Florida Truck Accident Lawyer
The company that owns that truck had people at the scene before you had a diagnosis. A commercial truck case is not a bigger car case. We can take it from here. Call 954-522-5800 for a free consultation. You pay us nothing unless we win. We have won these claims for Floridians from the Keys to the Panhandle, and we work them from five offices between Fort Lauderdale and Fort Myers.
Federal rules let a motor carrier destroy some driver logs and inspection records on a retention schedule as short as six months. The filing deadline may be two years, but the evidence deadline is much shorter. A preservation letter sent in the first weeks is often what makes a truck case provable at all.
Winning truck accident claims for Floridians for more than thirty years
A truck accident claim arrives at a hard time, usually while the bills are still coming in and nobody has told you what happens next. You do not have to work it out on your own. The attorneys in this photograph have won these cases across Florida since 1993, from the Keys to the Panhandle, and one of them will handle yours from the first call to the last check.
Call 954-522-5800 for a free consult and a trial lawyer will tell you today whether you have a case. You pay us nothing unless we win, and we work from five offices between Fort Lauderdale and Fort Myers.
Meet the attorneys →What Florida law does with a truck accident claim
The carrier had an adjuster and an investigator on it before you left the hospital, and its own logs start being overwritten within days. In the meantime you are looking at surgery you did not plan for, a paycheck that stopped, and a vehicle you cannot replace. Getting to those records before they are gone is our job, and it starts the day you call.
A truck case is not a bigger car case. It is a federal safety case with a Florida negligence claim attached, and almost everything that decides it sits inside the trucking company: the logs, the hiring file, the maintenance history and the box on the engine. Below is the law it runs on, and the record-keeping clocks that end cases long before the filing deadline does.
A Florida truck accident claim generally has to be filed within two years, but the federal safety records that decide it start disappearing in six months. The claim runs against the driver and against the trucking company itself, whose insurance is far larger than any car policy and whose own records are usually where the case is won.
The deadline that ends a Florida truck accident claim
There are two clocks on a truck case and the one that ends most claims is not the legal one.
Two years to file, under Florida law
Most claims from an accident on or after March 24, 2023 have to be filed within two years. An older accident keeps the four years that applied when it happened. The period is in Fla. Stat. § 95.11 and it runs from the crash. Where somebody died, the case is a wrongful death action and the two years run from the date of death instead.
A crash with a municipal garbage truck, a county vehicle or a school bus is a different case again, governed by Fla. Stat. § 768.28: written notice to the agency and, in most cases, to the Department of Financial Services, a waiting period before suit, and a cap of $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident on what a public body pays.
Six months, for the records that prove the driver was tired
Hours of service are the heart of a large share of these cases, and the proof of them is thrown away on a schedule. Under 49 C.F.R. § 395.8 a motor carrier keeps the driver's records of duty status, and the supporting documents behind them, for six months. That is fuel receipts, tolls, dispatch records and the paperwork that shows where the truck actually was against where the log says it was.
Nothing about that is improper. It is the regulation working as written, and it means a carrier can destroy the best evidence in your case, lawfully, eighteen months before your deadline. A preservation letter has to arrive before it does.
Days, for what is inside the truck
The engine control module records road speed, engine speed, brake application and throttle position in the seconds before a hard stop. It is overwritten by continued driving and cleared by ordinary servicing, so the truck being back on the road is the same thing as the evidence being gone.
Getting it means putting the carrier on notice immediately and, frequently, agreeing on a joint download with both sides present. That is a first-week decision, not a first-year one.
Three years, for the register that shows the pattern
A motor carrier has to keep an accident register under 49 C.F.R. § 390.15 for three years, listing every crash and holding the reports generated for state agencies and its own insurer. It is the document that turns one crash into a pattern, and a pattern is what separates a claim against a driver from a claim against the company that kept putting them on the road.
Who can be held answerable
The driver is rarely the party that matters. A truck moves under a chain of companies, each with its own duties and its own insurance, and finding all of them is most of the work in the first month.
- The driver. The person at the wheel, and the least valuable defendant in the case. What they did is evidence against the company that hired them, trained them, dispatched them and set the schedule they were trying to keep.
