What Compensation Can You Recover in Texas?

We fight to secure compensation covering all aspects of your physical, emotional, and financial recovery. Fatigue crashes often cause catastrophic injuries requiring lifetime care and support.

Economic damages include all medical expenses from emergency treatment through future rehabilitation needs. We also recover lost wages and diminished earning capacity if your injuries prevent returning to your previous work.

Non-economic damages compensate for pain and suffering, emotional trauma, and loss of life enjoyment. These damages recognize that your injuries affect more than just your financial situation.

In cases involving extreme negligence, Texas courts may award punitive damages designed to punish defendants and deter similar conduct in the future.

Who Can Be Held Liable for Fatigue-Related Crashes?

Texas law allows us to pursue multiple parties when their actions contributed to your accident. We investigate every potential defendant to maximize your recovery options.

The truck driver bears primary responsibility for operating while fatigued and violating federal safety regulations. However, liability often extends beyond the individual driver.

Trucking companies can be liable for creating unrealistic delivery schedules, inadequate driver training, or encouraging drivers to falsify logbooks. They’re also responsible under vicarious liability principles for their employees’ actions.

Shipping companies and freight brokers may share fault if they created impossible delivery deadlines that pressured drivers to skip mandatory rest periods. Maintenance companies could be liable if mechanical failures caused delays leading to fatigue.

What Evidence Proves Truck Driver Fatigue?

Building a successful fatigue case requires immediate action to preserve electronic evidence before it’s legally destroyed. We send spoliation letters within hours of your accident to ensure this critical data remains available.

Electronic Logging Device Data

Modern trucks use Electronic Logging Devices that automatically record driving hours and detect violations of federal regulations. This data provides concrete proof of rule violations.

Engine Control Module Information

The truck’s “black box” records speed, braking patterns, and steering inputs in the moments before impact. Lack of evasive action often indicates driver inattention or fatigue.

Driver Communication Records

Cell phone records, dispatch communications, and delivery schedules can reveal pressure to violate rest requirements or evidence of the driver’s condition.

Medical and Employment Records

We investigate whether the driver had known medical conditions affecting alertness or if the trucking company ignored warning signs of fatigue.

Witness Observations

Police officers and witnesses often observe signs of drowsiness, including bloodshot eyes, yawning, or admissions of being tired.

Contact us within 24 hours to preserve this evidence before trucking companies can legally destroy it.

What Are the Federal Hours-of-Service Rules?

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration created strict Hours-of-Service regulations to prevent driver fatigue.

11-Hour Driving Limit

Drivers cannot operate a commercial vehicle for more than the 11-hour driving limit after taking 10 consecutive hours off duty.

14-Hour On-Duty Window

All driving must occur within a 14-hour on-duty window after coming on duty, regardless of breaks taken during that period.

Mandatory 30-Minute Break

Drivers must take a 30-minute break before driving if more than 8 hours have passed since their last off-duty period.

Weekly Hour Limits

Drivers cannot exceed 60 hours on duty in 7 consecutive days or 70 hours in 8 consecutive days.

Sleeper Berth Provisions

The required 10-hour off-duty period can be split into two periods under the sleeper berth provisions, provided one period is at least 7 hours in the sleeper berth.

What Injuries Commonly Result from Fatigue Crashes?

Drowsy drivers often fail to brake or take evasive action before impact, resulting in high-speed collisions with devastating consequences. The massive weight difference between trucks and passenger vehicles makes these crashes particularly severe.

Common injuries include traumatic brain injuries that can cause permanent cognitive impairment and personality changes. Spinal cord injuries may result in partial or complete paralysis requiring lifelong care.

Multiple broken bones, internal organ damage, and severe burns are frequent outcomes when fuel tanks rupture. Many victims require extensive reconstructive surgery and rehabilitation. Back injuries from these crashes often necessitate months of physical therapy and ongoing medical care.

Unfortunately, fatigue-related truck accidents also frequently result in wrongful death due to the extreme forces involved in these collisions.

What Should You Do After a Fatigue-Related Truck Crash?

Your actions immediately following the accident can significantly impact both your health and your legal claim. Prioritizing medical care and evidence preservation is essential.

Seek Immediate Medical Attention

Call 911 even if you feel uninjured, as adrenaline can mask serious injuries. Emergency responders will document the scene and your condition for official records.

Document Everything Possible

Take photographs of vehicle damage, road conditions, and any visible injuries if you’re physically able. Collect contact information from witnesses who saw the accident occur.

Avoid Insurance Company Communications

Do not provide recorded statements or accept settlement offers from trucking company insurers. They will use anything you say to minimize their liability.

Contact Our Legal Team Immediately

We need to act quickly to preserve electronic evidence and send legal notices preventing data destruction. Every hour counts in these cases.

Call (832) 490-7088 for immediate legal protection and evidence preservation.

How We Build Strong Fatigue Cases

Our approach combines immediate evidence preservation with thorough investigation using industry experts. We work with accident reconstruction specialists, sleep medicine doctors, and trucking industry professionals to build compelling cases.

We analyze Electronic Logging Device data, driver medical records, and company policies to identify all violations and negligent practices. Our team creates detailed timelines showing how fatigue developed and led to your accident.

We’re always prepared for trial, which gives us significant leverage during settlement negotiations. Insurance companies know we won’t accept inadequate offers and have the resources to take cases to court.

How We Fight Trucking Company Tactics

Trucking insurers use aggressive strategies designed to minimize payouts and shift blame to accident victims. We know their tactics and how to counter them effectively.

They often make quick lowball settlement offers before you understand your injury severity. We ensure you don’t accept inadequate compensation that won’t cover your long-term needs.

Insurance adjusters will try to blame you for the accident to reduce their liability under Texas comparative fault rules. We gather evidence proving the driver’s fatigue was the primary cause.

They may request recorded statements hoping to find inconsistencies they can use against you later. In extreme cases, fatigued drivers may even flee the scene, turning the incident into a hit and run case. We handle all communications to protect your interests.

Understanding Texas Legal Deadlines and Fault Rules

Texas law gives you only two years from your accident date to file a personal injury lawsuit. Missing this statute of limitations deadline permanently bars your right to seek compensation.

Texas follows modified comparative fault rules, meaning you can recover damages only if you’re 50% or less responsible for the accident. Trucking companies will aggressively try to shift blame to you.

We act quickly to preserve evidence and build strong cases proving the truck driver’s fatigue caused your accident. Early action protects your rights and strengthens your claim.