Defective Truck Parts & Mechanical Failure Lawyer in Houston
If a defective truck part or a mechanical failure caused a crash that injured you or a family member in Houston or anywhere in Texas, attorney Jonathan Herrera of Herrera PLLC can evaluate the claim. Mechanical failures in commercial trucks can be the result of a defective part, a missed inspection, deferred maintenance, or a repair done poorly, and the people hurt may have claims against more than one party.
A loaded tractor-trailer approaches a stopped line of traffic on I-45, and the driver presses the brake pedal. The truck does not slow the way it should. Or a steer tire on a box truck fails at highway speed on Highway 288, and the driver loses control in a lane with no room to recover. In the aftermath, the trucking company may say the crash was a freak mechanical event that no one could have predicted. Often, that is not the whole story.
At Herrera PLLC, attorney Jonathan Herrera represents people seriously injured in commercial truck crashes throughout Houston, Harris County, and the surrounding area. Before becoming an attorney, Jonathan spent more than a decade as an insurance adjuster handling high-exposure, litigated claims for carriers and third-party administrators nationwide, and he later defended insureds at Rymer, Echols, and Nelson-Archer, an insurance defense and coverage firm in Houston. He knows how carriers respond when a claim involves equipment failure, and he knows what records tend to matter when the question is whether a crash could have been prevented.
Short answer: When a truck crash is caused by a mechanical failure, such as failed brakes, a tire blowout, or a steering or suspension problem, the responsible party may be the trucking company, a maintenance contractor, a parts manufacturer, or more than one of them. Who is responsible depends on what failed, why it failed, and who had the duty to prevent it.
Personal Commitment. Proven Experience. Jonathan personally handles every client matter, and clients work with him directly rather than being passed between departments or support staff. You can learn more about Jonathan Herrera, visit the Herrera PLLC to see the firm’s work in serious injury, insurance law, and civil litigation.
Common Types of Mechanical Failure
Commercial trucks are heavy, complex machines that run for long hours and many miles. Every system on them is under stress, and components wear out. A mechanical problem does not always cause a crash on its own. But when a truck is overloaded, poorly maintained, or pushed to meet a tight delivery schedule, a worn or defective part can be the point where a bad situation becomes a catastrophic one.
Mechanical failure cases are different from many other trucking claims in one important way. In a blind spot, fatigue, or speeding case, the investigation focuses largely on what the driver did. In a mechanical failure case, the investigation also looks at the truck itself: how it was built, how it was maintained, and who was responsible for keeping it safe to drive. The firm’s Truck Accidents page gives a broader overview of how commercial vehicle claims are approached, and the three categories below are examples of the kinds of failures these investigations examine.
Brake Failure
A large truck needs a great deal of room to stop, and it relies on its braking system to do so. When the brakes do not perform as they should, the distance the truck needs to stop can grow quickly. A driver may press the pedal and find that the truck does not slow in time, or a trailer’s brakes may not engage properly, which can contribute to a loss of control.
Brake problems can have different origins. Components such as pads, linings, drums, and other parts wear down with use. Brakes can fall out of adjustment. Lines, hoses, or connections can leak or deteriorate. A component may also have a manufacturing or design flaw that causes it to fail earlier than it should. Whether the problem was a worn part that should have been replaced, a repair that was done incorrectly, or a part that was defective from the start is exactly the kind of question an investigation is meant to answer.
Houston’s traffic adds to the danger. Stop-and-go congestion on I-10, I-45, and Highway 288 means that a truck may need to stop suddenly, with little warning, from highway speed. A truck that cannot stop in time can strike vehicles ahead of it with enormous force, often in a chain-reaction collision.
Tire Blowouts
A tire blowout can contribute to a truck crash, particularly when a steer tire fails and affects the driver’s ability to maintain control. When a tire fails, pieces of it may also strike nearby vehicles or leave debris on the roadway that other drivers cannot avoid.
