Personal injury guide
Truck Accident Claims in California
The trucking company, not just the driver, often answers for a crash. Here is who may pay, the rules trucks follow, and your deadlines.
Reviewed by Jay S. Yu, Esq.
Why it matters
More parties, more records.
A crash with a big rig or a delivery truck often causes serious injuries. It also raises questions a crash between two cars usually does not: who employed the driver, who owned the truck and the trailer, who loaded the cargo, and whose insurance pays.
Trucking companies are subject to safety rules that ordinary drivers are not. Those rules create records about the driver’s hours, inspections, and repairs. Some of those records can be thrown away within months, so the first weeks after a crash matter.
This guide explains who can be responsible for a truck crash, the rules trucks follow, the records worth preserving, insurance, claims involving public agencies, and how long you have to act in California.
Who can be responsible for a truck crash?
Usually the truck driver and the company the driver works for. California law makes an employer responsible for an employee’s carelessness while doing the employer’s work, so the trucking company often answers for its driver.
Others can share responsibility when their carelessness helped cause the crash:
A company that loaded or secured the cargo
A shop that inspected, repaired, or maintained the truck
The owner of the truck or trailer, if it let unsafe equipment on the road
Another driver whose conduct set off the crash
Finding every responsible party matters because each may have its own insurance. A crash review often looks at the truck’s route and schedule as well as the driver’s actions. If more than one person is to blame, including you, our guide to who is at fault in a car accident explains how California divides fault.
What safety rules do truck drivers have to follow?
Commercial trucks are held to rules beyond ordinary traffic laws. A few that often matter after a crash:
Speed: in California, a truck with three or more axles, or one pulling a trailer, may not go faster than 55 miles per hour, even where cars may go faster.
Alcohol: it is against the law to drive a truck that requires a commercial license with a blood alcohol level of 0.04 percent or more, half the general limit.
Hours: drivers hauling freight across state lines generally may drive no more than 11 hours after 10 hours off duty, may not drive after the 14th hour of the workday, and need a 30-minute break after 8 hours of driving.
Hours inside California: trucks that stay in the state follow similar state rules with somewhat longer limits.
A broken safety rule does not decide a case by itself. It can be strong evidence that the driver or the company was careless.
What records matter, and how long are they kept?
Trucking companies keep records a car owner never would, many of them required by safety rules. Depending on the truck and the trip, they can include:
The driver’s hours, which most trucks crossing state lines record on an electronic logging device
The driver qualification file, including the driving record and medical certificate
Inspection, repair, and maintenance records
Dispatch records, delivery schedules, and any onboard camera or engine data
Federal rules require carriers to keep records of drivers’ hours and supporting documents for at least six months, and some inspection reports for only three. That is why a written request to preserve evidence should go out early, long before any lawsuit. Our guide on what to do after a car accident covers the steps that protect your own evidence.
How much insurance does a commercial truck carry?
Usually much more than a private car. A trucking company paid to haul general freight across state lines in a truck rated at 10,001 pounds or more must carry liability coverage many times higher than California’s minimum for a private car. Trucks hauling certain hazardous materials must carry more.
More than one policy may apply, for example the trucking company’s policy and a separate policy on the trailer. Expect the trucking company’s insurer to contact you quickly. Read dealing with the other driver’s insurer before you give a recorded statement.
Your own auto policy may also help, for example with medical payments coverage if your policy includes it. Our guide on who pays your medical bills explains how those benefits fit together.
What if a city, county, or state truck hit you?
Public agencies run trucks too, from trash trucks to road maintenance crews. A public agency can be held responsible when its employee drives carelessly on the job.
The deadline is much shorter: before you can sue a California public agency for an injury, you generally must file a written claim with that agency within six months of the crash. Missing it can end the claim. Where and how to file depends on the agency, so find the right claim form and address early.
How long do you have to file a truck accident lawsuit?
For most injury claims in California, you have two years from the injury to file a lawsuit. When a crash takes a life, the family’s claim generally must be filed within two years of the death; our wrongful death page explains who can bring one.
Claims involving a public agency start with the six-month claim deadline above, and if the agency rejects the claim in writing, the lawsuit generally must be filed within six months of that notice. Waiting also risks evidence: some trucking records can be discarded within months, and memories fade. Our guide on how long an injury case takes explains what happens after a claim is filed.
Talk with us
Montanez Yu represents people hurt in crashes with trucks and other vehicles across Southern California. We can send preservation requests, gather the trucking company’s records, and deal with the insurers while you focus on getting better.
Consultations are free. No fee and no costs unless we recover. Call (951) 444-7407 or request a free consultation.
This guide is general information about California law, not legal advice for your situation.