If a commercial truck crash put you or someone you love in the hospital, you are not only up against a careless driver. You are up against the company behind the truck, its insurer, and the defense lawyers they keep on call.
The San Antonio truck accident lawyers at Cowen | Rodriguez | Peacock represent people with catastrophic injuries and families who lost a loved one in crashes with 18-wheelers and commercial vehicles. Known as The Trucking Trial Lawyers, our firm was built around these cases. We serve clients in San Antonio, across Bexar County, and throughout Texas.
The defense side moves quickly, and the evidence that proves these cases does not wait. Acting early protects your claim.
Call (210) 941-1301 for a free consultation. You pay nothing unless we recover money for you.
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Why San Antonio Truck Accident Clients Choose Cowen | Rodriguez | Peacock
Choosing a lawyer for a truck case comes down to focus, credentials, and trial readiness. Cowen | Rodriguez | Peacock built its practice around commercial trucking and catastrophic injury, and the firm prepares every case as if it ends in front of a jury. That preparation is what carriers and their insurers answer to.
Built Around Commercial Trucking Cases
The firm is known across Texas as The Trucking Trial Lawyers, and commercial truck litigation sits at the center of its work. That focus brings a working command of federal trucking regulations, electronic data systems, and the layered corporate structures behind most carriers. A general practice rarely brings that depth to a truck accident case.
Board-Certified Trial Lawyers
Credentials matter at the top end of a case. Michael Cowen is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Malorie Peacock is Board Certified in Truck Accident Law by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, a certification dedicated specifically to commercial truck cases.
Direct Access to Your Attorney
At Cowen | Rodriguez | Peacock, you speak with an attorney, not a screening script or a rotating case manager. The firm keeps communication open and answers questions directly, because a serious injury case is hard enough without chasing updates.
No Cost Unless We Recover
The firm handles truck accident cases on a contingency fee, so a client pays no upfront cost and no hourly billing. The firm advances the case expenses, and a fee applies only if it recovers money for you. The first consultation is free.
Why Truck Accident Cases in San Antonio Need a Lawyer Early
A commercial truck case is not a bigger version of a car accident claim. Federal safety rules, several companies, and time-sensitive electronic data all shape the outcome. A San Antonio truck accident lawyer steps in early to lock down that evidence and identify every responsible party before records disappear.
How a San Antonio Truck Accident Case Differs From a Car Crash
A truck crash claim runs on federal rules that car wrecks rarely touch. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is the federal agency that regulates commercial trucking, from driver hours to brake maintenance. Its rules apply to most interstate carriers moving freight through San Antonio. When a carrier breaks one of those rules, that violation often becomes direct proof of negligence.
Commercial trucks also carry far larger insurance policies than passenger cars, and more than one company may share the blame. Those two facts change how a case is built and what it may be worth.
Why Truck Accident Evidence Disappears Quickly
Much of the proof in a truck case sits in the carrier's hands. Electronic logging devices, called ELDs, record a truck's speed, braking, and hours of operation, but that data may be overwritten in weeks. Dashcam video, dispatch records, and the truck itself face the same risk.
Our truck accident attorneys in San Antonio send a spoliation letter as soon as we take a case. A spoliation letter is a formal legal notice that orders a company to preserve evidence and stop its destruction. That single step often decides whether key proof survives.
Who Is Liable for a San Antonio 18-Wheeler Accident
Liability in a San Antonio 18-wheeler accident often reaches well beyond the driver. The trucking company, a maintenance contractor, a cargo loader, or a parts maker may share responsibility, depending on what caused the crash. Naming every liable party opens access to more than one insurance policy.
The Driver and the Trucking Company
The driver is rarely the only party at fault. Under Texas law, a trucking company is responsible for the actions of its drivers on the job. A company may also be directly at fault for its own choices, such as hiring an unqualified driver, pushing unrealistic delivery schedules, or skipping required maintenance.
Other Companies That Share Liability
A truck crash often pulls in companies most people never think about. Investigating each one matters, because each may carry its own insurance.
Several parties beyond the driver may share liability in a Texas truck crash, and identifying them early shapes the entire case.
- The motor carrier that employed the driver or held the operating authority
- A separate company that loaded or secured the cargo
- A maintenance or repair contractor responsible for the truck's condition
- A parts or tire manufacturer, if a defect played a role
- A freight broker or shipper that arranged the haul
Each added defendant opens another insurance policy. That often means the difference between a claim capped at the minimum and one that reflects the true cost of the injury.
What a San Antonio Truck Accident Claim May Recover
A Texas truck accident claim may recover money for medical care, lost income, and the lasting toll of a serious injury. When a carrier's conduct is grossly negligent, Texas law also allows exemplary damages. The value of a claim rests on the severity of the injuries and the strength of the evidence.
Economic and Noneconomic Damages
Texas law sorts most damages into two groups. Economic damages cover measurable losses, such as medical bills, future care, and lost earnings. Noneconomic damages cover human losses that carry no receipt, such as physical pain, disability, and loss of enjoyment of life.
A truck accident claim in San Antonio may include several forms of compensation, and the categories below reflect the losses these cases commonly involve.
