San Antonio Personal Injury FAQ

Commercial truck accidents on I-35, US-90, and Loop 1604 involve federal FMCSA regulations, multiple liable parties, mandatory ELD data, black box records, and insurance policies up to $1 million or more. The trucking company deploys defense counsel within hours. Truck accident cases require immediate evidence preservation that car accident cases do not.

Liability can extend to the driver, the motor carrier, the cargo owner, the vehicle manufacturer, the freight broker, and the maintenance contractor — each under separate legal theories and separate insurance policies. I-35 through San Antonio is one of the heaviest commercial freight corridors in the country. Finding every liable party is what separates adequate recoveries from maximum recoveries.

ELD data, black box (ECM) records, dashcam footage, pre-trip inspection reports, driver qualification files, and GPS route data must all be preserved immediately. FMCSA regulations allow carriers to destroy ELD data at six months. Wayne Wright issues spoliation letters the same day to every evidence source — before a single byte can be erased.

Two years under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §16.003 — but ELD data can be legally destroyed at six months and TxDOT or City of San Antonio government entity claims require written notice within six months. The statute of limitations is the last possible date. Evidence preservation deadlines are measured in days.

Federal law requires 18-wheelers carry $750,000–$1M+ in liability coverage — 25x the Texas personal auto minimum. Multiple defendants mean multiple policies can stack. Recoverable damages include medical expenses, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, pain and suffering, physical impairment, and punitive damages for gross negligence such as fatigued driving violations documented in ELD records.

Call 911, photograph the truck’s DOT number and all vehicle markings before anything moves, seek medical care the same day, and call Wayne Wright before speaking to any carrier representative or adjuster. The trucking company’s accident response team is already mobilizing — their defense counsel may be en route to the scene while you are still in the emergency room.

Truck accident settlements are structurally larger than car accident claims because federal minimum insurance is $750K–$5M, injuries are more severe due to mass disparity, and multiple defendants each carry separate policies. Wayne Wright’s $44.1M jury verdict against a national commercial carrier — cited among the Top 20 Texas verdicts — demonstrates what full accountability looks like.

Yes, in many cases. Amazon routes deliveries through DSPs and maintains a separate Commercial Auto Insurance Policy (ACAIP). FedEx Ground’s independent contractor model has been challenged in courts nationwide. Under Texas’s right-to-control test, platforms that dictate routes and monitor drivers in real time frequently cannot sustain the contractor defense. Wayne Wright pursues every insurance layer.

Hours of Service violations in ELD records, driver qualification file failures, pre-trip inspection (DVIR) deficiencies, cargo securement violations under 49 CFR Part 393, and drug and alcohol testing failures. An FMCSA violation is direct evidence of negligence in a Texas court. Wayne Wright subpoenas all FMCSA compliance records and retains expert witnesses to document every violation found.

Screenshot the Uber or Lyft app trip screen before the driver ends the trip — that screenshot proves the $1 million Period 3 commercial policy was active. Call 911, seek medical care the same day, photograph the scene, and call Wayne Wright before speaking to Uber’s James River claims team or Lyft’s Zurich claims unit. Both platforms have 24/7 claims operations that respond immediately.

Three coverage tiers: Period 1 (app on, no trip) — contingent $50K/$100K. Period 2 (trip accepted, en route to passenger) — $1M through James River Insurance (Uber) or Zurich (Lyft). Period 3 (passenger in vehicle) — same $1M continues. The difference between Period 1 and Period 3 is $950,000 in available coverage. Which period was active at the moment of your crash determines everything.

Period 3 cases with serious injuries can reach seven figures given the $1M policy limit. Settlement value depends on which coverage period was active, injury severity, fault allocation, and available insurance layers. San Antonio’s Pearl District, Riverwalk corridor, and San Antonio International Airport rideshare staging area are the highest-density rideshare crash zones in Bexar County.

As a passenger in an active trip you bear zero comparative fault and access the platform’s $1M Period 3 commercial policy regardless of who caused the crash. You can pursue simultaneous claims against the rideshare driver, the platform’s commercial liability coverage, and any at-fault third-party driver. Texas has no cap on personal injury damages in rideshare cases.

In most crash injury cases you make a direct insurance claim against the platform’s $1M commercial policy rather than suing the corporation. Direct corporate lawsuits are the right strategy for assault cases, negligent hiring and retention claims, catastrophic injuries exceeding the $1M policy limit, and platform-level negligence where the commercial auto policy does not apply.

Both Uber and Lyft carry $1 million in Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage during Periods 2 and 3. If the at-fault third-party driver who hit your rideshare vehicle has no insurance or insufficient coverage, the platform’s $1M UM/UIM policy protects both passengers and the rideshare driver. Texas’s 20% uninsured driver rate makes UM/UIM activation common in San Antonio rideshare cases.

Under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §71.004, only surviving spouses, children, and parents of the deceased may file a wrongful death action. Siblings, grandparents, and domestic partners have no standing. Common-law spouses recognized under Tex. Fam. Code §2.401 qualify as surviving spouses. If no eligible beneficiary files within three months of death, the estate executor may file under §71.004(b).

Two years from the date of death under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §16.003. The clock runs from the moment of death — not when the cause was determined or when an attorney was retained. Government entity claims against TxDOT, VIA Metropolitan Transit, or the City of San Antonio require written notice within six months. Surveillance footage of the incident can be gone within 48 hours.

Recoverable damages include: lost financial support and inheritance (present value of lifetime contributions), loss of companionship and society, mental anguish for each beneficiary class, loss of parental guidance and nurturing for surviving children, medical expenses incurred before death, and funeral and burial expenses. Punitive damages are available for gross negligence — drunk drivers with prior DWIs, fatigued truckers with documented ELD violations, or negligent employers who ignored cited OSHA violations.

A wrongful death claim compensates the surviving family for their own losses — grief, lost financial support, and lost companionship. A survival claim under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §71.021 compensates for what the deceased suffered from the moment of injury through death — pain, suffering, medical expenses, and terror of dying if they were conscious. Both claims must be filed simultaneously in every Bexar County wrongful death case.

San Antonio wrongful death settlements range from hundreds of thousands to tens of millions of dollars depending on the deceased’s age and earning capacity, the number of surviving minor children, the degree of negligence, and available insurance. Commercial truck fatalities on I-35 or US-90 start with $750K–$5M in federal minimum carrier coverage. Wayne Wright’s $44.1M truck accident verdict demonstrates what full accountability produces.