Truck accidents in Florida, explained.

What to do after a crash with a truck

Crashes involving semi-trucks, box trucks, and delivery vehicles cause severe injuries at a much higher rate than ordinary car crashes. Call 911, accept medical evaluation, and get a police report. If you are able, photograph everything: the truck including its company name, DOT number, and license plates, the trailer, the roadway, and your vehicle.

That company name and DOT number matter more than most people realize. They identify who actually operated the truck, which is not always obvious from the logo on the trailer.

Get medical care promptly even if you feel stable. Florida's PIP law generally requires initial treatment within 14 days to qualify for PIP medical benefits, and serious injuries from truck crashes sometimes present late.

Why truck cases are not just big car cases

A commercial truck crash usually involves more than a driver. Behind the wheel there may be a trucking company, a freight broker, a cargo loader, a maintenance contractor, and several insurance policies. Figuring out who is responsible, and whose insurance applies, is often the central question of the case.

Trucking is also federally regulated. Drivers have hour limits, trucks have inspection and maintenance requirements, and companies must keep records. When a crash happens, those records, driver logs, GPS and engine data, inspection reports, and dispatch communications, become evidence.

Trucking evidence disappears fast

This is the single most important practical fact about truck cases: critical evidence has a short shelf life. Electronic logging data, engine control module data, and dash camera footage can be overwritten on normal retention cycles. Trucks get repaired and put back on the road.

Attorneys preserve this evidence by sending a formal preservation demand, sometimes called a spoliation letter, requiring the company to keep records. The earlier that happens after a crash, the more evidence survives. Waiting months to explore a claim can mean the most important proof is already gone.

The causes that come up again and again

Driver fatigue is a leading factor, which is why federal hours-of-service rules exist and why logbooks are scrutinized after crashes. Distracted driving, speeding to meet delivery windows, and inadequate training also appear constantly in truck cases.

Mechanical causes matter too: brake failures, tire blowouts, and unsecured or shifting cargo. When a load is not properly secured, responsibility may extend beyond the driver to the company that loaded it.

Florida's modified comparative negligence rule still applies: compensation can be reduced by your share of fault, and a person found mostly at fault generally cannot recover. Trucking insurers argue fault aggressively, so early evidence decides a lot.

The insurance side of a truck crash

Commercial trucks typically carry much larger insurance policies than passenger cars, often $750,000 or more under federal minimums for interstate carriers. That sounds like good news, and it can be, but larger policies also mean the insurer defends the claim harder and gets involved faster.

It is common for a trucking company's insurer or investigators to contact an injured person within days, sometimes at the hospital. You are not required to give them a recorded statement, and early settlement offers in truck cases frequently arrive before the full extent of the injuries is known. Accepting one ends the claim, including injuries discovered later.

Deadlines in truck accident cases

Florida's statute of limitations for negligence cases is generally two years under the law as revised in 2023. Wrongful death claims and claims against government entities have their own rules, some shorter.

In truck cases, the practical deadline arrives long before the legal one. Evidence retention cycles run in weeks and months, not years. Treat any general deadline as a starting point, not a plan.

What a truck accident claim can cover

Depending on the facts, a claim may involve medical expenses past and future, lost income and reduced earning ability, vehicle damage, and the human costs of the injury: pain, limitation, and the effect on daily life. Because truck crashes so often cause severe or permanent injuries, future medical care and lost earning capacity are frequently the largest parts of the claim.

Every case turns on its own facts and the coverage available. A free review can tell you what categories realistically apply and what the sensible next step looks like.