TRUCK
ACCIDENT
LAWYER
Careful work on the cases that
change people's lives
When an injury affects your health, your work and your family, the details of the case matter. We investigate early, document the full cost of the injury, and handle the insurance companies so you can focus on getting better.
MILLIONS
Recovered for Our Clients
$0 Fees
Unless We Win the Case.
Truck Accident Lawyer
Fighting for Your Rights
A truck accident lawyer represents people injured in crashes involving tractor-trailers, box trucks, delivery trucks, and other commercial vehicles. These cases are different from car accidents because federal safety rules apply, more than one company is often responsible, and the trucking company controls most of the evidence. Onal Injury Law reviews truck accident cases from anywhere in the United States and moves quickly to preserve driver logs, electronic data, and video before they are lost.
Key facts at a glance
- In 2024, 5,340 people were killed and about 161,000 were injured in crashes involving large trucks, according to NHTSA.
- Federal hours-of-service rules limit most truck drivers to 11 hours of driving within a 14-hour work window (49 C.F.R. § 395.3).
- Carriers only have to keep the supporting documents behind electronic logging records for six months (49 C.F.R. § 395.8), so early preservation letters matter.
- Interstate carriers must carry much higher liability insurance than ordinary drivers under 49 C.F.R. Part 387.
- In May 2026 the U.S. Supreme Court held in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II that federal law does not block negligent selection claims against freight brokers.
Why are truck accident cases different from car accident cases?
A loaded tractor-trailer can weigh up to 80,000 pounds, about twenty times the weight of a typical car. Injuries are more severe, and the claims are larger, so trucking companies and their insurers often send investigators to the scene within hours. The injured person usually has no one doing the same thing on their side.
Truck cases also involve a second layer of law. On top of the state's ordinary negligence rules, interstate carriers must follow the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). A violation of those rules, such as driving past the hours limit or skipping a required inspection, can be strong evidence that the carrier was careless.
Which federal trucking rules matter
most in an injury case?
The rules we review in almost every case cover hours of service and electronic logging devices (49 C.F.R. Part 395), driver qualification files, including licensing, medical certification, and driving history (Part 391), drug and alcohol testing (Part 382), inspection, repair, and maintenance (Part 396), and cargo securement (Part 393).
Each rule creates records the carrier is required to keep. Comparing those records with what happened on the road is often how a truck case is proven. For example, a driver whose log shows a rest break at a time when the truck's GPS shows it moving has a problem that the carrier will have to explain.
Who can be held responsible for a
truck accident?
Truck cases often involve several defendants, and each one may have its own insurance. Responsibility can extend to the truck driver; the motor carrier that employed the driver or operated under its federal authority; the freight broker that arranged the load, if it chose a carrier with a poor safety record; the shipper or loading company if cargo was overloaded or improperly secured; the company responsible for maintaining the truck or trailer; and the manufacturer of a defective part such as brakes, tires, or an underride guard.
Carriers sometimes argue that the driver was an independent contractor and not their responsibility. Federal leasing rules and the carrier's operating authority often defeat that argument, but it has to be addressed with documents, not assumptions.
The broker question changed in 2026. For years, courts disagreed about whether federal law shielded freight brokers from claims that they carelessly chose an unsafe carrier. In Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, LLC, decided May 14, 2026, a unanimous Supreme Court held that these negligent selection claims fall within the safety exception of the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act and can go forward under state law. The injured person still has to prove the broker acted unreasonably, but brokers can no longer rely on preemption to end the case.
What evidence disappears
after a truck crash?
The most important evidence in a truck case is held by the trucking company, and some of it is only kept for a short time. That includes electronic logging device records and the supporting documents behind them, engine control module data showing speed, braking, and throttle, forward-facing and driver-facing camera footage, GPS and telematics records, dispatch messages and delivery schedules, post-crash drug and alcohol test results, and maintenance and inspection records for the truck and trailer.
As soon as we take a truck case, we send a written preservation demand to the carrier and any other party that may hold evidence. If evidence is destroyed after that notice, courts in most states can impose penalties or tell the jury it may assume the missing evidence would have hurt the carrier. Our article on
new CDL rules and truck accident cases covers how driver licensing records fit in.
