Truck Accident Lawyer
Injured in a crash with an 18-wheeler or commercial truck?
A truck crash can leave you with serious injuries, missed work, and calls from insurance companies before you know the full extent of your losses. The Law Office of Joel M. Vecchio, P.C. investigates what happened, identifies who may be responsible, and pursues compensation for people injured in Texas truck accidents.
- Free consultation
- No attorney fee unless we recover
- 24/7 · Se habla español
Joel Vecchio – More than 25 years of personal injury trial experience. Personally handles truck accident cases.
Find the information you need
What to Do After a Truck Accident
If the crash just happened, your first concern is getting medical care. Once you are safe, a few practical steps can also help protect your claim. Do what you reasonably can; you are not expected to investigate the collision yourself.
Get medical attention
Call 911 if anyone is hurt or in danger. Get checked by a medical professional even if you initially feel fine. Some injuries become more noticeable after the shock of the crash wears off.
Keep what you have
Save photos, the crash report number, witness contact details, tow and repair records, and medical paperwork. If possible, note the trucking company name, license plate, and USDOT number displayed on the truck.
Be careful with insurance calls
Report the accident to your own insurer as your policy requires, but do not guess about fault or the extent of your injuries. Before giving a recorded statement to the trucking company’s insurer, consider speaking with an attorney.
If you have already left the scene or days have passed, you can still discuss your options. A missing photograph or police report does not automatically mean you have no case.
Do I Have a Truck Accident Case?
You may have a claim if someone else’s negligence contributed to the crash and you suffered injuries or other compensable losses. You do not need to know exactly what the truck driver or company did wrong before calling.
Questions that matter
Was the driver speeding, distracted, fatigued, or following too closely? Did defective brakes, poor maintenance, an unsecured load, or a company safety decision contribute? What injuries and financial losses resulted from the collision?
What if fault is disputed?
The police report and the other driver’s version are not always the final word. Truck data, videos, witnesses, and company records may show what actually happened. Under Texas law, being partly responsible does not necessarily prevent recovery.
Our office can review the facts of your collision, explain the legal issues, and tell you what additional information may be needed. The consultation is free, and you do not have to decide on the call whether to hire us.
Truck Accident Cases Are Different From Ordinary Car Wrecks
An 18-wheeler can cause life-changing injuries in a collision that might have been far less serious between two cars. The investigation is also different. Commercial vehicles may be subject to federal and state safety rules, and several businesses may have had a role in putting the truck on the road.
We handle collisions involving tractor-trailers, semis, box trucks, delivery trucks, tankers, flatbeds, and other commercial vehicles. The crash itself may involve a rear-end impact, a jackknife, a rollover, a wide turn, a blind-spot lane change, or a vehicle sliding beneath a trailer. How it happened guides the investigation; the type of truck alone does not establish fault.
Different vehicles raise different questions. With a flatbed, we look at whether cargo was properly secured and inspected. In a tanker crash, the load, route, and handling of hazardous material may matter. With a delivery or garbage truck, the crucial evidence may concern backing, visibility, or frequent stops on neighborhood streets. The investigation should follow what happened, not assume every commercial truck crash is the same.
Rules beyond ordinary traffic laws
Depending on the vehicle and carrier, applicable requirements may cover driver qualifications, driving and rest time, vehicle inspections, maintenance, cargo securement, and operating records. A violation can be important evidence, but the investigation must also connect it to the crash.
Records held by someone else
Some of the best evidence may be controlled by the trucking company, a maintenance contractor, a shipper, or another business. A prompt investigation can identify those records and seek to preserve them before they are lost or overwritten.
Evidence That Can Show Why the Truck Crash Happened
The first days after a collision matter because trucks may be repaired, electronic information may be overwritten, and nearby security video may be deleted. What evidence exists depends on the truck, the carrier, and the circumstances of the crash.
| Evidence | What it may help establish | Where it may be found |
|---|---|---|
| Truck electronic data | Speed, braking, driving time, location, or other recorded activity, depending on the systems installed. | Engine or vehicle systems, electronic logging devices, telematics providers. |
| Driver and dispatch records | Schedules, hours worked, instructions, qualifications, and potential pressure to meet delivery deadlines. | Motor carrier, dispatch service, employer, or contractor. |
| Maintenance and loading records | Possible problems with brakes, tires, inspections, repairs, cargo weight, or securement. | Carrier, vehicle owner, repair shop, shipper, or loader. |
| Driver qualification and safety records | Whether the driver held the required credentials and what hiring, training, supervision, and relevant prior safety information may show. | Motor carrier or employer; some material may be confidential, protected, or subject to retention rules. |
| Bills of lading and cargo records | Who handled the cargo, what was loaded, and whether weight, distribution, or securement could have contributed. | Shipper, loader, broker, motor carrier, or receiving facility. |
| Video, photos, and witnesses | Lane position, traffic signals, impact sequence, visibility, and what drivers did before the collision. | Dashcams, nearby businesses, police, other motorists, and people at the scene. |
How to read this evidence: An electronic log may show reported driving and duty time, but it cannot by itself prove that a driver was alert. Truck systems record different data depending on the equipment. Records must be checked against witness accounts, physical evidence, and the other facts of the collision.
