Williamson County, TX · Free Consultation
Round Rock 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
An 18-wheeler weighs about twenty times what your car does, and the case that follows is proportionally different too. You are not up against a driver. You are up against a motor carrier, its insurer, and a set of federal records with a short shelf life. A Round Rock truck accident lawyer does his most valuable work in the first two weeks. Shane M. Boasberg has been licensed in Texas since 2003 and handles these files himself.
Round Rock’s mix of interstate freight, regional distribution runs, and toll-road truck traffic means a wreck here can involve a long-haul carrier, a local delivery fleet, or a contractor’s rig. Sorting out who was really responsible is often the difference between a token offer and a full recovery.
Where a Round Rock truck accident claim is filed
Round Rock sits mostly in Williamson County, so a lawsuit is filed with the District Clerk at the Williamson County Justice Center in Georgetown. A wreck in the southern edge of the city can land in Travis County instead.
Carriers and their insurers usually engage well before trial once liability is documented. We prepare every one of these as though it will be tried anyway, because that is the only posture a national carrier actually responds to.
Who is actually on the hook
People assume a truck case is a case against the driver. Frequently the driver is the least significant defendant. Depending on the facts, liability reaches the motor carrier, the company that owns the trailer, the freight broker that arranged the load, the shipper that loaded it if the cargo shifted, the maintenance contractor, or a parts manufacturer.
This is not about spreading blame for its own sake. It is about coverage. A minimum-limits personal auto policy in Texas is $30,000. A federally regulated interstate carrier hauling general freight must carry $750,000 in liability coverage, and most carry far more. Naming the right parties is often the whole difference between a claim that covers your care and one that does not.
The records that decide a truck case, and how fast they vanish
Every commercial truck generates evidence as it drives. The engine control module logs speed, throttle, and hard braking. The electronic logging device records the driver’s hours. The carrier holds driver qualification files, inspection reports, and maintenance history.
All of it expires. A carrier must retain records of duty status for only six months under 49 C.F.R. § 395.8, and driver vehicle inspection reports for three months under § 396.11. Engine module data is routinely overwritten once the tractor returns to service. So we send a spoliation letter early, naming the specific records the carrier must preserve and putting it on notice that losing them will be an issue in front of a jury.
Where truck cases are won: the federal safety rules
Interstate carriers run under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, and Texas adopts those standards for intrastate carriers through Tex. Transp. Code § 644.051. A documented violation is powerful evidence of negligence. The provisions that come up most:
- 49 C.F.R. § 395.3 — driving limits. Eleven hours of driving after ten consecutive hours off duty, a fourteen-hour window, and a weekly cap. Fatigue cases live here.
- 49 C.F.R. § 395.8 — records of duty status, and what a falsified log looks like when set beside fuel receipts and toll transactions.
- 49 C.F.R. § 391.11 — driver qualification. Whether this driver belonged in that truck at all.
- 49 C.F.R. § 396.11 — inspection reports. Whether a defect was reported and whether anyone repaired it.
The deadline and the fault rule
You have two years from the crash to file suit. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003. Texas also 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 spend real money on that percentage, because it is the cheapest lever they have.
Confirm your own deadline with our Texas injury statute of limitations calculator.
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Try the Settlement CalculatorWorking with us from Round Rock
Our office is about 20 miles south in downtown Austin, a 25-to-35-minute drive down I-35. We handle Round Rock consultations and updates by phone and video so your recovery is not interrupted by a commute.
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.
Trucking corridors through Round Rock
Round Rock sits on one of Texas’s busiest freight arteries. I-35 carries constant commercial traffic between Austin and Dallas, US-79 feeds the industrial corridor toward Hutto and Taylor, and the SH-45 toll ties it all to the employers along SH-130. The I-35 frontage at Louis Henna Boulevard — the #24 most dangerous intersection in the entire state, with 32 crashes in 2025 — is exactly where heavy trucks and commuter traffic collide.
That intersection matters for a specific reason. A heavy truck traveling at frontage-road speed needs several times the stopping distance of a passenger car, so the interchange geometry that produces thirty-two crashes a year among commuters produces something much worse when one of the vehicles is loaded to eighty thousand pounds.
What to do in the first week
- Get examined the same day. St. David’s Round Rock, Ascension Seton Williamson, and Baylor Scott & White Round Rock all handle 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. Round Rock PD works city streets; the Department of Public Safety works I-35 and the tollways.
- Photograph the truck, not just your car. The tractor number, the trailer number, the DOT number on the door, and any visible damage. Those numbers are how we identify the carrier and its insurer before the rig is back on the road.
- Say as little as possible 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 Round Rock 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 Austin truck accident attorneys.
Frequently asked questions
Is a truck claim worth more than a car claim?
Usually, for two reasons that have nothing to do with the lawyer. Truck-crash injuries tend to be more severe, and commercial carriers are required to carry far more coverage than a private driver. But that coverage is only reachable if the correct defendants are named, which is why the investigation is where the money actually is.
The trucking company’s adjuster called the next day. Is that normal?
It is standard, and the speed is deliberate. Many carriers keep rapid-response teams that reach a scene within hours. That adjuster works for the company whose truck hit you, often before you know the extent of your own injuries. Say little. Your own insurer is a separate matter: your policy requires prompt notice to them.
What does a Round Rock 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 accident reconstruction, and how those expenses are handled goes in writing before you sign.
Do I have to travel to Austin from Round Rock?
No. Our office is about twenty miles south on I-35, and we handle Round Rock 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. That is not lost time: the case cannot be valued honestly until your doctors can describe the long-term picture, and the records work is what puts real pressure on the carrier.
A truck crash puts you against a company that has been through this before, with an insurer, a defense firm, and possibly a response team already working while you are still in a hospital gown. The records that prove your side are on a clock measured 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.