What Our Clients Say
Written and reviewed by Shane M. Boasberg, founder of SMB Law, PC · Licensed in Texas since 2003 · Updated September 2026
Kyle sits on the freight lane between Austin and San Antonio, and it is building fast enough that construction rigs run the same roads all day. A Kyle truck accident lawyer is really doing two jobs: proving what happened, and getting to the carrier’s records before they age out. Shane M. Boasberg has been licensed in Texas since 2003 and works those records himself.
Kyle’s rapid development means both long-haul I-35 trucks and local construction rigs on its roads, and the two involve different owners, insurers, and safety obligations.
Where a Kyle truck accident claim is filed
Kyle is in Hays County and has no district courthouse of its own, so a lawsuit goes about fifteen minutes south to the Hays County Government Center in San Marcos.
Most of these resolve with the carrier’s insurer before a petition is ever filed. Venue still shapes the number, because defense counsel is pricing what a Hays County jury would do with a fatigue or maintenance violation put in front of them.
Maintenance failures, and the paper trail behind them
A large share of truck crashes trace back to maintenance that was deferred, rushed, or skipped. Worn brake linings. Tires past their depth. Lights that were written up and never repaired. None of that is invisible: federal rules require carriers to inspect commercial vehicles and to document what they find.
Under 49 C.F.R. § 396.11, a driver must file a vehicle inspection report identifying defects, and the carrier must keep it for three months. Section 396.3 requires systematic inspection, repair, and maintenance records for each vehicle. When a brake defect was reported twice and never fixed, that history is the case.
Fatigue, logs, and the rules that govern them
Interstate carriers operate under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, and Texas adopts those standards for intrastate carriers through Tex. Transp. Code § 644.051. Two provisions carry most fatigue cases. 49 C.F.R. § 395.3 limits a driver to eleven hours of driving after ten consecutive hours off, inside a fourteen-hour window, with a weekly cap on top. Section 395.8 governs the records of duty status that are supposed to prove compliance, and a log that does not match the fuel receipts and toll transactions tells its own story.
Those duty records only have to be retained for six months. Engine control module data is routinely overwritten when the tractor goes back into service. That is why a spoliation letter goes out early in a Kyle case, naming the specific records the carrier must hold and putting it on notice that losing them will be an issue at trial.
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 who signed off on the repair. That matters because of coverage: a minimum-limits personal auto policy in Texas is $30,000, while a federally regulated interstate carrier hauling general freight must carry $750,000, and most carry 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 that line. A trucking defense team will work that percentage hard, because it is the cheapest lever they have.
Confirm your own deadline with our Texas injury statute of limitations calculator.
Get a range before the carrier’s insurer gives you one
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Try the Settlement CalculatorWorking with us from Kyle
Our downtown Austin office is about 20 miles north up I-35. We handle most Kyle truck cases by phone and video and meet in person only when it genuinely helps.
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 through Hays County
Every load moving between Austin and San Antonio passes Kyle, and the retail distribution traffic at the Kyle Crossing and Kyle Parkway exits adds local commercial volume on top of it. Long-haul carriers and local construction fleets are different animals with different insurers and different records, and the first thing we establish is which one hit you.
What to do in the first week
- Get examined the same day. Ascension Seton Hays is in Kyle itself. Go even if you feel functional, because 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. Kyle PD works city streets; the Department of Public Safety works I-35.
- Photograph the truck, not only your vehicle. 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.
- 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.
A serious crash in Kyle rarely fits a single label — SMB Law, PC also handles car crash injuries, motorcycle accident injuries, and losing a loved one in a crash, and you can learn more from our truck accident attorneys.
Frequently asked questions
How soon should I call a lawyer after a truck crash?
Within days, and preferably within the first week. The carrier’s insurer usually opens its investigation the day of the wreck, while the records that would prove your side are on retention schedules measured in months. A preservation letter stops that clock. Waiting rarely costs you the deadline; it costs you the evidence.
The insurer says I share the blame. Can I still recover?
Usually yes, as long as you were not more than half at fault. Texas reduces your recovery by your percentage of blame rather than eliminating it below that line. Expect a trucking defense team to push on that number, because moving it is cheaper for them than disputing your injuries.
What does a Kyle 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 have to travel to Austin from Kyle?
No. Our office is about twenty miles north on I-35, and we handle Kyle 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, and the records work is what puts pressure on the carrier in the meantime.
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 prove your side are on a clock measured in months, and some of them in weeks. 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.