- Past and future medical treatment and rehabilitation
- Lost wages and reduced earning capacity
- Physical pain and mental anguish
- Disfigurement and permanent disability
- Loss of companionship in a wrongful death case
How these losses add up depends on the facts. A careful damages model is what turns a serious injury into a fully documented claim.
Exemplary Damages in Gross Negligence Cases
Texas allows exemplary damages, sometimes called punitive damages, when a defendant acts with gross negligence. These damages address conduct that shows extreme disregard for safety, such as a carrier that knowingly puts an unsafe truck or an impaired driver on the road. They apply on top of compensation for the injury itself.
Why Minimum Truck Insurance Often Falls Short
Federal law sets a floor for trucking insurance, not a ceiling on what a victim needs. For general freight, the minimum liability coverage is $750,000 under federal regulation. A single catastrophic injury may pass that figure quickly, which is why identifying every policy and every liable company matters so much.
| Type of damages | What it covers | Common examples in a truck case |
|---|---|---|
| Economic | Measurable financial losses | Medical bills, future care, lost wages, reduced earning capacity |
| Noneconomic | Human losses that carry no receipt | Physical pain, mental anguish, disfigurement, permanent disability, loss of enjoyment of life |
| Exemplary | Added damages for gross negligence | Awarded on top of other damages when a carrier shows extreme disregard for safety |
You focus on healing. Let our San Antonio truck accident lawyers handle the carrier, the insurer, and the investigation. Call (210) 941-1301 for a free consultation, available 24/7 and in English or Spanish.
Truck Accidents on San Antonio's Freight Corridors
San Antonio sits at the heart of one of the nation's busiest freight routes, where Interstate 35 carries cross-border truck traffic north from Laredo. That volume places heavy commercial trucks beside local drivers across Bexar County every day. Crashes on these routes often involve carriers based far outside Texas.
The I-35 Corridor and Cross-Border Freight
Many of the trucks moving through San Antonio belong to national or international carriers, which means the company responsible for your crash may sit in another state or country. That distance makes early evidence work and the right legal team even more important.
High-Traffic Routes and Bexar County Courts
Beyond I-35, commercial trucks crowd I-10, I-37, Loop 410, and Loop 1604, along with the downtown interchanges where these highways meet. Energy-sector trucks from the Eagle Ford Shale run toward the city on US 281 and I-37.
When a truck crash here leads to a lawsuit, the case is often filed in the Bexar County civil courts in downtown San Antonio. Knowing the local courts, and how local juries respond, is part of how we prepare every case for trial.
How Long You Have to File a Texas Truck Accident Claim
In Texas, most truck accident injury claims must be filed within two years of the crash under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.003. Missing that deadline usually ends the right to recover. The practical deadline for evidence runs far shorter.
The Two-Year Texas Truck Accident Filing Deadline
Texas gives most injury victims two years from the date of the crash to file a lawsuit. A few situations change that timeline, such as a claim involving a government vehicle or an injured child. Because the exceptions are narrow and the stakes are high, confirming your deadline early with a truck accident lawyer in San Antonio protects your options.
How Shared Fault Affects Your Claim
Texas follows a rule called modified comparative fault. Under this rule, an injured person may recover damages as long as they are 50 percent or less at fault for the crash. A person found 51 percent or more at fault recovers nothing. Insurers often try to shift blame for this exact reason, which is why building strong evidence early matters.
San Antonio Truck Accident Questions Answered by Our Trial Lawyers
What if the trucking company is based outside Texas?
A truck accident claim usually proceeds in the state where the crash happened, so a San Antonio collision generally belongs in Texas courts even when the carrier sits elsewhere. Out-of-state and international carriers operate under the same federal safety rules. Our firm pursues these companies wherever they are based.
What if my family member died in a San Antonio truck accident?
Texas law allows close family members to bring a wrongful death claim after a fatal truck crash. A surviving spouse, children, or parents may seek compensation for lost financial support, lost companionship, and their grief. A separate survival claim may also cover the losses the person suffered before death.
What if the insurance company already offered me a settlement?
An early offer often arrives before anyone knows the full cost of a serious injury, and accepting it usually closes the claim for good. Reviewing any offer with a San Antonio 18-wheeler accident lawyer before signing protects you from settling for less than the injury truly costs.
Do most truck accident cases settle or go to trial?
Most truck accident claims settle before trial. Still, carriers and their insurers treat a trial-ready firm differently than one that avoids the courtroom. Cowen | Rodriguez | Peacock prepares every case for trial from the start, and that posture often influences the value of a settlement.
Put the Trucking Trial Lawyers on Your Side
A serious truck crash reshapes daily life in ways that paperwork and phone calls never capture. You handle enough already. Let a team that built its name on commercial trucking cases carry the legal weight from here.
Cowen | Rodriguez | Peacock, The Trucking Trial Lawyers, fight for fair compensation for injured people and grieving families across San Antonio and Texas. Michael Cowen is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Malorie Peacock is Board Certified in Truck Accident Law by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. When you call, you speak with an attorney, not a screening script.
Call (210) 941-1301 or reach us through our contact page for a free consultation. We answer the phone 24/7, take calls in English and Spanish, and charge no fee unless we recover money for you.
Schedule A Free Case Consultation
Cowen Law - Texas Office
Address: 6243 I-10 #801, San Antonio, TX 78201
Contact No: (210) 941-1306