A truck accident lawyer builds your claim from records the trucking company controls. Federal rules generally make carriers keep driver logs, driver files and repair histories.
You pay nothing unless we win. Zinda Law Group offers a free consultation about your truck accident at (800) 863-5312.
Article summary
Key things to know
- Federal regulations cover driving hours, driver hiring, truck maintenance and testing after a crash.
- Some of those records are required for as little as six months, so ask early after a truck accident.
- You may be able to sue a truck company as well as its driver, along with other companies that worked on the truck or its load.
- The filing deadline and the shared fault rule depend on the state. A claim against a government body has its own notice rule.
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What a truck accident lawyer does
Truck accident lawyers handle injury claims against truck drivers and the companies behind them. The work falls under personal injury law, with federal rules layered on top.
A lawyer asks the trucking company in writing to preserve its logs, its driver file and its maintenance records. A truck accident attorney also takes the insurance companies’ calls and weighs each offer against the client’s losses.
The lawyer explains your legal options at every step. If the insurers will not offer fair compensation, you can take the legal process to a lawsuit.
How truck accident cases differ from a typical car accident
Truck accident cases differ from a typical car accident in who the defendants are and what records exist.
Commercial truck accidents often involve multiple parties, because one company may employ the driver while another owns the trailer or loaded the freight. That makes them harder to sort out than the ordinary auto accidents a car accident lawyer handles.
Federal regulations can add evidence that a car accident claim may not have. A carrier that runs commercial vehicles across state lines must generally log its drivers’ hours and document its repairs, with exceptions. Hours and insurance rules differ for an interstate or intrastate carrier.
A for-hire carrier hauling nonhazardous freight between states in a truck rated at 10,001 pounds or more must carry at least $750,000 in liability coverage, through insurance, a surety bond or approved self-insurance. These minimums, like any insurance coverage above them, are not what a case is worth.
Federal regulations for commercial trucks and truck drivers
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) writes the safety rules for the trucking industry. Its rules reach big trucks in interstate commerce directly. A broken rule does not prove fault by itself.
Hours of service and fatigued truck drivers
A driver of a property-carrying truck may generally drive at most 11 hours, inside a 14-hour window that opens when the driver comes on duty after 10 consecutive hours off. After 8 hours of driving without a 30-minute break, the driver must stop driving for at least 30 minutes. Short-haul and sleeper-berth drivers follow modified limits.
Truck drivers may not drive when fatigue or illness makes it unsafe.
Interstate carriers must generally have drivers record their hours on an electronic logging device (ELD). Short-haul drivers and trucks built before model year 2000 are among the exceptions. Carriers must keep the logs and their supporting documents for at least six months.
Driver qualification files
Commercial truck drivers in interstate commerce must generally be at least 21, hold a valid license for the truck they drive and be physically qualified. Some farm drivers are exempt. A trucking company may not let an unqualified person drive.
The carrier keeps each driver’s qualification file for three years after the driver leaves.
Truck maintenance and inspection records
Carriers must inspect, repair and maintain every truck they control. For a truck they control for 30 consecutive days or more, they must keep records of that work for one year, and for six months after the truck leaves their control.
Drug and alcohol testing after a crash
After a fatal crash on a public road, the carrier must generally test a surviving driver who needs a commercial driver’s license for alcohol and drugs as soon as practicable. Some nonfatal crashes require testing, depending on citation and timing.
Common causes of truck accidents
Each of these causes can leave a record a truck accident lawyer can check.
- Fatigue checked against the hours logs
- Distracted driving checked against phone and cab data
- Improper loading checked against the shipping papers
- Poor truck maintenance checked against the repair file
- Driving under the influence checked against the post-crash tests
Types of trucks and truck crashes
Big trucks come in many forms, and the type of truck can change who the defendants are.
