Abilene Truck Accident Lawyer

Start Your Free Case Review

A free case review is a conversation, not a commitment. It helps you work out whether you have a claim worth pursuing and what the next step should be. You do not need the crash report, the trucking company's insurance information, or a stack of records before you call — a review can start with what you know.

Here is what a review works through:

• Who was at fault and whether more than one party — the driver, the motor carrier, a maintenance company, or a cargo loader — may share responsibility.
• Which company actually operated the truck, since the name on the trailer does not always match the carrier behind the wheel.
• Your injuries and losses — medical bills already incurred, wages lost, future treatment your doctors expect, and the pain the crash has caused.
• Next steps, including what to preserve and which deadlines apply to your situation.

If we take your case, there is no attorney fee unless we win, and case costs are handled as set out in your written agreement. Asking for a review does not obligate you to hire anyone, and it does not guarantee that we will accept the case.

If you or someone else is in danger, call 911 first. Do not stay in traffic or approach a damaged truck to gather evidence.

Getting the Abilene Crash Report

The City of Abilene uses the Texas Department of Transportation Crash Records Information System (CRIS) for crash reports. The investigating officer has up to 10 days to complete and submit a report, and it can take up to an additional four days for the report to be processed before it appears in the system (City of Abilene, Request Crash Report).

To search for your report, you need one of the following: the name of a person involved, a driver license or ID number, a vehicle identification number, or the TxDOT Crash ID. You do not need all of them — one is enough to search. You can purchase the report through TxDOT's online system (CRIS Report Purchase).

For Abilene reports, the City says crashes before September 15, 2019 do not appear in its CRIS lookup and directs you to contact the City for a copy. This is guidance for Abilene's older records, not a statewide cutoff. The City's processing estimate is not a guaranteed availability date.

The Abilene Police Department also links to the official certified Texas Peace Officer Crash Report (CR-3) purchase system and provides a crash report code sheet and a daily local crash report from its Crash/Accidents page (APD, Crash/Accidents). The daily listing is a summary, not the full CR-3 — it does not determine liability or substitute for purchasing the certified report.

If your crash happened outside the Abilene city limits — on the interstate or on a state highway — it may have been investigated by the Texas Department of Public Safety or another agency, and the report comes from whoever responded. Identifying that agency is one of the first steps, and it is one a case review can help with. Not having the report yet does not prevent you from calling.

Requesting Other Police Records

Beyond the crash report itself, additional records from the Abilene Police Department — such as supplemental officer narratives, dispatch logs, or any camera footage the department may hold — are requested through the City's public information process. The City of Abilene uses the NextRequest system for public information requests, including police records (City of Abilene, Public Information Request).

A public information request asks for records that already exist. Whether a specific record — such as body camera or intersection camera footage — exists, has been retained, or will be released depends on the agency's policies and any applicable legal exceptions. A request does not guarantee that the material you are looking for was captured, is still on file, or will be provided. That distinction matters when planning what evidence to pursue and when, and a case review can help you decide which requests are worth making and in what order.

Crash Location and Evidence Worth Preserving

Whether your crash was on Interstate 20, US 83, US 84, or US 277 in the Abilene area, the precise location helps identify records and witnesses. TxDOT's Abilene District map and local highway project descriptions identify these roads and connecting routes.

For an interstate crash, note the direction of travel and the nearest exit or mile marker. For a crash at an intersection on US 83 or another highway, note the cross street and the signal or sign you remember. Whether the truck was on the main lanes or a frontage road matters too. The time of day helps either way — it narrows the window for possible camera footage and witnesses.

If you can read it from a safe distance, the company name and any USDOT number on the truck or trailer are worth noting. The carrier that operated the truck matters more than the brand on the trailer, because a trailer can be pulled by a driver working for an entirely different company — a point our 18-wheeler accident page explains further.

After a truck crash, some of the most useful proof sits inside the trucking company's own systems: engine and event-data-recorder readings, electronic logging device hours-of-service records, dispatch and routing records, dashcam footage, and maintenance and inspection files. None of this is guaranteed to exist for a given truck, and access usually requires formal requests or court process. A preservation letter asks the company to hold the material, but it does not prove a record exists, guarantee it survives, or set a fixed deletion date — retention practices differ by company and by record type. That is the reason to ask early rather than late.

Who May Be Responsible

Responsibility after a truck crash depends on the evidence, not a single assumption. More than one party may share fault:

• The driver — for choices like speeding, distraction, or running a signal.
• The motor carrier — depending on its relationship with the driver and what the evidence shows about its role in the crash, including scheduling, supervision, or truck maintenance.
• A maintenance provider — if the company or shop responsible for the truck's upkeep failed to keep brakes, tires, or lights in working order.
• A cargo loader or shipper — if how the load was secured or what was loaded contributed to the crash.

A freight broker's role in a crash is fact-dependent; a broker is not automatically liable for the carrier it hired. Sorting out these relationships is part of what a case review and investigation does.

What a claim can pursue follows the evidence of your injuries and losses, not a headline figure. Depending on what the records support, a claim can account for documented medical bills, lost wages and reduced earning capacity, the future care a treating provider expects, and the pain and limits the crash placed on your daily life. If a family member died, Texas allows a separate wrongful death claim for eligible surviving relatives.

If we take your case, there is no attorney fee unless we win, and case costs are handled as set out in your written agreement.

Texas Deadlines and Comparative Fault

In Texas, a personal injury claim generally must be filed within two years of the date the claim accrues, which for a crash injury is often the crash date, while a wrongful death claim generally runs two years from the date of death, under Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.003. Other, shorter deadlines and exceptions can apply, so have your deadline checked early rather than treat two years as a safe cushion.

Texas also applies proportionate responsibility. A person found more than 50 percent responsible for a crash cannot recover, under Chapter 33, Section 33.001; at 50 percent or less, recoverable damages are reduced by the assigned share of fault. Liability and damages still must be established. A disputed fault assessment is something a lawyer can review with you; it is not a reason to postpone medical care or required reporting.

Your case review is free. If we take your case, there is no attorney fee unless we win, and case costs are handled as set out in your written agreement. Sources checked September 14, 2026; this page is general information, not legal advice.