San Antonio 18-Wheeler Accident Lawyer

What Is an 18-Wheeler?

A commercial vehicle hauls cargo or people for compensation. But what most people think of when they hear “commercial vehicle” is a semi-truck or an 18-wheeler. An 18-wheeler is a tractor-trailer combination. These can range in size, with the smallest having only 10 wheels. But most have 18 wheels, thus the descriptive name.

The reason for so many wheels is the size and weight of the rig. A semi can have a gross weight of up to 80,000 pounds. That weight is usually spread across 70 feet, five axles, and 18 wheels. Smaller tractor-trailers have fewer axles and fewer wheels because they weigh less.

These vehicles are challenging to operate safely, so operators must have a Commercial Driver’s License. Depending on the truck’s specifics, the operator might also need one or more endorsements on their license.

Compared to traditional family cars, 18-wheelers need up to 50% more distance to stop. Truckers have to be on the lookout for hazards constantly. Failing to notice danger and engage the brakes right away could lead to a severe crash. These trucks also have huge turning radiuses, which increases the risk of wide-turn accidents.

18-Wheeler Accidents in San Antonio and Bexar County

San Antonio sits where several of the busiest freight routes in Texas meet. I-35 carries 18-wheelers hauling cross-border freight north from Laredo. I-10 crosses the city east to west. I-37, I-410, Loop 1604 and US-281 feed local traffic into the same crowded lanes.

The crash numbers show the risk. Bexar County had 2,684 crashes involving commercial motor vehicles in 2024, the third-most of any Texas county after Harris and Dallas counties, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. Those crashes killed 18 people and left 46 with suspected serious injuries.

If you were hurt, our San Antonio truck accident lawyers can step in right away. If you lost a loved one, our San Antonio fatal truck accident lawyers can help your family pursue a wrongful death claim. Not sure what to do first? Read our guide on what to do after a truck accident.

Types of 18-Wheeler Accidents Our San Antonio Attorneys Handle 

Most truck collisions fit into one of the following categories:

Rollover

Rollover accidents may occur when a truck is overloaded or improperly loaded. The shifting weight can cause the truck to tip over, possibly crushing other vehicles. Rollovers can also happen when a driver brakes too quickly or swerves and loses control.

Jackknife

Jackknife collisions have the potential to cause devastating damage. They happen when a driver brakes too quickly and the trailer swings out from the tractor. They form a 90-degree angle, and the driver loses control. These crashes often shut down entire highways.

Head-on

Head-on crashes often lead to fatal injuries for those in the other vehicle. These may occur when the other driver passes on the left and doesn’t get back to their lane in time, or either driver crosses the median.

Rear-end

Rear-end crashes can be minor between passenger vehicles, but they often lead to serious injuries when an 18-wheeler is involved. This may occur when a truck driver is inattentive to the road, another driver cuts them off and brakes too quickly, or the truck’s brakes malfunction.

Underride

An underride accident happens when a driver does not stop in time and ends up wedged under the back of a tractor-trailer. Their vehicle gets dragged along, and those in the vehicle often suffer serious or fatal injuries.

Truck Accident Causes

Some of the most common causes of truck crashes include:

• Distracted driving
• Fatigued driving
• Driving while impaired
• Inexperienced driving
• Inadequate training
• Poor road conditions
• Malfunctioning truck components

Who’s Liable for an 18-Wheeler Accident?

Before pursuing compensation for an 18-wheeler accident in Texas, you must figure out who is liable for your injuries. In a large truck collision, there are several possible liable parties. They are:

• The driver. A driver who drives too fast for conditions, drives recklessly, or drives while impaired may be liable for any damage they cause.
• The employer. Companies are responsible for vetting their drivers and ensuring that they can be trusted with a large truck. They may be held liable if they miss or overlook a red flag. They may also be liable if they push drivers to ignore regulations. They may do this by telling drivers to skip breaks, to drive more than permitted, or asking them to falsify documentation.
• The manufacturer. Trucks with improper parts or malfunctioning components can cause fatal accidents. The manufacturer could be liable if an investigation finds that a defective part caused the crash.

We Will Investigate your 18-Wheeler Crash

If you or a loved one were in a crash with a large semi-truck, you can’t treat the situation like a typical car crash. A lot more is at stake. Semi-trucks, including 18-wheelers, must follow state and federal regulations for trucking. For example, truck drivers need a special license and can only drive a certain number of hours at a time.

Pinpointing legal responsibility for your injuries or loss is critical to your claim. But it’s hard to do on your own. You’re better off hiring an attorney experienced with 18-wheeler accidents to do this legwork for you.

Our experienced Texas 18-wheeler attorneys look for any truck regulation violations in your case. We thoroughly investigate the crash, including hiring experts to calculate and recreate what happened.

Damages You Can Recover in 18-Wheeler Accidents

You want to get the most from your claim. If you’ve been catastrophically injured or lost the breadwinner of your family, you need to replace the future income you’ve lost. An attorney should calculate your damages to maximize compensation in your 18-wheeler accident claim.

Determining the value of your claim could lead you to under or over-estimating your damages. The former means you might accept a low settlement, while the latter means settlement negotiations could fail.

At The Law Giant, we have years of experience in 18-wheeler accidents and serious truck accident injuries. We work closely with you, and sometimes experts, to calculate how much your claim is worth. That allows us to go into negotiations with a clear objective.

How Long Do You Have to File an 18-Wheeler Claim in Texas?

In most cases, you have two years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit in Texas. A wrongful death claim generally must be filed within two years of the date of death. Both deadlines come from Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code §16.003. Miss the deadline and you can lose your right to recover.

The evidence clock runs much faster. Federal rules only require a motor carrier to keep a driver’s hours-of-service records and supporting documents for six months (49 C.F.R. §395.8). Black-box and dash-camera data can be overwritten even sooner. That’s why we send preservation demands to the trucking company as soon as you hire us.

What If You Were Partly at Fault?

You can still recover as long as you were not more than 50% responsible for the crash. Under Texas’s proportionate responsibility rules, your compensation is reduced by your share of fault (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §33.001 and §33.012). Trucking insurers often try to shift blame onto the other driver to cut what they pay. We push back with the evidence.

Hire the Legal Representation You Deserve

Right now, you’re either recovering from serious injuries or mourning the loss of a loved one. Or, you could be doing both. When you hire a truck accident law firm, you need someone you can trust. Someone that will treat you like a whole person who needs support and guidance during this process.

At The Law Giant, we don’t take on every case. We limit our caseload so we can give each of our clients our full attention. You will receive personalized, one-on-one attention; we’ll return your calls quickly and answer every question. You can trust us to fight for you.

Our 18-Wheeler Accident Lawyers Get Results

Figuring out what happened and the value of your damage is preparation. The next step is recovering compensation through an insurance settlement or court verdict, which requires a knowledgeable, skilled, and aggressive litigator.

Our 18-wheeler accident attorneys in Texas know what it takes to win. We know our way through the Texas court system and how to take full advantage of the discovery. We know how to build a strong case that’s hard for an insurer or court to deny. That’s how we’ve won million and multimillion-dollar results after 18-wheeler crashes.

Don’t hesitate to ask us how we’ve handled similar cases and the results we’ve achieved during your free consultation.

A San Antonio 18-wheeler accident claim is generally handled through the Bexar County civil district courts in downtown San Antonio, and our local team knows the courts and the insurers. We’ve recovered over $850 Million for injury victims. Call (956) 982-1800 for a free consultation; you pay nothing unless we win.