You have two years to file a truck accident lawsuit in Texas. For an injury, the clock runs from the day the crash happened, and if someone was killed, it runs from the date of death (Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003). Miss it and the case is over, no matter how bad the wreck was. But in an 18-wheeler case, the filing deadline is rarely the one that hurts people. The evidence goes first. Call (713) 664-4000 today for a free consultation.
When the clock runs differently
Two years is the outside limit for most truck crash suits. Two situations change how it’s counted.
A death. A wrongful death claim gets the same two years, but they’re counted from the date the person died, not the date of the crash (§ 16.003(b)). If someone was hurt in the wreck and died weeks later, the family’s clock started on the day of death. If your family lost someone, our Houston wrongful death lawyer page covers who can bring that claim.
A child. When the injured person is under 18, the time before their 18th birthday doesn’t count against the two years (§ 16.001). That protects the child’s own claim. It’s no reason to sit on the case, because the truck’s records won’t wait for anybody’s birthday.
If a government truck hit you
Garbage trucks and dump trucks are often owned by a city or county. Then a much shorter deadline applies. The government is entitled to notice of your claim within six months of the crash, describing the injury and the incident, including when and where it happened (§ 101.101(a)). A city’s charter can set its own notice period, and Texas law approves those charter deadlines (§ 101.101(b)). The City of Houston’s charter requires sworn notice within 90 days (Houston City Charter art. IX, § 11). There’s an exception when the government already had actual notice of the injury (§ 101.101(c)), but we don’t bet a client’s case on it. We send the notice.
Why the evidence deadline matters more
A loaded tractor-trailer carries its own record of the crash. The engine’s computer stores speed and braking data. Most trucks log the driver’s hours electronically. Many have forward and cab cameras. And the carrier keeps a file on the driver: hiring, training, drug and alcohol testing, past violations. None of that belongs to you, and the trucking company doesn’t hand it over because you asked nicely. Some of it can be overwritten once the truck goes back on the road. Some of it gets thrown out on the company’s own schedule.
Many trucking companies send their own people to the scene within hours, an adjuster and sometimes a defense lawyer. They’re photographing your car and talking to witnesses while you’re still in the ER. They work for the carrier. So we send a preservation letter the same week we’re hired, demanding that the data, the logs, the video and the driver file be kept. A company that destroys evidence after getting that letter has a problem with the judge.
What you can do right now
If you’re able, or a family member can do it for you, get photos of the truck’s door, where the company name and USDOT number are painted, and of the trailer number. Write down the driver’s name. Get checked by a doctor even if you feel okay, because adrenaline can hide an injury for a day or two. Don’t give a recorded statement to the other side’s insurance company, and don’t sign anything they send you. Leave your car as it is until it’s been inspected.
Why waiting until month 23 hurts your case
Filing near the deadline is legal. It’s also a bad idea. Witnesses move and forget. And a truck case takes real work before anything is filed: identifying every company that could be responsible (the driver, the carrier, whoever loaded the trailer, the maintenance shop, sometimes a broker) and pulling the carrier’s safety history. All of that takes months, and it goes better while the scene is still fresh.
How we handle truck accident cases
Jay Blass Cohen founded Blass Law in 2009. On a truck case, we lock down the evidence first, then build the claim around what the carrier’s own records show. We recovered $2.95 million for a client in a semi-truck rear-end crash caused by a driver following too closely. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Learn more on our Houston truck accident lawyer page, or read what to do if you were hit by an 18-wheeler in Houston.
Call before the evidence is gone
Don’t plan around the two years. Call (713) 664-4000 or fill out the form on this page for a free consultation. We work on a contingency fee: no fee unless we recover, and if we don’t recover, you don’t owe us for case expenses either. The sooner we’re on it, the more of that truck’s record we can save.
A Houston trial lawyer since 2009, representing injured people and their families, and defending the accused in DWI and criminal cases. Jay is an ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist, a certified practitioner and instructor of Standardized Field Sobriety Testing, a certified Drug Recognition Expert, and trained in forensic chromatography. He is a member of the National College for DUI Defense, a founding member of the DUI Defense Lawyers Association, and a commissioner on the Texas Indigent Defense Commission, appointed by Gov. Abbott in 2023.
Last reviewed July 2026 · This article is legal information, not legal advice. Read Jay’s full bio →