Hays County, TX · Free Consultation
San Marcos Truck Accident Lawyer
What Our Clients Say
Written and reviewed by Shane M. Boasberg, founder of SMB Law, PC · Licensed in Texas since 2003 · Updated September 2026
Most of the trucks that hurt people in San Marcos are in the middle of a long day, not the start of one. That is the case, right there: a San Marcos truck accident lawyer is looking for the schedule that put a tired driver on I-35 and the records that prove it. Shane M. Boasberg has been licensed in Texas since 2003 and works those records himself.
The volume of through-freight on I-35 here means a San Marcos truck crash often involves a long-haul driver far from home — and a carrier and insurer based out of state.
Where a San Marcos truck accident claim is filed
San Marcos is the Hays County seat, so a lawsuit stays in town at the Hays County Government Center on South Stagecoach Trail. Any hearing you have to attend is a short drive rather than a day lost to the interstate.
Carriers usually settle once the evidence is clear. Venue still shapes the number, because defense counsel is pricing what a Hays County jury would do with an hours-of-service violation put in front of them.
Fatigue is a rule violation, not an excuse
Federal law puts hard limits on how long a commercial driver may operate. Under 49 C.F.R. § 395.3, a driver may drive up to eleven hours after ten consecutive hours off duty, inside a fourteen-hour on-duty window, with a sixty or seventy hour cap across the week. Texas adopts those same standards for intrastate carriers through Tex. Transp. Code § 644.051.
The electronic logging device records the hours, and § 395.8 governs the records of duty status that are supposed to prove compliance. When those logs show a driver past the limit, that is direct evidence of negligence, and the negligence is often the carrier’s as much as the driver’s. A dispatcher who builds a schedule that cannot be run legally has made a decision, and that decision is discoverable.
The catch is retention. Duty records must be kept only six months under § 395.8, and driver vehicle inspection reports only three months under § 396.11. Engine module data is routinely overwritten once the tractor goes back into service. So a spoliation letter goes out early, naming the specific records the carrier must preserve.
Who is actually on the hook
A truck case is rarely just a case against the driver. Liability can reach the motor carrier, the trailer owner, the freight broker that arranged the load, the shipper if the cargo shifted, and the maintenance contractor. Coverage is the reason it matters: a minimum-limits Texas auto policy is $30,000, while a federally regulated interstate carrier hauling general freight must carry $750,000, and most carry considerably more.
The deadline and the fault rule
You have two years from the crash to file suit. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003. Texas applies proportionate responsibility: § 33.001 bars recovery entirely above 50% fault, and § 33.012 reduces the award by your share below it. Expect the defense to work that number hard.
Confirm your own deadline with our Texas injury statute of limitations calculator.
Get a range before the carrier’s insurer gives you one
Our settlement calculator works through medical bills, lost wages, and injury severity and returns a working estimate in about two minutes.
Try the Settlement CalculatorWorking with us from San Marcos
Our office is about 30 miles north in downtown Austin, a 35-to-45-minute drive up I-35, so we handle San Marcos consultations and updates by phone and video.
At SMB Law, PC you work with Shane M. Boasberg directly. He has been licensed in Texas since 2003 and has spent those years opposite insurers and the defense firms carriers keep on retainer. You get his read on the case in plain English, not a version relayed through staff.
Why clients choose SMB Law, PC
- Direct attorney access — you talk to Shane, not a call center or a rotating case manager.
- No fee unless we recover — truck cases run on a contingency fee, so nothing comes out of pocket to start.
- Straight answers — if the fight will cost more than it returns, we say so in the first meeting.
- Fees in writing — explained before you sign anything.
What working with us looks like
- Confidential consultation to understand your goals and the law that applies.
- Strategy and records tailored to your situation.
- Negotiation or court — we settle when we can and litigate when we must.
- Resolution implemented correctly so you can move on.
Freight between two metros
Every truckload moving between Austin and San Antonio passes San Marcos, and the outlet-center distribution traffic adds a steady local commercial load on top of the through-freight. The practical consequence is that a San Marcos truck crash often involves a driver hundreds of miles from home, working for a carrier and insured by a company with no Texas presence at all.
What to do in the first week
- Get examined the same day. CHRISTUS Santa Rosa San Marcos handles same-day exams. Go even if you feel functional; a gap between the crash and your first visit is the first thing a defense team points at.
- Get the crash report. A Texas peace officer must file a CR-3 report on any crash involving injury, death, or roughly $1,000 in damage. Tex. Transp. Code § 550.026. San Marcos PD works city streets; the Department of Public Safety works I-35.
- Photograph the truck, not just your car. The tractor and trailer numbers and the DOT number on the door are how we identify the carrier and its insurer before the rig is back in service and three states away.
- Say little to the carrier’s adjuster. They often call within a day. Your own insurer is different: your policy requires prompt notice to them.
If your San Marcos case involves more than one vehicle or victim, we also handle car crash injuries, motorcycle accident injuries, and losing a loved one in a crash — see how we handle truck accident cases for how we work.
Frequently asked questions
Should I accept the trucking insurer’s first offer?
Almost never, and not before the full damages picture is known. Future care and lost earning capacity are the two largest components of a serious truck claim, and neither can be estimated while you are still treating. A first offer prices your urgency, not your case, and the release you sign to collect it closes the claim permanently.
The trucking company is based out of state. Does that matter?
Not for your right to recover. The crash happened in Texas, so Texas law and a Hays County venue govern. What it changes is pace and posture: an out-of-state carrier and its insurer often move slower and tend to underestimate what a Hays County jury would do with a fatigue violation.
What does a San Marcos truck accident lawyer cost?
Nothing up front. These cases run on a contingency fee, so the fee comes out of the recovery and there is no fee if there is no recovery. Truck cases carry higher expenses than car cases, often including reconstruction work, and how those expenses are handled goes in writing before you sign.
Do I need to come to Austin from San Marcos?
No. Our office is about thirty miles north on I-35, and we handle San Marcos consultations and case updates by phone and video whenever that is easier for you.
How long does a truck accident case take?
Longer than a car case. More parties, more records, and usually experts on both sides mean a serious truck claim often runs a year or more. The case cannot be valued honestly until your doctors can describe where you will end up.
A truck crash puts you against a company that has done this before, with an insurer and often a defense firm already working while you are still in a hospital gown. The records that would prove your side are on retention clocks measured in months. Call SMB Law, PC at (512) 561-5003 for a free and confidential consultation, and we will tell you honestly whether you need a lawyer at all.