- The motor carrier, for its own conduct and for the driver’s. A carrier answers for a driver working for it, and separately for what it did itself: who it hired, what it checked before hiring them, how it trained and supervised them, whether it enforced hours of service or looked away, and whether it maintained the vehicle. Those are separate claims with separate proof, and they are the ones that reach a jury.
- Whoever owns the tractor, and whoever owns the trailer. They are frequently three different companies operating under lease, with the name on the door belonging to none of them. Each arrangement carries its own coverage and its own responsibility, and it is worked out from the lease paperwork rather than from the door.
- The company that loaded it. A load that shifted, was stacked wrong, or was heavier than the paperwork said puts the shipper or the loading facility in the claim. Where a truck rolled on a curve it should have taken, this is the first thing to look at, and the bills of lading and weight tickets answer it.
- The broker or the shipper that arranged the haul. Freight is brokered constantly, and a broker choosing a carrier with a poor safety record can be part of the claim. The federal safety scores were public and available to whoever booked the load, which is a fact established from records rather than from anyone’s account of it.
- The maintenance contractor. Brakes out of adjustment, tires past their life, lights that did not work. Most carriers contract this out, the inspection and repair records exist, and a brake failure is usually a maintenance case rather than a driving case.
- The manufacturer of the truck or a component. A tire that came apart, an underride guard that failed, a coupling that let go. These need the physical part preserved, which is another reason the vehicle cannot be released before somebody has looked at it.
How a Florida truck accident case actually runs
The order of a truck case differs from an ordinary crash in the first two weeks and again at the end. The middle looks similar.
- A preservation letter, within days. Sent to the carrier, its insurer and whoever holds the vehicle, naming the specific things it may not destroy: the logs and their supporting documents, the driver qualification file, the drug and alcohol testing records, the maintenance history, the dispatch communications and the engine module data. A general letter asking them to preserve everything protects nothing.
- An inspection of the truck before it is repaired. Both sides, an agreed download of the module, photographs and measurements. A carrier will want the vehicle earning again, and a request made now is far cheaper than a motion made later about evidence that no longer exists.
- The company’s own file gets pulled apart. The hiring file, the road test, the training records, the previous violations, the safety scores and the internal messages about this driver. This is the difference between a claim worth a policy and a claim a carrier is frightened of.
- Treatment runs its course. Truck injuries are more severe and take longer to declare themselves, which means the valuation waits longer. That is a reason to file early rather than settle early.
- Every layer of coverage gets identified. Under Fla. Stat. § 627.4137 the insurers have to disclose the limits of each known policy, including excess and umbrella layers, in a sworn statement within 30 days of a written request. On a truck case there is usually more than one layer and the layers do not volunteer themselves.
- Suit is filed, and it may not stay in state court. Fla. Stat. § 47.011 puts the case in the county where the crash happened or where the defendant lives. A carrier based outside Florida can frequently move the case into federal court, which changes the schedule, the discovery rules and the jury pool. That possibility is weighed before the complaint is drafted rather than after.
- Discovery, with corporate witnesses. Depositions of the driver, of the safety director, of the dispatcher and of whoever the company designates to answer for its policies. The last of those is where a carrier has to explain, under oath, what its own rules were and whether it followed them.
- Mediation, then a formal offer. Most Florida courts require mediation before trial. Fla. Stat. § 768.79 lets either side serve a formal offer, and where a defendant refuses one and the judgment comes in at least 25 percent above it, the defendant can be made to pay attorney fees from the date of the offer.
- Trial. Truck cases settle more often than car cases and for more, and the reason is that the company file is read aloud in front of twelve people. A carrier prices that risk against the firm on the other side.
What the claim is worth, and how that number is built
A truck case is worth more than a car case with the same injury, for two reasons that have nothing to do with the medicine: the coverage is larger and the conduct is frequently worse.
The medical care, and the part still ahead
Everything billed, and separately what the treating physicians say is coming. Truck impacts produce injuries that need revision surgery years later, and the second figure is regularly the larger one.
