California Big Rig Accident Lawyer

• A loaded big rig can legally weigh up to 80,000 pounds under federal and California law, roughly twenty times a typical passenger car, which is why big rig accident injuries are so often catastrophic.
• Big rig cases are governed by federal trucking rules (49 CFR) on top of California law. A violation of those rules can create a presumption of negligence under Evidence Code §669.
• Liability often reaches past the driver to the motor carrier, the broker or shipper, the cargo loader and the maintenance contractor.
• Critical evidence, including electronic driving logs and the truck's black box, can be lawfully discarded in as little as six months. A preservation letter should go out immediately.
• You generally have two years to file a lawsuit (Code Civ. Proc. §335.1), but only six months to present a claim if a government vehicle or dangerous road is involved (Gov. Code §911.2).

Sources: 23 U.S.C. §127 · Cal. Veh. Code §35551 · 49 CFR §§390.5, 395.3, 395.8 · Cal. Evid. Code §669 · CCP §335.1 · Gov. Code §911.2

A big rig accident is a collision involving a heavy commercial truck such as an 18-wheeler, semi-truck or tractor-trailer, and the injuries are severe because of the sheer weight mismatch. Federal law allows a five-axle combination on the Interstate System to weigh up to 80,000 pounds (23 U.S.C. §127(a)), and California's weight table permits the same for qualifying configurations (Veh. Code §35551). A typical passenger car weighs roughly 4,000 pounds. When those two vehicles meet, the car's occupants absorb almost all of the force.

The national numbers reflect that imbalance. NHTSA reports that 5,472 people were killed in crashes involving large trucks in 2023, and 70 percent of them were occupants of other vehicles rather than the truck. Seventy-six percent of those fatal crashes happened on weekdays, when freight traffic is heaviest on corridors like the I-5, I-10, I-15 and I-710.

Under federal rules, "commercial motor vehicle" means any vehicle used in interstate commerce with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,001 pounds or more (49 CFR §390.5). A loaded big rig sits at the extreme end of that category, and the crash forces scale with it.

Big rig accident injuries are concentrated in the categories that change a life permanently: traumatic brain injury, spinal cord damage, crush injuries, amputation, severe burns and wrongful death. The most common patterns we see in California big rig claims are:

• Traumatic brain injury (TBI), from the violent deceleration of a rear-end or head-on impact, ranging from concussion to permanent cognitive loss.
• Spinal cord injury, including partial or complete paralysis, when the passenger cabin is crushed or the vehicle is rolled.
• Crush and pelvic injuries when a trailer rides over or onto a smaller vehicle, especially in underride and side-impact crashes.
• Internal organ damage from seat-belt loading and intrusion into the cabin.
• Amputation, either traumatic at the scene or surgical afterward.
• Burns when a saddle tank ruptures. Big rigs carry far more fuel than passenger vehicles.
• Multiple fractures, including femur, rib and facial fractures that require surgical fixation.
• Wrongful death. When a big rig crash is fatal, the surviving spouse, domestic partner, children and certain dependents may bring a wrongful death claim (Code Civ. Proc. §377.60).

Because these injuries usually mean surgery, rehabilitation and long-term care, the medical evidence has to be built carefully from the first week. We coordinate with treating physicians and, where needed, life-care planners so that future costs are documented, not guessed at.

Most big rig crashes trace back to a preventable failure by the driver, the carrier or the people who loaded and maintained the truck. The causes we investigate first are:

• Driver fatigue. Federal hours-of-service rules limit a property-carrying driver to 11 hours of driving inside a 14-hour window after 10 consecutive hours off, require a 30-minute break after 8 hours of driving, and cap on-duty time at 60 hours in 7 days or 70 hours in 8 days (49 CFR §395.3). A separate rule forbids any driver from operating while fatigue makes it unsafe (49 CFR §392.3). California's intrastate rule allows 12 hours of driving and bars driving after the 16th hour on duty (13 CCR §1212), and the Vehicle Code independently caps freight drivers at 12 hours (Veh. Code §21702).
• Speed. Trucks with three or more axles, and any truck towing a trailer, are limited to 55 mph on California highways (Veh. Code §22406). A big rig at 65 or 70 mph in the fast lane is already breaking the law before anything else goes wrong.
• Jackknife and rollover, usually from braking too hard on a loaded trailer, a shifted load or excessive speed on a grade like the Grapevine or Cajon Pass.
• Underride, when a car slides beneath the trailer. Trailers built since 1998 must carry a rear impact guard no more than 22 inches off the ground (49 CFR §393.86), and a missing or damaged guard is a maintenance failure, not bad luck.
• Tire blowouts and brake failure. Carriers must systematically inspect, repair and maintain every vehicle (49 CFR §396.3), drivers must file a daily vehicle inspection report (49 CFR §396.11), and every truck and trailer needs a documented inspection at least once every 12 months (49 CFR §396.17).
• Wide-turn and blind-spot collisions, especially with cars, motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians on surface streets near the ports and rail yards.
• Impairment. After a fatal crash, or an injury crash where the driver is cited, the carrier must test the driver for alcohol within 8 hours and for controlled substances within 32 hours (49 CFR §382.303).
• Unqualified drivers. A driver must be at least 21, medically certified and properly licensed (49 CFR §391.11), and the carrier must keep a qualification file proving it (49 CFR §391.51).