The evidence must be compared, not just collected. The next section explains how our attorney and in-house investigator start that work after you hire us.
Our First Steps After You Hire Us
You do not need to know which company owns the truck or where its records are stored before contacting us. Our investigation starts with the information available and follows the evidence to the people and companies involved. Several of these steps may happen at the same time.
Step 1
Identify the companies involved and who holds the evidence
Your attorney and our in-house investigator review the crash information to identify the driver, motor carrier, vehicle owner, and other potentially involved businesses. We investigate applicable insurance coverage and determine who may hold relevant records.
That work can include checking the truck’s identifying numbers, crash report, federal and state carrier records, and available shipment information. The company named on the truck may be only one of several businesses we need to investigate.
Step 2
Request preservation of the truck, recordings, and records
Your attorney sends preservation demands to the relevant companies and other identified record holders, specifying the evidence they should retain. Depending on the crash, that may include the truck and trailer, electronic data, camera footage, driver and dispatch records, and maintenance or loading documents.
Our legal team follows up on preservation requests and evaluates whether additional legal action is needed. Sending a demand does not guarantee that every record still exists or will be produced.
Step 3
Investigate the scene and look beyond the crash report
Our in-house investigator visits the location when useful, documents the roadway and sight lines, contacts witnesses, and checks nearby businesses for cameras that may have captured the collision.
We look for evidence that can answer specific questions: Where did the vehicles approach from? What could each driver see? Did a recording capture the moments before impact?
When appropriate, we supplement ground-level photographs with drone imagery or 360-degree recordings to document the road layout and visibility.
Step 4
Arrange vehicle inspections and specialist analysis when needed
Your attorney determines whether to retain an accident reconstruction specialist based on the severity of the crash, disputed accounts, physical evidence, and technical questions involved.
We coordinate access for qualified specialists to inspect the vehicles and retrieve available electronic data. Their work may help assess vehicle movement, braking, impact sequence, or a suspected mechanical problem. The information available depends on the truck’s equipment and the condition of the evidence.
Step 5
Check the findings against the competing accounts
We assess what each source supports and what questions it raises. A driver’s log may document reported duty time without establishing alertness. Vehicle damage may help explain an impact without showing every movement leading up to it.
Your attorney reviews the investigator’s findings and any specialist analysis together, using inconsistencies to guide further investigation.
How one discovery can change the picture
Illustrative example
Imagine a truck driver claims that another motorist moved into his lane. An investigator checks nearby businesses and locates security footage showing the truck crossing the lane line while the other vehicle remained in its lane. Comparing the recording with photographs of the vehicle damage and scene helps support the injured motorist’s account and provides a documented basis to challenge the driver’s version of events.
Who Can Be Held Responsible for a Truck Accident?
The truck driver may have caused the collision, but that does not necessarily mean the driver is the only person or business legally responsible. The answer depends on who controlled the truck, who employed the driver, what went wrong, and how that failure caused your injuries.
The truck driver
Speeding, distracted driving, unsafe lane changes, driving while fatigued or impaired, and failing to keep a safe following distance can all contribute to a crash.
The motor carrier or employer
A trucking company may be responsible for its driver’s work-related negligence or for its own failures in hiring, training, supervision, inspections, or maintenance.
Cargo and equipment businesses
A shipper or loader may be involved when an unsafe load contributed to the collision. A maintenance provider or parts manufacturer may be implicated if defective work or equipment played a role.
Other potentially responsible parties
Vehicle and trailer owners, leasing companies, and other drivers may also require investigation. Ownership or involvement by itself does not automatically make a party liable.
Identifying every responsible party matters because it affects the evidence that must be gathered, the insurance coverage that may apply, and the parties against whom a claim can be made.
What Compensation Can You Recover After a Truck Accident?
There is no standard settlement amount for an 18-wheeler crash. The value of a claim depends on the injuries, the evidence of responsibility, the effect on the person’s life, and the sources of recovery available.
Financial losses
These may include emergency care, hospitalization, surgery, rehabilitation, future medical treatment, lost wages, reduced earning capacity, and damage to your vehicle or other property.