What causes most
truck accidents?
The causes we see most often are driver fatigue, speeding for the conditions, distracted driving, following too closely, unsafe lane changes into a car in the truck's blind spot, wide right turns, improperly loaded or shifting cargo, brake failure from poor maintenance, and jackknife or rollover crashes on curves and ramps. Underride crashes, where a car slides under the side or rear of a trailer, cause some of the most severe injuries.
Pressure to meet delivery windows sits behind many of these causes. That is why dispatch records and delivery schedules are often requested along with the driver's log.
Where is a truck accident
case filed?
A truck case can often be filed in more than one place, such as the state where the crash happened, the state where the carrier is based, or federal court when the parties are from different states. The choice affects which deadline applies, how damages are measured, and who sits on the jury. This is one of the first decisions in an interstate truck case, and it should be made with care.
How do serious truck accident
injuries affect a case?
Truck crashes often cause
traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, multiple fractures, burns, and amputations. In those cases, the claim has to account for care the person will need for decades. That usually involves a life care planner and an economist, and our article on
using expert witnesses to calculate life care costs explains how that works. When a crash takes a life, the family may bring a
wrongful death claim.
Truck accident cases
in other states
Long-haul trucks cross state lines every day, and so do the cases that come from them. We review truck accident cases from anywhere in the country. When a case has to be filed where we do not have an office, we work with locally admitted counsel in that state. For drivers in Pennsylvania, see our
Philadelphia truck accident page. If the crash involved a passenger car only, our
car accident lawyer page covers those rules, and our
motorcycle accident page covers riders hit by trucks.
Truck accident questions
people ask us
How long do I have to file a truck accident lawsuit?
Each state sets its own deadline, and most fall between one and six years for injury claims. If the truck belonged to a city, county, or state agency, you may need to file a written notice of claim within a few months. Because carriers only keep some records for six months, waiting is risky even when the filing deadline is far away.
Who pays if the truck driver was an independent contractor?
Often the motor carrier still does. Federal rules make the carrier responsible for vehicles operated under its authority, and leases between carriers and owner-operators usually carry insurance obligations. The lease, the carrier's federal registration, and the insurance filings need to be reviewed in each case.
Can I sue the freight broker that arranged the load?
You may be able to if the broker chose a carrier it knew or should have known was unsafe. The Supreme Court's May 2026 decision in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II held that federal law does not block these claims. The claim still requires proof about the broker's selection process and the carrier's safety history.
What should I do if the trucking company's insurer calls me?
Be polite, take down the caller's name and company, and do not give a recorded statement or sign any medical release until you have spoken with a lawyer. Insurers for trucking companies often call within days of a crash.
Can you help if the truck crash happened in another state?
Yes. We review truck accident cases nationwide. When a case must be filed in a state where we do not have an office, we work with locally admitted counsel there so the case is filed in the right court under the right law.
What if I was partly at fault?
Most states still allow recovery, reduced by your share of fault, as long as your share stays below the state's cutoff. A few states bar recovery for any fault. Truck data often shows what the driver was doing in the seconds before the crash, which can answer fault questions that witness accounts cannot.
Talk with Onal Injury Law
about your case
Onal Injury Law has offices in Elmwood Park and Cliffside Park, New Jersey, Staten Island, New York, and Sugar Land, Texas. We review injury cases from anywhere in the United States. When a case has to be filed in a state where we do not have an office, we work with locally admitted counsel in that state so the case is filed in the right court and handled under the right law.
The first consultation is free and confidential, and we speak English, Turkish, and Spanish. Injury cases are usually handled on a contingency fee, so there is nothing to pay up front, and we explain the fee agreement and case costs in writing before you sign anything. Call (201) 335-6788 or request a free case review.
FIGHTING FOR JUSTICE IN ALL PERSONAL INJURY
CASES
Personal injury cases are complex and deeply consequential. Each one involves specific facts, medical realities, and long-term implications for the person affected. Our New Jersey personal injury lawyers bring experienced judgment and disciplined preparation to every matter we handle.
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