A blowout can be linked to several possible causes. A tire may be worn, damaged, or underinflated. A truck may be carrying more weight than its tires or axles can safely handle. A tire may have had a manufacturing defect, or a repair or installation may have been done improperly. Heat from Houston’s long, hot summers and from extended highway driving can also stress tires that are already in poor condition. Which of these played a role in a particular crash is not something that can be assumed from the scene. It often depends on the tire itself, which is why preserving it can matter.
Steering and Suspension Defects
A truck’s steering and suspension systems keep the vehicle controllable and stable, especially when it is loaded. When a part in either system wears out, breaks, or comes loose, a driver can lose the ability to steer where they intend, and the truck may drift into another lane, leave the road, or become unstable in a turn.
Problems in these systems can include worn or broken components, loose connections, and defects in the way a part was designed or made. Such failures can also be related to other kinds of crashes. A suspension problem, for example, may affect how a truck handles a curve, and it can contribute to a rollover. The firm’s page on truck rollover accidents discusses that type of crash in more detail.
Other equipment can also fail, including lights, couplings between the tractor and trailer, and cargo securement hardware. Whatever the part, the central questions are the same: why did it fail, and could the failure have been prevented?
Who Can Be Held Liable for a Mechanical Failure Accident
When a part fails, it is natural to want to know who is responsible. The answer is rarely automatic. Responsibility depends on the facts, the records, and what the evidence shows about each party’s role. Commercial trucking claims often involve several layers of insurance coverage and corporate structure, and the people hurt may not know who owns, leases, operates, or services the truck that struck them.
Public information can help identify the companies involved. FMCSA’s SAFER Company Snapshot provides a free electronic record of a motor carrier’s identification, size, commodity information, and safety record, including any safety rating, roadside out-of-service inspection summary, and crash information, searchable by USDOT number, MC/MX number, or company name.
The Trucking Company
A trucking company may be responsible for the conduct of its drivers. It may also face claims based on its own decisions. In a mechanical failure case, those decisions may include whether the company properly maintained its trucks, whether it addressed problems that drivers reported, and whether it kept a truck on the road when it should have been repaired. A company that puts a driver in a vehicle with known problems, or that discourages reporting of defects to keep deliveries on schedule, may be open to scrutiny.
The truck driver’s role is also part of the review. Drivers may be responsible for checking their vehicle and reporting problems, and a driver who ignores a known defect may share responsibility. At the same time, a driver who followed the proper steps and was still sent out in an unsafe truck may be in a very different position. The evidence matters.
The Maintenance Contractor
Many trucking companies do not do all of their maintenance themselves. They may rely on outside shops and mechanics for inspections, repairs, and replacement of parts. When a contractor performs work carelessly, misses a problem it should have found, or installs a part incorrectly, that contractor may be responsible for the crash that follows.
These cases often turn on paper records and physical evidence: work orders, invoices, inspection reports, parts records, and the condition of the repaired component. Comparing the dates of repairs and inspections against the physical condition of the failed part can reveal whether a problem was known, whether it was addressed, and when. When records are missing, incomplete, or inconsistent with the physical evidence, that can be significant.
The Parts Manufacturer
Sometimes the part that failed was never safe to begin with. A component may have been designed in a way that makes failure more likely, may have been made incorrectly, or may have come with inadequate warnings or instructions. In those cases, the company that designed or manufactured the part may be involved in a product defect claim. Texas law generally limits liability for sellers that did not manufacture the product. Whether a claim against a seller is available depends on the statutory exceptions and their required conditions under Section 82.003 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
These claims can be technically demanding, and they often require expert analysis of the failed part. Where a defect is suspected, preserving the part is critical. A component that is discarded, repaired, or altered after a crash may be much harder to examine later. You can also learn whether a part or vehicle has been the subject of a safety recall through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) at its recalls website. A recall does not by itself establish who is responsible for a crash, but it can be one piece of information in an investigation.
