A Dallas truck accident often involves more than one potentially responsible party, the driver, the trucking company, a maintenance shop, a cargo loader, or a manufacturer, which is not usually true in an ordinary car accident claim. Texas proportionate responsibility law decides how fault and liability are divided among all of them, including whether one company can end up responsible for the entire judgment.
Why is a Dallas truck accident case different from a car accident claim?
A Dallas truck accident case is different from a car accident claim because a truck crash can involve several potentially responsible parties instead of just the other driver. The driver, the trucking company that employed the driver, a company that maintained or repaired the truck, a company that loaded its cargo, and the manufacturer of the truck or one of its parts can each have played a role in causing the crash.
Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 33, the state’s proportionate responsibility law, governs how responsibility is divided among everyone found to have contributed to the harm. That law applies the same way in a two-car crash and a multi-vehicle truck case, but it does more work in a truck case because there are usually more parties for a jury to weigh.
Who can be held responsible after a Dallas truck accident?
More than one person or company can be held responsible after a Dallas truck accident, including the truck driver, the trucking company, a business that maintained or repaired the truck, a business that loaded its cargo, and the manufacturer of the truck or a defective part.
Under CPRC 33.003(a), the trier of fact determines, in whole-number percentages, the responsibility of each claimant, each defendant, each settling person, and any designated responsible third party for causing or contributing to the harm, whether through a negligent act or omission, a defective or unreasonably dangerous product, or other conduct that violates a legal standard.
Have you heard from more than one insurance company already?
Each party, the driver, the carrier, and anyone who maintained or loaded the truck, may carry separate coverage, and how fault gets divided between them affects who ends up paying.
What happens when more than one party shares the blame?
When more than one party shares the blame for a Dallas truck accident, the jury assigns each party, including you if you contributed to the crash, a percentage of responsibility for what happened, and those percentages determine how the case is resolved.
This is the same proportionate responsibility framework described in CPRC 33.003 that applies to every party in the case. A case with several defendants, for example a driver, a trucking company, and a maintenance company, can end up with the responsibility split three or four ways instead of just two. How those percentages affect what you can recover, and what a trucking company or another defendant may owe, depends on where each one falls, which the next few questions address.
Can I still recover if I was partly at fault for the crash?
Yes, you can still recover damages if you were partly at fault for a Dallas truck accident, as long as your own percentage of responsibility is not found to be greater than 50 percent.
Under CPRC 33.001, you may not recover any damages if your percentage of responsibility is found to be greater than 50 percent. If you are found to be exactly 50 percent responsible, or less, this bar does not apply. Instead, CPRC 33.012(a) requires the court to reduce the damages you recover by a percentage equal to your own percentage of responsibility, so a partial share of fault reduces your recovery rather than eliminating it.
If the trucking company is mostly at fault, do they pay the whole judgment?
Yes, if a trucking company or another defendant is found more than 50 percent responsible for a Dallas truck accident, Texas law can make that defendant responsible for paying the full judgment, not just its own share.
Ordinarily, under CPRC 33.013(a), a defendant is liable only for the percentage of damages equal to that defendant’s own percentage of responsibility. But CPRC 33.013(b) changes that: a defendant found more than 50 percent responsible is jointly and severally liable for the damages you can recover, meaning that one defendant can be on the hook for the entire judgment even if other parties also share some of the blame. This is the rule that matters most in a multi-defendant truck case, where one company’s share of responsibility can land above that threshold while several other parties carry smaller shares.
How long do I have to file a truck accident lawsuit in Dallas?
In Texas, you generally have two years to file a truck accident lawsuit, counting from the day your cause of action for personal injury accrues, which for most truck accident claims is the day of the crash.
This two-year period comes from CPRC 16.003(a). Missing it generally means losing the right to bring the claim at all, regardless of how clear the other side’s responsibility is. The clock does not run the same way for everyone: if the injured person was under 18 or of unsound mind when the claim arose, Texas law does not count that time against the deadline, so a child’s claim can still be open after an adult’s would have closed. Confirm the date that applies to the injured person rather than assuming it.
