Carabin Shaw is one of the leading personal injury law firms in Houston, Texas. They have extensive experience in truck / 18 wheeler accident cases, focusing on securing compensation for clients’ medical bills, property damage, and pain and suffering.
Specialization: Personal injury, truck accidents, wrongful death, 18-wheeler accidents.
Why choose them? Carabin Shaw offers a free initial consultation, and its team is known for aggressively advocating for its clients’ rights.
18 Wheeler Accident Attorneys in Houston on Filing Deadlines That Can Kill Your Case
18 wheeler accident attorneys in Houston watch promising cases die because victims waited too long to act. Texas law imposes strict time limits on personal injury claims, and missing these deadlines means losing your right to compensation forever. Houston truck accident lawyers urge accident victims to understand these limitations before it is too late. Truck accident attorneys in Houston know that time works against you from the moment a crash occurs. Houston truck accident lawyers cannot help victims who come to them after deadlines have passed.
Beyond legal filing deadlines, practical time limits affect truck accident cases in ways many victims do not realize. Evidence disappears, memories fade, and witnesses become impossible to locate. 18 wheeler accident attorneys in Houston fight against these forces every day. Truck accident lawyers in Houston understand that the strongest case is one built on evidence preserved immediately after the accident.
Harris County recorded over 6,300 commercial vehicle crashes in 2024. Many of those victims may not realize that their window for legal action is already narrowing. Houston 18-wheeler accident attorneys see too many cases where families wait during recovery, only to discover they missed critical deadlines. Understanding the time limits that apply to your claim could determine whether you receive compensation or get nothing at all.
The Texas Statute of Limitations
Texas law gives personal injury victims two years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit. This deadline, called the statute of limitations, applies to most truck accident claims. If you do not file your case in court before this deadline expires, you lose your right to sue. The defendant can have your case dismissed regardless of how strong your evidence might be.
The two-year period sounds like plenty of time, but it passes quickly when you are dealing with serious injuries. Hospital stays, surgeries, rehabilitation, and ongoing medical treatment consume attention and energy. The legal deadline keeps running while you focus on recovery. Many victims do not think about lawsuits until months after their accident, cutting into the time available to build their case.
Certain circumstances can extend or shorten this deadline. If the victim was a minor at the time of the accident, the clock may not start running until they reach adulthood. Claims against government entities have different notice requirements and shorter filing periods. Understanding which rules apply to your specific situation requires professional legal analysis.
Evidence Preservation Deadlines
Long before the legal filing deadline arrives, critical evidence begins disappearing. Federal regulations require trucking companies to retain driver logs and ELD records for only six months. After that period, they can legally destroy this documentation. If you wait eight months to hire an attorney, the records proving the driver exceeded legal hours may already be gone.
Black box data faces even shorter timelines. The electronic control module in a commercial truck stores information about speed, braking, and engine performance. However, this data exists in volatile memory that gets overwritten when the truck returns to service. New trips replace old data within days or weeks. Without immediate legal action to preserve this evidence, it vanishes permanently.
Physical evidence at crash scenes gets cleaned up quickly. Skid marks fade, debris gets removed, and road conditions change. Vehicles are repaired or scrapped. Photographs and measurements taken days after an accident may show a completely different scene than what existed at the moment of impact. Immediate investigation captures evidence that later efforts cannot recover.
Insurance Claim Deadlines
Insurance policies have separate notification requirements from legal filing deadlines. Many policies require prompt notice of accidents and claims. Waiting too long to notify an insurer can provide grounds for denying coverage. Understanding these policy deadlines requires reviewing the specific insurance contracts involved.
Trucking companies carry substantial liability insurance, but accessing those policies requires proper claim procedures. Commercial insurers employ experienced adjusters who look for any basis to deny or minimize claims. Technical violations of notice requirements give them ammunition to fight legitimate claims.
Your own insurance coverage may also have time-sensitive requirements. Underinsured motorist claims, medical payments coverage, and other benefits all have application deadlines. Missing these deadlines can cost you access to coverage you have been paying for.
Government Entity Claims
When truck accidents involve government vehicles or occur due to dangerous road conditions, different rules apply. The Texas Tort Claims Act requires notice to governmental units within six months of an accident. This is much shorter than the standard two-year statute of limitations. Missing the notice deadline typically bars the entire claim.
Government entity claims arise more often than victims realize. A city garbage truck, county maintenance vehicle, or state transportation department truck could be involved. Dangerous road conditions that contributed to the accident may have been the government’s responsibility to fix. Identifying government involvement early is essential to preserving these claims.
The notice requirements for government claims are technical and specific. The notice must identify the nature of the claim, the damages sought, and be directed to the proper official. Errors in the notice process can doom an otherwise valid claim. Legal guidance is especially important when government entities may be involved.
Why Waiting Hurts Your Case
Beyond missed deadlines, delay weakens truck accident cases in practical ways. Witnesses move, change phone numbers, and forget details. The driver who saw everything clearly two weeks after the crash may struggle to remember anything two years later. Memory naturally fades over time, making testimony less detailed and less convincing.
Trucking companies use delay to their advantage. They know that time works against accident victims. While you wait, they are building their defense, interviewing witnesses, and securing expert opinions. Every day that passes gives them more opportunity to prepare while your evidence grows stale.
Insurance companies also benefit from delay. They hope victims will settle quickly for inadequate amounts or simply give up. The longer you wait without representation, the more pressure you face to accept whatever they offer. Early legal involvement changes this dynamic by showing the insurer you are prepared to fight.
Protecting Your Claim
The single most important step you can take after an 18 wheeler accident is contacting an experienced attorney quickly. Legal counsel can identify all applicable deadlines, send preservation letters to protect evidence, and begin building your case immediately. The sooner representation begins, the stronger your position becomes.
Do not assume you have plenty of time to make decisions. Evidence is disappearing right now. Deadlines are approaching faster than you realize. The trucking company is already working to protect itself. Waiting to see how your injuries develop or hoping things will resolve on their own only weakens your ability to recover fair compensation.
Your focus after a serious accident should be on recovery and healing. Let an experienced attorney handle the deadlines, evidence preservation, and legal requirements. That partnership protects your rights while you concentrate on getting better. Time is not on your side after a truck accident. Acting now preserves options that waiting eliminates forever.