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A tire blowout on a pickup truck is one of the most violent, unpredictable events that can happen on a Dallas-area road. When a tire fails at highway speed, the driver loses control in a fraction of a second. Other drivers have no warning. The result is often a rollover, a sideswipe, or a head-on collision that leaves victims with serious injuries and a lot of unanswered questions about who is responsible. If you or someone you love was hurt in a tire blowout pickup truck crash near Denton or anywhere in the Dallas area, Chandler Ross Injury Attorneys is here to help. Call us at (940) 800-2500 for a free consultation with our team of personal injury lawyers.
Table of Contents
- Why Tire Blowouts on Pickup Trucks Are So Dangerous in the Dallas Area
- Texas Law and Tire Safety Requirements That Apply to Pickup Truck Drivers
- Who Can Be Held Liable for a Tire Blowout Pickup Truck Crash in Dallas
- What Evidence Matters Most in a Tire Blowout Pickup Truck Crash Case
- How Texas Negligence Law Affects Your Pickup Truck Blowout Injury Claim
- FAQs About Tire Blowout Pickup Truck Crashes in Dallas
Why Tire Blowouts on Pickup Trucks Are So Dangerous in the Dallas Area
Pickup trucks are heavier and taller than passenger cars. That combination makes a tire failure far more dangerous than it would be on a smaller vehicle. When a rear tire blows out on an F-150 or a Chevy Silverado traveling at 70 mph on I-35E near the Denton County line, the vehicle shifts violently to one side. The driver instinctively overcorrects. That overcorrection is what sends the truck into adjacent lanes or off the road entirely.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), approximately 11,000 tire-related crashes happen in the United States each year. A significant portion of those involve trucks and larger vehicles. The weight and height of a pickup truck raise the center of gravity, which increases rollover risk the moment a tire fails.
Dallas-area highways like I-35E, US-380, and Loop 288 in Denton see heavy pickup truck traffic every single day. These roads carry commuters, contractors, and commercial drivers. The Texas heat also plays a role. Pavement temperatures on a summer afternoon near the University of North Texas campus can push well above 150 degrees Fahrenheit. That heat accelerates tire degradation, making blowouts more likely during the hottest months.
Tire pressure below the recommended level can cause high heat generation, which in turn can cause rapid tire wear and blowout. Many pickup truck drivers in Denton and Dallas carry heavy loads in their truck beds, which puts even more stress on tires that are already underinflated or worn. That combination creates the exact conditions for a catastrophic failure.
The aftermath of a blowout crash is rarely simple. Debris scatters across multiple lanes. Other drivers swerve to avoid the disabled truck, causing secondary crashes. What started as a single tire failure can quickly become a multi-vehicle pileup on a busy stretch of highway near Denton’s Rayzor Ranch area or on the Dallas North Tollway.
Texas Law and Tire Safety Requirements That Apply to Pickup Truck Drivers
Texas law sets clear standards for tire condition, and those standards apply to every pickup truck on the road. Driving on defective or worn tires is not just dangerous, it is a legal violation that can be used as evidence of negligence in a personal injury claim.
Under Texas Transportation Code Section 547.612, restrictions on tire use are specific and enforceable. The statute prohibits operating a vehicle with tires that have metal in contact with the roadway, except in very narrow farm-use circumstances. Vehicle tires must be of adequate capacity to support the vehicle’s gross weight. Each tire must have a tread configuration on the part of the tire that is in contact with the road and may not be so smooth as to expose any tread fabric. A tire may not have a defect likely to cause failure.
For commercial pickup trucks, the Texas Department of Public Safety enforces federal standards under 49 CFR Part 393. Any tire on the front wheels of a bus, truck, or truck tractor must have a tread groove pattern depth of at least 4/32 of an inch when measured at any point on a major tread groove. This is a stricter standard than what applies to regular passenger vehicles, where 2/32 of an inch is the general safety benchmark.
If a tire is bald, with cords visible through the tread or showing severe wear, it is legally unsafe. Cuts, bulges, or sidewall separation are also prohibited conditions that can result in a traffic stop or citation. In a personal injury case, evidence that a driver was operating a pickup truck with any of these conditions is powerful proof of negligence.