What the injury does to a working life
Wages missed, and separately the earning capacity that has gone. Where somebody cannot return to physical work, the second number is established with an economist and the treating physicians and it usually dominates the case.
Pain, suffering, and the life that changed around it
The head of loss with no invoice, proved from ordinary detail rather than argued. It is the part an early offer prices at nothing.
The fault split, and the line at 50 percent
Fault is divided under Fla. Stat. § 768.81, so an award drops by whatever share is yours. Since March 2023 the same section bars recovery entirely from anybody found more than 50 percent responsible for their own harm, which is why a carrier’s first move is so often to build a story about what you did.
What is repaid out of the money
Health insurance, Medicare and Medicaid are repaid from the recovery, and Fla. Stat. § 768.76 keeps those payments from being deducted from the award because the right to repayment already exists. Those claims are negotiable and reducing them is real money to the client, even though it never appears in the headline figure.
Punitive damages, where the conduct earns them
Fla. Stat. § 768.72 requires a court to see evidence before punitive damages can even be pleaded, and then intentional misconduct or gross negligence proved by clear and convincing evidence. A falsified logbook, a driver kept on the road after a failed drug test, or a carrier that ignored its own safety reports can reach that line where an ordinary crash never will.
What changes from one part of Florida to another
Freight does not respect county lines, and that produces differences a car case never runs into.
Whether the truck was interstate or intrastate
Florida applies the federal safety rules either way. Under Fla. Stat. § 316.302 the state adopts 49 C.F.R. parts 382 to 386 and 390 to 397 for interstate operations, and adopts them for purely intrastate operations as they stood on a fixed date. Which one applies decides which version of the rulebook the case is measured against.
Where a national carrier can be sued
A company running trucks through Florida may have no office here at all. Where the case can be brought, and whether it stays in state court, is decided early and it changes the value of the case more than most people expect.
What is moving, and where
The freight profile is not the same across the state. Port traffic, produce hauling out of the agricultural interior, construction material feeding coastal building, and long-haul running the length of I-75 and I-95 each produce a different kind of crash and a different kind of defendant.
A proven record, anywhere in Florida
Our five offices run from Fort Lauderdale to Fort Myers, and a truck case gets filed where the law and the facts put it rather than where it is convenient for us to drive.
The insurance behind a Florida truck accident claim
The single biggest practical difference between a truck case and a car case is that the money is actually there. Federal law requires it.
A federal floor, far above any car policy
An interstate carrier hauling ordinary freight in a vehicle over 10,000 pounds has to hold at least $750,000 in liability coverage under 49 C.F.R. § 387.9, with substantially higher figures for some hazardous loads. Most sizeable carriers hold a great deal more than the floor.
Coverage in layers, which have to be found separately
A primary policy, then excess layers above it, sometimes with the company carrying its own retention at the bottom and paying the first slice itself. Each layer is a separate company with separate lawyers, and Fla. Stat. § 627.4137 is how the whole tower gets disclosed rather than only the first policy anybody mentions.
Your own coverage still pays first
Whatever the truck company’s insurance eventually does, Fla. Stat. § 627.736 puts $10,000 of personal injury protection on your own Florida policy, paying 80 percent of reasonable medical expenses and 60 percent of lost wages regardless of fault. You have to be seen within 14 days or none of it is payable, and the full amount is only available where a provider finds an emergency medical condition.
It is small against a serious truck injury and it is what keeps treatment going while the larger claim is built.
Uninsured motorist coverage, which still matters here
Not every commercial vehicle is a federally regulated carrier. A local box truck, a landscaping trailer or a small operator can be underinsured like anyone else, and the coverage that answers that is your own under Fla. Stat. § 627.727. It has to be offered with every liability policy and can only be left off where the customer signed a written rejection.
Why these cases are won or lost on paperwork
The carrier is already investigating, from the day of the crash
National carriers dispatch their own investigators to serious wrecks while the vehicles are still on the road. They photograph, measure and take statements before anyone has been discharged from the hospital. By the time an injured person is well enough to think about a lawyer, one side has a complete file and the other has nothing.
