Houston Truck Accidents & FMCSA Hours-of-Service Violations

A Houston truck accident with a fatigued driver often comes down to one number: did the trucker break the federal Hours of Service rules before the wreck. Hank Stout, Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law and co-founder of Sutliff & Stout, Injury & Accident Lawyers, joins Abby Arnold to break down the ELD and black box data that proves a violation and how Texas law decides who pays when a tired trucker causes a crash in Harris County. Questions answered in this episode: What are the federal Hours of Service rules for truck drivers? What is an ELD and what does it record? How fast does ELD data disappear after a truck crash? How does respondeat superior apply to trucking companies in Texas? How does the Texas 51% comparative fault rule work? How long do I have to file a truck accident lawsuit in Texas? Topics covered: Hours of Service Rules, the 11-hour limit, ELD data, spoliation letters, ECM black box data, dashcam footage, respondeat superior, negligent entrustment, House Bill 19, bifurcated trials, the 51% comparative fault rule, and the MCS-90 endorsement. Hank Stout on driver fatigue: "Fatigue clearly caused this collision, and getting that evidence to show how reckless this driver was was really helpful to make our case against the company and the driver." Hank Stout on the Texas 51% rule: "If it's 51% or greater, then a plaintiff doesn't recover anything. If it's less than 51%, the plaintiff will recover whatever his damages are less his percentage of fault." Hank Stout is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law and co-founder of Sutliff & Stout, Injury & Accident Lawyers (no fee unless we win).