Highway truck crashes don’t give you time to process. One second you are cruising near Stacy Road or passing the US‑75 and Sam Rayburn interchange, the next you are staring at a crumpled hood, airbags dusting your vision, semis thundering past your shoulder. In those first minutes, what you do matters. It matters for safety, for your health, and for any claim you may bring later. The law gives you tools, but it expects you to use ordinary care. That means making smart choices, even under stress.
I have walked clients through the aftermath of rear‑end underrides, jackknife blockages, and chain‑reaction pileups along 75 and 121. Some were straightforward crashes with clear liability. Others involved disputed lanes, missing dashcam footage, and cargo that should have been secured but wasn’t. The difference between a strong case and a weak one often comes down to what happens in the first hours and days. Below are seven steps I recommend to family, friends, and anyone who asks after a highway truck collision in or around McKinney.
Step One: Get safe, then call 911 without debating fault at the scene
Your first job is survival. If your vehicle is drivable and you can move it without danger, get to the shoulder or an exit ramp. Activate hazards. If you cannot move, stay buckled until traffic clears and you can safely exit. Texas law expects you to render aid when possible, but never put yourself back into the line of travel to be a good Samaritan. On 75, speeds run high and sightlines can be short around curves and elevated sections. Secondary impacts happen.
Call 911. Tell the dispatcher there is a crash with a commercial truck, estimate the mile marker or nearest exit, and report any injuries. Do not argue about fault with the truck driver. Do not apologize, bargain, or speculate. Liability decisions come later, built on facts from the police report, witness statements, ECM data, and inspections. I have seen offhand comments at the curb twisted later into McKinney auto accident lawyer partial admissions. Keep it simple: share what is necessary to get help on the way.
If you are physically able, note the trailer number, carrier name, and any placards. Tractor‑trailers carry a DOT number that identifies the motor carrier. Snap a photo if you can do it safely. Trucks sometimes leave to “make the delivery” if they believe damage is minor, which complicates later identification.
Step Two: Let medical professionals check you, even if you “feel fine”
Adrenaline masks pain. Highway impacts send forces through the spine and chest that can take hours or days to announce themselves. I worked with a client who walked away from a side‑swipe near Eldorado Parkway with only a stiff neck. Two days later, he had radiating arm pain and grip weakness. MRI showed a herniation that needed intervention. The carrier argued the injury came from “yard work” because he delayed treatment. We still won, but it took months of expert testimony that could have been avoided with a same‑day exam.
If EMS recommends a transport, take it. If you decline, visit an urgent care or ER the same day. Tell the provider you were in a truck collision at highway speeds and describe every symptom, even if it seems small. Medical records written on day one carry weight. They are also crucial for ruling out internal injuries, concussions, and occult fractures. Delays invite skepticism from insurers, particularly when the property damage looks “moderate” instead of catastrophic.
Practical detail that helps later: ask for discharge paperwork and imaging summaries before you leave, or get portal access. Keep receipts for medications, braces, crutches, and out‑of‑pocket costs. An experienced McKinney personal injury lawyer will eventually need that trail to build and quantify damages.
Step Three: Lock down evidence before it disappears
Trucking cases turn on data and documentation. Passenger vehicles rarely keep event data for long without power cycling, and trucking companies often rotate equipment rapidly. The sooner you or your attorney acts, the more likely critical evidence survives.
- Photograph the vehicles, skid marks, gouges, debris fields, and fluid trails from multiple angles. Include wide shots that capture lane lines, shoulder width, and overhead signs. Capture the truck’s tractor and trailer separately. Get close‑ups of the DOT number, license plates, and any company logos. If the trailer belongs to a different entity, record that too. Record the truck driver’s name, employer, phone numbers, insurance details, and the bill of lading if visible. Ask witnesses for contact info and a quick voice memo of what they saw while it’s fresh.