Tractor trailers and 18-wheelers
Tractor trailers are also called big rigs or 18-wheelers. Semi truck accidents bring in a motor carrier with federal duties when the truck runs between states. Following distance matters in an 18-wheeler accident, and rear-end truck collisions often turn on it.
Commercial truck accidents and interstate trucking accidents involve trucks used for business or driven across state lines.
Delivery trucks and work trucks
Delivery trucks and box trucks work on city streets, where box truck accidents can involve backing. A flatbed truck carries an open load, so flatbed truck accidents can turn on how it was tied down. A bus accident falls under separate passenger carrier rules.
Dump trucks, garbage trucks and cement trucks may be run by a company or a city.
Company vans and cars are commercial vehicles too when company vehicle accidents happen on the job. Oilfield truck accidents involve trucks serving oil and gas work.
Hit by a FedEx truck or an Amazon truck
After a FedEx truck accident or an Amazon delivery accident, the branding alone does not show which company operated the truck.
Liability when multiple parties share the blame
Lawyers identify the at-fault parties by matching each failure to the company that owes the duty.
The truck driver
A negligent truck driver is the first place to look. Speeding, distracted driving and driving past the hours limits can show up in the logs and the crash report.
When you can sue a truck company
The trucking company has duties of its own under federal rules. It may not put an unqualified driver on the road or let one drive when fatigue makes it unsafe. It must inspect and repair its trucks. A claim can name the company with its driver when the driver was acting within the scope of the job, or when the company broke one of these duties and that caused the crash.
Shippers, repair shops and manufacturers
Whoever loaded the cargo may share fault when improper loading led to the crash. So may the truck’s owner or a repair shop when bad brake work did. A truck manufacturer or parts maker may be liable for a defect.
Each of these at-fault parties can have its own insurer. You can pursue compensation from more than one of them in the same claim.
Truck accident statistics
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) counted 5,340 people killed in traffic crashes involving large trucks in 2024, its latest year of data. An estimated 161,201 people were injured.
NHTSA found that 80 percent of the large trucks in fatal crashes were in crashes with more than one vehicle, compared with 63 percent for passenger vehicles. These figures do not say who was at fault.
Common truck accident injuries
Truck accident injuries can be serious, and big trucks outweigh the passenger vehicles around them.
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Broken bones
- Internal organ damage
- Burns
- Other catastrophic injuries
Life-altering injuries
Traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord injuries can end a career. A spinal cord injury or other catastrophic injury can mean care for life. Severe injuries like broken bones may heal and still keep a person out of work.
When a truck crash is fatal
Fatal accidents can leave a family with a legal claim of its own. When a crash someone else caused leads to fatal injuries, certain relatives or the personal representative can bring a wrongful death claim under state law. Eligible family members can seek compensation for the support and companionship they lost. Wrongful death lawyers check state law to see who may file after fatal truck accidents.
Compensation in truck accident claims
Like other personal injury cases, truck accident claims ask the negligent party to pay for what the crash cost. State law and the proof decide which losses a person can recover compensation for.
Losses with a dollar figure
Medical expenses come first, from the first medical bills to future care. Lost wages are next, including future income. Vehicle repairs belong in the claim too.
Losses without a receipt
Pain and suffering covers the physical pain, the emotional distress and the limits the injury puts on daily life. Lawyers call these non-economic damages.
Deadlines and shared fault rules by state
The statute of limitations, the time limit to file a lawsuit, and the rule on shared fault can decide whether you recover compensation at all.
