas uses proportionate responsibility. The jury assigns a percentage of fault to each party, and you may recover if your own share is 50 percent or less, with your recovery reduced by that share (CPRC 33.001 and 33.012). A defendant found more than 50 percent responsible can be jointly and severally liable for the damages (CPRC 33.013(b)(1)).

A defendant can also ask to designate a “responsible third party”, generally at least 60 days before trial (CPRC 33.004). That is how companies try to spread blame onto someone who is not in the case. We answer it by finding those parties ourselves and making the claim against each one that the evidence supports.

The parties a truck accident attorney looks at

The truck driver

The driver’s own conduct is the starting point: speed, following distance, lane changes, phone use, fatigue, and impairment. Federal rules bar texting and hand-held phone use while driving a commercial vehicle (49 CFR 392.80 and 392.82), driving while too tired or ill to drive safely (392.3), and driving under the influence of drugs or with any alcohol within 4 hours before duty (392.4, 392.5).

The motor carrier

The company that operated the truck answers for its driver when the driver was working for it, and it can also answer for its own decisions. Those include hiring a driver it should not have hired, failing to check his history, failing to train or supervise, setting schedules that could only be met by breaking the hours rules, and failing to maintain the truck. The carrier must keep a driver qualification file (49 CFR 391.51), run a pre-employment drug test (382.301) and inspect, repair and maintain its vehicles (396.3). The carrier may not permit a fatigued driver to drive either (392.3).

Texas trial rules matter here. If the company admits the driver was its employee acting in the scope of the job, Chapter 72 can limit some negligence claims against the company in the first phase of trial (CPRC 72.054). The admission does not end the case against the company; it changes how it is tried. Our truck accident lawyer Dallas page explains the two-phase trial.

The owner of the tractor or the trailer

The tractor and the trailer are often owned by different companies, and neither may be the carrier. An owner that leases equipment can be responsible for its condition, especially brakes, lights and tires that a reasonable inspection would have caught.

The shipper and the loader

Cargo must be secured so it cannot shift, leak, spill or fall (49 CFR 393.100). When a load shifts on a turn or falls onto the road, the company that loaded and sealed the trailer may share the fault with the carrier that hauled it.

The freight broker

A broker arranges the haul without owning the truck. Whether a broker can be held responsible for choosing an unsafe carrier depends on the facts and on how courts read the law at the time. We look at how the broker chose the carrier, what it knew and what it controlled.

Repair shops and parts makers

A brake job done badly, a tire installed wrong, or a part that fails in normal use can bring a repair shop or a manufacturer into the case. The maintenance file kept under 49 CFR 396.3 often shows who last worked on the part that failed.

Government units

If a city or county truck was involved, or a road condition the government controls, special rules apply. Written notice of the claim is due within six months, and a city charter can set a shorter period (CPRC 101.101). The Texas Tort Claims Act also caps what a government unit can be required to pay (CPRC 101.023).

Why more than one party matters

Each responsible party usually has its own insurer and its own coverage. A case against the driver alone may leave serious losses unpaid. A case against everyone the evidence supports gives the claim its full reach. It also takes away the defense that the real fault lies with someone who is not in the room.

Party	What can make it responsible	Records we ask for
Driver	Fatigue, phone use, speed, impairment	ELD logs, phone records, test results
Motor carrier	Hiring, supervision, dispatch, maintenance	Driver file, dispatch messages, maintenance file
Equipment owner	Brakes, lights, tires	Lease, inspection reports
Shipper or loader	Load not secured	Bills of lading, loading records
Broker	Choice of carrier	Broker-carrier agreement, load records
Repair shop or maker	Faulty repair or part	Work orders, part history

How we find every party

Truck markings tell part of the story: the carrier’s name is often painted on the cab or the door. The bill of lading names the shipper. The trailer has its own plate and owner. Dispatch records show who booked the load. We follow each line until we know who had a hand in the truck, the driver and the cargo on the day of the crash.

Our attorneys who worked on the insurance side know how carriers and their insurers decide who will defend the claim, and how they sometimes point at each other. We let them point. The records decide.

What helps us find the right parties

You do not need to investigate anything yourself, and you should not contact the trucking company. But a few things you may already have can save weeks.

• Photos from the scene, especially of the cab door, the trailer’s rear and side, and any writing on them.
• The exchange of information the driver gave you. Texas requires drivers in an injury crash to give their name, address, vehicle registration number and liability insurer (Transportation Code 550.023).
• Names of witnesses and anyone who stopped to help.
• Letters or calls from any insurer, with the claim numbers they gave you.
• Your medical paperwork, including the ambulance run and the hospital discharge papers.

Keep everything in one folder, paper or digital. If you are not sure whether something matters, keep it and ask us.

Wrongful death claims against a trucking company

When a truck crash takes a life, the Texas Wrongful Death Act lets the surviving spouse, children and parents bring a claim, and any one of them may sue for the benefit of all (CPRC 71.004). The injured person’s own claim survives too, through the estate (CPRC 71.021). The deadline is two years from the date of death (CPRC 16.003(b)). We handle these cases with care, at the family’s pace.

Talk to a Dallas truck accident attorney

Michael Uvalle, the attorney responsible for this site, practices from our Dallas office. The firm serves Dallas, Irving, Garland, Mesquite, Grand Prairie, Richardson, Carrollton, Plano, Arlington and DeSoto. Read about the federal rules a trucking company must follow, or call us now. No Fees or Costs Unless We Win. The firm advances case costs, and you owe no attorney’s fee and no case costs unless money is recovered for you.

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