The garbage truck that hit you belongs either to the City of Austin or to a private hauling company, and that distinction can cut your filing deadline from two years down to a matter of months. George Salinas Injury Lawyers sorts that out immediately for Austin garbage truck accident clients, in English or Spanish, with no fee unless we win.
Available 24/7. Call (512) 851-1004 today to talk to an Austin garbage truck accident lawyer about your case.
Resources On This Page
- Do You Need a Lawyer After Being Hit by a Garbage Truck?
- Was It a City Truck or a Private Hauler’s Truck?
- Why Do So Many Garbage Truck Accidents Happen While Backing Up?
- Are Garbage Trucks Regulated Like Big Commercial Trucks?
- Compensation You Can Recover After a Garbage Truck Accident
- The Cost of Hiring an Austin Garbage Truck Accident Lawyer
- How Long Do You Have to File a Claim?
- What to Do After a Crash With a Garbage Truck
- Why Austin Trusts George Salinas Injury Lawyers With These Cases
- Ask George Salinas Injury Lawyers
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Schedule Your Free Consultation
Do You Need a Lawyer After Being Hit by a Garbage Truck?
Yes, and sooner than you might with other crashes. If a government-owned truck was involved, the deadline to act can be far shorter than the usual two years, which makes this one of the few accident types where waiting even a few weeks can genuinely cost you your claim.
Was It a City Truck or a Private Hauler’s Truck?
It depends on the property being served. Austin Resource Recovery, a city department, collects trash, recycling, and compost for single-family homes and properties with four units or fewer. Apartment buildings with five or more units, and every commercial property, are required to use a licensed private hauler instead, since the city stopped taking new commercial accounts in 2015.
This matters because a crash with a city truck falls under Texas’s rules for government liability, with a notice deadline that’s often six months rather than two years. A private hauler’s truck is a standard commercial vehicle case with no such shortcut deadline.
Not sure which kind of truck hit you? Call (512) 851-1004 and we’ll help you find out right away.
Why Do So Many Garbage Truck Accidents Happen While Backing Up?
Garbage trucks stop and reverse far more often than a typical delivery vehicle, sometimes dozens of times on a single short street. Each stop creates a large blind spot directly behind and beside the truck, which is why backing accidents involving pedestrians, cyclists, and parked or passing cars are so common with this type of vehicle specifically.
Are Garbage Trucks Regulated Like Big Commercial Trucks?
More than you’d expect from a neighborhood vehicle. Most garbage trucks weigh well over 26,001 pounds fully loaded, the federal threshold that requires the driver to hold a commercial driver’s license. That puts garbage trucks in a heavier regulatory category than the delivery vans you’ll see from other carriers, closer to the rules that apply to large commercial trucks than to a typical box truck.
Compensation You Can Recover After a Garbage Truck Accident
A successful claim can cover both your immediate costs and the harder to measure parts of your recovery. This typically includes:
- Medical bills, including emergency care, surgery, and rehabilitation
- Future medical costs for a permanent or long-term injury
- Lost wages and any long-term loss of earning capacity
- Pain and suffering and emotional distress
The Cost of Hiring an Austin Garbage Truck Accident Lawyer
Nothing upfront. We handle these cases on a contingency fee, which means you pay no attorney’s fees unless we recover compensation for you. Your initial consultation is free, with no obligation to hire us afterward.
How Long Do You Have to File a Claim?
It depends entirely on who owns the truck. A claim against a private hauler follows Texas’s standard two-year deadline. A claim involving a City of Austin truck generally requires written notice within six months, sometimes less depending on the city’s own rules. Treat every garbage truck accident as if the shorter deadline applies until a lawyer confirms otherwise.
What to Do After a Crash With a Garbage Truck
What you do in the first hours and days can affect both your health and your claim. Here’s what matters most:
- Get medical care right away, even if you feel mostly fine.
- Call the police so a crash report gets filed.
- Photograph the truck, including any markings that show whether it’s a city truck or a private hauler, plus the license plate and any unit number.
- Get the names and contact information of any witnesses.
- Avoid giving a recorded statement to the city’s or hauler’s insurer before talking to a lawyer.
Why Austin Trusts George Salinas Injury Lawyers With These Cases
Garbage truck accidents often involve municipal entities or complex private contracts. These cases move fast and require a team that understands local government notice deadlines.
- The Insider’s Advantage: We know how insurance carriers try to exploit municipal immunity and contract loopholes. Our insider knowledge allows us to bypass these roadblocks.
- Proven Results: We have over 110 years of combined experience and over $100 million recovered. We fight for the full value of your long-term recovery needs.
- Trial-Ready Authority: George Salinas is an ABOTA member, which means we have the trial experience necessary to face off against even the most well-funded city or private defense teams.
- Local Insight & 24/7 Service: We know Austin’s residential neighborhoods and waste routes intimately.
Contact our 24/7 team in English or Spanish—we never hand you off to a call center.
Meet Our Top-Rated Austin Garbage Truck Accident Attorneys
Ask George Salinas Injury Lawyers
Q: What if I don’t know whether the truck was a city truck or a private hauler’s?
A: That’s common, and it’s not something you need to figure out alone. The truck’s markings, the route, and the property it was serving usually make it possible to identify the owner quickly, which matters most if a shorter government deadline might apply.
Q: What if the garbage truck was backing up when it hit me?
A: That’s actually one of the more provable scenarios. Backing accidents often come down to whether the driver used a spotter, a backup alarm, or a camera system properly, and that kind of company policy and training record can become important evidence.
Q: Can I sue the City of Austin the same way I’d sue a private hauling company?
A: Not exactly. Texas law limits how and when you can sue a government entity, including a much shorter notice deadline and some caps on what you can recover. A private hauler doesn’t get those same protections.
Q: What if the truck was hauling trash from an apartment complex, not a house?
A: That’s a useful clue. Apartment buildings with five or more units are required to use a private hauler, not the city, so a crash involving that kind of route is more likely a standard commercial vehicle case.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I was a sanitation worker who got hurt on the job, not a bystander?
That’s typically a workers’ compensation matter first, separate from a claim against another driver who caused the crash. If a third party, not your employer, caused the accident, you may still have a separate injury claim worth exploring.
Will the city or the hauler try to settle quickly?
Sometimes, especially once liability looks clear. It’s worth talking to a lawyer before accepting anything, since an early offer rarely accounts for the full extent of your injuries.
What if I was found partially at fault for the crash?
You can still recover compensation as long as you’re found 50% or less at fault, though your payout is reduced by your percentage of responsibility. For example, $150,000 in damages with 25% fault assigned to you would reduce your recovery to $112,500.
Will my case go to trial?
Most claims settle before trial, but we prepare every case as though it’s headed to a jury. That preparation is often exactly what convinces the other side to offer a fair settlement instead of risking a verdict.
Schedule Your Free Consultation
If a garbage truck left you hurt in Austin, don’t wait to find out which filing deadline applies to your case. Call George Salinas Injury Lawyers at (512) 851-1004 for a free consultation in English or Spanish. There’s no fee unless we win.