Truck Accident Settlement Amounts in Texas

A truck wreck in Texas is a different kind of claim than a two-car fender-bender, and the settlement math shows it. The money usually comes from commercial insurance policies that dwarf what a normal driver carries, and the questions of who pays, how much, and by when are answered by Texas statute. Here is what actually moves the number in Texas.

Why Texas truck settlements start from a bigger pool of money

An ordinary Texas driver only has to carry 30/60/25 liability coverage: $30,000 for each injured person, $60,000 per crash, and $25,000 for property damage, under Tex. Transp. Code Section 601.072.¹ A commercial truck answers to a much higher floor. A for-hire carrier hauling nonhazardous freight across state lines has to keep at least $750,000 in liability coverage under federal rule 49 CFR Section 387.9. That minimum climbs to $1,000,000 for oil and many hazardous materials, and to $5,000,000 for the most dangerous cargo such as explosives and radioactive material.² Interstate carriers also file an MCS-90 endorsement, which guarantees payment to an injured member of the public up to those limits even when a coverage dispute exists.²

Trucks that run only inside Texas register with the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles under Tex. Transp. Code Chapter 643,³ and heavier general-freight carriers have to hold at least $500,000 in combined single-limit coverage under state rule, 43 Tex. Admin. Code Section 218.16.⁴

That larger policy is the main reason truck settlements run higher than car settlements. It does not decide your damages. It sets the realistic ceiling on what you can actually collect, which is why identifying every responsible party matters.

More than one defendant can be on the hook

A Texas truck claim is rarely just against the driver. The motor carrier that employed the driver, the company that owned or leased the trailer, and sometimes a freight broker or the crew that loaded the cargo can each carry their own coverage. Texas sorts out blame among multiple parties through proportionate responsibility, so a jury can assign a percentage of fault to each one under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Chapter 33.⁵ More solvent defendants with real policies usually means a larger pool to settle from.

What Texas lets you recover, and what it caps

Texas does not cap compensatory damages in a truck crash. Medical bills, lost income, future care, physical pain, and disfigurement are all recoverable with no statutory ceiling. The damage caps people have heard about live in Chapter 74 and apply to medical-malpractice cases, not vehicle collisions.

Exemplary damages, the punitive kind, are the exception. Under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Section 41.008, they are limited to the greater of $200,000, or two times economic damages plus noneconomic damages up to $750,000.⁶ That cap can fall away in a serious truck case. Section 41.008(c) removes the limit when the conduct amounts to certain felonies, and a trucker who kills someone while driving drunk commits intoxication manslaughter, a felony under Tex. Penal Code Section 49.08.⁷ When alcohol is involved, Texas also allows a claim against the bar or store that served an obviously intoxicated driver, under the Dram Shop Act, Tex. Alco. Bev. Code Section 2.02.⁸

Your share of fault comes straight off the top

Texas follows modified comparative negligence with a 51% bar. Under the proportionate-responsibility statute, Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Section 33.001, you recover only if your own share of fault is 50% or less.⁵ Cross that line to 51% and you take nothing. Below it, your recovery is cut by your percentage of blame. A $500,000 case with 20% fault assigned to you pays $400,000. Trucking insurers fight hard over this figure, which is why the crash report and the truck's own data carry so much weight.

HB 19 changed how truck cases are tried in Texas

In 2021 the Legislature passed House Bill 19 and added Sections 72.051 through 72.055 to the Civil Practice and Remedies Code. For cases that reach a courtroom, it rebuilt the trial. On a defendant's motion, the court has to split a commercial-vehicle case into two phases under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Section 72.052.⁹ In the first phase the jury decides the driver's liability and your compensatory damages. Evidence about the company's hiring, training, or safety history is generally kept out of that phase unless it is tied directly to what caused the crash. Only if the driver is found liable does the second phase open the door to the company's own negligence and to punitive damages.⁹

A companion section, 72.054, lets a carrier that admits its driver was on the job cut off some separate claims against the company, such as negligent hiring, in many cases.⁹ The practical effect is that a Texas truck case holds its value on hard evidence: the driver's hours-of-service logs, the electronic control module download, and the maintenance file. Preserving that proof early is what keeps a claim strong under HB 19.

The two-year deadline is unforgiving

You have two years from the date of the crash to file suit in Texas, under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Section 16.003(a), and the same clock covers your vehicle-damage claim.¹⁰ Miss it and the case is almost always over, however serious the injuries. Two years sounds like plenty right after a crash, then it disappears into months of treatment and insurance calls.

Texas truck crashes by the numbers

This is common ground in Texas. TxDOT recorded 39,393 crashes involving a commercial motor vehicle in 2024, and those crashes killed 608 people.¹¹ Traffic of every kind is heavy in the state's cities: in Austin alone, thatcarhitme.com counted 11,937 crashes across 2025¹² and 902 in May 2026.¹³

Any claim starts with the official record. Texas crash reports come from TxDOT's Crash Records Information System,¹⁴ and our Texas crash reports page walks through getting one. If your truck or car was totaled or lost resale value, that is a separate recovery covered on our Texas diminished value page.

Advertised "average" settlement figures are marketing, not law. What a Texas truck case is worth comes down to your real damages, the coverage stacked behind the truck, your share of fault under the 51% rule, and how well the evidence was preserved. Before you accept any offer, it helps to have a Texas attorney who handles commercial-vehicle cases look at it. You can start with our legal directory.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Sources

Texas Transportation Code Section 601.072, Minimum coverage amounts. https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/TN/htm/TN.601.htm
49 CFR Section 387.9, Financial responsibility, minimum levels (U.S. Electronic Code of Federal Regulations). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/section-387.9
Texas Transportation Code Chapter 643, Motor Carrier Registration. https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/TN/htm/TN.643.htm
43 Texas Administrative Code Section 218.16, Insurance Requirements (Texas Secretary of State). https://texreg.sos.state.tx.us/public/readtac$ext.TacPage?sl=R&app=9&p_dir=&p_rloc=&p_tloc=&p_ploc=&pg=1&p_tac=&ti=43&pt=10&ch=218&rl=16
Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 33 (Proportionate Responsibility), including Section 33.001. https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CP/htm/CP.33.htm
Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 41.008, Limitation on Amount of Recovery. https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CP/htm/CP.41.htm
Texas Penal Code Section 49.08, Intoxication Manslaughter. https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PE/htm/PE.49.htm
Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code Section 2.02, Causes of Action (Dram Shop Act). https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/AL/htm/AL.2.htm
Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Sections 72.052 and 72.054 (House Bill 19, 87th Legislature, 2021), bifurcated trials in commercial motor vehicle actions. https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CP/htm/CP.72.htm
Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.003(a), two-year limitations period. https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CP/htm/CP.16.htm
Texas Department of Transportation, Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) Involved Crashes and Injuries by County, 2024 (statewide total). https://www.txdot.gov/content/dam/docs/division/trf/crash-records/2024/30.pdf
thatcarhitme.com, Austin, TX Crash Report, 2025. https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/texas/austin/2025-annual-report
thatcarhitme.com, Austin, TX Crash Report, May 2026. https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/texas/austin/may-2026-report
Texas Department of Transportation, Crash Records Information System (CRIS). https://cris.dot.state.tx.us/public/Purchase/