Personal losses
Depending on the facts, you may also seek compensation for physical pain, mental anguish, physical impairment, and disfigurement. In qualifying fatal crashes, certain family members may have wrongful death claims.
Why future needs matter
A spinal cord injury may prevent someone from returning to physical work. A traumatic brain injury can affect memory, concentration, or the ability to stay employed. In other cases, a person may need more surgery, years of rehabilitation, help at home, or changes to the home itself. Those consequences can matter just as much as the emergency treatment after the crash.
A settlement is not based only on the bills you have today. When appropriate, medical specialists can assess future treatment needs, vocational specialists can examine whether the person can return to work, and financial specialists can help calculate future losses. The goal is to document consequences supported by the evidence, not to guess at a large number.
Accepting a settlement and signing a release may end your right to seek additional compensation from the released parties for that claim. Before agreeing to a final amount, make sure the long-term consequences have been considered.
Dealing With the Trucking Company’s Insurance Carrier
The adjuster for the trucking company is evaluating a claim against the company it insures. The adjuster’s job is not to advise you about everything you may be entitled to recover. Questions about how the crash happened, requests for medical authorizations, and early offers should be considered with that in mind.
You should be truthful and meet your own insurance policy’s reporting obligations, but you do not have to guess about facts you do not know. If you are asked for a recorded statement, a broad medical-records release, or a settlement signature, it makes sense to get legal advice first. An early offer may come before doctors know whether you will need more treatment.
Already received an offer or a denial?
You can still ask an attorney to review the claim before you sign a release. Bring the correspondence, any recorded statements you have given, medical records, and the offer or denial letter. Whether further action is possible depends on the status of the claim and any deadlines or agreements already in place.
What Happens After the Initial Investigation?
Preserving evidence is an early part of the case, not the entire legal process. As the investigation and your medical treatment develop, we work through the decisions that determine whether a claim can be resolved or needs litigation.
Case development
Document the losses
We examine medical treatment, missed work, future care needs, and the lasting effect of the injuries. Qualified specialists may help assess future medical or earning losses when the case calls for it.
Resolution efforts
Present and negotiate the claim
When the evidence supports a demand, we present the claim to the responsible parties and insurers, address disputes over fault or damages, and explain settlement offers and their consequences.
When necessary
Prepare for litigation
Some claims resolve without a lawsuit. Others require formal discovery, sworn testimony, expert analysis, or trial. We discuss the options, risks, and decisions with you as the case moves forward.
There is no one-size-fits-all timeline. Serious injuries, disputed fault, or multiple companies can extend the process because the medical outlook and evidence need to be developed carefully.
How Long Do You Have to File a Truck Accident Lawsuit in Texas?
For most Texas personal injury claims, the deadline to file a lawsuit is two years from the date of the injury under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003. A wrongful death claim generally has a two-year deadline measured from the date of death. Exceptions and different rules can apply.
Claims involving a government vehicle or certain public entities can require much earlier notice. Under the Texas Tort Claims Act, notice is generally required within six months, and some local governments have shorter notice provisions. Other special rules may also apply to your situation.
Do not confuse the filing deadline with an evidence deadline. A company may repair a truck, overwrite electronic data, or lose access to video long before two years pass. Negotiating with an insurance company generally does not stop the limitations clock.
How The Law Office of Joel M. Vecchio Handles Truck Accident Cases
Review Joel Vecchio’s experience and professional credentials
When a commercial truck is involved, the legal work cannot stop at the crash report. You need to know who is responsible, what evidence can prove it, and whether a proposed settlement accounts for your future needs.
Your attorney is involved
Joel Vecchio personally handles truck accident cases. You know which attorney is responsible for the legal decisions and the progress of your claim.
[CONFIRM: What parts of a truck case does Joel personally handle – initial evaluation, strategy, depositions, settlement negotiations, trial? Describe the real attorney-client contact arrangement.]
Experience with commercial carriers
Joel brings more than 25 years of personal injury trial experience to cases involving serious injuries and disputes over liability and damages.
[VERIFY SPECIFIC CLAIM FROM ORIGINAL PAGE: Number of years personally litigating truck cases, types of motor carriers or trucking disputes handled, and one documentable example of a disputed truck liability issue. Do not describe all 25+ years as truck-only litigation unless accurate.]
An in-house investigator and technical resources
Our in-house investigator can document the scene, interview witnesses, and look for video beyond the police report. When the case requires it, the attorney coordinates inspections and analysis by qualified specialists.
[ADD ONE VERIFIED FIRSTHAND EXAMPLE: State which investigation technique or specialist was used in an actual trucking matter, what it established, and why it affected the case.]
