18-Wheeler Accident Lawyer Baytown, TX
Tractor-trailer cases are different from ordinary car wrecks, because evidence moves quickly, the defendants have lawyers on the scene within hours, and federal trucking rules layer on top of Texas tort law. Additionally, you may be dealing with multiple at-fault parties. Sorting this out yourself, when you’re so badly hurt, can feel overwhelming. Let us take the legal worries off your shoulders.
At Greenberg Streich Injury Lawyers, we’ve handled catastrophic commercial vehicle cases across Texas for more than a decade, including wrongful death claims against national carriers and multi-million-dollar settlements for workers and families. Our firm takes every case on a contingency basis, meaning no retainer, no hourly billing, and no fee unless we win.
If you need a Baytown, TX 18-wheeler accident lawyer families can trust in a high-stakes case, we are ready to investigate what happened and walk you through your options.
Why Choose Greenberg Streich Injury Lawyers for 18-Wheeler Accidents in Baytown, TX?
Trial Experience Against National Trucking Companies
Our firm’s co-founder, Matt Greenberg, has practiced personal injury law in Baytown, TX for 12 years and has been lead trial counsel against major trucking defendants in county, state, and federal courts. His commercial vehicle outcomes include a $35 million wrongful death settlement against Ben E. Keith for an 18-wheeler crash, which was the largest Tarrant County settlement at the time, and a $37.5 million wrongful death verdict in Dallas County for the family of a truck driver killed by an Oncor delivery truck driver. Matt earned his J.D. at Baylor Law School and has been recognized by Super Lawyers, Lawdragon, and the National Trial Lawyers.
Mike Streich has handled commercial vehicle cases for 13 years. He graduated cum laude from the Houston Law Center and is a member of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association. Before moving to the plaintiff side, Mike spent close to a decade defending motor carriers and insurance syndicates, including members of Lloyd’s of London, in catastrophic commercial vehicle claims. That background influences how he builds a trucking case today, because he has already seen how the other side investigates, evaluates, and defends these matters.
Results That Matter in Commercial Vehicle Cases
Our attorneys have recovered over $375 million for clients across Texas. Beyond the outcomes mentioned above, those results include a $9.75 million settlement for a client who suffered a traumatic brain injury after a crash with a West Texas sand hauler, a $5.5 million settlement for a woman who sustained leg and head injuries in a truck accident, and a $5,474,354 settlement for a couple rear-ended by a commercial vehicle.
Contingency Fee Representation
Serious commercial vehicle injuries pile up medical debt and lost income fast. We do not add to that burden with a legal bill. Our firm advances investigation costs, accident reconstruction, and case workup, and our attorney fees are paid only out of the recovery when we win.
Client Feedback
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “How can I say enough positives! Mike and his team were more than professional and timely. I was involved in a major accident with a Semi, Mike and his team were Rockstars! Timely, professional, proficient and determined. I could have not asked for better representation.”
Joe Cooper
Read more reviews on our Google Business Profile.
Types of 18-Wheeler Accident Cases We Handle in Baytown
Commercial trucking runs through Baytown every day, from refinery turnarounds to the Port of Houston to the I-10 corridor. When an 18-wheeler, box truck, tanker, or other commercial rig crashes, the physics almost always favor the truck. Our firm handles the highest-stakes categories of these cases.
- Rear-end collisions by 18-wheelers. A loaded tractor-trailer can weigh 20 times what a passenger vehicle weighs. Rear-end crashes by fatigued or distracted truck drivers produce devastating injuries and frequently support a parallel truck accident claim against the carrier for negligent hiring, training, or supervision.
- Underride and override crashes. A car that slides under a trailer, or a truck that rides over a smaller vehicle, produces catastrophic injury patterns and frequent fatalities that lead to wrongful death claims.
- Jackknife and rollover crashes. Lost-control events often result from speed, improper braking, unbalanced loads, or defective equipment. We investigate cargo securement, driver training records, and weather conditions at the time of the crash.
- Tire blowout and mechanical failure crashes. These cases are usually decided by preserved maintenance records and the carrier’s inspection history. Recapped tires, failing brakes, and defective coupling devices are all recurring issues in our files.
- Lane change and blind spot crashes. A driver who fails to check a no-zone before merging can sideswipe a car or a motorcycle at highway speed, with life-altering consequences.
