Houston Truck Accident Attorney

Truck accidents are among the most devastating collisions on Texas highways. When an 80,000-pound commercial vehicle strikes a passenger car, the physics are catastrophic. The injuries are severe — spinal cord damage, traumatic brain injuries, crush injuries, burns, and death. The legal cases are equally complex, involving multiple defendants, federal regulations, and corporate legal teams with unlimited budgets.

David Mestemaker has spent decades representing victims of trucking accidents in Houston and across Texas. He understands the unique challenges these cases present and has the trial experience to take on the largest trucking companies and their insurers.

Federal Regulations Trucking Companies Violate

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) imposes strict rules on commercial trucking operations. Hours-of-service regulations limit how long a driver can operate without rest. Maintenance requirements mandate regular inspections and repairs. Weight limits exist for a reason. Drug and alcohol testing is required. These regulations exist because an exhausted, impaired, or poorly maintained truck driver is a weapon on the highway.

Trucking companies routinely cut corners on these regulations to maximize profit. They push drivers past their hours. They skip maintenance to keep trucks on the road. They hire unqualified drivers to fill seats. When someone gets hurt because of these violations, the company scrambles to hide the evidence — and that is where having an experienced trial attorney makes the difference.

Preserving Critical Evidence

Trucking accident evidence disappears fast. The electronic logging device (ELD) and engine control module (ECM) data — the truck's "black box" — can be overwritten within days. Maintenance logs get lost. Driver qualification files go missing. Dispatch records that show the company pressured a driver to keep going when they should have stopped — those records have a way of vanishing.

David's office moves immediately to send preservation letters to the trucking company, their insurer, and any third-party maintenance providers. Preserving this evidence before it is destroyed or altered is often the difference between a strong case and a weak one.

Multiple Defendants, Multiple Insurers

Trucking cases often involve more than just the driver. The trucking company, the vehicle owner (sometimes a different entity), the freight broker, the cargo loader, and the maintenance company can all share liability. Each has its own insurance carrier and defense team. Sorting out these layers of liability requires an attorney who has done it hundreds of times.

Texas law allows you to pursue claims against every party whose negligence contributed to the accident. David identifies all potentially liable parties early and builds the case against each one.

Common Causes of Truck Accidents in Houston

Houston is the trucking capital of Texas. The Port of Houston is the largest port in the United States by foreign waterborne tonnage, and every container moves onto a truck. The petrochemical plants along the Ship Channel generate thousands of hazmat loads per week. Distribution centers line the I-10 corridor, I-45, and Beltway 8.

Interstate 10 through Houston is one of the most dangerous truck corridors in the country. The Katy Freeway carries some of the highest traffic volumes in North America. I-10 East through Channelview and Baytown runs through the industrial corridor where trucks enter and exit refineries at all hours. I-45 from downtown to Galveston and north to Dallas is consistently one of the deadliest highways in Texas.

Driver fatigue is the leading cause of serious truck accidents. Despite hours-of-service regulations, economic pressure pushes drivers past their limits. Trucking companies set delivery schedules that can only be met by exceeding legal hours. Drivers falsify electronic logs to stay on the road. A fatigued truck driver has reaction times comparable to a drunk driver.

Improper cargo loading causes rollovers, cargo spills, and loss-of-control accidents. Federal regulations require loads to be properly distributed, secured, and within weight limits. Shifting cargo during a lane change or curve can make 80,000 pounds uncontrollable.

Inadequate vehicle maintenance is a factor in a significant percentage of truck accidents. Worn brakes, bald tires, defective lighting, failed coupling devices. FMCSA requires inspections, but when companies prioritize revenue over maintenance, those inspections become rubber stamps.

Hours-of-Service Regulations Explained

The FMCSA publishes hours-of-service regulations at 49 CFR Part 395 that dictate how long a commercial truck driver can operate. Understanding them is essential because violations are direct evidence of negligence — by the driver and the company.

The 11-hour driving limit: a driver may drive a maximum of 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty. The 14-hour window: even if a driver has not used all 11 driving hours, they cannot drive after the 14th consecutive hour after coming on duty. This clock runs continuously and cannot be paused.

The 30-minute break rule requires a break after 8 cumulative hours of driving. The 60/70-hour limit restricts total on-duty time — 70 hours in any 8 consecutive days for carriers operating every day, 60 hours in 7 days for others. A 34-hour restart resets the weekly clock.

