Undefeated Texas Truck Accident Lawyers
Federal data shows that fatigue contributes to up to 40% of all truck crashes nationwide — and potentially even more in Texas. However, fatigue and inexperience rarely appear in crash reports unless they are obvious, admitted, or supported by hard evidence.
As trucking booms in Texas, the conditions that produce exhaustion and inexperience have become nearly unavoidable on our roads: Overnight routes, long-haul schedules, oilfield traffic, a rapid influx of newer and unqualified drivers, and constant pressure to cut corners are driving a surge in deadly accidents. Yet these factors are routinely missed, minimized, or misclassified in official statistics — and they are among the hardest to prove at trial.
Only the most experienced attorneys know exactly where to look, how to connect evidence, and how to prove that the trucking company and driver were at fault after a fatigue-related truck crash — all while taking on carriers who will stop at nothing to avoid responsibility, including concealing or “losing” evidence.
At Zehl & Associates, our undefeated Texas truck accident lawyers uncover what crash reports leave out, hold negligent carriers fully accountable, and help families secure their futures after these preventable tragedies. With Billions won for accident victims, we have the resources and experience to take on the largest trucking companies in the world and not just win, but recover record-setting truck accident verdicts and settlements on behalf of our clients.
Below, we examine how fatigued and inexperienced driving continues to fuel Texas’s truck crash crisis, why these human factors are so difficult to document, and how our team uncovers the evidence needed to prove what really happened after a serious or fatal truck accident.
Fatigue-Related Truck Crashes in Texas: The Growing Gap Between Reality & Reporting
At first glance, recent National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data suggests fatigue-related truck fatalities in Texas have declined. In 2023, fatigue was cited in 21 fatal truck crashes, resulting in 24 deaths — down from 43 fatal fatigue-related crashes in 2021, the deadliest recent year on record with 51 deaths reported.
But that apparent improvement hinges on how crashes are classified, not necessarily on what caused them.
Fatigue is notoriously difficult to document after serious and fatal truck crashes. Unlike speeding or intoxication, there are no roadside tests to measure exhaustion, circadian disruption, or alertness. There isn’t even an objective threshold, like a blood-alcohol level, to define when a driver is too tired to operate a commercial vehicle.
As a result, officers at the scene often cannot determine whether a driver had been awake for extended periods, violated Hours-of-Service rules, suffered from an untreated sleep disorder, falsified logbooks, or was newly hired and inadequately trained. And when drivers do not survive or records are incomplete, those human factors are often missed entirely.
To understand the true scope of the problem, it’s necessary to look beyond how crashes are labeled, and examine when they occur, how they happen, and what the driver’s and trucking company’s safety history reveals.
Overnight Fatal Truck Crashes Are Increasing
Fatigue can affect a truck driver at any hour. But the period between midnight and 6 a.m. remains the most dangerous window for truck drivers due to circadian rhythm disruption and accumulated sleep debt. During those hours, Texas has seen no meaningful improvement in fatal truck crash rates since 2021, the deadliest year on record for fatigue-related truck crashes in Texas:
- 214 fatalities in 2023 (30% of all truck crash deaths)
- 227 fatalities in 2022 (28% of all truck crash deaths)
- 213 fatalities in 2021 (26% of all truck crash deaths)
Even though fewer crashes are being officially classified as “fatigue-related,” the proportion of deaths occurring during the most fatigue-prone hours has steadily increased — from roughly one quarter to nearly one third of all fatal truck crashes statewide.
Texas Data Shows Fatigue and Inexperience Behind the Spike in Fatal Truck Crashes
State data reinforces this trend. According to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), fatal truck crashes also show a slight increase in crashes from midnight and 6 a.m. from 2023 to 2024, rising from 109 fatal crashes to 115.
In 2025, at least 96 fatal truck crashes in Texas were reported during these overnight hours, resulting in 103 confirmed deaths and 200 or more serious injuries. These figures are expected to rise as enforcement struggles to keep pace with Texas’s expanding trucking corridors and overnight freight demands.
FMCSA Data Reveals an Industry-Wide Problem With Fatigued, Inexperienced, and Unqualified Drivers
Crash reports may understate fatigue, but Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) enforcement data does not.
A review of FMCSA Safety Measurement System (SMS) data covering the 24-month period ending December 26, 2025 reveals thousands of fatigue-related violations among five of the nation’s largest trucking companies: UPS, FedEx, JB Hunt, XPO, and Schneider National.