In a big rig accident, liability usually extends beyond the driver to the motor carrier and often to the broker, shipper, cargo loader or maintenance contractor. California's baseline rule is that everyone is responsible for injury caused by their want of ordinary care (Civ. Code §1714(a)). Layered on top of that:

• The motor carrier is generally responsible for its employee driver's negligence on the job. Carriers cannot escape that simply by labeling drivers independent contractors: federal rules define "employee" to include an independent contractor while operating a commercial motor vehicle (49 CFR §390.5).
• Negligence per se. When a carrier or driver violates a safety statute or regulation and that violation causes the kind of harm the rule was meant to prevent, California presumes a failure to use due care (Evid. Code §669). Hours-of-service, maintenance and driver-qualification violations are the most common triggers.
• Brokers and shippers can be liable for negligent selection of an unsafe carrier or for loading practices that made the trailer unstable.
• Maintenance vendors and manufacturers answer for defective brakes, tires, coupling systems and rear guards.
• Public entities can be liable for a dangerous roadway condition, subject to the six-month government claim deadline (Gov. Code §911.2).

California follows pure comparative negligence: if you were partly at fault, your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault but not eliminated (Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975) 13 Cal.3d 804). Each defendant's share of non-economic damages is several, not joint (Civ. Code §1431.2), which is one reason identifying every responsible party matters.

The evidence that proves a big rig case is controlled by the trucking company, and the law lets them discard much of it within months, so a preservation demand should go out within days. The records we move to lock down include:

• Electronic logging device (ELD) data and duty-status records. Carriers must keep them for only 6 months (49 CFR §395.8(k)).
• Engine control module ("black box") data: speed, braking, throttle and hard-brake events in the seconds before impact.
• Driver vehicle inspection reports, kept for just 3 months (49 CFR §396.11).
• Maintenance and repair records (49 CFR §396.3(c)) and the most recent periodic inspection (49 CFR §396.17).
• The driver qualification file, including medical certification and driving record (49 CFR §391.51).
• Post-accident drug and alcohol test results (49 CFR §382.303).
• The carrier's accident register, which it must keep for 3 years (49 CFR §390.15).
• Dispatch records, bills of lading, weigh-station tickets and dash-camera footage.

If a carrier destroys evidence after being told to keep it, the jury may be instructed that it can draw an adverse inference from the willful suppression of evidence (Evid. Code §413). That is a powerful position to be in, but only if the demand went out in time.

California law entitles an injured person to the amount that will compensate for all the detriment the crash caused (Civ. Code §3333), which in a big rig case typically includes both economic and non-economic damages:

• Economic damages: past and future medical care, rehabilitation, assistive equipment and home modification, lost earnings, lost earning capacity, and household services you can no longer perform (Civ. Code §1431.2(b)(1)).
• Non-economic damages: pain, suffering, inconvenience, emotional distress, disfigurement and loss of enjoyment of life (Civ. Code §1431.2(b)(2)).
• Punitive damages when the defendant acted with malice, oppression or fraud, proven by clear and convincing evidence (Civ. Code §3294). Knowingly dispatching a fatigued or unqualified driver, or falsifying logs, can meet that standard.
• Wrongful death damages for surviving family members (Code Civ. Proc. §§377.60, 377.61).

One reason big rig cases differ from ordinary car crashes is the insurance behind them. A carrier hauling general freight in vehicles over 10,001 pounds must carry at least $750,000 in liability coverage, and hazardous-materials haulers must carry $1 million to $5 million (49 CFR §387.9). Compare that with California's minimum auto policy of $30,000 per person (Veh. Code §16056). The coverage to pay for catastrophic injuries usually exists; the fight is over proving what those injuries are worth.

In most cases you have two years from the date of injury to file a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit (Code Civ. Proc. §335.1). Two exceptions shorten that dramatically:

• If a public entity is involved, for example a city-owned truck or a dangerous road design, a written government claim must be presented within six months (Gov. Code §911.2).
• Evidence deadlines are shorter than the legal deadline. As noted above, ELD records can be gone in 6 months and inspection reports in 3.

Waiting to see how your injuries develop is understandable, but the investigation should not wait. A free case review with a legal professional costs nothing and starts the preservation clock in your favor.