US-75 is the spine of Collin County. Every weekday morning, it hums with commuters from Anna, Melissa, and McKinney rolling south to Plano and Dallas. By mid-afternoon, the tempo shifts as delivery box trucks tangle with long-haul rigs threading through interchange merges near Eldorado Parkway and Highway 121. When a tractor-trailer tips or a tanker slides across two lanes on a wet evening, this corridor locks up fast. In those minutes, the decisions you make matter. I’ve walked crash scenes under sodium lights and reviewed dash-cam footage frame by frame. A fair outcome after a commercial truck wreck isn’t about one big swing; it’s about a sequence of precise moves grounded in evidence, statute, and local practice.
This is the view from a McKinney injury lawyer who has tried cases born on US-75. Not a checklist pulled from a handbook—hard lessons learned from pavement, medical records, and negotiation tables.
Why US-75 Is Different
Not all highways breed the same types of crashes. US-75 slices through urban density, has frequent on-ramps, and hosts a mix of passenger cars, pickups, hazmat carriers, and 18-wheelers. Traffic compresses where frontage roads feed into the main lanes, especially between Virginia Parkway and Bloomdale Road, and again near the split with Sam Rayburn Tollway. Add road work, shifting lane markings, and sudden rubbernecking when DPS units hit their lights, and you get the perfect setup for underride collisions and jackknifes.
Weather plays a starring role. Thin frost on overpasses north of Town Lake in January has caused more than one tractor-trailer to fishtail. In late spring, when a cell drops a sheet of rain, braking distances balloon. A loaded rig at 65 mph needs roughly two football fields to stop under ideal conditions; throw in worn tires or a distracted driver checking a dispatch tablet, and you have a recipe for disaster.
The human factor may be the hinge. Many commercial drivers are professionals, but fatigue and tight delivery windows push margins. Electronic logging devices theoretically cap hours of service, yet logs don’t always tell the full story. I’ve deposed drivers who swore they took their 30-minute break, only for their fuel and toll receipts to tell another tale.
Common Patterns We See On This Corridor
A crash isn’t just impact; it is sequence. On US-75, patterns repeat.
Rear underride at low light: Winter dusk near 5:30 p.m., southbound traffic slows around Stacy Road. A semi with dim or obstructed taillights stops short. The trailing SUV slips under the trailer’s rear guard, which fails or is improperly maintained. Injuries skew severe: facial fractures, traumatic brain injuries, and cervical spine damage.
Lane-change squeeze near on-ramps: A tractor-trailer drifts left to make room for merging vehicles by Exchange Parkway. A compact car sits in the truck’s blind spot. Mirrors don’t catch it, the trailer encroaches, and the smaller car ricochets into the median barrier.
Improperly secured cargo in the heat: Summer expansion jobs bring flatbeds with construction materials. Straps weaken. A sudden brake and the load shifts, landing on the shoulder or, worse, across the number two lane. The first collision is with cargo, the second with the truck that initiated the chain reaction.
Brake fade on long hauls: Rigs running south from Oklahoma into McKinney hit traffic abruptly. A driver riding the brakes mutes stopping power over miles. When lanes compress near the Virginia Parkway exit, the semi can’t stop in time.
These recurring themes guide how a McKinney personal injury lawyer triangulates fault and builds proof. Patterns are not destiny, but they tell you where to dig.
The Evidence That Wins Truck Cases
If you’re hurt in a collision with a commercial vehicle, you don’t fight fair with mere photographs of crumpled fenders. Truck cases live and die on specialized evidence. The sooner we secure it, the stronger your position.
