The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) initial findings stipulate that 46,372 large trucks took part in road accidents during the 2025 fiscal year. Out of all these vehicles, 1,025 were involved in car accidents, and 1,005 fatalities were reported. These crashes reportedly injured 19,799 individuals.
Truck accident cases move on two timelines at the same time. These two timelines are the medical timeline of the injured person’s recovery and the legal timeline where evidence is preserved or goes missing.
Recovering from a serious trucking collision often comes with financial burdens that extend far beyond immediate medical bills. That’s why knowing what you could be entitled to can help put your mind at ease, according to a Jefferson Parish truck accident lawyer.
The trucking company’s insurer begins its investigation immediately after a crash. Adjusters contact injured parties quickly, electronic data gets preserved or overwritten, and the commercial carrier’s legal team starts building its defense. These actions determine how your case will turn out.
Let’s look at the various legal actions that one can take following a truck accident.
Who can be held liable after a serious truck accident
In most trucking accidents, there is rarely only one defendant. There are federal regulations for motor carrier safety that apply to commercial carriers and impose a duty on the driver, motor carrier, cargo shipper, and maintenance contractor.
It is an accepted principle that an employer is directly responsible for a worker’s wrongful acts under the respondeat superior doctrine if, at the time of commission of the wrongful act, the servant was acting within the scope of his or her employment.
Negligent hiring, negligent entrustment, noncompliance with hours of service, and lack of vehicle maintenance will be the potential liability concerns for truck companies.
Other parties who can be involved in the litigation include the manufacturer of any defective part or the party responsible for improper loading of cargo.
One of the first steps in any case is to identify all potential defendants and check whether they have been sued before the statute of limitations expires. Liability determination can be skillfully handled by an experienced lawyer. According to personal injury lawyer Brian Van Allen, working with an experienced personal injury attorney offers the victim and their family a better chance of securing appropriate recovery for their losses.
Evidence that exists only in the days after a crash
Providing evidence is important for any truck accident claim. The trucking company is required by law under 49 C.F.R. § 395.8 to install ELDs on commercial trucks so that drivers’ hours of service are electronically logged for determining compliance with federal rest rules.
The truck’s ECU may also log other data such as speed, brakes, throttle position, and engine RPM before the accident.
There may also be dash cam and surrounding surveillance video footage as evidence; however, it may be recorded over after 30 to 72 hours, thus requiring timely preservation requests.
The carrier must also keep logs for driver qualification, drug and alcohol tests, and inspections of vehicles.
Why policy limits in truck cases are substantially higher than auto claims
Commercial trucks moving regular freight must have a minimum of $750,000 in liability insurance coverage according to federal regulation. Meanwhile, trucks transporting hazardous materials must have minimum coverage of $1 million to $5 million, depending on the type of hazardous material.
The minimum levels are just the baseline for coverage. Most large commercial trucks have much higher coverage than the minimum statutory level.
The reason behind this discrepancy is that serious injuries such as traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injury, and amputation will likely cost more in terms of lifetime care than what is covered by an ordinary auto insurance policy.
An individual claim of $3 million against a truck company with a $10 million insurance policy will settle in an entirely different environment compared to the same injury claim against a driver with minimum statutory auto coverage.
The legal options available after a serious truck accident
There are many different kinds of claims that an injured person can pursue. To be able to get a maximum recovery, there usually needs to be more than one type of claim involved.
A claim against the trucking company and/or the truck driver for third-party liability is the main avenue for seeking any kind of compensation that the injured party has incurred in a crash.
If the crash resulted from some defect in a piece of equipment, like blown tires or broken brakes, then a product liability claim against the manufacturer is possible. If improper loading or incorrectly tied cargo is determined to be the cause as to why the driver lost control, then a cargo liability claim is possible.
If the carrier doesn’t have enough insurance to compensate the injured party fully, then an underinsured motorist claim is possible through the injured party’s own car insurance policy.
Workers’ compensation can be pursued if the injury happened during work duties and can be brought concurrently with a third-party claim.
Evaluating settlement offers in truck accident cases
Initial settlement offers in cases of serious accidents with trucks tend to be low compared to the true value of the claim. The reason why carriers’ insurance companies make low initial settlement offers is the fact that many claimants, who often do not have lawyers, will take them without knowing the extent of the injuries suffered.
In case a claimant takes a settlement offer and later finds out that he or she needs surgery or will need any type of medical treatment for his or her injury, the case would not be reopened.
The value of a truck accident claim is calculated by assessing future medical expenses and loss of earning capacity through expert witnesses. Non-economic damages will also contribute to the claim and will be scrutinized according to their severity and permanence.
In those cases where the claimant is permanently disabled, the claimant should also explore the option of claiming punitive damages.
What to do in the days immediately after the crash
Legal remedies that can be pursued following a devastating truck accident are most effective when there is documentation of evidence, medical records, and recorded statements that have not been given to the carrier’s insurance prior to the securing of legal representation.
The time limit for pursuing an individual case varies by state and usually falls between one and three years. The most relevant evidence can be documented in days.
After the crash, individuals must immediately report the incident to the FMCSA and document key details.
When an injured party retains legal representation, he or she will gain the benefit of having someone file for a motion for preservation of evidence, which may also be used by the truck carrier’s legal team.
