Accidents involving commercial trucks can cause serious injuries, extensive property damage, and long-term financial consequences. Because of their size and weight, tractor-trailers, delivery trucks, construction vehicles, and other large commercial vehicles can cause significant damage when they collide with passenger vehicles.
Commercial truck accident claims can also be more complicated than standard car accident cases. The truck driver may not be the only party whose actions contributed to the crash. Depending on the circumstances, a trucking company, vehicle owner, maintenance provider, cargo-loading business, manufacturer, or insurance company may also become involved.
Commercial carriers and drivers may also be subject to federal safety regulations governing driver qualifications, hours of service, vehicle maintenance, cargo securement, and other areas of operation.
Understanding what to do after a commercial truck accident and how these claims may proceed can help injured individuals protect important evidence and better understand their legal options.
Anyone injured in a commercial truck accident should seek appropriate medical care as soon as possible. Emergency treatment may be necessary for serious or life-threatening injuries.
Even when injuries initially seem manageable, certain symptoms can develop or worsen after the collision. Injuries associated with serious vehicle crashes may include concussions, internal injuries, fractures, spinal injuries, and soft-tissue damage.
Medical documentation may also become important when pursuing a personal injury claim because it can help establish:
Delaying necessary medical care can affect a person's health and may also create questions during the insurance claim process about the nature or severity of the injuries.
A serious commercial truck crash should be reported to law enforcement.
Understanding what to do after a motor vehicle accident in Mississippi can also help injured individuals preserve information that may later become important to a claim.
A responding officer may document the vehicles and drivers involved, speak with witnesses, note road or weather conditions, and prepare a crash report.
When it is safe to do so, photographs and videos can help preserve important information about:
The accident scene can change quickly once vehicles are moved, debris is cleared, and traffic resumes. Evidence gathered near the time of the collision may become useful when determining how the crash occurred.
Liability depends on the facts of each accident. In some cases, more than one person or company may share responsibility.
A truck driver's conduct may become an issue when an accident involves:
Driver logs, electronic records, vehicle data, phone information, and other evidence may help determine what happened before a collision.
A trucking company may also become part of an investigation.
Potential issues can include:
The relationship between the driver, trucking company, contractor, and vehicle owner may affect how liability is evaluated.
Commercial vehicles are subject to federal inspection, repair, and maintenance requirements under 49 C.F.R. Part 396. These regulations address responsibilities involving the condition, inspection, repair, and maintenance of commercial motor vehicles.
If defective brakes, worn tires, steering problems, lighting failures, or another mechanical problem contributed to a crash, maintenance records, inspection reports, repair invoices, and vehicle components may become important evidence.
For additional information, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration provides access to its commercial motor vehicle regulations and interpretations.
Improperly loaded or unsecured cargo can shift, spill, fall from a vehicle, or affect a truck's stability.
Federal cargo-securement requirements are primarily addressed in 49 C.F.R. §§ 393.100 through 393.136. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration explains that applicable cargo must be secured to help prevent shifting or falling during transportation.
The FMCSA provides additional information through its Cargo Securement Rules.
Depending on how the truck was loaded and who was responsible for the cargo, a cargo-loading or shipping company may become part of the investigation.
A manufacturer may potentially become involved if a defective vehicle or component contributed to an accident or increased the severity of the resulting injuries.
Examples could include problems involving brakes, tires, steering systems, coupling equipment, or other vehicle components.
Whether a product defect played a role requires a case-specific investigation.
Commercial trucking is regulated more extensively than ordinary passenger-vehicle driving.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations include requirements addressing areas such as:
These requirements can become important when investigating why a commercial truck accident occurred.
Driver fatigue can be an important issue in some commercial truck accidents.
Under federal hours-of-service regulations, a property-carrying commercial motor vehicle driver generally may drive for up to 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty and generally may not drive beyond the 14th consecutive hour after coming on duty, subject to applicable rules and exceptions.