- The truck’s electronic control module and telematics: The ECM records speed, brake application, throttle position, and fault codes around the time of impact. Third-party telematics may log hard-braking events, lane departures, GPS points, and hours-of-service details. We send a spoliation letter immediately to preserve this data before it cycles or “accidentally” disappears. Driver qualification and compliance files: A carrier’s hiring and training materials, prior incident reports, pre-trip inspection checklists, random drug test compliance, and any disciplinary records reveal whether the company put an unsafe driver on US-75. Maintenance and repair logs: Brake service intervals, tire replacement dates, and any citations for out-of-service equipment matter. A single worn slack adjuster can change the narrative from “unavoidable accident” to “preventable negligence.” External video: City of McKinney traffic cameras, private business surveillance near off-ramps, dash cams from nearby vehicles, and even Tesla Sentry Mode footage form a mosaic of the minutes before impact. On congested urban freeways, bystander video often plugs gaps in witness memory. Load documentation: Bill of lading, weight tickets, and shipper instructions can reveal unsafe loading practices or pressure to violate hours-of-service. If cargo shifted, we demand to inspect securing devices and talk to the loader.
Those aren’t academic curiosities. They answer the story contests that always crop up: Was the truck speeding down the hill past Wilmeth Road, or did a compact cut in front? Did the driver brake too late, or did the brakes fail because of missed maintenance? You don’t win these debates with adjectives. You win with data.
The First 48 Hours After the Wreck
A lot happens quickly. Insurance adjusters call you before the airbag dust settles. The trucking company dispatches a response team to the scene. If you’re in a hospital bed at Medical City McKinney or Baylor Scott & White in McKinney, the last thing you need is to negotiate with a carrier’s representative fishing for recorded statements.
Here is a tight, practical sequence that protects your claim without overcomplicating your life in the first two days:
- Prioritize medical evaluation and follow through. If the EMTs recommend transport, take it. If you walk away, see a doctor the same day. Documenting pain, dizziness, or numbness early can be the difference between a recognized concussion and a “minor bump” dismissed later. Avoid recorded statements. Refer insurers to your McKinney injury lawyer. Casual comments—“I didn’t see him,” “I’m probably fine”—resurface months later, stripped of context. Preserve your vehicle. Don’t authorize a total loss salvage without photographs and an inspection opportunity for your lawyer’s expert. Impact points and crush depth help reconstruct speed and angles. Gather names and contact information. If you’re able, get witnesses’ phone numbers before the scene clears. Body-worn camera footage from responding officers helps, but independent witnesses carry real weight. Save everything. Hospital discharge papers, pharmacy receipts, tow notices, and even ride-share invoices for doctor visits add up to an accurate ledger of damages.
Those steps are routine for a McKinney car accident lawyer, but they aren’t instinctive for someone who just lived through a violent crash. Treat them as your anchor points.
Texas Law and How Fault Is Proven
Texas follows a modified comparative negligence rule. If a jury finds you 51 percent or more at fault, you recover nothing; if you’re less than 51 percent at fault, your recovery is reduced by your percentage of responsibility. The spread between 49 and 51 percent is where cases are won and lost.
Truck cases add layers. A driver’s negligence is one vector, but a carrier’s corporate choices often aggravate fault: negligent hiring, negligent entrustment, negligent supervision, or failure to maintain equipment. When we can credibly show the company cut corners, settlement posture changes. Carriers are sensitive to exposure that suggests systemic problems, especially if punitive damages could come into play.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations set the baseline. Hours-of-service limits, pre-trip inspections, alcohol and drug testing, cargo securement, and maintenance standards all live in the FMCSR. They aren’t easy reading, but they function like speed limits for the broader operation. A breach isn’t automatic negligence under Texas law, yet it’s strong evidence of it. We marry the regulations to the facts of US-75: the time of day, the weather, the merge geometry, the driver’s schedule, and the company’s route planning.
Medical Trajectories We See Often
A truck’s mass multiplies force. That’s physics you feel in medical records.
Cervical and thoracic spine injuries dominate, especially where a passenger vehicle absorbs a high rear impact. Disc bulges and herniations appear on MRI weeks after the crash when initial X-rays look clean. A typical sequence: conservative care with physical therapy, then epidural steroid injections if symptoms persist, and, in a minority of cases, surgical intervention such as an anterior cervical discectomy and fusion. Each step has a cost and a recovery curve, and each step tells the story of your pain and limitations.
Traumatic brain injuries present quietly. A normal CT in the ER doesn’t clear you of a concussion. Clients describe delayed light sensitivity, headaches, memory lapses, and irritability. Spouses notice personality changes. Neuropsychological evaluations and vestibular therapy, when documented well, align symptoms with the mechanics of the wreck and rebut the frequent defense trope that “it was just a fender-bender.”
