Sutliff & Stout, Injury & Accident Law Firm

Sutliff & Stout, Injury & Accident Law Firm The principal focus of Sutliff & Stout is the achievement of our client's goals through the litigati

09/02/2026

If a fatigued trucker caused your crash in Houston, Hank Stout of Sutliff & Stout has one piece of advice: call a lawyer early and often. A free consultation costs nothing, and acting quickly is what actually lets a lawyer preserve the ELD data, dash cam footage and black box records that prove what happened before that evidence disappears for good.

Sutliff & Stout, Injury & Accident Law Firm | (713) 987-7111

https://www.sutliffstout.com/

09/02/2026

The evidence in a truck fatigue case starts disappearing the moment the tow trucks leave. Hank Stout of Sutliff & Stout says the first call after a Houston truck accident should be to a lawyer who handles trucking cases specifically, because it takes a preservation letter and the subpoena power that comes with filing suit to force a company to save its ELD, dash cam and black box data before it gets written over.

Sutliff & Stout, Injury & Accident Law Firm | (713) 987-7111

https://www.sutliffstout.com/

09/01/2026

Punitive damages only come into play in Texas when the evidence shows gross negligence, a willful and wanton disregard for the safety of others. Hank Stout of Sutliff & Stout says that is a higher bar than ordinary carelessness, but when a trucking company ignored fatigue as a business decision, a Houston jury can award damages specifically meant to punish the company, separate from whatever compensates the injured person.

Sutliff & Stout, Injury & Accident Law Firm | (713) 987-7111

https://www.sutliffstout.com/

09/01/2026

Trucking insurance runs on a different scale than a personal auto policy. Hank Stout of Sutliff & Stout explains that Texas requires a minimum of 500,000 dollars in coverage, federal rules require 750,000, and most Houston trucking cases actually carry a combined single limit around 1 million dollars. Companies running multiple trucks under one DOT number often carry excess and umbrella coverage on top of that, which matters when a client's damages are severe.

Sutliff & Stout, Injury & Accident Law Firm | (713) 987-7111

https://www.sutliffstout.com/

08/31/2026

When an 18 wheeler hits a passenger car at highway speed, the physics do not leave much room for minor injuries. Hank Stout of Sutliff & Stout says these fatigue crashes on Houston freeways routinely result in quadriplegia, paraplegia, traumatic brain damage or spinal injuries, and sometimes death, because passenger vehicles simply are not built to absorb that much force from a fully loaded truck.

Sutliff & Stout, Injury & Accident Law Firm | (713) 987-7111

https://www.sutliffstout.com/

08/31/2026

Putting a number on a lifetime of medical care starts with the records, not a guess. Hank Stout of Sutliff & Stout works with life care planners who take a client's medical history, project life expectancy, and calculate what treatment will cost for the decades ahead. That covers only the economic side. The non-economic damages, the pain and mental anguish alongside a permanent loss of quality of life, are often the larger part of what a Houston truck crash actually costs a family.

Sutliff & Stout, Injury & Accident Law Firm | (713) 987-7111

https://www.sutliffstout.com/

08/30/2026

Texas comparative fault can erase a case before it ever reaches a settlement number. Hank Stout of Sutliff & Stout breaks it down simply: if a jury finds a Houston plaintiff 51 percent or more at fault, they recover nothing. Below that line, damages just get reduced by their share of fault, so someone with 100 dollars in damages and 20 percent fault walks away with 80. Insurers lean on this rule hard, which is why the fault fight matters as much as the damages fight.

Sutliff & Stout, Injury & Accident Law Firm | (713) 987-7111

https://www.sutliffstout.com/

08/30/2026

Texas gives an injured person two years from the date of the crash to file a truck accident lawsuit, but Hank Stout of Sutliff & Stout tells Houston clients to decide what they are doing within three or four months. Harris County courts can take three to four years to reach trial, and cases get in line by filing date, so waiting until year two can mean waiting five years total instead of three. Acting early is what actually protects the timeline.

Sutliff & Stout, Injury & Accident Law Firm | (713) 987-7111

https://www.sutliffstout.com/

08/29/2026

Texas House Bill 19 passed in 2021 after the trucking industry lobbied to keep its internal safety failures away from the jury. Hank Stout of Sutliff & Stout says the law changes how a case gets tried, not whether it wins. Lawyers now have to specifically allege gross negligence to keep negligent hiring and training claims in play, but Houston jury verdicts against unsafe trucking companies have not actually gotten smaller.

Sutliff & Stout, Injury & Accident Law Firm | (713) 987-7111

https://www.sutliffstout.com/

08/29/2026

House Bill 19 forces a two phase trial in Houston trucking cases with gross negligence claims. Hank Stout of Sutliff & Stout explains that a Harris County jury hears only what the driver did wrong and awards compensatory damages in phase one. Evidence about the company's hiring, training and supervision failures, along with any punitive damages, only comes in during phase two, and punitive damages exist to punish the company, not to compensate the injured person.

Sutliff & Stout, Injury & Accident Law Firm | (713) 987-7111

https://www.sutliffstout.com/

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550 Post Oak Boulevard, Ste 530
Houston, TX
77027

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