California Truck Accident Lawyer

We publish a selection of our truck accident results. Settlements our clients received in truck cases include:

• $11.3 million (2025, Pomona): a big rig hit a stopped vehicle on the freeway as a driver checked on it, causing serious head and leg injuries. Rounded up from $11,268,100.
• $11 million (2024, Santa Clara County): a tow truck lost control, crossed three highway lanes, and rear-ended a driver, causing a traumatic brain injury.
• $10.5 million (2024, Sonoma County): a big rig rear-ended a driver and pushed the car into a second big rig.
• $5 million (2024, San Diego County): a car-carrier truck rear-ended a driver on Interstate 5 and pushed the car about half a mile. Rounded up from $4,999,999.
• $3.5 million (2025, Riverside County): a big rig hit a semi whose trailer allegedly lacked working lights, causing serious neck and back injuries.
• $2.5 million (2023, Sacramento): a hazardous-waste big rig merged into a rideshare driver's car on Highway 99 and spun it around.

More truck accident results are on our settlements page. On a new case, we send the carrier a preservation letter, identify each company and insurer involved, and take over the calls with adjusters while you heal.

Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is different.

The weight gap. Federal law lets a loaded five-axle rig weigh up to 80,000 pounds on the Interstate (23 U.S.C. §127(a)), so in a crash with a car, the people in the car usually take the worst of it. NHTSA reports that 5,340 people were killed in crashes involving large trucks in 2024, and 70 percent of them were occupants of other vehicles (DOT HS 813 816).

On California highways, a truck with three or more axles, or one towing a trailer, may not go faster than 55 mph (Veh. Code §22406). Underride crashes, where a car slides under a trailer, can be especially deadly. Trailers and semitrailers rated at 10,000 pounds or more and built since January 26, 1998, generally must carry a rear impact guard no more than 22 inches off the ground (49 C.F.R. §393.86(a)).

Many truck crashes trace back to a decision somewhere in the trucking operation. The causes we look for first:

• Fatigue: driving past the federal hours limits (49 C.F.R. §395.3), or driving while too tired to be safe, which neither the driver nor the carrier may allow (49 C.F.R. §392.3).
• Speed: going faster than the 55 mph truck limit, or too fast for traffic, weather, or a grade.
• Poor maintenance: worn brakes, tires, or lights the carrier should have caught. Carriers must systematically inspect, repair, and maintain their trucks (49 C.F.R. §396.3(a)).
• Bad loading: an overweight load, or poorly secured cargo that shifts on a curve or a hard stop.
• Unqualified drivers: an interstate driver generally must be at least 21 and meet federal qualification rules (49 C.F.R. §391.11).
• Impairment: after a fatal crash, or an injury or tow-away crash in which the truck driver is cited, the carrier must test the driver for alcohol and drugs (49 C.F.R. §382.303).

Much of it sits with the carrier, and federal rules require carriers to keep some of it for only a few months:

• Driver logs from the electronic logging device, plus the receipts and dispatch papers that back them up: kept for at least 6 months (49 C.F.R. §395.8(k)(1)).
• The driver's end-of-day inspection reports, which are required only when a defect is found or reported: 3 months (49 C.F.R. §396.11(a)(4)).
• Records of the truck's inspections, repairs, and upkeep: 1 year, and for 6 months after the truck leaves the carrier's control (49 C.F.R. §396.3(c)).
• The carrier's accident register, its list of crashes involving a death, an injury treated away from the scene, or a tow-away: 3 years after each crash (49 C.F.R. §390.15(b)).
• Post-crash alcohol and drug tests: if an alcohol test isn't given within 8 hours, or a drug test within 32 hours, the carrier stops trying and records why (49 C.F.R. §382.303(d)).
• Engine control module ("black box") data on speed, braking, and throttle, which can be overwritten as the truck keeps running.

That is why we send a preservation letter as soon as we take a truck case. When a party willfully suppresses evidence, a jury may consider that in deciding what the evidence shows (Evid. Code §413).