Shoulder and knee injuries arise when drivers brace before impact. Labral tears, rotator cuff damage, or meniscal tears may need arthroscopy. Combined injuries—neck and shoulder, knee and lower back—create compounding disability and longer time away from work.
I raise these not to dramatize but to set expectations. If a McKinney auto accident lawyer talks only about property damage valuations and not about the arc of your medical care, you’re working with half a case.
Insurance Dynamics: Why Truck Cases Feel Different
Expect multiple policies and a tug-of-war between them. The driver may carry a personal policy, the motor carrier has a commercial policy, a broker or shipper could have contingent coverage, and if a defective component is suspected, a manufacturer sits in the wings. Minimum federal liability limits for interstate carriers typically start at $750,000 and go higher for hazmat, but many reputable carriers carry $1 million primary with excess layers. That sounds like plenty until a life-care plan projects several million dollars in future needs.
Adjusters for motor carriers are seasoned. They hire defense firms that know Collin County jurors, and they plan early for trial even while they make friendly overtures about “getting this resolved.” The quick-check offer arrives in days, not weeks. It is rarely aligned with the complexity of your injuries or the long horizon of your recovery.
Subrogation can surprise you. Health insurers and hospital lienholders want to be repaid from your settlement. Medicare’s interests are mandatory, Medicaid’s liens require careful handling, and ERISA plans can be aggressive. A good McKinney personal injury lawyer anticipates this netting and negotiates liens in step with settlement talks so your end number reflects what you actually keep, not just what’s paid on paper.
How We Reconstruct US-75 Crashes
Reconstruction isn’t just skid marks and tape measures anymore. For a high-stakes collision, we deploy a layered approach. We download ECM data and tie it to precise GPS time stamps. We overlay that data with iPhone location histories from our client and, when available, with camera footage pulled from the City’s request process. We re-create sight lines at the precise time of day with drone photography so a jury sees what a driver saw at 5:42 p.m. in December, not at noon in June.
In one case near University Drive, the defense claimed our client darted from the shoulder into the lane. The truck’s ECM showed a hard-braking event starting 2.6 seconds before impact, but throttle percentage remained high until the last second. A driveway camera at a nearby business captured the rig drifting across the lane marker as it tried to avoid a merging pickup. The angle told a different story: the truck’s position left no escape path for a small sedan. When we melded the ECM with the video and the vehicle crush analysis, the insurer’s confidence in its narrative evaporated.
That kind of work changes settlement ranges. Numbers move when evidence is unavoidable, not when voices get louder.
Dealing With the Defense Playbook
Expect a few common moves.
They’ll argue a sudden medical emergency: a coughing fit, a syncopal episode, or another driver’s erratic behavior forced the truck into you. We counter with the driver’s medical file, logbook cadence that suggests fatigue, and vehicle data showing delayed reaction.
They’ll minimize: “Low property damage equals low injury.” We bring in biomechanical analysis where appropriate and stack medical records that chart symptoms over time. The absence of visible damage on a modern bumper doesn’t negate force transmitted to the occupant.
They’ll imply preexisting conditions. Most adults have degenerative changes in their spine by their 30s or 40s. The question is whether the collision aggravated those conditions to a symptomatic state. Your primary care physician and treating specialists are key; they can speak to your baseline before the crash versus after. Employers and coworkers, too, become powerful witnesses when they describe changes in your stamina or focus.
They’ll delay. Litigation fatigue is real. If your McKinney injury lawyer isn’t pushing discovery, the defense will let the case drift. We set depositions early, demand inspection dates, and ask the court for deadlines that stick. The calendar can be a tool or a trap; we choose the former.
What Recovery Looks Like in Real Numbers
No honest lawyer promises a dollar figure. The same fracture can be worth very different amounts depending on liability clarity, medical course, venue, and the people on the jury. But we can talk categories, and we can talk ranges anchored in experience.