Personal injury claims after a truck accident generally follow the rules below in the states where Zinda Law Group has offices. The state whose law applies may not be the one where the accident occurred.
| State | Time to file, in general | How the injured person’s fault counts | Law |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | Two years | Reduced by the plaintiff’s percentage, barred above 50 percent | Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 16.003, 33.001 |
| New Mexico | Generally three years | Pure comparative fault, reduced by your share at any level | NMSA 1978, 37-1-8, Scott v. Rizzo (1981) |
| Arizona | Two years | Pure comparative fault, except for intentional, willful or wanton fault | A.R.S. 12-542, 12-2505 |
| Colorado | Generally three years for a motor vehicle injury claim | In a negligence claim, barred at 50 percent or more, otherwise reduced by your share | C.R.S. 13-80-101, 13-21-111 |
| Florida | Generally two years for a negligence claim that arose after March 24, 2023, four years for an older one | Reduced by the plaintiff’s share, and recovery may be barred above 50 percent | Fla. Stat. 95.11, 768.81 |
These are general rules of personal injury law as of October 2026. Each has exceptions, and a product defect claim can differ. A wrongful death claim generally has two years in Texas, Arizona, Colorado and Florida and three years in New Mexico.
When the truck belongs to a city, a county or a state agency, notice is often due first. It is generally 90 days in New Mexico, 180 in Arizona, 182 in Colorado and six months in Texas, where a city charter can set its own period. Florida generally allows three years, or two for a death claim.
State-specific deadlines
Questions about how much time you have?
Steps to take after a truck crash
After serious accidents with big trucks, accident victims should act while evidence exists.
- Seek medical attention. Have a doctor check you that day.
- Call the police. A police report records the truck, the driver and the carrier’s name.
- Photograph the accident scene. Take photos of the road conditions and the name on the truck’s door.
- Gather your records. Save medical bills, lost wages records and repair estimates.
- Wait on statements. Insurance companies may ask for a recorded statement. Ask a lawyer before agreeing.
How insurance companies treat truck accident victims
A trucking company can report a crash to its insurer the same day. Insurance companies that cover big trucks may have an adjuster call you soon after. Medical care comes first after a truck crash.
What fair compensation means
A truck accident attorney compares each offer with the medical expenses, the lost wages and what a jury could award. Truck accident victims make the final call on every offer.
How the legal process works
The legal process starts with an investigation. The legal team gathers evidence and asks each company to preserve its records.
Truck accident cases with multiple parties can mean separate talks with several insurance companies.
If the insurers will not agree to a fair settlement, the lawyer can file a truck accident lawsuit in court before the state deadline.
Questions to ask a truck accident attorney
Not every personal injury lawyer handles truck cases. Look for an experienced truck accident attorney who knows the federal rules and which records to demand.
Ask an experienced attorney these questions before you hire a law firm.
- Which lawyer will handle my case day to day
- Has the law firm taken truck accident cases to trial
- How soon will letters go out to preserve the carrier’s records
- Who covers costs if the case is lost
An experienced truck accident attorney should be able to name the records to request at the first meeting.
When you are ready
Talk through the next step.
Truck accident lawyers by state and city
Zinda Law Group has offices in the states below.
- Texas. Texas truck accident lawyers, Austin truck accident attorneys, Houston truck accident lawyers, San Antonio truck accidents, Corpus Christi truck accidents, Dallas truck accident claims, Fort Worth truck lawyers, El Paso truck accidents
- New Mexico. New Mexico truck lawyers, Albuquerque truck accident attorneys, Las Cruces truck accidents, Santa Fe truck lawyers
- Arizona. Arizona truck accident lawyers, Phoenix truck accident attorneys, Tucson truck accident claims
- Colorado. Colorado truck accident lawyers, Denver truck accident attorneys, Colorado Springs truck accidents, Boulder truck accident claims
- Florida. Florida truck accident lawyers, Miami truck accident claims
Our nationwide truck accident lawyer page has general information about crashes in other states.
A free consultation with our legal team
At Zinda Law Group, a personal injury law firm, a truck accident case starts with a free case evaluation. Ask our personal injury lawyers about your legal options and the deadline that applies.
If you hire our law firm, our truck crash lawyers work to recover compensation while you focus on treatment.
Our firm works on a contingency fee basis, so there is no out-of-pocket cost to secure the legal representation you need. You pay nothing unless we win.