Joel Vecchio’s Professional Credentials
Joel M. Vecchio has been licensed to practice law in Texas since 2001. His Plano law firm represents people injured in commercial truck and 18-wheeler collisions.
- Texas Bar Admission: November 2, 2001. State Bar No. 24033410.
- Legal Education: Juris Doctor, University of Tulsa College of Law, 2001.
- Law Firm: Founded The Law Office of Joel M. Vecchio, P.C. in 2008.
- Practice Experience: Personal injury litigation, including commercial trucking accidents.
There is no charge for the initial consultation. Our representation is offered on a contingent-fee basis: the firm earns an attorney fee only if compensation is recovered. We explain the fee agreement and treatment of case expenses before you hire us.
What Our Truck Accident Cases Have Taught Us
Review case examples, attorney insights, and original research
Truck cases turn on details that are not always obvious in a crash report: who controlled the truck, what data still exists, and whether the evidence supports the driver’s account. The firm has reported the trucking collision results below. The case-specific details are marked for confirmation from the files before publication.
Reported trucking collision result
$1,252,500
Case example: [INSERT SHORT, FACTUAL CASE LABEL: e.g., type of collision and disputed issue]
What happened: [FROM THIS SPECIFIC CLOSED CASE: Briefly identify the truck type, crash mechanism, and general setting. Omit names and private details unless authorized.]
What was disputed: [EXACT LIABILITY OR DAMAGES DISPUTE: What did the driver, carrier, or insurer claim?]
Evidence that mattered: [IDENTIFY 1–2 ACTUAL RECORDS OR TESTS: ELD, ECM, video, dispatch communications, inspection report, deposition, or reconstruction. State who held the evidence and what it established. Do not imply data was obtained if it was not.]
How the case resolved: [VERIFY WHETHER $1,252,500 WAS A SETTLEMENT OR VERDICT; clarify whether it was gross or net and whether it reflects one client or multiple claimants, if relevant.]
Reported 18-wheeler collision result
$425,000
Case example: [INSERT ANOTHER FACTUAL CASE LABEL WITH A DIFFERENT EVIDENTIARY CHALLENGE]
What happened: [FROM THIS SPECIFIC CLOSED CASE: Truck type, how the collision occurred, and publicly shareable injury context.]
What needed to be proved: [IDENTIFY A DISTINCT ISSUE, such as unsafe lane change, fatigue, maintenance, cargo securement, or future earning capacity – only if supported by the case.]
What made the difference: [ACTUAL RECORD, WITNESS, EXPERT ANALYSIS, OR INVESTIGATIVE STEP; explain what it demonstrated, not a generic statement about thorough investigation.]
How the case resolved: [VERIFY WHETHER $425,000 WAS A SETTLEMENT OR VERDICT; note any essential outcome context.]
Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Each result depends on the facts, injuries, evidence, and applicable law. [EDITOR: Confirm the two published figures belong to the specified matters and remove all unfilled case prompts before publishing.]
From Joel Vecchio: What People May Not Realize About Truck Crash Evidence
[FIRSTHAND ATTORNEY INSIGHT. REPLACE WITH JOEL’S ACTUAL WORDS: In 2-4 sentences, describe one recurring problem Joel personally encountered when investigating or litigating truck cases. Include a concrete example of an assumption overturned, a record obtained, or a trucking-company defense challenged. Mention the type of evidence and why it mattered. Do not invent a quote or promise an outcome.]
Joel M. Vecchio, personal injury trial attorney
Original North Texas truck crash research: [OPTIONAL FIRST-PARTY DATA INSIGHT: Using a defined calendar year and a reproducible TxDOT Crash Records Information System query, state the number of CMV-involved crashes in the selected counties, the most common recorded contributing factors, and which factors could not be determined from police reports alone. Name the years, counties, data source, and method; distinguish CMV-involved crashes from crashes caused by truck drivers. Link to the firm’s published analysis if available.]
Truck Accident Questions
These are some of the questions people ask when deciding what to do after a collision with a commercial truck.
Can I have a claim if the truck driver was not given a ticket?
What if I was partly responsible for the accident?
Should I give the trucking company’s insurer a recorded statement?
How much is my truck accident case worth?
How long will my truck accident case take?
Will I have to go to court?
Can my family pursue a claim if someone died in the crash?
How much does it cost to hire a truck accident lawyer?
Talk to a Truck Accident Lawyer About What Happened
You do not need to prove the case before you call. Tell us how the collision happened, what you know about the truck, and how your injuries are affecting you. We can discuss possible next steps and whether our firm can help.
Free consultation · Available 24/7 · Se habla español