Medical expenses: From ER visits and imaging to surgery and rehab. In a moderate truck case without surgery, billed charges can hit the low six figures, though negotiated insurance rates reduce what’s actually paid. Surgical cases often exceed $150,000 in billed charges quickly.
Lost wages and diminished earning capacity: Hourly workers feel the immediate hit. Salaried professionals may keep pay for a time, but advancement opportunities and productivity decline carry longer-term costs. Proving diminished earning capacity usually requires an economist and vocational expert.
Pain, mental anguish, and physical impairment: Intangible, yes, but very real. Collin County juries are thoughtful. They want to see the throughline between injury and life change. Daily logs, family testimony, and candid medical notes help quantify what’s hard to price.
Future medical care: Spine injections every year or two, potential hardware removal, or the probability of adjacent segment disease after a fusion. Actuarial projections McKinney injury lawyer convert those probabilities into present value.
Punitive damages are rare and hinge on egregious conduct. When a carrier knowingly flouts safety rules or sends an unqualified driver onto US-75, that conversation becomes possible. It’s not about windfalls; it’s about deterrence.
How a Case Actually Moves: From Scene to Settlement or Trial
People imagine the courtroom. Most cases resolve before a jury assembles, but the path there matters. We open with a preservation letter, then a deep investigative dive while you focus on treatment. Once we have a firm handle on liability and the trajectory of your medical care, we prepare a demand that doesn’t just list bills but tells the story with clarity: what changed, why it matters, and how it ties to the crash.
Serious truck cases often benefit from mediation. A neutral mediator nudges both sides toward a realistic appraisal. If the carrier won’t come off a low anchor, we don’t blink. Filing suit in Collin County kicks formal discovery into gear. Depositions of the driver, the safety director, and the maintenance supervisor put pressure on weak spots. Judges in this district run efficient dockets. Trial dates don’t materialize overnight, but once they’re set, they focus minds.
A trial isn’t theater. It’s narrative proof. Jurors pay attention to authenticity. They watch the driver’s demeanor and the company representative’s answers. They look for the moment where responsibility becomes plain. A prepared McKinney auto accident lawyer structures that moment, not by grandstanding, but by assembling evidence so each piece clicks.
What You Can Do Right Now
Practical steps have weight, especially while the dust is still settling.
- Keep a simple daily log. Rate your pain, note activities you skipped, track sleep, and jot down medication side effects. A few minutes a day beats trying to recall months later. Photograph your injuries as they evolve. Bruises bloom and fade. Surgical scars change over time. Visual timelines persuade. Follow medical advice, but ask questions. If therapy is too painful or not helping, say so. Treatment gaps give the defense an opening to argue you’re fine. Stay off social media. Innocent photos—smiling at a family dinner—become exhibits that you’re “not really hurt.” Don’t feed that narrative. Loop in your employer. Honest communication about restrictions and accommodations protects your job and documents how the injury affects work.
These aren’t technical legal maneuvers. They’re habits that make your case resilient.
Choosing the Right Advocate
Experience on US-75 matters. A McKinney car accident lawyer who has handled crashes at your precise interchange knows which businesses have cameras, which Troopers document scenes meticulously, and how local jurors view corporate defendants. Ask about the firm’s access to experts—accident reconstructionists, human factors specialists, trucking safety consultants—and whether they’ve deposed safety directors before. Ask how they handle medical liens, not just how they value pain and suffering. Ask who will return your calls.
Fit matters too. This is an intimate process. You’ll talk about your sleep, your marriage, your fears about money. If you don’t feel heard in the consultation, that won’t improve later.
A Final Word for US-75 Drivers
You didn’t ask to learn the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. You wanted to take your kids to a game at Gabe Nesbitt or make a shift in Plano, not spend months in PT rooms and negotiation deadlocks. Still, when a truck takes that choice away, you have power. In Texas, truth backed by evidence carries weight. A seasoned McKinney personal injury lawyer takes the sprawl of a truck case and gives it shape: the data, the medicine, the law, and the human story. That is how justice looks on US-75—not quick checks and shrugging apologies, but accountability that matches the harm.
Contact Us
Thompson Law
Address: 321 N Central Expy STE 305, McKinney, TX 75071
Phone: (214) 390-9737