- Commercial vehicle crashes involving cars. Many of our cases start as ordinary car accident matters that expand into commercial vehicle claims once the insurance layers, carrier identity, and employment relationships come into focus.
- Oilfield and refinery-related truck crashes. Sand haulers, water trucks, tankers, and vacuum trucks supporting oilfield operations and refinery work crash with some regularity. These matters involve both Texas tort law and federal trucking rules.
- Work-related commercial vehicle injuries. Truck drivers themselves are sometimes the injured party, and a driver hurt on the job may have claims that overlap with a workplace injury claim.
Texas Legal Requirements for 18-Wheeler Accident Claims
Commercial vehicle cases in Texas are shaped by both state law and federal regulation. Understanding how those systems interact is critical to any meaningful recovery.
Statute of limitations. Under Section 16.003 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, injured claimants and surviving family members generally have two years from the date of the crash, or the date of death, to file suit. Evidence moves even faster than that deadline, which is why we send preservation letters to carriers early to lock down onboard data, driver logs, and surveillance footage before any of it can be overwritten or lost.
Modified comparative negligence. Texas uses a 51 percent bar rule under CPRC Chapter 33. If a jury finds the injured claimant more than 50 percent at fault, the claimant takes nothing. At 50 percent or less, the recovery is reduced by the assigned share of fault. Trucking defendants will reliably try to pin some responsibility on the injured driver, which is one reason that reconstruction, scene photographs, and electronic control module downloads matter so much in these cases.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. Commercial drivers and carriers operating in interstate commerce must comply with the FMCSRs, including the hours-of-service limits codified at 49 CFR Part 395. Property-carrying drivers generally may drive no more than 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty, within a 14-hour on-duty window, and subject to a 60 or 70-hour weekly ceiling. Violations are powerful evidence of negligence and often support punitive claims. Carriers are also required to keep driver qualification files, maintenance records, drug and alcohol testing results, and inspection logs, all of which are discoverable in a well-pleaded case.
Crash data and industry trends. FMCSA crash data shows that large truck involvement in fatal and injury crashes has trended upward for years, driven by a mix of driver shortages, longer hauls, and aggressive scheduling. Drivers who report unsafe trucks are protected under federal law, and that testimony can be decisive in a case.
What Damages Are Recoverable in a Baytown 18-Wheeler Accident Case?
Texas law permits injured claimants and surviving families to pursue three broad categories of damages. The combination turns on the severity of the injuries and the conduct of the carrier and driver.
Economic damages. These are the measurable losses, with supporting documentation. Expect past and future medical bills, surgery, physical therapy, rehabilitation, prescription costs, assistive devices, home and vehicle modifications, lost wages, diminished earning capacity, property damage to the vehicle and its contents, and funeral and burial expenses in fatal cases. Commercial vehicle crashes frequently involve severe orthopedic injuries or traumatic brain injury, so we typically retain life care planners and vocational economists to project long-term costs accurately.
Non-economic damages. Texas law allows recovery for physical pain, mental anguish, disfigurement, physical impairment, and loss of enjoyment of life. In fatal cases, surviving spouses, children, and parents may recover for loss of companionship, consortium, and household services under Texas’s wrongful death and survival statutes. These damages often represent the largest component of a serious 18-wheeler case, because the injuries tend to be permanent or career-ending.
Exemplary (punitive) damages. Under CPRC Chapter 41, a jury may award exemplary damages when the evidence shows gross negligence, fraud, or malice by clear and convincing evidence. In trucking, that standard is frequently met by knowing violations of the FMCSRs, including falsified logs, a driver operating without a valid CDL, cargo overloading, or a carrier ignoring repeated driver complaints about a defective truck.
If the crash involved a company vehicle, an owner-operator’s commercial coverage, or a freight broker’s policy, multiple layers of insurance may apply beyond the individual driver’s personal policy.
Contact Greenberg Streich Injury Lawyers
A serious 18-wheeler crash can change everything about a family’s day-to-day life, and the window for preserving key evidence is short. You deserve a firm that takes the case as seriously as you do. You’ve found it with Greenberg Streich Injury Lawyers. Our attorneys will review what happened, identify the carriers and coverages involved, and give you a candid read on whether a claim or lawsuit is the right next step.
Consultations are free. No fee unless we recover money for you. We respond to calls and form submissions promptly, and we can meet in person, by phone, or by video, depending on what works for you.
Contact us today to speak with our Baytown 18-wheeler accident lawyer about what happened and what comes next.