Which Dallas highways do truck accident cases come from?
Truck accident cases in Dallas come from crashes anywhere in the city, including along the major highways and tollways that run through it: US 75, Interstate 35E, the Dallas North Tollway, Loop 12, Interstate 635, Interstate 30, Interstate 20, Interstate 45, and US 175, the C.F. Hawn Freeway.
Where a crash happens along one of these corridors can affect which law enforcement agency responds and where evidence from the scene needs to be gathered quickly.
What should I do right after a Dallas truck accident to protect my case?
Right after a Dallas truck accident, get medical attention, make sure the crash is reported, and take steps to preserve evidence before it is lost, since a truck case usually depends on more sources of evidence than a typical car accident.
Texas law requires a driver involved in a crash that causes injury, death, or a vehicle that cannot be driven safely to report it immediately, by the quickest means of communication, to local police if the crash was inside a city, or to the sheriff’s office or the Department of Public Safety if it was not. Beyond that report, a truck case can depend on evidence that a trucking company or another party controls, such as driver logs, maintenance records, and cargo paperwork, and some of that evidence can be lost or routinely replaced over time. Protecting it early, before it disappears, matters more in a multi-party truck case than it does in a simple two-car crash.
What should I avoid doing before talking to a lawyer?
Before talking to a lawyer, avoid giving a recorded statement to the trucking company’s insurer, signing any release or settlement paperwork, or posting about the crash on social media, since any of those can affect a case that may involve more than one responsible party.
Avoid assuming you know who is at fault, or how much, before the facts are gathered. In a truck accident, responsibility is often split among several parties, and an early statement or signature can lock in an assumption about fault before anyone has looked at the driver’s history, the truck’s maintenance records, or how the cargo was loaded.
Who handles Dallas truck accident cases at Culver Legal?
Culver Legal represents people injured in Dallas truck accidents, working to identify every party, from the driver to the trucking company to anyone responsible for maintaining or loading the truck, who may share responsibility for the crash.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the 51 percent rule in Texas?
Texas law does not allow a person who caused more than half of their own accident to recover damages from anyone else. Under CPRC 33.001, you are barred from recovering if your percentage of responsibility is found to be greater than 50 percent. If you are found to be 50 percent responsible or less, you are not barred, though your recovery is reduced by your own percentage under CPRC 33.012(a).
Who can be held responsible if more than one party caused my Dallas truck accident?
More than one person or company, such as the driver, the trucking company, a maintenance shop, a loader, or a manufacturer, can be found responsible for a single truck accident. Texas law requires the jury to assign each one a percentage of responsibility. That is one reason truck accident cases often take longer to sort out than a typical car accident claim.
If the trucking company is found mostly at fault, does it have to pay the entire judgment?
Yes. Under CPRC 33.013(b)(1), a defendant whose percentage of responsibility is found to be greater than 50 percent is jointly and severally liable, meaning that defendant can be required to pay the full judgment, not just its own share. Ordinarily, under CPRC 33.013(a), each defendant pays only its own percentage of the damages; the over-50-percent finding is what changes that.
How long do I have to file a Dallas truck accident lawsuit?
In Texas, you generally have two years from the day your cause of action accrues, which for a personal injury claim is the day of the crash, to file a truck accident lawsuit. This deadline comes from CPRC 16.003(a). The clock does not run the same way for everyone: if the injured person was under 18 or of unsound mind when the claim arose, Texas law does not count that time against the deadline. Confirming the exact date early, with the help of someone who can review the facts of your crash, protects your ability to file on time.
If more than one party may be responsible for your Dallas truck accident, it helps to talk to someone who can sort out who that is before evidence disappears. Culver Legal takes truck accident cases on contingency, with no fee unless we win. Case expenses are advanced by the firm and repaid from the recovery, and if there is no recovery, no case costs are charged. Attorney responsible for this page: Thanos Simoudis, licensed in Texas, primary office Los Angeles, California. Call (214) 269-1184 for a free case review, or send us the details and we will call you back. More on Dallas personal injury claims.
