Law

Top Painful Mistakes That Can Hurt Your California Car Accident Case

A La Mesa, CA Community Feature on What Injured Drivers Often Get Wrong After a Crash In the minutes after a serious car accident, most people...

You were hit by a commercial truck. The crash was violent. You needed medical care. And now the insurer is calling to tell you the accident was your fault. This happens more often than most people realize, and it happens fast. The at-fault carrier's adjuster may allege you changed lanes without signaling, that you were driving in the truck's blind spot, or that your speed contributed to the collision. These arguments are introduced early in the process, before you understand how Texas fault law works, and before you have representation. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration reported 5,936 fatal large truck crashes in the United States in 2022. Texas led all states in truck crash fatalities. Harris County recorded 6,313 commercial vehicle crashes in 2024. The injured drivers in those crashes frequently faced fault disputes that reduced or eliminated what they recovered. Disputed liability cases often require analysis of electronic logging device data, driver qualification files, maintenance records, dispatch communications, and other evidence unique to commercial trucking litigation. Over 17 years of practice in Houston, Sutliff & Stout has handled truck accident cases involving contested liability, catastrophic injuries, and wrongful death claims. The firm's documented results include a $13.3 million Harris County jury verdict in a case where the opposing carrier disputed responsibility before trial. A Houston truck accident lawyer at Sutliff & Stout can help evaluate the evidence, liability issues, and insurance challenges that often arise in commercial vehicle crash claims. These five steps protect your legal position when the truck's insurer tells you the crash was your fault. Step 1: Do Not Accept or Agree With the Fault Assignment The adjuster's fault determination is not final. It is an opening position designed to reduce what the carrier owes. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 33 allows fault percentages to be contested throughout the claims process and, if necessary, before a Harris County jury. An adjuster who tells you the crash was 70 percent your fault is not reading from a legal judgment. They are stating an internal position based on whatever evidence the carrier has gathered so far. Saying "okay" or "I understand" in response to a fault determination is not a legal admission. But engaging in a recorded statement that accepts partial blame or discusses your driving behavior before you have reviewed the complete evidence is a mistake that can be used later to assign a permanent fault percentage. The safest response to an early fault assignment is to say you are reviewing the matter with legal counsel and to end the call. Step 2: Secure Every Piece of Evidence Before It Disappears The evidence that resolves disputed liability in a truck accident case is time-sensitive. Surveillance footage from businesses along the crash corridor on Loop 610, Interstate 10, or Interstate 45 is overwritten within 14 to 30 days. The commercial truck's electronic logging device data, which records speed, braking, and hours of service, can be erased under standard carrier retention schedules within weeks. A dashcam file overwrites within 72 hours on most devices. Request the Houston Police Department crash report under Texas Transportation Code Section 550.065 as soon as it becomes available, typically within 10 business days. Photograph the scene if you have not already. Secure any dashcam footage from your own vehicle immediately. Contact witnesses you identified at the scene before their memories change. Step 3: Get an Independent Accident Reconstruction if the Crash Is Serious When the disputed liability involves complex crash mechanics, like a lane change at highway speed, a blind spot scenario, or a jackknife event on Interstate 45, an independent accident reconstruction expert may be needed to establish the physical evidence that determines where each vehicle was and at what speed when the crash occurred. Reconstruction engineers analyze skid marks, point of impact, vehicle damage patterns, and electronic data to produce a reconstruction that can be presented to a jury or submitted to the insurer as part of the damages file. Reconstruction evidence is the most powerful counter to a fault argument that relies only on the adjuster's interpretation of the police report. A reconstruction that places the truck driver at fault based on physical evidence is significantly harder to dismiss than a competing statement about who saw what. Step 4: Investigate FMCSA Records for Prior Violations Commercial carriers operating in Texas are required to maintain FMCSA safety records covering driver qualification files, hours-of-service logs, vehicle inspection reports, and prior federal safety violations. These records are accessible through a formal records request or subpoena. When a carrier has prior violations for hours-of-service compliance, improper vehicle maintenance, or driver qualification failures, those violations support a negligence argument against the employer that runs independently of the disputed driver fault argument. A carrier with a history of federal safety violations who is now blaming the injured driver for a crash is in a legally weak position when those records are properly documented and presented. The carrier's prior conduct becomes part of the liability analysis, not just the specific crash mechanics. Step 5: File a Lawsuit If the Carrier Refuses to Move Off the Disputed Fault Position When a commercial carrier disputes liability and refuses to make a reasonable settlement offer, filing a lawsuit in Harris County District Court opens the discovery process. Through discovery, the opposing carrier is required to produce the driver's full qualification file, the vehicle's maintenance records, the carrier's internal communications about the crash, and the claims management documentation showing how the fault determination was made. Discovery frequently reveals information that changes the liability picture entirely. Internal communications showing the carrier knew the driver was fatigued. Maintenance records showing the brakes on the truck were overdue for service. Hiring records showing the driver had prior safety violations the carrier ignored. None of this is available without litigation. Filing the lawsuit is what opens the door. Why Fault Disputes Matter in Houston Truck Accident Cases Many injured drivers assume that fault is determined by the police report alone. In commercial truck accident cases, liability often depends on evidence that is not available at the crash scene. Driver qualification records, electronic logging device data, maintenance records, dispatch communications, and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration compliance documents can all affect how responsibility is assigned. This is one reason truck accident litigation differs from ordinary car accident claims. A liability dispute may involve not only the truck driver, but also the motor carrier, maintenance providers, cargo loading companies, and other parties connected to the commercial operation. As a result, fault investigations often continue long after the initial crash report is completed.

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