The name and USDOT number on the side of a truck are where you start. They won’t tell you who employed the driver, who owned the trailer, who arranged the load, who loaded it, or who did the repair everyone is now arguing about. To find a company that may be responsible, you have to tie what it actually did to a legal duty and to the thing that caused the injury.
Start with the identifiers from the actual trip
Photograph the tractor and trailer markings, the plates, the VINs and the USDOT number. Note the crash date and place, the driver’s name, the police report number, and a shipment or load number if you can get one. The tractor and the trailer may belong to different owners. The name painted on the door may be a trade name, not the legal name on the contracts and registration.
If names conflict, keep every version. Don’t pick the one you see most. The door, the crash report and the shipping papers may disagree because of a lease, a trade name, a recent sale or a plain typo. Use records from the crash date to settle it.
Use FMCSA records as leads
FMCSA’s company safety-record resources include the SAFER Company Snapshot, which lists identifying details and some operating and safety information. Save the result along with the date you pulled it, and check the legal name, address and identifiers against the truck and the trip papers. What’s posted today may not be what was true on the day of the crash.
A snapshot isn’t a full history, and it isn’t a finding of fault. FMCSA’s SAFER FAQ says the safety-rating information it displays is current, not historical. If past status matters, go get the registration filings, MCS-150 updates, authority records and other documents from that period. Today’s search can’t quietly stand in for a crash-date investigation. Our guide to FMCSA and 49 CFR evidence covers what those records can and can’t prove.
Separate the companies by function
Keep a running list. For each company, write the legal name, what it did, the document that shows it, and what you still don’t know. It’s a tool for the investigation. Being on the list doesn’t mean a company belongs in the lawsuit, and the broader question of who can be held liable for a commercial truck crash is its own analysis.
- Motor carrier and driver employer: who ran the transportation service? Look at who hired or engaged the driver, who dispatched this trip, and who was in charge of the safety function at issue.
- Tractor or trailer owner and lessor: start with title, registration and leases. Then figure out who was responsible for the maintenance or operation that matters here.
- Broker or logistics company: find out who arranged the transportation and what that company actually took on for this load.
- Shipper and loader: someone supplied the cargo, and someone loaded, secured, sealed or inspected it. Identify them and what each could see.
- Maintenance provider: tie the work orders, defect reports and invoices to the part and the condition under investigation.
- Manufacturer or seller: if the evidence raises a defect question, preserve the product and its identifying information. A part that broke after impact isn’t proof of a defect.
FMCSA distinguishes motor carriers, brokers and freight forwarders by the role each plays in transportation. The labels help you organize. The contract, the conduct and the law that applies still decide things. In Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, LLC (2026), the Supreme Court held that the negligent-hiring claim in that case fell within the FAAAA’s motor-vehicle safety exception to preemption. That holding doesn’t by itself make any broker negligent in a given case.
Follow the documents through the shipment
Go through the shipment paperwork, from the bill of lading and rate confirmation to the dispatch messages, delivery instructions, cab card, leases and payment records. It should show who chose the carrier and supplied the equipment, who set the pickup, and who heard from the driver about delays or safety problems. Follow any other company a document names; the first carrier you found may not have controlled the whole trip.
Log each record’s source and date. An email may explain what a spreadsheet leaves out. A contract shows who was supposed to do something, not who did it. And insurance papers can name an insured or raise a coverage issue without proving that the insured caused anything.
Connect each role to the collision mechanism
The crash mechanism tells you where to dig. If brakes are the issue, look at inspections, defect reports, repairs and who put the truck back in service. Fatigue points to dispatch timing and hours. Moving cargo points to the people who loaded and secured it. Stay on conduct that could matter to causation.
Then, company by company, say what it was responsible for, what it knew, and what it did or didn’t do that could have contributed. Keep proven facts and hypotheses apart. A business tie or a regulatory violation, alone, won’t answer every liability question.
Preserve records from the right custodians
Records end up scattered. The dispatch messages may be with one company, the vehicle data with another, and the shop records and loading photos somewhere else. Send preservation requests aimed at the specific trip, equipment, dates and systems, and hold on to the acknowledgments. The list of electronic evidence to preserve after a Texas truck crash is a useful checklist. Then use discovery to learn what was kept and who can explain it. Sometimes a vendor holds data the carrier can see but can’t fully export.
Keep updating the company map as records come in. What you want at the end is a supported account of who did what, not the longest possible list of defendants. Later on, Texas’s HB 19 trial rules may affect how some of that proof can be used.
Founding Attorney
Aaron A. Herbert is a Texas attorney, Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
For over a decade he has shown an unwavering commitment to clients who were seriously injured by major accidents and industrial catastrophes. During that time he has earned the reputation as one of America’s most aggressive trial lawyers by achieving noteworthy recoveries from judges and juries, as well as substantial settlements prior to trial, the majority of which contained negotiated confidentiality agreements at the request of the defense. When asked about these cases, Mr. Herbert has said that each case not only justified the recovery level, but that no one would trade places with any one of these victims in return for any amount of money, once they know the facts and severity of the injuries and tragedy involved. According to Mr. Herbert, “there can be no substitute for passion, preparation and persistence in the practice of law.” He is known not only for this tenacious preparation, but also for his imagination in the courtroom. He is passionate and persistent in seeking to obtain the maximum case value for each individual client at trial or through settlement, while reducing the stress of litigation on his clients.
Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Mr. Herbert enlisted in the United States Marine Corps after high school and later received an Honorable Discharge. After the Marines, he obtained a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Texas A&M University, then a Juris Doctorate from the University of Oklahoma College of Law. There he graduated in the top of his class and became an eternal Sooners Football fan. Aaron has worked as a zealous advocate for injured clients at several boutique personal injury litigation firms where he amassed numerous jury verdicts. After spending a year as the top earning litigation attorney at a firm that frequently tops verdict search as one with the highest number of trial wins in Texas, Aaron accepted a position as the managing pre-litigation attorney at another Dallas personal injury firm. Over the next seven years he transitioned to the managing litigation attorney, and that firm grew to one of the largest personal injury firms in Dallas. In 2010 he formed the Law Firm of Aaron A. Herbert, to get back to a focus on developing each individual case and maximizing case value for each client.
Mr. Herbert practices law with the belief that a well taken care of, highly engaged and motivated team of employees working in a cooperative team environment will result in superior representation and great results for the firm clients. He believes in always setting a goal of achieving the best possible results for each and every client.
Education
- Texas A&M University (B.S. Criminal Justice, 1999)
- University of Oklahoma College of Law (J.D., 2002)
Professional Associations
- Licensed to practice in Texas (2002)
- Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization (2008)
Publications
- Litigating Dog Bite Cases, Texas Dog Law Seminar, Dallas 2009
Member
- State Bar of Texas
- American Bar Association
- American Trial Lawyer Association
- Texas Trial Lawyers Association
- Dallas Trial Lawyers Association
- Dallas County Bar Association
- Tarrant County Bar Association
- Million Dollar Advocates Forum
- National Trial Lawyers – Top 100 Trial Lawyers
Texas Bar #24036761 · The Law Firm of Aaron A. Herbert, P.C. · Dallas, Texas