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Truck Driver or Trucking Company: Who Is Liable After an 18-Wheeler Accident in Texas?

April 30, 2025

Written and legally reviewedWritten by Sam A. Maida, Jr., Owner and Managing Attorney · Reviewed by Bernard G. Johnson III, Litigation Managing Attorney

Published April 30, 2025 · Last updated October 5, 2026

Part of Houston Truck & 18-Wheeler Claims · see also Houston Truck Accident Lawyer · Key Evidence for an 18-Wheeler Accident Claim · 5 Lawyer Insights For The Aftermath of a Truck Accident · Interstate 18-Wheeler Accident: What to Ask Before You Hire an Attorney

Both can be. A truck driver is answerable for his or her own negligence, and under Texas law an employer’s liability for that negligence rests on respondeat superior when the driver was its employee acting within the scope of employment (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 72.054(a)). A trucking company can also be liable for its own conduct, such as putting an unqualified driver on the road.

Which of them is responsible, and for how much, decides where the money to pay a claim comes from. This article explains how Texas and federal rules treat the driver, the company and the owner-operator arrangement that sits between them. The firm’s main page on these cases is the Houston truck accident page.

The short version

The driver is liable for his or her own negligence; the company answers for an employee acting within the scope of employment (§ 72.054(a)).
Federal rules count an independent contractor as an “employee” while operating a commercial motor vehicle (49 C.F.R. § 390.5).
A leased truck is under the motor carrier’s “exclusive possession, control, and use” for the duration of the lease (49 C.F.R. § 376.12(c)(1)).
A Texas truck trial can be split in two at the defendant’s request: compensatory damages first, exemplary damages second (§ 72.052).
Minimum insurance for an interstate for-hire truck over 10,000 pounds carrying non-hazardous freight: $750,000 (49 C.F.R. § 387.9).

Two people in suits reading from open books at a desk with a laptop — Liability in a truck case is worked out from statutes, federal regulations and the company’s own records.

Who is liable after an 18-wheeler accident, the driver or the company?

Usually both are named. The driver is liable for careless driving. The company that employs the driver is liable for that carelessness when the driver was acting within the scope of employment, and separately for its own failures, such as negligent entrustment of the truck. A jury then assigns each a percentage.

Texas has a chapter written for these cases. Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 72, Subchapter B applies to suits for bodily injury or death caused in a collision with a commercial motor vehicle, against the person who operated it or who “owned, leased, or otherwise held or exercised legal control over” the vehicle or its operator. It names both kinds of claim against an employer: respondeat superior, and claims “such as negligent entrustment” that depend on the employee having been negligent.

Fault is then divided. The judge or jury sets a percentage of responsibility for each claimant and each defendant (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.003(a)), and a defendant found more than 50 percent responsible is jointly and severally liable for the whole of the recoverable damages (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.013(b)). Our article on everyone who can share liability for a truck accident covers the loaders, repairers and manufacturers who may be added.

Does it matter if the driver is an independent contractor?

Less than trucking companies often suggest. The federal safety regulations define “employee” to include an independent contractor while operating a commercial motor vehicle, and a carrier that leases a truck must take exclusive possession, control and use of it and assume complete responsibility for its operation during the lease.

The definition is in 49 C.F.R. § 390.5: an employee “includes a driver of a commercial motor vehicle (including an independent contractor while in the course of operating a commercial motor vehicle).” The lease rule is 49 C.F.R. § 376.12(c)(1). The same regulation adds, in paragraph (c)(4), that the lease language is not intended to affect whether the driver is an independent contractor or an employee of the carrier.

How those federal definitions bear on a Texas negligence claim against a particular carrier depends on the lease, the carrier’s operating authority and the facts of the trip. It is one of the first questions an attorney works through, because it decides whose insurance stands behind the claim.

How does a Texas trial against a trucking company work?

It can be held in two phases. If a defendant asks in time, the court must split the trial: the first phase decides liability for and the amount of compensatory damages, and the second decides liability for and the amount of exemplary damages. What evidence comes in during the first phase is limited by statute.