Since December 2017, all commercial vehicles must use electronic logging devices (ELDs) to record driving time automatically. ELDs connect to the engine and record time. But data can be manipulated by disconnecting devices, using multiple profiles, or exploiting loopholes. David knows what to look for in ELD data and how to identify falsification.

When ELD data shows a driver in their 12th hour of driving, or on duty for 16 hours straight — that is evidence the trucking company created the conditions that caused the crash.

Types of Truck Accidents

Jackknife accidents occur when drive wheels lock up, causing the trailer to swing outward at a 90-degree angle. A jackknifed 18-wheeler sweeps across multiple lanes. The cause is almost always excessive speed, improperly maintained brakes, or an improperly loaded trailer.

Underride accidents are among the deadliest. A passenger vehicle slides underneath the trailer, and the trailer shears off the roof of the car. Rear underride guards are required but often poorly maintained. Side underride guards are not federally required despite years of advocacy.

Rollover accidents happen from top-heavy loads, excessive speed in curves, sudden maneuvers, and tire blowouts. Tanker trucks carrying liquid are particularly susceptible because liquid surge shifts the center of gravity during turns.

Tire blowouts launch large sections of rubber and steel into traffic at high velocity. Cargo spill accidents scatter freight across the roadway — hazmat spills add explosion and toxic exposure risks. Wide turn accidents trap smaller vehicles between the trailer and curb.

Rear-end collisions are devastating because of weight differential. An 80,000-pound truck at 60 mph requires roughly 525 feet to stop — nearly two football fields. A passenger car needs about 300 feet. When brakes are poorly maintained or the driver is distracted, they cannot stop in time.

Injuries Unique to Truck Accidents

The force in a collision between an 80,000-pound truck and a 4,000-pound car is not twice as bad — it is twenty times as bad. Catastrophic TBIs occur at far higher rates. Severe TBI from truck collisions frequently results in permanent cognitive impairment, personality changes, and inability to live independently. Lifetime medical costs can exceed $3 million.

Spinal cord injuries with complete paralysis are a signature outcome. The massive deceleration forces cause fractures and cord transection that car collisions rarely produce. A 25-year-old with a complete spinal cord injury faces estimated lifetime care costs exceeding $5 million.

Burn injuries are disproportionately common because trucks carry 100 to 300 gallons of diesel fuel. When a fuel tank ruptures, the fire engulfs the crash scene. Treatment requires months at a burn center followed by years of reconstructive surgery.

Crush injuries occur when the passenger compartment collapses. Crush syndrome can cause kidney failure from rhabdomyolysis when a trapped limb is freed. Traumatic amputations — at the scene or surgical — are a reality in the worst crashes.

The psychological injuries are significant and compensable. Survivors frequently develop PTSD, severe driving anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders.

Filing Deadlines and the Legal Process

Texas has a two-year statute of limitations under CPRC Section 16.003. But in truck cases, the real deadline is measured in days. ELD data can be overwritten within 6 months. ECM data may be written over within days. Dash cam footage records on a 24-72 hour loop.

A spoliation letter is the first tool David deploys — a formal demand sent to the trucking company, driver, insurer, and maintenance providers directing preservation of all evidence: ELD and ECM data, driver qualification files, maintenance records, drug testing records, dispatch logs, GPS data, dash cam footage, cargo manifests, and internal communications.

Under Texas law, intentional destruction of evidence after a spoliation letter can result in adverse inference instructions — where the judge tells the jury they may assume destroyed evidence was unfavorable to the party that destroyed it.

Discovery in truck cases is intensive. David subpoenas carrier records going back years, looking for patterns of hours-of-service violations, maintenance failures, prior accidents, and driver complaints. He deposes the driver, dispatcher, safety director, maintenance manager, and corporate representative.

Texas Trucking Insurance Minimums

For general freight carriers, the FMCSA minimum is $750,000 in liability coverage. Many carriers carry $1 million as standard, and large national carriers often carry $5 million or more.

For hazardous materials carriers: oil and hazardous substances in bulk require $1 million minimum. Explosives, radioactive materials, and compressed gases require $5 million minimum. Passenger carriers seating 16+ must carry $5 million.

These are minimums, not maximums. Many companies carry umbrella policies above the primary. Freight brokers may carry contingent coverage. In catastrophic cases, David identifies every available policy and every liable party to maximize recovery.

The higher insurance limits are one reason truck cases tend to be worth more than car accidents. But the insurers behind those policies — often Lloyd's of London syndicates or large commercial carriers — are sophisticated defendants with experienced defense teams. They do not write large checks without a fight.