FAQ
What is a commercial truck?
A commercial truck is a vehicle used in the course of business and/or for the transport of commercial goods, including eighteen-wheeler tractor trailers, tanker trucks, delivery trucks, and other large freight trucks.
Why is a traffic accident involving a truck more likely to cause serious injury that one involving automobiles only?
Because trucks are bigger. A commercial tractor-trailer can weigh over 80,000 pounds, while an average passenger car weighs around 3,000 pounds. This often in serious or fatal injuries for the occupants of the car.
How much is my case worth?
Many factors enter into the valuation of your settlement claim. Important factors include how long you need medical treatment, what kind of treatment you need, wage loss, and the length of time you continue to experience pain and suffering from the accident.
What are the common causes of truck accidents?
There are many contributing factors to reasons why a truck accident occurs in the first place. These accidents are usually caused by a combination of a truck’s unique characteristics and performance capabilities (limits associated with acceleration, braking, and visibility) and car drivers' ignorance of these characteristics. However, some other causes of trucking accidents include:
- Lack of training on the part of the truck driver;
- Overloaded trucks;
- Oversized Trucks;
- Poorly maintained brakes on the trucks;
- Driving in conditions of poor visibility due to smoke fog,snow or rain;
- Fatigued, sleepy or tired driver driving too long and too many hours without rest;
- Speeding over the limit or driving at speeds or beyond the road and weather conditions;
- Running off the road;
- Failure to yield the right of way;
- Aggressive driving behavior;
- Truck drivers under the influence of drugs and alcohol while driving;
- Driving the truck in bad weather conditions;
- Dangerous or reckless truck driver with a long record of wrecks and accidents;
- Unsafe safety systems, reflectors, lights and other warning devices and
- Failure of truck to have installed an underride protection underguard.
How do I deal with trucking companies or their insurance carriers after a truck accident?
One thing you have to know is that you are not negotiating on level ground when dealing with a trucking company after an accident. Most trucking companies are highly skilled at auto truck accident investigation and claims practice. These adjusters represent the truck company, not you. Do not give them any type statements or sign any releases for medical records or employment records. Often the medical release allows the adjuster to talk to the doctors without you or anyone being present.
Truck companies have accident investigators that are on call and dispatched to the scene of the crash as soon as the trucking company learns there has been an accident. Further while the families of the accident victims are tending to medical and hospital care and funeral arraignments, the trucking company is investigating the accident and setting up their defense. This is why the victims big truck accidents need to also have a team of investigators on their side, fighting for their rights.
Is my case any different if I am injured, or a family member is killed, by a truck as opposed to any other vehicle driver?
Yes. Although the same laws of negligence will apply, there are special Vehicle Code sections which apply only to commercial truck drivers and trucking companies and there are special licensing and training requirements of truck drivers which generally make truck accidents harder to defend and easier to win for plaintiffs.
Are trucking companies regulated by the Federal Government?
Yes. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration establishes rules and regulations which govern commercial motor vehicles and the companies who operate these vehicles. Their stated purpose is to attempt to make the interstate highways more safe.
Does Federal law limit the hours that a trucker can operate his truck?
Yes. Since 1939, Federal law has placed restrictions on the "hours of service" that a trucker may operate his truck. Recent changes have been made to these rules for the first time in over 60 years. These rules are designed to promote safety by helping to ensure that truck drivers are getting the needed rest to operate their big rigs safely.
Are trucks required by Federal law to carry insurance?
Yes. Federal law requires commercial vehicles traveling in interstate commerce to carry $750,000 of insurance for bodily injury and property damage. Most State laws also impose minimum insurance requirements on trucks not covered under Federal law.
Who can sue in a truck accident injury or death case?
Anyone who is injured or has had a loved one killed in a truck accident can sue as long as some other person or entity is at fault for the accident. This includes adults and children (who can sue through guardians or parents); and even truck drivers if another person or entity was at fault for the accident.
Who can be sued in a truck accident case?
Any person or entity who was at fault for causing the accident can be sued. This includes the truck driver and the trucking company, the owner of the trailer, the shipper, as well as any other driver, person or entity who in anyway contributed to the accident, such as the manufacturer of one of the vehicles involved in the accident, the manufacturer of a tire that contributed to the accident or the owner of any public or private property whose negligence contributed to the accident.
Is investigation important in a truck accident case?
Yes. It is critical. If the truck was commercially owned, in most situations large trucking companies will perform their own investigation immediately after the accident. This puts you at a vast disadvantage. It is important that you retain an attorney who immediately investigates the case to attempt to pin down liability on any potential at-fault defendants.
Are expert witnesses necessary to prove fault in a truck accident case?
Usually. Unless there is no question that one party was completely at fault, a plaintiff in any serious injury or death case involving a truck should usually retain an expert. Further, that expert should have special expertise in the design, manufacture and operation of trucks and the rules of the trucking industry.
I was injured in a crash where a truck driver was at fault. Can I receive money for time I missed at work?
Yes. Your recovery in a personal injury action can include payment for income lost through missed work, and compensation for any loss of earning capacity resulting from the accident.
If a truck involved in an accident was transporting a hazardous materials (hazmat), and injuries sustained directly resulted from the hazardous materials, can we sue the shipper of the chemicals as well as the truck driver?
In limited circumstances, the shipper of such hazardous materials can be held legally responsible if injuries resulted from the type of cargo on the truck, especially if the shipper failed to advise the driver or the trucking company of the hazardous nature of material contained in the freight.
USA State Trucking Laws
Learn more about the trucking laws and
standards in your state by clicking on the map
- Michael Leizerman, Attorney
- Past chairman, ATLA Interstate Trucking Litigation Group
- Author, "Litigating Truck Accident Cases" by West Publishing
- Dubbed "King of the Road" by Lawyer's Weekly Publishing
- Voted "Superlawyer" by peers for past 2 years
- Lawyers from CA to NY, FL to MI refer Michael truck accident cases