This is one of only two lists in the article. It exists because checklists reduce missed steps. Time blurs memories. Photos don’t. Skid marks can fade within days. Grocery bags and traffic cones placed by motorists after the crash can unintentionally shift the scene. Once tow trucks arrive, the layout changes. Many modern rigs have forward‑facing and sometimes driver‑facing cameras. Preservation letters sent quickly can save that footage. A McKinney car accident lawyer will typically fire off a spoliation letter to the motor carrier, demanding the retention of dashcam video, ECM downloads, driver logs, pre‑ and post‑trip inspections, dispatch messages, and maintenance records. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations require carriers to keep certain records for fixed periods, but without a prompt preservation demand, some items get overwritten or purged in routine cycles.
Step Four: Report thoroughly, read carefully, and resist quick fixes
The officer’s report is not the final word, but it sets a tone. Be factual and consistent. If you cannot recall a detail, say so rather than guess. Share symptoms honestly. If you have a passenger, make sure they speak for themselves. Officers sometimes conflate voices when multiple people chime in.
Later, you may get calls from the trucking company’s insurer asking for a recorded statement. You are not required to give one to the other side. In my practice, I rarely authorize recorded statements before we have reviewed the scene materials and police report. Insurers train adjusters to ask seemingly casual questions that narrow or reshape your account. You can be polite and decline. If it’s your own insurer asking under your policy, the duty to cooperate is real, but even then, talk to counsel first.
You may also see a tow‑yard release or a medical lien form put in front of you when you are dazed and sore. Read what you sign. Tow operators sometimes include storage waivers or “hold harmless” language that complicates access to your car for inspection. Hospitals routinely file liens in Texas, which is normal, but there are rules that control what can be claimed and when. A McKinney injury lawyer can help sequence this so your vehicle can be inspected by a biomechanical expert or accident reconstructionist before it’s crushed, and so the billing is routed correctly to preserve your rights.
Step Five: Involve counsel early to widen the lens beyond the bumper
Truck crashes live in a different legal neighborhood than fender benders. You are not just dealing with a driver and a single policy. You may be dealing with a motor carrier, a broker, a shipper, an owner‑operator with a leased tractor, and a trailer owned by someone else entirely. Each piece can carry separate insurance. Sometimes the driver is within hours‑of‑service limits on paper, but dispatch messages show soft pressure to run long. Sometimes a recapped tire failed due to heat and load, hinting at maintenance practices. You won’t see that from an accident photo.
Good attorneys think in systems. They request telematics, Qualcomm messages, lane assist and collision avoidance alerts, and driver qualification files. They look for omitted pre‑trip checks, missed brake adjustments, prior violations, and routing choices made to avoid scales. They canvas nearby businesses for exterior cameras that might have caught the approach. In one wreck near the University Drive exit, a client’s claim turned on a distant gas station camera that captured the truck drifting across the fog line three times in the minutes before the crash. Without counsel pushing for it in week one, that footage would have been overwritten.
If money is tight, most McKinney personal injury lawyers handle these cases on contingency, advancing costs like expert fees and scene scans. The sooner they get involved, the sooner the evidence pipeline opens. If you wait six months and then call, your case may still be viable, but the proof could be thinner than it should be.
Step Six: Manage your treatment with an eye toward both health and proof
Recovery is a blend of medical judgment and disciplined follow‑through. Insurers scrutinize gaps in care and “noncompliance” notes. That does not mean you must accept every injection or surgery proposed. It does mean communicating and documenting.
If your primary care provider cannot see you for weeks, ask your attorney for local options who understand collision‑related injuries. Specialists in the McKinney area can often schedule within days. If you feel worse after physical therapy, say so in the session and in the patient portal. If work restrictions are needed, ask the doctor to write them. A verbal “take it easy” is hard to prove. When imaging is ordered, complete it promptly. I have had cases where the defense argued that a three‑week delay in getting an MRI meant the injury was “mild” or “resolved.”
Packaging medical bills and records cleanly helps later. Texas allows recovery of paid or incurred medical expenses, which means the numbers on the page matter. If you used health insurance, your billed totals and adjusted amounts will differ. A seasoned McKinney car accident lawyer will track both, anticipate subrogation rights from health plans, Medicare, or hospital liens, and factor that into the settlement strategy. Your job as the patient is to report new symptoms, keep appointments, and save every letter you receive about benefits, approvals, and denials.
