09/09/2026
18 Wheeler Collision Damages and How to Recover What You Deserve
Types of 18 Wheeler Collision Damages You Can Recover
When a heavy commercial truck hits a passenger vehicle, the law divides potential compensation into specific categories under Texas civil law. In personal injury cases, compensation is broadly referred to as compensatory damages, which are designed to restore an injured person as closely as possible to the financial, physical, and emotional position they were in before the crash occurred.
These compensatory damages are broken down into two distinct categories:
Economic damages: Tangible, out-of-pocket financial losses backed by bills, receipts, paystubs, and economic forecasts.
Non-economic damages: Subjective, intangible losses that represent the personal, physical, and emotional toll of the collision.
In addition to compensatory damages, Texas law permits the recovery of exemplary (punitive) damages in specific situations involving gross negligence, malice, or intentional harm. Unlike economic and non-economic damages, exemplary damages are not awarded to repay you for your losses; they serve to punish the wrongdoer and deter similar conduct across the trucking industry. Under Chapter 41 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, exemplary damages require clear and convincing evidence that the trucking company or driver acted with conscious indifference to the rights, safety, or welfare of others. Texas statutory caps limit exemplary damages to the greater of $200,000, or two times economic damages plus an am...
Learn how to recover 18 wheeler collision damages in Houston with Westloop Law Firm's guide on compensation, liability, and Texas laws.