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A collision with a commercial vehicle is not a bigger car wreck. The other side is a company with a claims process that starts before the road is cleared, and most of the evidence that decides the case belongs to that company.
Large carriers and their insurers dispatch a rapid response team to serious crash scenes. Investigators, sometimes an accident reconstructionist, sometimes counsel, frequently within hours. They photograph the scene while it exists, download vehicle data, interview the driver before anyone else does, and secure the tractor and trailer.
None of that is improper. It is simply a head start, and it is why the timeline on the injured person’s side matters so much.
Electronic logging device data. Federal rules require carriers to retain ELD records, and the retention period is finite. Hours-of-service records that would show a driver over hours can age out.
Engine control module and event data recorder data. Speed, throttle, brake application and fault codes in the seconds before impact. This data can be overwritten by continued operation of the vehicle, which is why the vehicle itself needs to be preserved and inspected before it is repaired, sold or put back in service.
Dashcam and in-cab video. Often on a short overwrite cycle, sometimes days.
Telematics and GPS. Route, speed and stop history held by a third-party vendor under the carrier’s contract.
Dispatch records and the load. What the driver was told, when the load had to be delivered, and whether the schedule could be met legally.
The driver qualification file. Application, employment history, medical certification, motor vehicle record, road test, prior violations and prior accidents. This is where negligent hiring and retention live.
Maintenance and inspection records. Brake and tire condition, prior repairs, deferred maintenance, and post-crash inspection reports.
Drug and alcohol testing records required after a qualifying crash.
A spoliation and preservation letter, sent immediately and identifying each category above specifically, is the most consequential thing that happens in the first week of a commercial vehicle case. A generic letter that asks a carrier to “preserve all evidence” does far less work than one that names the ELD, the ECM, the telematics vendor, the dashcam retention setting and the driver qualification file.
Where the vehicle matters, an inspection before repair, with the injured person’s own expert present, is often necessary and often has to be arranged in days rather than weeks.
Commercial cases rarely involve one company. The driver, the motor carrier, the trailer owner, the broker who arranged the load, the shipper, a maintenance contractor and a staffing company may each be separate entities with separate insurance and separate lawyers. Sorting out who is who, and which of them is responsible for what, shapes the case from the beginning.
Commercial policies commonly stack: a primary layer, one or more excess layers, and sometimes a self-insured retention the company pays before any insurer is involved. Identifying the full tower early determines what the case can realistically resolve for.
Every statute and case linked above was read at its primary source. Texas statutes change every legislative session and case law is constantly changing.
This page is general information about Texas law. It is not legal advice about your situation, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Two years from the collision under Section 16.003(a) of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, and two years from the death under Section 16.003(b) where the collision was fatal. The practical deadline for the evidence above is far shorter than the legal one.
Schiffer Law Firm handles 18-wheeler and commercial vehicle cases in Houston and across Texas.
There is no charge to talk, and no attorney’s fee unless there is a recovery.
Call 713-521-0059.
This page is general information, not legal advice about your situation, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Electronic logging data and engine control module data, both of which are overwritten or purged on short cycles.
Federal regulations impose retention periods, but many are short, and the practical answer is that a preservation letter should go out immediately.
The driver, the motor carrier, often the broker or shipper, and sometimes a maintenance contractor.
Two years under Section 16.003, but the evidence deadline is measured in days, not years.
