Dallas · Truck Accident
Dallas Truck Accident Lawyer
A commercial truck accident claim in Dallas involves a tractor-trailer or other heavy carrier vehicle causing injury or death on the city's freight corridors, governed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations layered over Texas tort law. The carrier and its driver can both face liability: the carrier directly for negligent hiring, training, or supervision, and vicariously through respondeat superior. Cases arising from crashes on I-35E, LBJ, or the I-45 corridor land in Dallas County district court at the George L. Allen Sr. Courts Building when suit is required, and the two-year limitation under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Section 16.003 applies, though critical carrier records like ELD logs and ECM data can cycle off well before then.
Why Dallas cases are different
Dallas moves more commercial freight than almost any Texas metro, with LBJ, I-30, and the I-45 corridor south of downtown carrying heavy truck volume into a corporate and logistics economy. We pursue 18-wheeler and commercial-vehicle claims for Dallas clients statewide from our Austin office.
Dallas freight corridors and commercial-vehicle crashes
Dallas carries a heavier commercial-vehicle share than most Texas cities. LBJ Freeway (I-635) combines high truck volume with high posted speeds and the worst night-time crash rate in the metro. I-35E north of downtown stacks heavy commercial traffic against passenger vehicles where the lane configuration drops without warning, and the I-45 corridor south of downtown moves significant freight into and out of the region. Because Dallas is a corporate-headquarters and logistics city, a higher share of these collisions involve company vehicles, fleet drivers, and delivery operators than a typical metro. A loaded tractor-trailer weighs many times what a passenger car does, so the same merge or rear-end that bruises someone in a fender-bender produces catastrophic injury here. Identifying the carrier, the trailer owner, the broker, and any shipper early matters, because commercial cases involve layers of corporate responsibility a simple car crash does not.
FMCSA rules, ELD data, and employer liability
Interstate carriers running LBJ, I-35E, and I-45 must follow the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, including hours-of-service limits that cap driving time to fight fatigue. Modern trucks log that activity on electronic logging devices, and the ELD data, the truck's ECM download, the driver qualification file, maintenance records, and post-crash drug-and-alcohol testing are often the most decisive evidence in the case. Carriers are not required to keep all of it forever, so a written preservation letter needs to go out in the first days, not the first weeks, alongside a request for the DalTrans footage that overwrites quickly. Under Texas respondeat superior principles, a motor carrier is generally liable for its driver's negligence in the course of employment, and may also face direct claims for negligent hiring, training, or supervision. Commercial trucks carry far higher policy limits than passenger vehicles, and an MCS-90 endorsement can add federally mandated coverage, which both raises the stakes and explains why carriers investigate aggressively from the first hours.
Frequently asked
Dallas truck accident questions
- Three things: severity, evidence, and defendants. Commercial trucks on LBJ, I-35E, and the I-45 corridor cause far worse injuries, the key proof lives in carrier records like ELD logs and ECM data that can be overwritten, and liability can extend beyond the driver to the carrier, broker, or shipper. Higher commercial limits and MCS-90 coverage also mean the insurer investigates harder and faster than in a standard collision.
- Quickly. ELD hours-of-service data, the truck's ECM download, dashcam video, and maintenance records can be lost on routine retention cycles within weeks, and DalTrans freeway footage overwrites even faster. A written preservation, or spoliation, letter to the carrier should go out as soon as possible. The sooner counsel identifies the carrier and its insurer, the more of that decisive electronic record survives to support your claim.
- Often yes. Under Texas respondeat superior, a carrier is generally liable for a driver acting within employment. The carrier can also face direct liability for negligent hiring, training, supervision, or maintenance. Identifying every responsible party, including the carrier and any broker or shipper, matters because commercial policies and MCS-90 endorsements carry the higher limits needed to cover serious injuries.
- Not without verification. FMCSA regulations require carriers to maintain ELD data and paper backup records, and a clean log does not always mean a compliant log. ECM engine data can show actual drive time independent of what the log says. We request both the ELD records and the ECM download early and have them reviewed by a qualified expert before accepting the carrier's characterization of the driver's hours.
- Under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Section 15.002, venue is proper where the crash occurred or where the defendant resides or maintains its principal office. A crash anywhere in Dallas city limits generally supports filing in Dallas County district court at the George L. Allen Sr. Courts Building. If the carrier is domiciled outside Dallas County, additional venue options may open, which can affect the jury pool.
- An MCS-90 is a federally required endorsement on a motor carrier's liability policy that guarantees minimum payment to the public regardless of policy exclusions or defenses the insurer would otherwise raise. For serious injuries from crashes on Dallas freight corridors, it can be the difference between a policy defense that leaves you without recovery and a federally backed payment floor. We identify whether an MCS-90 applies early in every commercial-vehicle case.
Where we work from
Downtown Austin. Dallas clients welcome.
Our office is in downtown Austin; we represent Dallas-area clients statewide and travel to Dallas for case-specific needs (scene visits, medical-records consultations, court appearances). Home and hospital visits when injuries make travel difficult.
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