Who Is Liable in a Texas 18-Wheeler Accident?
Quick takeaways
- The truck driver and the trucking company are the usual defendants in a Texas 18-wheeler crash.
- Since a May 2026 Supreme Court ruling, you can sue a freight broker that hired an unsafe carrier.
- Trucking evidence can be destroyed within 30 days of a crash, long before most lawsuits are filed.
If you are asking who is liable in an 18-wheeler accident in Texas, the answer usually starts with the truck driver and the trucking company that employs the driver. A freight broker, cargo loader, maintenance shop, parts maker or route planner can share that liability, depending on the evidence.
Finding all of them takes a Texas 18-wheeler accident lawyer who moves on the evidence early.
When is the truck driver liable?
The truck driver is liable when the driver’s own carelessness causes the crash, through fatigue, speeding, distraction, impairment or breaking federal hours-of-service limits. Hours-of-service rules, the federal limits on how long a commercial driver can work, allow 11 hours of driving after 10 consecutive hours off duty under 49 CFR § 395.3.
A driver who pushes past those limits to meet a delivery deadline, then drifts across a lane on I-35, has broken a rule written to prevent that crash. Distraction and impairment leave a trail too, since phone records can show texting and post-crash tests can show drug or alcohol use.
When is the trucking company liable?
The trucking company is liable for a crash its driver causes while working, because Texas law holds employers responsible for an employee’s on-the-job negligence. Lawyers call this respondeat superior, meaning the employer answers for the worker.
Trucking company liability in Texas also reaches the company’s own mistakes, such as hiring a driver with a poor safety record, skimping on training, or skipping brake and tire maintenance. These direct negligence claims, negligent hiring among them, let you hold the company accountable for decisions made long before the crash.
Under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 72.054, a trucking company that admits its driver was on the job can narrow the first phase of trial. In that first phase, the jury decides fault and damages, while most claims about careless hiring or training are held back.
Lance Sharp has spent more than 40 years in trial work, including truck crash cases in Austin. That experience shapes which evidence he gathers early and which claims he presses once the company admits its driver was working.
Can you sue a freight broker for a truck accident?
Yes, in some cases you can sue a freight broker for a truck accident, if the broker carelessly hired an unsafe trucking company to haul the load. A freight broker is the middleman that matches a shipper’s cargo with a motor carrier. It does not own the truck.
On May 14, 2026, in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that federal law does not block negligent-hiring claims against brokers. The Court held that these claims fall within the safety exception of the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act, the 1994 federal law brokers had relied on to defend these suits.
“Beyond the driver and the trucking company, there can be a broker who arranged the load or a route planning company that advised on the route.”
Lance Sharp
We understand how unfair it feels when the company that profited seems out of reach, and this ruling lets the broker answer for its choice of carrier.
Who else is liable in an 18-wheeler accident in Texas?
Cargo loaders, maintenance shops, parts makers and route planners are the other parties who can be held liable for a truck accident in Texas.
A shipper or loading crew that overloads a trailer, or leaves freight unsecured, can be liable when the load shifts and the truck overturns. Repair shops can share fault, too, when a botched brake job or worn tires they should have replaced lead to the crash.
A maker of defective truck parts, such as faulty brakes or steering components, can face a product liability claim, which says the product itself was unsafe. A route planning company can also share the blame by sending a truck onto roads it cannot safely travel.
“It’s rare, but routing mistakes do sometimes contribute to an accident.”
Lance Sharp
What if you were partly at fault?
Under Texas law, you can still recover damages if you were partly at fault, as long as your share of the blame is 50% or less. This rule, called modified comparative negligence, bars recovery only when your share is more than 50% under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem § 33.001.
At 20% fault, your damages drop by 20%. Don’t worry if the trucking company’s insurer is already blaming you, because evidence decides fault, and we will fight to show how the crash happened.
Why should you act fast after a truck crash?
Acting fast protects the evidence that proves who is liable, because trucking companies are allowed to discard important records within months.
“In a trucking case, evidence can be destroyed within 30 days.”
Lance Sharp
Under Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) rules, motor carriers only have to keep hours-of-service records and their supporting documents for six months. Dashcam video and black box data can be overwritten, too. A spoliation letter, a formal demand to preserve evidence, puts the trucking company on notice that destroying those records can hurt it in court.
The Texas statute of limitations gives you two years to file suit under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem § 16.003. The evidence may not last that long.
The Sharp Firm is led by husband-and-wife trial lawyers Lance Sharp and Laura Sharp, both Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Together they bring more than 40 years of litigation experience, and they lead every truck case personally, from the first claim through trial and, if necessary, appeal.
Call 512-407-8800 or contact us online for a free consultation and talk to a lawyer about your case. You pay no fee unless we win your case.
Reviewed by Lance Sharp, The Sharp Firm · Last updated October 2026