Texas Transportation Code Section 547.612 also prohibits the sale of regrooved private passenger automobile tires, with violations carrying fines between $500 and $2,000. When a defective or regrooved tire causes a crash, the seller or manufacturer may share liability alongside the driver. That is why identifying all responsible parties matters so much in these cases.
Who Can Be Held Liable for a Tire Blowout Pickup Truck Crash in Dallas
Liability in a tire blowout crash does not always fall on just one person. Texas law allows injury victims to pursue claims against multiple parties, and identifying all of them is critical to recovering full compensation.
The pickup truck driver is the most obvious starting point. If the driver knew or should have known that the tires were worn, underinflated, or damaged, continuing to drive is negligence. A driver who ignores a visible bulge in the sidewall or a TPMS warning light before heading down US-380 through Denton County has failed in their basic duty of care.
Employers can also be liable. If the pickup truck was used for work purposes, such as a contractor’s truck hauling tools to a job site near Denton’s construction corridors, the employer may be responsible under the legal theory of respondeat superior. This theory holds that an employer is liable for the negligent acts of an employee committed within the scope of employment. Claims involving company-owned pickup trucks and employer liability are common in the Dallas area, where construction and trade work drive heavy pickup truck use.
Tire manufacturers face liability when a defect in design or manufacturing caused the blowout. If a defective tire causes a blowout due to a design flaw, manufacturing defect, or quality control issue, the manufacturer may be held legally responsible through a product liability claim. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards under 49 CFR Part 571 set specific performance requirements for light truck tires. A tire that fails those standards and causes injury is the basis for a products liability claim against the manufacturer.
Road conditions are a third avenue. If a blowout was caused by road debris, potholes, or poor road conditions, a government entity or road construction crew may bear some responsibility. Denton County and the City of Denton have a duty to maintain safe roadways. When a pothole or road hazard on a local road like Scripture Street or McKinney Street triggers a tire failure, a government liability claim may be possible under the Texas Tort Claims Act.
What Evidence Matters Most in a Tire Blowout Pickup Truck Crash Case
Winning a tire blowout case depends on evidence. The physical evidence from the scene, the vehicle, and the tires themselves tells the story of what happened and who is responsible. Acting quickly to preserve that evidence is one of the most important steps you can take after a crash.
The failed tire is the most critical piece of physical evidence. It needs to be preserved before it is discarded or destroyed. An accident reconstruction expert can examine the tire to determine whether the failure was caused by impact, wear, underinflation, a manufacturing defect, or road debris. That analysis directly shapes the theory of liability in your case.
The Texas Peace Officer’s Crash Report, known as the CR-3 form, is another key document. NHTSA established Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 138, which requires tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) on all new light vehicles. If the crash report notes that the TPMS warning light was active before the crash, that fact alone can establish that the driver had notice of the tire problem. Under Texas Transportation Code § 550.062, any law enforcement officer who investigates a motor vehicle crash resulting in injury or property damage of $1,000 or more must submit a written report to TxDOT within ten days. You can obtain a certified copy of the CR-3 through TxDOT’s Crash Report Online Purchase System for use in legal proceedings.
Maintenance records are equally important. A truck accident lawyer can subpoena the pickup truck owner’s maintenance history to show when the tires were last inspected or replaced. If those records reveal that the tires were overdue for replacement or that a known defect was ignored, that is direct evidence of negligence.
Surveillance footage from nearby businesses, dashcam video, and witness statements also play a major role. Denton has a growing number of commercial corridors along Loop 288 and I-35E where cameras are common. Securing that footage quickly matters because many systems overwrite footage within 30 to 72 hours of an incident.
How Texas Negligence Law Affects Your Pickup Truck Blowout Injury Claim
Texas uses a modified comparative negligence system, sometimes called the 51% rule. This rule, codified in the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, means that you can recover damages as long as you are found to be less than 51% responsible for the crash. Your total compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault. If a jury finds you 20% at fault, your award is reduced by 20%.
Insurance companies use this rule aggressively. An adjuster handling a blowout claim may argue that you were following too closely, driving too fast, or that you failed to avoid the truck after the blowout occurred. Those arguments are designed to push your fault percentage up and reduce the payout. Having a car accident lawyer who understands how comparative negligence works in Dallas County and Denton County courts is essential to pushing back on those claims.
Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.003(a), personal injury and wrongful death claims carry a two-year statute of limitations. That clock starts on the date of the crash. Missing that deadline almost always means losing your right to compensation entirely. Two years sounds like a long time, but building a strong case takes months of investigation, expert retention, and legal preparation. Waiting too long puts your claim at risk.
Damages in a Texas pickup truck blowout case can include medical expenses, lost wages, future medical costs, loss of earning capacity, pain and suffering, and emotional distress. In cases involving egregious conduct, such as a driver who knowingly drove on a completely bald tire at highway speed through a busy Denton intersection, punitive damages may also be available. Every case is different, and past results in other cases do not guarantee the same outcome in yours. What matters is building the strongest possible claim based on your specific facts.
Chandler Ross Injury Attorneys serves injury victims in Denton, Dallas, and throughout North Texas. Our office is located in Denton, close to the Denton County Courthouse on West McKinney Street. If you were hurt in a tire blowout pickup truck crash, call us today at (940) 800-2500. We work on a contingency fee basis, which means you pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you.
Attorney responsible for this content: Chandler Ross, primary practice location: Denton, Texas. Results in prior cases do not guarantee or predict a similar result in future cases. Each case is different and must be evaluated on its own facts.
FAQs About Tire Blowout Pickup Truck Crashes in Dallas
Who pays for my injuries if a pickup truck’s tire blew out and hit my car?
Liability depends on the cause of the blowout. If the driver was negligent in maintaining the tires, their auto liability insurance is the starting point for your claim. If a defective tire caused the failure, the manufacturer may also be liable through a product liability claim. If road debris or a pothole triggered the blowout, a government entity could bear partial responsibility. Texas law allows you to pursue claims against multiple parties at once, so you are not limited to just one source of recovery.
What if the pickup truck driver says the blowout was unavoidable?
Drivers often claim a blowout was sudden and unforeseeable. However, most tire failures leave warning signs, including visible wear, sidewall bulging, vibration, or a TPMS warning light. If any of those signs existed before the crash, the driver had notice and a duty to act. An investigation of the tire, the vehicle’s maintenance records, and the crash report can reveal whether the driver ignored those warnings. A claim of “unavoidable accident” is a defense that must be challenged with evidence, not accepted at face value.
How long do I have to file a lawsuit after a tire blowout crash in Texas?
Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.003(a) gives you two years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit. If a loved one died in the crash, the two-year window for a wrongful death claim begins on the date of death, not the date of the accident. Missing this deadline typically ends your right to recover compensation. Acting early also gives your legal team time to preserve the failed tire, obtain the CR-3 crash report, and secure surveillance footage before it is lost.
Can I still recover compensation if I was partly at fault for the crash?
Yes, as long as your share of fault is less than 51%. Texas uses a modified comparative negligence system, which means your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault. For example, if your total damages are $200,000 and you are found 25% at fault, you would recover $150,000. Insurance adjusters will try to assign you as much fault as possible to reduce their payout. Having legal representation helps you counter those arguments and protect the full value of your claim.
What should I do immediately after being hit by a pickup truck that had a tire blowout?
Call 911 and get a police report filed. Texas Transportation Code Section 550.062 requires officers to submit a written CR-3 crash report to TxDOT within ten days for crashes involving injury or significant property damage. Get medical attention right away, even if you feel fine, because some injuries like internal trauma or traumatic brain injury are not immediately obvious. Photograph the scene, the damaged tire, and all vehicles. Do not give a recorded statement to any insurance company before speaking with an attorney. Contact Chandler Ross Injury Attorneys at (940) 800-2500 as soon as possible so we can begin preserving evidence and protecting your rights.
More Resources About Vehicle Defects & Mechanical Failures
- Brake Failure Pickup Truck Accidents in Dallas
- Steering Failure Pickup Truck Accidents in Dallas
- Suspension Failure Pickup Truck Crashes in Dallas
- Engine Failure Pickup Truck Accidents in Dallas
- Defective Pickup Truck Design Accidents in Dallas
- Pickup Truck Recall Accidents in Dallas
- Aftermarket Modification Pickup Truck Accidents in Dallas
- Lift Kit-Related Pickup Truck Accidents in Dallas