The current requirements are contained in 49 C.F.R. § 395.3 and related regulations. Drivers may also be subject to break requirements and weekly limits on on-duty time.
More information is available through the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's hours-of-service regulations.
A violation of a trucking regulation does not automatically determine the outcome of a personal injury claim. However, driver logs, electronic logging device records, maintenance documentation, inspection information, and other safety records may help attorneys and investigators understand what happened.
Truck accident claims may involve evidence that is not typically available in an ordinary passenger-vehicle case.
Depending on the circumstances, important evidence may include:
Some records or electronic information may not be retained indefinitely. For this reason, an attorney may consider sending a preservation notice or spoliation letter requesting that potentially relevant evidence connected with the accident be retained.
Acting promptly may therefore be important even when the legal filing deadline has not yet approached.
Every truck accident case is different, but understanding the general process and how personal injury claims may progress in Mississippi can help injured individuals know what may happen after a serious collision.
The process may begin with reviewing the crash report, available photographs, insurance information, medical treatment, witness information, and other facts surrounding the collision.
A truck accident investigation may require obtaining records from a commercial carrier, reviewing driver information, preserving electronic data, examining vehicle maintenance records, identifying witnesses, and gathering additional documentation.
In complex cases, accident reconstruction professionals or other experts may also become involved.
One of the important differences between a commercial truck claim and a typical car accident claim is the possibility of multiple responsible parties.
The investigation may examine the actions of the:
Determining who may be legally responsible can also help identify applicable insurance coverage.
A personal injury claim generally requires documentation of the losses associated with the collision.
Depending on the case, this may include medical expenses, future treatment, time missed from work, loss of earning capacity, property damage, physical limitations, and other effects of the injuries.
After sufficient evidence is collected and damages are evaluated, a claim may be presented to the responsible parties and their insurers.
Negotiations may then take place regarding liability and compensation.
An insurance company's initial offer does not necessarily account for every current or future loss associated with a serious injury.
If the parties cannot reach an appropriate resolution, a personal injury lawsuit may be considered.
Litigation can involve document requests, written questions, depositions, expert analysis, motions, mediation, settlement negotiations, and potentially a trial.
Not every truck accident case requires a lawsuit or trial. The appropriate process depends on the facts, available evidence, injuries, insurance coverage, and positions taken by the parties.
Yes. Commercial truck cases can differ from ordinary car accident claims in several important ways.
A typical car accident claim may primarily involve the drivers and their insurance companies. A commercial truck accident can involve several companies, insurers, contractors, and corporate representatives.
Commercial motor carriers may have insurance policies and coverage arrangements that differ from personal automobile insurance.
Available coverage can be an important issue, but the existence of commercial insurance does not mean an insurer will automatically accept responsibility or agree with an injured person's assessment of the claim.
Federal trucking requirements may generate records concerning driver qualifications, hours of service, inspections, maintenance, cargo, and other safety issues.
Those records can provide information that may not exist in an ordinary passenger-vehicle accident claim.
Crashes involving large commercial vehicles can result in catastrophic injuries, permanent impairments, extensive rehabilitation, and lengthy periods away from work.
As a result, evaluating a serious truck accident claim may require considering both immediate losses and the long-term effects of an injury.
Depending on the circumstances and applicable Mississippi law, an injured person may be able to pursue compensation for losses resulting from the accident.
Potential damages may include:
Families who lose a loved one in a fatal truck accident may have additional rights under Mississippi wrongful death law.
No particular outcome or amount of compensation is guaranteed. The damages available depend on the evidence, applicable law, liability, insurance coverage, severity of the injuries, and other case-specific circumstances.
Mississippi law allows an injured person to potentially recover damages even when that individual shares some responsibility for the accident.
Under Mississippi Code § 11-7-15, contributory negligence does not automatically prevent recovery in a personal injury action. Instead, damages may be reduced in proportion to the amount of negligence attributed to the injured person.
For example, if total damages were determined to be $100,000 and the injured person were assigned 20% of the fault, the damages would be reduced by that percentage.
