Underride & Override Truck Accident Lawyer in Houston
When a passenger vehicle collides with the back or side of a commercial truck and slides underneath the trailer, the results are often catastrophic. Underride and override accidents are among the most severe types of truck accidents on Houston roads, and they frequently cause injuries or deaths that properly maintained safety equipment could have prevented.
At Herrera PLLC, Jonathan Herrera investigates these cases with the same thoroughness he brought to evaluating high-exposure trucking claims during his decade as an insurance adjuster. He examines whether a trailer’s guards met federal requirements and whether the trucking company maintained that equipment properly. Learn more about Jonathan Herrera’s background and experience. For a broader look at how the firm handles these matters, see the main truck accident page.
What Are Underride and Override Accidents?
Underride and override accidents both involve a mismatch in vehicle height, but they happen in opposite directions. An underride accident occurs when a smaller vehicle slides underneath a truck’s trailer, often shearing off the roof or crushing the occupant compartment. An override accident occurs when a truck’s front end rides up and over a smaller vehicle, typically in a rear-end collision where the truck cannot stop in time.
Both types of collisions can happen at the rear, side, or front of a trailer, and both are especially dangerous because a truck’s trailer bed usually sits higher than the hood or bumper of a passenger car, motorcycle, or smaller commercial vehicle. While these accidents are most often associated with large tractor-trailers, they can also involve straight trucks, box trucks, and other commercial vehicles whenever a significant height mismatch exists between vehicles.
Why These Crashes Cause Catastrophic Injuries
Because underride and override accidents often involve direct intrusion into a vehicle’s occupant compartment, the injuries are frequently severe or fatal, and standard safety features like airbags and crumple zones may not function as they were designed to.
Traumatic Brain Injuries
When a vehicle’s roof or windshield is sheared off in an underride collision, occupants can suffer direct head trauma or violent impact with the trailer itself. These brain injuries often require lifelong medical care and can permanently affect memory, cognition, and the ability to work.
Spinal Cord Injuries
The force involved in an underride or override collision can fracture or crush the spine, sometimes resulting in partial or complete paralysis. These injuries frequently require ongoing rehabilitation, home modifications, and long-term personal care.
Wrongful Death
Because underride and override accidents often involve direct intrusion into the passenger compartment, they are disproportionately likely to be fatal. Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 71, the Texas Wrongful Death Act, a deceased person’s surviving spouse, children, and parents may bring a wrongful death claim against the parties responsible. A separate survival claim may also be available, allowing the deceased’s estate to recover damages, such as pain and suffering before death, that the deceased could have claimed had they survived.
Common Causes of Underride and Override Collisions
Underride and override accidents typically happen when a truck stops suddenly, when a stopped or slow-moving trailer is struck by a vehicle that fails to stop in time, or when a turning truck crosses into another vehicle’s path. Poor visibility, inadequate trailer lighting or reflective tape, driver fatigue, and following too closely all contribute to these collisions. A trailer parked or disabled in a travel lane without adequate warning devices is a particularly common setup for a rear underride crash at night.
Trailer Guard Requirements and Equipment Failures
Federal law requires most trailers and semitrailers with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or more to be equipped with a rear impact guard under 49 CFR 393.86. These guards must meet federal crash-test standards and are checked as part of the annual vehicle inspection every commercial motor vehicle must undergo, so a trucking company operating a trailer with a missing, damaged, or improperly maintained rear guard may be in violation of federal safety regulations, and its own inspection records can become key evidence in a case.
Side and front underride protection are not currently required under federal law, unlike some other countries. Manufacturers and trucking companies can still face liability, however, for failing to use available guard technology or for maintaining equipment that does not adequately protect other drivers. Guards that are mounted too high, set too far forward, or structurally weakened by corrosion or prior damage are a common focus of underride accident investigations.
Proving Liability in an Underride Accident Case
Liability in an underride or override accident can extend well beyond the truck driver. Potentially responsible parties include the trucking company, if it failed to maintain or inspect the trailer’s guard, the trailer manufacturer, if the guard was defectively designed or installed, and any maintenance contractor responsible for trailer upkeep. Inspection and maintenance records are often central to these cases, and requesting them early helps prevent the evidence from being lost.
As in other Texas personal injury cases, claims generally must be filed within two years of the accident under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 16, and recovery can be reduced if the injured person is found partly at fault under the state’s modified comparative negligence rule in Chapter 33, so long as they are not more than 50 percent responsible.
What Compensation Is Available
Depending on the facts of the case, Texas law may allow an injured person or a surviving family to recover for:
- Medical expenses, including future care
- Lost income and reduced earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Physical impairment
- Wrongful death and survival damages in fatal cases
When a death results from willful conduct or gross negligence, Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 71.009 may allow exemplary damages in addition to actual damages. The damages available in any case depend on the evidence, the injuries involved, and the specific facts of the matter.
Speak With Jonathan Herrera About Your Case
If you or a loved one was seriously injured, or a loved one was killed, in an underride or override truck accident, Herrera PLLC is available to review the details of your case. Jonathan Herrera personally reviews what happened, gives an honest assessment of your options, and handles every matter from beginning to end. While the firm is based in Houston, it represents clients throughout Texas, including the Rio Grande Valley, Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, and San Antonio.
These cases are handled on a contingency fee basis: no upfront costs, and no attorney’s fees unless compensation is recovered. Consultations are free, confidential, and come with no obligation, and every case is prepared as though it may go before a jury. Contact Herrera PLLC at 832-891-3210 or complete the online contact form to get started.
Frequently Asked Questions
An underride accident occurs when a smaller vehicle slides underneath a truck's trailer, while an override accident occurs when a truck rides up and over a smaller vehicle, usually in a rear-end collision. Both involve a dangerous height mismatch between vehicles.
Underride accidents often cause direct intrusion into a vehicle's occupant compartment, which can result in severe head, spinal, or crush injuries. The mismatch in vehicle height means standard safety features like airbags and crumple zones may not function as designed.
Yes. Federal law requires most trailers with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or more to have a rear impact guard meeting federal safety standards, and that guard must be properly maintained and inspected.
Potentially liable parties can include the truck driver, the trucking company responsible for maintaining the trailer, the trailer manufacturer if the guard was defectively designed, and any contractor responsible for equipment maintenance.
Contacting an attorney early can help preserve evidence, such as the trailer's inspection and maintenance records, before it is lost or discarded. Texas law allows a deceased person's surviving spouse, children, and parents to pursue a wrongful death claim, and a related survival claim may also be available through the estate.
Yes, and this can actually strengthen a case rather than weaken it. A guard that was present but failed, whether due to a manufacturing defect, corrosion, improper installation, or prior undisclosed damage, can support a product liability claim against the manufacturer or a negligent maintenance claim against the trucking company.