During that same period, these companies were involved in dozens of fatal truck crashes in Texas, tragically claiming at least 28 lives.
Yet the FMCSA still rates each of these companies “satisfactory” when it comes to safety.
Most Common Fatigue-Related Violations
Across these five carriers, FMCSA records identified more than 3,450 Hours-of-Service and fatigue-related violations, including:
- Driving beyond allowable hours, placing drivers behind the wheel after legally mandated limits were exceeded (hundreds of violations)
- Failing to take federally mandated rest breaks, a core safeguard against drowsy driving (hundreds of violations)
- Falsifying records of duty status, often used to conceal excessive driving hours or skipped rest periods (hundreds of violations)
- Operating without a valid medical certificate, indicating drivers were medically unqualified to be on the road (hundreds of violations)
- Operating a truck while fatigued or impaired by illness, one of the most serious fatigue-related safety violations cited by FMCSA (at least 40 violations)
These violations are not technical errors—they are direct indicators of fatigue, medical unfitness, and systemic noncompliance.
Among the most concerning findings were the hundreds of citations for operating vehicles without valid medical certificates. This isn’t just an issue of paperwork, but safety itself. These violations often point to deeper failures including undiagnosed or untreated sleep apnea and drivers who are kept on the road despite known disqualifying conditions.
How Zehl & Associates Proves What Really Happened After a Fatigue-Related Truck Crash
The rules enforced by the FMCSA exist for one reason: to keep fatigued, unqualified, and unsafe drivers off the road. Yet federal data shows that even the largest and most recognizable trucking companies repeatedly violate these safety rules often by cutting corners. They’ll even conceal violations to protect profits and avoid responsibility.
At Zehl & Associates, our Texas truck accident attorneys know that crash reports rarely tell the full story. We know which violations matter, where critical evidence is often hidden, and how to use that information to prove what really caused a serious or fatal truck crash.
Once hired, we immediately assemble a team of experienced trial lawyers, accident reconstructionists, and trucking safety experts to conduct an independent investigation. That process often uncovers:
- Drivers who should not have been operating a commercial vehicle
- Carriers that failed to verify medical qualification or Hours-of-Service compliance
- Known fatigue risks that were ignored or deliberately concealed
- Overlapping HOS and safety violations that reveal chronic overwork
- Crashes that were entirely preventable
Fatigue-related violations rarely stand alone. As part of our investigation, we also examine patterns of unsafe driving ,such as speeding, distracted driving, and cell phone use, as well as CDL-related violations that raise serious concerns about driver training, supervision, and fitness to operate a commercial vehicle.
Our Unwavering Commitment in Action: Record-Setting $35 Million Fatigue-Related Truck Crash Settlement
Our meticulous approach led to a $35 million settlement for the Longoria family, whose loved one was tragically killed by a fatigued Ben E. Keith truck driver on Interstate 35 in Dallas, Texas — the #1 largest single-plaintiff personal injury settlement in Fort Worth history.
Our investigation revealed that the driver was severely fatigued, suffered from untreated sleep apnea, and was operating on an inverted sleep schedule at the time of the crash. Despite these known risks, the company failed to equip the truck with industry-standard safety monitoring systems designed to detect fatigue and prevent exactly this type of tragedy.
Although Ben E. Keith, one of the nation’s largest food distributors, adamantly denied responsibility, our trial team knew exactly where to look and how to prove what really happened.
We demonstrated that:
- The driver suffered from untreated sleep apnea and was medically unqualified to drive overnight routes
- The driver was experiencing clear fatigue-related symptoms at the time of the crash
- The carrier’s removal of dash cameras reduced oversight and driver accountability
- The company had a documented history of fatigue violations, falsified logs, and ignored medical-certification requirements that failed to meet federal safety standards
By exposing these failures, we were able to hold the company fully accountable, securing justice and maximum compensation for a family whose loss never should have occurred.
Undefeated Texas Truck Accident Lawyers: 1-888-603-3636 for a Free Consultation
With decades of experience and Billions won, our Texas truck accident lawyers don’t just win for victims of fatigue-related truck crashes: We set records. Having secured some of the largest verdicts and settlements in history, we have the expertise and resources to ensure you obtain the justice and full compensation you deserve.
If you or someone you love was injured in a truck crash, call 1-888-603-3636 or send us a confidential email at our Contact Us page.
