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Washington Truck Accident Attorneys

Washington truck accidents may be governed by Washington or federal law, depending on whether the truck was involved in intrastate or interstate transport. Listed below are some Washington laws that affect truck accidents. For a more comprehensive list of truck laws, click here.


Large trucking companies and their insurance companies work quickly to protect themselves when one of their trucks is involved in an accident, often sending investigators directly to the scene.

To protect your rights, it’s imperative to have knowledgeable legal council to begin investigating immediately, preserve evidence, and help you get the best possible result in pursuing your claim against the trucking company. E.J. Leizerman and Associates is a Law Firm that accepts semi truck accident cases across the country. In Washington, we work with Friedman, Rubin & White, a firm that handles tractor-trailer accidents throughout the state.

Rick Friedman is one of the nation's top civil trial attorneys representing individuals and small businesses injured by large corporate and government interests. He has established a reputation for obtaining large verdicts in cases other law firms have been unable or unwilling to take on in the fields of personal injury, defamation, insurance bad faith and business torts. Rick Friedman has been called the "insurance industries' worst nightmare." His successful career has been distinguished by multi-million dollar verdicts and precedent-setting case law. Among many of his landmark cases are the $150 million awarded to a State Farm agent in Bellott v. State Farm, $84 million awarded to a disabled doctor in Ceimo v. Paul Revere, and $16.5 million awarded to a disabled worker in Ace v. Aetna Life Insurance Company.

A native of New York, Rick received his B.S. from Antioch College in 1976 and his J.D. from Harvard University in 1979. He is licensed to practice in Alaska, Washington and California, but also regularly appears pro hac vice in other state and federal courts around the country.

Other members of the firm also have experience successfully handling catastrophic semi truck accidents.


E.J. Leizerman & Associates and Friedman, Rubin & White are familiar with exceptions to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (title 49, Parts 350-399) that affect trucks operating only in Washington, as there are some situations where a tractor-trailer or other commercial motor vehicles are involved in only intrastate travel. For example, an appliance store in Seattle may own a truck that only makes in-state deliveries.


The Washington Department of Public Safety has adopted Title 49, Parts 382-384 and 390-399 of the federal regulations with a few notable provisions, including:

Driver Qualification:

Washington has adopted Part 391 with some exceptions. For example, intrastate drivers may be at least 18 years of age, instead of 21. Also, as of June 13, 2002, all breath alcohol technicians and medical review officers must report all people holding a Washington state commercial driver’s license who have a confirmed positive drug or alcohol test to the Washington Department of Licensing within three business days of the test.

Hours of Service:

The Washington State patrol has adopted federal regulations regarding hours of service with certain exceptions for logging, dump truck, and agricultural operations. For example, an intrastate driver who is hauling logs or is driving a dump truck, or a driver who is hauling agricultural products from the point of production on farms, isn't permitted to drive more than 12 hours following 8 consecutive hours off duty.

Parts and Accessories:

Washington has adopted Part 393 of the Federal Regulations in its entirety. A backup alert device or rear cross-view mirrors must be mounted on a truck with a cube-style, walk-in cargo box up to 18 feet long.

Crash reports are available from:

Washington State Patrol
Collision Records Section
P.O. Box 42628
Olympia, WA 98504-2628
(360) 570-5200


If you have been involved in a truck accident in Washington, contact one of our Washington lawyers or attorneys to help you with more information or to answer any questions you have.

In the event this material is not deemed to fully comply with the provisions of the rules of professional conduct of any particular state, this firm will not accept clients or representation that derive from the distribution of this material within those jurisdictions.

"If each time a rig is inspected it is done in an identical fashion the driver will be less likely to omit a key element of the process during a future inspection."

Learn more about State and Federal Trucking Laws