More than one party may share responsibility in the same crash. Texas follows a modified comparative negligence rule. An injured person can recover damages even if partly at fault, as long as that person is not more than 50 percent responsible, and any compensation is reduced by the injured person’s percentage of fault, as provided by Chapter 33 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. Insurers can use this rule to try to shift blame onto the injured person, or to argue that a mechanical problem was no one’s fault. As an adjuster, Jonathan evaluated claims where fault was shared or disputed, and as a defense attorney he saw how carriers built those arguments. That experience helps him anticipate them and work to build a record that addresses them directly.
Federal Vehicle Inspection Requirements
Commercial trucks that operate in interstate commerce are subject to federal safety rules, and those rules include requirements related to inspection, repair, and maintenance. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is the federal agency that regulates motor carrier safety, and it publishes its regulations, including its inspection, repair, and maintenance rules, in the Code of Federal Regulations.
In general terms, these rules are intended to make sure that trucks are not operated in an unsafe condition. They address the responsibility of motor carriers to systematically inspect, repair, and maintain their vehicles, the need for drivers to report defects, and periodic inspections of commercial vehicles. FMCSA also publishes its hours of service rules, which may become relevant when a rushed or fatigued schedule contributed to a maintenance shortcut or a missed problem.
Why does this matter to an injured person? When a trucking company or its contractor does not follow these requirements, records of that failure may exist. Inspection reports, maintenance logs, repair records, and driver defect reports can show whether a problem was known, whether it was addressed, and who knew about it. Whether a particular rule was violated, and whether any violation was a cause of a particular crash, are questions that depend on the facts and require careful review. An attorney can evaluate what the records show and how federal requirements may apply to the specific truck, carrier, and trip involved.
The investigation of a mechanical failure case may include:
- Visiting the crash scene and documenting skid marks, debris, and road conditions
- Obtaining the Texas peace officer’s crash report, which is maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation. A person directly concerned in the accident or having a proper interest in it may request a copy through TxDOT’s crash reports and records page, which explains how to purchase one.
- Seeking maintenance, inspection, and repair records for the truck
- Requesting that the truck, trailer, and failed components be preserved for examination
- Reviewing the driver’s logs, schedule, and any reports of defects
- Interviewing witnesses while their memories are fresh
- Gathering medical records and documenting the full extent of your injuries
- Consulting with experts where necessary
Some evidence is held by the trucking company and can be lost, repaired, or overwritten over time, which is one reason early action matters.
What Compensation Is Available
Texas law allows people injured in truck accidents to seek compensation for the harm they have suffered. Depending on the facts, available damages may include:
- Medical expenses, both past and future
- Lost wages and loss of earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Other losses that affect daily life and function
Mechanical failure crashes can cause the kinds of injuries that change a family’s future. Brain and spinal cord injuries can involve permanent disability, ongoing medical needs, and lost earning capacity, and insurers tend to scrutinize long-term projections closely. Evaluating future medical costs and life care needs is a central part of those cases. The firm’s brain injury attorney page discusses this in more detail. When a crash takes a life, Texas law allows certain family members to pursue accountability through a wrongful death claim, and the firm’s wrongful death page explains how those cases are approached with sensitivity and persistence.
Insurance coverage can also shape what is realistically available. Commercial trucking claims often involve several policies, and when a mechanical failure case involves a trucking company, a maintenance contractor, and a manufacturer, each may have its own insurer and its own position. When limits are low compared with the harm, a person’s own policy may become important. Jonathan’s insurance background is useful here, and you can read more about the firm’s coverage work on the Insurance Law page.
Trucking companies and their insurers often respond quickly after a serious crash. Representatives may contact injured people early, ask for recorded statements, or offer an early settlement before the full extent of the injuries is known. Jonathan saw this process from the other side as an adjuster. Early offers are often made when a claim’s long-term value is least clear. Speaking with an attorney before accepting an offer or signing anything may help you understand what you are agreeing to.
No attorney can guarantee a particular result, and every case depends on its own facts, evidence, and coverage. What an attorney can do is evaluate the claim honestly, explain the available options, and work to document the full extent of a person’s losses.