Step Seven: Think beyond the obvious defendants
Plenty of highway truck crashes stem from clear driver error - following too closely, unsafe lane change, or fatigue. In others, responsibility spreads.
Cargo securement failures often lead to rollovers or load shifts that push a tractor‑trailer into another lane. The shipper or loader might share fault if the driver reasonably relied on the load being safe under seal, depending on the facts and applicable case law. A faulty brake chamber, defective steer tire, or malfunctioning underride guard might bring a product claim against a manufacturer or maintenance contractor. Poor roadway design, missing chevrons, or a construction zone with inadequate taper can raise claims against contractors or agencies, though immunity issues can be complex. I have seen cases where a broker ignored red flags in a carrier’s safety profile, creating an argument for negligent selection.
Expanding the field can be the difference between scraping against a low policy limit and accessing enough coverage to fairly compensate a spinal surgery or traumatic brain injury. It also changes the investigative plan. For example, if tire failure is suspected, preserving the wheel assembly and maintaining a tight chain of custody matters. If an HOS violation is suspected, comparing logbooks against toll records, fuel receipts, and GPS pings can reveal falsification that a paper review would miss.
Why speed matters, and where patience pays
There is a tension in these cases. Move too slowly and you lose evidence. Move too quickly and you might settle before the full picture of your injuries emerges. Texas law gives you time, generally two years from the crash, but waiting for the statute to loom is not strategy. Aim for two parallel tracks: evidence preservation right away, medical clarity over time.
Many clients ask when to settle. A reliable marker is maximum medical improvement, or MMI, the point where your doctors can say your condition has stabilized and future care can be estimated. Settling before MMI risks undervaluing future injections, surgeries, or vocational impacts. On the other hand, you can and should make property damage and rental car claims immediately, keeping that lane moving while the bodily injury claim matures. Property damage adjusters sometimes try to bundle a bodily injury release with a vehicle payout. Read carefully. A standalone property settlement is common and acceptable if it does not release your injury claim.
How fault gets proven in truck cases
Jurors and adjusters expect better from professional drivers. That does not mean liability is automatic. Proving fault blends physics, rules, and common sense.
Crash reconstructionists test angles, speeds, and delta‑V using skid formulas, crush profiles, and scene geometry. ECM downloads can show throttle, brake application, speed, and cruise control status seconds before impact. If the truck had forward collision warning or automatic emergency braking, the data can show alerts the driver ignored. Hours‑of‑service records and ELD data reveal fatigue risks. Cell phone records can place a driver on a call or using data at key moments.
Federal and Texas rules matter too. The FMCSRs require pre‑ and post‑trip inspections, limit hours, and mandate securement. Texas Transportation Code covers lane usage and following distances. Violations are not automatic negligence, but they are persuasive. The defense will often target you as the plaintiff - arguing sudden lane change, unsafe merge, or brake‑check. That is why independent witnesses and objective data are powerful. When the facts line up, they leave little room for spin.
Damages that actually get paid, not just claimed
You can claim many items, but carriers pay based on proof and Texas law. Medical expenses, lost wages, and property damage are the straightforward buckets. For lost wages, ask your employer for a letter stating dates missed and rate of pay, and keep pay stubs. If you are self‑employed, gather tax returns, 1099s, and client correspondence that shows lost projects. Don’t wait until mediation to hunt for this.
Pain, mental anguish, and physical impairment are real and compensable, yet often undersupported. Keep a quiet log, not a running social feed, of how injuries affect sleep, chores, parenting, and hobbies. Juries respond to specifics. A former youth coach who can no longer throw batting practice, a nurse who struggles to lift patients, a mechanic who cannot work overhead - these details ground the numbers. If you have scarring, photograph it at intervals with a neutral background and consistent lighting.
In catastrophic cases, a life care planner may build a future cost projection for attendant care, home modifications, and medical equipment. Vocational experts quantify lost earning capacity. These are not just bells and whistles. They transform a narrative of “I hurt” into a plan that explains “Here is what the next 30 years will cost.” A McKinney injury lawyer with trucking experience knows which experts carry credibility in Collin County courts and how to deploy them efficiently.