All consultations are free and, because we exclusively represent clients on a contingency-fee basis, you’ll pay nothing unless we win your case.
FAQs
Yes. Driver fatigue is rarely documented unless it is explicitly admitted or proven through logbooks, electronic logging device (ELD) data, medical records, or FMCSA safety violations. In many fatal crashes, key evidence is missing or incomplete, causing fatigue to go unreported even when it played a major role.
That’s why it’s critical to have an experienced Truck Accident Attorney with a history of gathering key evidence to prove what really happened, and, most importantly, using it to hold the trucking company full accountable and recover maximum compensation.
Overnight driving disrupts a driver’s circadian rhythm, making fatigue most severe between midnight and 6 a.m. During these hours, alertness drops, reaction times slow, and the risk of falling asleep at the wheel increases—especially for long-haul drivers operating on inverted or irregular sleep schedules.
Yes. Trucking companies can be held legally responsible when they ignore federal Hours-of-Service rules, fail to verify medical certification, overlook known fatigue risks, or maintain a pattern of safety violations. Liability often extends beyond the driver to the carrier that allowed unsafe driving conditions to persist.
When you hire Zehl & Associates, we investigate thoroughly to identify every at-fault party — from the driver to the carrier, supervisors, and anyone who contributed to the crash — and hold them all fully accountable for the harm caused.
Fatigue-related truck crashes are rarely caused by a single factor. Common contributors include:
- Undiagnosed sleep disorders
- Untreated obstructive sleep apnea
- Fatigue-related symptoms
- Excessive driving hours & Hours of Service (HOS) violations
- Falsified logbooks
- Overnight driving
- Inverted sleep schedules & chronic fatigue
- Defective or missing safety equipment & fatigue-monitoring systems
- Corporate negligence
- Other contributing factors such as speeding and distraction
Most fatigue-related crashes involve multiple overlapping failures, making them easier for trucking companies and insurers to deny—unless the case is thoroughly investigated.
From the moment a crash occurs, trucking companies and their insurers focus on minimizing payouts. At Zehl & Associates, we focus on protecting you.
Our Texas truck accident lawyers conduct independent investigations to uncover fatigue-related violations, expose safety failures, and prove what really caused the crash. We also:
- Make sure you have access to the best doctors to treat your injuries at no upfront cost to you
- Prove what the truck driver could — and should — have done to prevent the crash
- Hold the trucking company fully responsible for knowingly violating safety rules
- Reject any settlement that fails to fully compensate you and your family
- Take your case to trial, where our truck accident lawyers remain undefeated
With Billions won, we have the experience, track record, and determination to secure the justice and full compensation your family deserves.
Federal safety regulations often play a critical role in proving both who was at fault and the full extent of your damages. But the larger the trucking company, the harder they fight to avoid responsibility.
At Zehl & Associates, we dig deep into the company’s entire safety record, exposing patterns of:
- Forcing drivers to exceed Hours of Service limits and drive fatigued
- Hiring unqualified, medically unfit, or inexperienced drivers
- Inadequate training and supervision
- Poor truck maintenance
- Pressuring drivers to speed or use their phones behind the wheel
- Failing to enforce drug and alcohol testing policies
By proving a company’s repeated, reckless violations, we don’t just hold the company full accountable — we prove gross negligence, opening the door to punitive damages and significantly increasing the value of your case.
In fact, we’ve recovered punitive damages against every single trucking company we’ve ever taken to trial, and won, sending a clear message: putting profits over safety will cost you more than you ever expected.
Zehl & Associates has never lost a case at trial.
With Billions won and having successfully represented thousands of truck accident victims, our results include some of the most significant recoveries for victims of fatigue-related truck crashes in Texas, including cases involving:
- Undiagnosed sleep disorders
- Untreated obstructive sleep apnea
- Fatigue-related symptoms
- Excessive driving hours & Hours of Service (HOS) violations
- Falsified logbooks
- Overnight driving
- Inverted sleep schedules & chronic fatigue
- Defective or missing safety equipment & fatigue-monitoring systems
- Corporate negligence
- Other contributing factors such as speeding and distraction
Our recent victories include a record-setting $32M settlement for a family seriously injured by a fatigued oilfield driver in West Texas and a $35M settlement for a family whose loved one was tragically killed by a fatigued truck driver in Dallas, Texas — the largest in the trucking company’s corporate history.
For more information about our History of Record-Setting Victories for Victims of Fatigued Commercial Drivers, check out our results page.