Time limits matter: Texas generally imposes a two-year statute of limitations from the date of injury for most personal injury claims, and two years from the date of death for wrongful death claims, under Section 16.003 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. A claim arising from a defective product may also be subject to a separate 15-year cutoff measured from the date the defendant sold the product, subject to statutory exceptions, under Section 16.012; that rule does not extend the deadline that otherwise applies to the injury claim. Additional deadlines can apply depending on who is being sued and the specific facts of the case. Because evidence in mechanical failure cases can be repaired, discarded, or lost, speaking with an attorney sooner rather than later may protect your options. Before signing any representation agreement, ask about attorney fees, investigation expenses, and responsibility for case costs so that the financial arrangement is clear.
Contact Herrera PLLC
If a mechanical failure on a commercial truck has changed your life or the life of someone in your family, Jonathan Herrera is available to talk through what happened and what options may exist. The first conversation is free and confidential. Jonathan will give you an honest assessment of your situation, including the strengths and challenges of your claim.
The firm serves clients throughout Houston, including EaDo, the East End, Greater Heights, Montrose, and the Texas Medical Center area. It also serves Harris County and the surrounding counties, and clients across Texas.
Jonathan personally handles every matter, and clients work with him directly throughout the legal process. Before signing any representation agreement, ask about attorney fees, case costs, and how investigation expenses will be handled so that the arrangement is clear from the start.
Herrera PLLC
2339 Commerce Street, #172
Houston, Texas 77002
Phone: 832-891-3210
Email: jherrera@jh-lawpllc.com
Frequently Asked Questions
Mechanical failures that can contribute to truck crashes include brake problems, tire blowouts, and steering or suspension defects. Worn, defective, or improperly adjusted brakes can increase stopping distance. A tire failure, especially at the front of the truck, can cause a driver to lose control. Steering and suspension failures can affect the truck's stability and handling. Other equipment, including lights, couplings, and cargo securement hardware, may also contribute. Determining which failure caused a crash requires reviewing the evidence.
It depends on the facts. A trucking company may be responsible if it failed to properly maintain the truck or kept it in service despite a known problem. A maintenance contractor may be liable for careless inspection or repair work. A parts manufacturer may be responsible if the part was defective in design or manufacture or lacked adequate warnings. Texas law generally limits liability for sellers that did not manufacture the product, subject to the exceptions and conditions in Section 82.003 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. The driver's conduct may also be reviewed, including whether a defect was noticed and reported.
More than one party may share responsibility. Under Texas's modified comparative negligence rule, an injured person can recover if they are not more than 50 percent responsible, but the recovery is reduced by their percentage of fault under Chapter 33 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. An attorney can evaluate how these rules apply to a specific crash.
Yes, in general. Federal regulations require commercial motor carriers to systematically inspect, repair, and maintain vehicles in safe operating condition. Drivers must also report defects that could affect safe operation. Covered commercial motor vehicles must undergo a periodic inspection at least once every 12 months.
These requirements are set out in 49 CFR Part 396. The specific requirements can vary based on the carrier, vehicle, and type of trip. Inspection, repair, and driver defect records may help determine whether a carrier followed the applicable requirements.
You may be able to, depending on the facts. A claim typically requires showing that a part was defective in its design or manufacture, or lacked adequate warnings or instructions, and that the defect contributed to the crash and your injuries. These claims often require expert analysis of the failed part.
Preserving the part is important because it may be harder to examine after it has been discarded, repaired, or altered. An attorney can evaluate whether a product defect claim may apply, along with potential claims against the trucking company or a maintenance contractor.
Useful evidence may include the Texas peace officer's crash report, photographs or video from the scene, witness statements, medical records, and information about the vehicles involved.
In mechanical failure cases, key evidence often includes the truck and failed part, maintenance and inspection records, driver defect reports, and parts or purchase records. An investigation may also review driver hours, dash camera footage, and the company's maintenance practices. Public carrier information, including FMCSA's SAFER system, may help identify the company involved.
Some evidence may be held by the trucking company and can be discarded or overwritten over time, making an early investigation important.