Common mistakes that quietly undermine strong cases
People rarely make one huge mistake. They make small, understandable choices that chip away at value.
Accepting a quick settlement offer before imaging or specialist consults. Posting photos at a weekend barbecue two weeks after the crash while still in active care, which the insurer lifts out of context. Missing follow‑up appointments because work got busy, creating a “gap” in treatment. Letting the car be sold for salvage before the defense expert can inspect it. Throwing away a neck brace early because it looks awkward, then facing questions about compliance. Failing to disclose prior injuries to your doctor or attorney, which then surprise everyone when the insurer pulls past records.
These are fixable if caught early. They are damaging if discovered late. The remedy is simple: communicate with your lawyer, and when in doubt, ask before you act. A short call prevents long headaches.
How a local lens in McKinney helps
Highway geometry, traffic patterns, and jury pools are local. The interchange between US‑75 and SH‑121 funnels freight in ways that produce specific types of conflicts: lane changes under pressure, missed exits, and late merges. Construction on 380 and periodic lane shifts change sightlines. Officers from McKinney PD and DPS Troopers rotate on coverage, and their report formats differ. Nearby medical providers have their own billing habits and lien practices. Tow yards in the area store vehicles in lots that sometimes require appointment‑only access for inspections.
A McKinney personal injury lawyer familiar with these rhythms moves faster. They know which gas stations have cameras pointed at the feeder roads, which storage yards allow after‑hours inspections, and which orthopedic practices can see collision patients within a week. They also know the defense firms insurers hire in North Texas and how those teams evaluate case risk. That shortens the path from injury to resolution.
A practical, no‑nonsense plan for your first 72 hours
You don’t need a script, but you need a framework. Here is a short, high‑yield approach that respects the two‑list limit and gives you something you can act on.
- Get to safety, call 911, and avoid fault debates. Photograph the scene and the truck identifiers if safe. Accept medical evaluation the same day. Save discharge papers and receipts. Exchange information, identify witnesses, and ask the officer for the report number. Contact a McKinney car accident lawyer to send preservation letters and coordinate vehicle inspection. Route property damage and rental claims promptly while your injury care continues and the evidence pipeline opens.
These actions do not commit you to a lawsuit. They simply protect your options so you can choose wisely later.
When settlement is smart, and when trial is the better bet
Most cases settle. The best settlements come when the defense believes you are willing and able to try the case. That belief grows from the docket, not from bluffs. If liability is clear, damages are well‑documented, and liens are organized, a fair settlement often arrives before suit or shortly after discovery begins. If the defense questions fault or causation, filing suit and pushing for key depositions - the driver, the safety director, the reconstructionist - may be necessary.
Jury dynamics in Collin County have shifted over the years. Panels are diverse. They reward credibility and penalize overreach. Claims that match the evidence, witness testimony that feels human rather than rehearsed, and experts who teach rather than preach land well. A McKinney car accident lawyer who has stood in those courtrooms knows the pace and the preferences, which helps in evaluating offers. Sometimes taking a reasonable number rather than gambling on a higher verdict is the wisest move for a family that needs closure and financial stability. Other times, the offer is so far off that trial aligns with both principle and probability.
The quiet value of preparation
Highway crashes throw life off its axis. The seven steps outlined here are not about making a lawsuit inevitable. They are about giving you control when a 40‑ton vehicle took it. Safety first, medical clarity second, evidence preserved, paperwork read, counsel involved, care managed, defendants properly identified. Do these consistently and your case, whether resolved in months or fought for years, will rest on solid ground.
If you are unsure where to start, get a short consult with a McKinney injury lawyer. Use the call to map next moves: preserving dashcam data, capturing your vehicle’s black box, coordinating a scene revisit at the same time of day, and making sure your immediate bills don’t force bad decisions. Even one measured conversation early on can change the arc of a case.
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Thompson Law
Address: 321 N Central Expy STE 305, McKinney, TX 75071
Phone: (214) 390-9737