The two-phase trial in a Texas commercial vehicle case
Step	What the statute provides	Section
Request	A defendant moves to bifurcate by the later of 120 days after filing its original answer or 30 days after a pleading adds a claim against it; the court then must order a two-phase trial	§ 72.052(a)-(b)
Phase one	Liability for and the amount of compensatory damages	§ 72.052(c)
Phase two	Liability for and the amount of exemplary damages	§ 72.052(d)
Employer’s stipulation	If the employer stipulates in time that the driver was its employee acting within the scope of employment, its liability for the driver’s ordinary negligence is based only on respondeat superior	§ 72.054(a)
Regulation evidence in phase one	Evidence that a defendant failed to comply with a regulation or standard is admissible only if it tends to prove that the failure was a proximate cause of the injury and the regulation is specific to the defendant’s duty	§ 72.053(b)

Source: Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, Chapter 72. Read October 5, 2026.

What records does the company have, and how long does it keep them?

Federal rules require a motor carrier to keep each driver’s hours-of-service records and supporting documents for at least six months, and inspection and maintenance records for one year while it has the truck and six months after the truck leaves its control. After those periods the records may lawfully be gone.

The retention periods are in 49 C.F.R. § 395.8(k)(1) and 49 C.F.R. § 396.3(c). The hours rules those records document are strict: a property-carrying driver may drive a total of 11 hours, may not drive after the 14th consecutive hour after coming on duty, and must first have had 10 consecutive hours off duty (49 C.F.R. § 395.3(a)).

This is why a written demand to preserve evidence usually goes to the company within days. The logs, the truck’s electronic data, the driver’s file and the inspection reports show whether the company, not just the driver, cut corners. Our overview of how 18-wheeler cases differ describes that evidence.

How much insurance does a trucking company have to carry?

For a for-hire truck over 10,000 pounds in interstate commerce carrying non-hazardous property, the federal minimum is $750,000. It is $1,000,000 for oil and many hazardous materials and $5,000,000 for the most dangerous cargoes. By comparison, the minimum for an ordinary Texas driver is $30,000 for each injured person.

The schedule is in 49 C.F.R. § 387.9; the car figure is from the Texas Department of Insurance auto insurance guide. Those are floors, and many carriers have more. Whether a claim reaches the company’s policy, rather than stopping at an individual driver, is the practical reason the driver-versus-company question matters. See how the figures work out on our truck accident settlement page.

Questions people ask about driver and company liability

Can I bring a claim against both the truck driver and the trucking company?

Yes. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 72 covers suits against a defendant who operated a commercial motor vehicle and against one who owned, leased or otherwise held or exercised legal control over the vehicle or its operator. The judge or jury assigns each a percentage of responsibility under § 33.003.

How many hours can a truck driver legally drive?

A driver of a property-carrying commercial motor vehicle may drive a total of 11 hours, and not after the 14th consecutive hour after coming on duty, following 10 consecutive hours off duty. Driving is not permitted if more than 8 hours of driving time have passed without an interruption of at least 30 consecutive minutes (49 C.F.R. § 395.3(a)).

Is the company responsible for making its drivers follow the safety rules?

Yes. Whenever the federal motor carrier safety regulations prescribe a duty for a driver or impose a prohibition on a driver, it is the duty of the motor carrier to require observance of that duty or prohibition (49 C.F.R. § 390.11).

Is a truck driver tested for alcohol after a crash?

The employer must test each surviving driver for alcohol as soon as practicable when the accident involved the loss of human life, or when the driver receives a citation within 8 hours for a moving violation arising from an accident in which someone immediately received medical treatment away from the scene or a vehicle had to be towed because of disabling damage (49 C.F.R. § 382.303(a)).

How long do I have to sue after an 18-wheeler accident in Texas?

A suit for personal injury must be brought not later than two years after the day the cause of action accrues, and a suit for an injury resulting in death not later than two years after the death (Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003).

Maida Law Firm handles truck accident claims from its office at 8313 Southwest Freeway #102, Houston, TX 77074. Call (713) 785-9484 or send the details of the crash through the contact page.