Often several. California's starting rule is that everyone is responsible for harm caused by a lack of ordinary care (Civ. Code §1714(a)). In a truck case, that can reach:

• The trucking company: generally responsible for its driver's negligence on the job. For the federal safety rules, an independent contractor driving a commercial truck counts as the carrier's employee (49 C.F.R. §390.5).
• A freight broker: a broker that carelessly chose an unsafe carrier can face a negligent-selection claim. In May 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court held that federal law doesn't preempt that kind of claim against a broker that arranged an interstate shipment (Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, LLC).
• The shipper or loader: when overloaded or badly secured cargo caused the crash.
• A repair shop or parts maker: for a faulty brake job, tire, or part.
• A public agency: when a dangerous condition of public property caused the crash, and an agency employee created it or the agency had notice of it in time to protect against it (Gov. Code §835). A written claim comes first.

A broken safety law or regulation can also help. California presumes negligence, subject to rebuttal, when a violation caused the kind of harm the law was meant to prevent, to the kind of person it protects (Evid. Code §669). For non-economic damages, each defendant answers only in proportion to its own fault (Civ. Code §1431.2), so naming each responsible company matters.

Usually the carrier's liability insurer, and its coverage is far larger than a family car's. Federal rules require a for-hire carrier moving ordinary freight across state lines to carry at least $750,000, and certain hazardous materials require $1 million or $5 million (49 C.F.R. §387.9). By comparison, California's minimum auto liability limit is $30,000 for one person's injury or death (Veh. Code §16056).

Other policies can add to the total: a liable broker's or shipper's coverage, the trailer owner's policy, and excess or umbrella coverage. Your own UM/UIM coverage helps mainly when the truck was uninsured, unidentified, or insured for less than your UM limits (Ins. Code §11580.2). Finding each one early can keep a serious injury claim from being limited to the first policy found.

Because of the weight gap, truck crashes often cause catastrophic injuries. The injuries we see most include:

• multiple fractures and crush injuries
• head trauma and traumatic brain injury
• paralysis and other spinal cord damage
• internal organ damage
• amputations
• burns from fuel fires

These injuries can mean years of treatment and lost earning capacity. Those future costs should be documented by treating doctors, and where needed a life-care planner, before any settlement is considered.

California measures tort damages as the amount that compensates for all the harm the defendant caused (Civ. Code §3333). In a truck case, that typically includes:

• Economic damages: past and future medical bills, lost income and earning capacity, and damage to your vehicle or other property.
• Non-economic damages: pain, suffering, emotional distress, disfigurement, and loss of enjoyment of life.
• Punitive damages: only with clear and convincing evidence of malice, oppression, or fraud (Civ. Code §3294).

After a fatal crash, certain family members and dependents have their own wrongful death claim for what they lost.

First in line are the surviving spouse or domestic partner and the children, along with any grandchildren whose parent has already died. When no descendants survive, the right passes to whoever would inherit the estate under California's intestacy rules, which can include parents (Code Civ. Proc. §377.60(a)).

Others qualify if they depended on the person: a putative spouse, that spouse's children, stepchildren, and parents (§377.60(b)). A minor qualifies too after living in the home for the last 180 days and receiving at least half of their support from the person who died (§377.60(c)).

Deadlines at a glance:

• Suing over your own injuries: 2 years after the truck crash (Code Civ. Proc. §335.1).
• Suing over a loved one's death: 2 years (§335.1).
• Your car, truck, or other property: 3 years (Code Civ. Proc. §338(c)(1)).
• A written claim to a California public agency, such as a city, a county, or the state: within 6 months of the crash (Gov. Code §911.2).
• Suing that agency once it denies the claim in writing: within 6 months of the denial notice (Gov. Code §945.6).
• Injured child: the two years generally don't start until age 18 (Code Civ. Proc. §352), but that pause doesn't apply to a claim or lawsuit against a public agency. If the child was a minor for the whole six-month claim period, the agency must grant an application to file a late claim made within a year of the crash (Gov. Code §§911.4, 911.6(b)(2)).

Our truck accident deadlines guide covers the exceptions in more detail.