One year after Werner ruling, Texas truck crash cases face new hurdles

A year after the Texas Supreme Court overturned a $90 million Werner Enterprises verdict, Houston attorney Paul Cannon says truck crash cases in Texas now move through a tougher legal landscape shaped by bifurcated trials, higher liability standards and failed reform bills. The changes matter because Texas and national crash numbers remain high, and key evidence often sits with trucking companies.

Why it matters: - Texas truck crash victims now face a more complex path to compensation after a series of court and legislative changes reshaped how commercial vehicle cases are tried. - The stakes remain high. Texas recorded 39,393 crashes involving commercial motor vehicles in 2024, including 546 fatal crashes that killed 608 people, according to TxDOT's Commercial Motor Vehicle Involved Crashes and Injuries by County report. - Harris County led the state with 6,313 commercial vehicle crashes and 41 deaths. - Nationally, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported 5,340 deaths in crashes involving large trucks in 2024, with most victims in smaller vehicles.

What happened: - The Texas Supreme Court reversed a $90 million verdict against Werner Enterprises in a 5-3 decision one year ago. - Houston attorney Paul Cannon, who is board certified in Personal Injury Trial Law, says the ruling marks one of the most consequential trucking decisions in Texas history. - Cannon says families hurt in commercial truck crashes now face a legal landscape most Texans do not know exists. - Simmons and Fletcher, P.C. issued the statement as the ruling's anniversary passed.

The details: - Since Sept. 1, 2021, House Bill 19 has required most commercial vehicle lawsuits to be tried in two phases. - Under that law, evidence about a trucking company's hiring, training and safety history is generally pushed to the second phase. - Cannon says the Werner ruling raised the bar for holding carriers liable when a court views a crash as a circumstance rather than negligence. - Cannon says responsibility in a commercial truck crash can extend beyond the driver to the motor carrier, freight brokers, cargo loaders and maintenance providers. - Federal safety regulations often determine how fault is established in these cases. - Critical evidence such as electronic logs, dash camera footage and maintenance records usually sits with the trucking company. - Cannon says preservation demands should be sent within days of a crash, not months.

Between the lines: - The combined effect of bifurcated trials and the Werner decision makes early case strategy more important and may limit how much wrongdoing juries hear upfront. - The failed 2025 bills show that trucking litigation remains a live political issue in Texas, even though lawmakers did not change the rules this session. - Senate Bill 30 would have allowed judges to reduce jury awards above $1 million in wrongful death cases and $250,000 in personal injury cases. - Senate Bill 39 targeted trucking litigation directly. - Supporters of both bills have said they will try again when the Legislature convenes on Jan. 12, 2027.

What's next: - Truck crash lawyers are likely to keep pushing immediate evidence-preservation efforts and broader defendant discovery early in cases. - Legislative pressure may return in 2027 if supporters revive Senate Bill 30 or Senate Bill 39 concepts. - Cannon says a truck case in 2026 is not just a car case with a bigger vehicle, because responsibility is a technical question from day one.

The bottom line: - Texas truck crash litigation now turns on faster investigation, tighter liability theories and a court system that gives trucking defendants more procedural leverage than before.