That imbalance is legal and it is routine. It is how the industry operates, and it is the single strongest argument for calling early rather than waiting to see how the injuries settle.
Records that do not exist in a car case
- Electronic logging device data showing hours of service and whether the driver was over the federal limit
- The driver qualification file, including prior violations and medical certification
- Post-accident drug and alcohol testing, which federal rules require in defined circumstances
- Maintenance and inspection history, for the tractor and the trailer separately
- Bills of lading and loading records, where a shifting or overweight load contributed
- Onboard camera and telematics data, frequently overwritten within weeks
Rarely just the driver
The motor carrier can be liable for negligent hiring, for negligent supervision, or for setting a schedule that could not be run legally. A separate loading company, a maintenance contractor, a freight broker or a parts manufacturer can each carry a share.
This matters financially, not just legally. Commercial coverage is layered, and identifying every responsible party is often the difference between a policy that covers a catastrophic injury and one that does not come close.
What we have recovered on these claims
Matters this firm handled in this area of law. Figures are gross recoveries, before attorney fees, costs and medical liens come out of them.
Our client was a passenger in a work truck on a private dirt road owned by the company.
Settlement on the eve of trialEvery verdict and settlement we publish, with the press coverage for the ones that were reported. No result predicts another case: every claim turns on its own facts, its own evidence and the insurance actually available.
Who would handle your case
Your case is handled by one of the trial lawyers below, and you will know which of them has it from the first conversation. They do truck accident work week in and week out, they will tell you what your case is worth and why, and they will be straight with you about the parts that are hard.
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Brett J. Yonon Senior Trial Attorney Catastrophic injury, wrongful death and truck cases. Florida Super Lawyers 2024 and 2025, and years spent defending insurers before he switched sides. Full profile → -
Richard P. Pravato Founding & Managing Attorney Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by The Florida Bar since 2004, and by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. Injury cases exclusively since 1996. Full profile →
Truck Accident questions we are asked
How is a truck case different from a car accident case?
Federal regulation. Interstate carriers must keep electronic logging records, driver qualification files, drug and alcohol testing results and maintenance logs. Much of it can be destroyed on a lawful retention schedule, some within six months, which is why a preservation letter needs to go out early rather than when the case is filed.
Who can be held responsible in a Florida truck accident?
Often more than the driver. The motor carrier, the company that loaded the trailer, a maintenance contractor, a freight broker and the vehicle or parts manufacturer can each carry a share. Finding every responsible party matters because commercial policies are layered and the driver’s own policy is rarely the largest one available.
The trucking company offered to settle quickly. Should I take it?
Be careful. An early offer usually arrives before anyone knows the full extent of your injuries, and accepting it ends the claim permanently. It also arrives before the carrier has produced a single log or maintenance record. An offer made that early is priced on what you do not yet know.
What if the truck driver was not at fault but the load shifted?
Then the company that loaded the trailer may be the responsible party, not the driver. Bills of lading, weight tickets and loading records show who packed it and how. This is a good example of why the paperwork matters more here than in a car case.
Questions that apply to any Florida injury claim, fees, deadlines, recorded statements and shared fault, are answered on our injury claim FAQ. What we have recovered is on recent case results.
Five Florida offices
We take truck accident claims statewide. Each market below has its own page on this claim, with that office's address, its direct number and the court a case there is filed in.
Fort Lauderdale truck accident claims
2101 W Commercial Blvd, Fort Lauderdale. Serving Broward County.
View →Miami truck accident claims
1111 Brickell Avenue, Miami. Serving Miami-Dade County.
View →West Palm Beach truck accident claims
2101 Vista Parkway, West Palm Beach. Serving Palm Beach County.
View →Boynton Beach truck accident claims
1375 E Gateway Blvd, Boynton Beach. Serving Palm Beach County.
View →Fort Myers truck accident claims
1825 Colonial Blvd, Fort Myers. Serving Lee County.
View →Other claims we handle
Three of the closest to this one. The full list is on our Florida practice areas page.
Tell us what happened
A lawyer will listen, tell you what Florida law does with those facts, and be straight with you about whether it is worth bringing. If it is not, we will say so.
We take cases anywhere in Florida.