Truck accident lawyer in Dallas: how we run a case against a trucking company

Why a truck accident lawyer starts with the company

A car crash is usually one driver against another. A truck crash is a person against a regulated business. The motor carrier must follow the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations in Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, and Texas applies those rules to commercial vehicles through Transportation Code 644.051. The rules tell us what records must exist. The records tell us what the company knew and when.

The company also has a head start. Its insurer usually opens a file the day of the crash and may send people to the scene. Five LAWBOSS attorneys worked on the insurance side before they joined the firm, as adjusters or as insurance company lawyers, so we know what that file looks like in its first week. That knowledge is the reason we move early, not a promise of how any case ends.

• The driver. Hours, phone use, drug and alcohol testing, and training.
• The motor carrier. Hiring, supervision, dispatch pressure and maintenance.
• Others. The owner of the trailer, the shipper or loader, a freight broker, a repair shop. Our page for a truck accident attorney in Dallas covers each one.

The first days after you hire us

Most of what decides a truck case exists on the day of the crash and is at risk soon after. The truck goes back into service or to a salvage yard. The logging device keeps recording. Dashcam footage can be overwritten. So the first days follow a set order.

1. The preservation letter. We send the carrier, and any other company involved, a written demand to keep the electronic logging device data, engine and camera data, the driver qualification file, drug and alcohol test results, inspection and maintenance records, dispatch and phone records, and the bills of lading.
2. The crash report. The officer who investigated must file the Texas Peace Officer’s Crash Report (CR-3) with TxDOT within 10 days (Transportation Code 550.062). We get the report and the officer’s diagram, and we read the narrative for what it leaves out.
3. The scene. Skid marks, debris, signal timing, sight lines and nearby cameras can change within days. We document them while they are still there.
4. The truck and its records. We ask for the ELD records under 49 CFR 395.8, the maintenance file under 49 CFR 396.3 and the driver qualification file under 49 CFR 391.51.
5. Your medical picture. We gather the records of your care so the claim reflects all of it, including what the treating doctors expect next.

The trucking company’s federal record-keeping duties are explained rule by rule on our trucking accident lawyer page.

What we look for in the records

Records are only useful when someone reads them against the rules. These are the questions we ask first in most Dallas truck cases.

What we ask	Where the answer is	The rule
Was the driver over the hours limits?	ELD records and supporting documents	49 CFR 395.3, 395.8
Was the driver tired or ill and still dispatched?	Dispatch messages, logs, fuel and toll receipts	49 CFR 392.3
Was the driver on the phone?	Phone records, cab camera, dispatch system	49 CFR 392.80, 392.82
Was the driver qualified and checked?	Driver qualification file, pre-employment drug test	49 CFR 391.11, 391.51, 382.301
Were the brakes, tires and lights kept up?	Inspection, repair and maintenance file	49 CFR 396.3
Was the load secured?	Bills of lading, loading records, photos	49 CFR 393.100

How Texas law changes the case

Texas gives you two years from the day of the crash to file suit for personal injury (CPRC 16.003). Fault is shared under modified comparative fault: you can recover if you are 50 percent or less responsible, and your recovery is reduced by your share (CPRC 33.001 and 33.012). Trucking companies often try to raise that share, or to name a “responsible third party” to spread the blame (CPRC 33.004).

Texas also has a statute just for commercial vehicle trials. Under Chapter 72, Subchapter B of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, the company can ask for a trial in two phases, compensatory damages first and exemplary damages second. Evidence that a safety rule was broken comes into the first phase only if it tends to show the breach caused the injury (72.053). If the company admits the driver was its employee acting within the job, certain negligence claims against the company can be limited in the first phase (72.054). We build the cause of the crash, not only a list of rules broken.

Exemplary damages are a separate question. Texas allows them only on clear and convincing proof of fraud, malice or gross negligence, with a unanimous jury (CPRC 41.003), and they are capped by statute. We tell clients honestly when the facts may support that claim and when they do not.

What the insurer may try, and how we answer

We have seen these moves from the inside. None of them is unusual, and none of them should surprise you.

• An early call for a recorded statement. You do not have to give one. Take the adjuster’s name and claim number and call us.
• A quick offer before treatment is finished. Once you sign a release the claim is over. We do not value a case until the medical picture is clear.
• Shifting the blame. A lane change, a sudden stop, a missed signal: the company may say you caused it. The logs, the cameras and the scene often answer that.
• Splitting the case. The carrier, the trailer owner and the broker may each point at the others. We pursue every party the evidence supports.

Who works on a Dallas truck case at LAWBOSS

Michael Uvalle, the firm’s founder and the attorney responsible for this site, practices from the Dallas office and has been licensed in Texas since 2010. Before law school he worked for several of the largest insurance companies in Texas. Rolando Reyna, Jr. handles pre-litigation work from the Dallas office, and Joseph Massey, a former workers’ compensation adjuster and manager, is an attorney in the Dallas office, licensed in Texas since 2024. When a case goes to suit, the firm’s litigation team is led by Jonathan Harris, Board Certified, Personal Injury Trial Law – Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

You can read more about the firm on our about page, and the semi truck accident lawyer Dallas page explains the most common types of crash.

What it costs

The first conversation is free. 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. The written fee agreement sets out the terms, including how advanced costs are handled when there is a recovery. Nothing is owed up front.

Questions people ask