The applicable statute can be reviewed under Mississippi Code § 11-7-15.
Fault percentages can become heavily disputed. A trucking company or insurer may argue that another driver caused or contributed to the collision, which is another reason preserving evidence can be important.
A trucking company or commercial insurer may begin investigating soon after an accident.
An insurance representative may request:
Statements made during the early stages of a claim may later become relevant to how the insurer evaluates liability and damages.
An injured individual may also not yet know the full extent of the injuries, future medical needs, or how long the collision will affect the ability to work.
Before accepting a settlement, it is important to understand which claims are being resolved and whether the proposed amount accounts for the losses associated with the accident.
Mississippi law establishes deadlines for filing personal injury lawsuits.
For many claims where another limitations period is not specifically provided, Mississippi Code § 15-1-49 establishes a three-year limitations period after the cause of action accrues.
The statute can be reviewed at Mississippi Code § 15-1-49.
However, not every accident claim is governed by the same deadline. The parties involved and circumstances surrounding the claim can affect which limitations period or procedural requirements apply.
For example, claims involving government-owned vehicles or governmental entities can involve different requirements and deadlines.
Because the correct deadline depends on the specific facts, an injured person should not assume that every Mississippi truck accident claim automatically has the same amount of time to file.
There is also an important difference between a legal filing deadline and preserving evidence. Electronic information, video footage, documents, physical evidence, and witness recollections may become more difficult to obtain as time passes.
Truck accident cases can require an understanding of Mississippi personal injury law, insurance issues, medical evidence, and federal commercial trucking regulations.
Joseph P. Davis, co-founder of Davis & Davis, PLLC, has handled personal injury cases for approximately 30 years. His practice focuses on helping individuals who have been injured because of the negligence or wrongful acts of others.
Learn more about Joseph P. Davis and his personal injury experience.
Experience can be particularly valuable in a commercial truck accident case where the investigation may involve trucking-company records, driver information, maintenance documents, insurance coverage, electronic data, and multiple potentially responsible parties.
A commercial truck accident can affect a person's health, employment, finances, and family long after the collision.
Davis & Davis, PLLC represents injury victims in Biloxi and throughout the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Depending on the circumstances of the case, the firm can investigate how a collision occurred, identify potentially responsible parties, communicate with insurers, preserve relevant evidence, evaluate trucking records, document damages, negotiate a claim, and pursue litigation when necessary.
Speaking with an attorney after a serious commercial truck or 18-wheeler accident can help an injured person better understand the applicable laws, deadlines, available evidence, and options for moving forward.
Seek appropriate medical attention, report the accident to law enforcement, document the scene when it is safe to do so, obtain available witness and insurance information, and preserve records related to the collision and your injuries. Because some trucking evidence may not be retained indefinitely, acting promptly can be important.
Depending on the circumstances, potentially responsible parties may include the commercial driver, trucking company, vehicle owner, maintenance provider, cargo-loading company, manufacturer, another driver, or multiple parties.
Yes. Commercial truck claims may involve multiple parties, commercial insurance, federal trucking regulations, electronic logging information, driver qualification records, maintenance documentation, cargo information, and other evidence that may not be involved in an ordinary car accident.
Important evidence may include police reports, photographs, witness statements, driver logs, electronic vehicle data, maintenance records, inspection reports, cargo documents, dispatch communications, phone records, onboard video, and medical documentation.
Depending on the driver, carrier, vehicle, and type of operation, applicable Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations may address driver qualifications, hours of service, vehicle equipment, cargo securement, driving practices, inspection, repair, and maintenance.
Potentially. Mississippi Code § 11-7-15 provides that an injured person's contributory negligence does not automatically bar recovery, although damages may be reduced based on the amount of negligence attributed to that person.
Mississippi Code § 15-1-49 establishes a three-year limitations period for many actions when another limitations period is not prescribed. However, different deadlines or procedural requirements may apply depending on the parties and circumstances. The applicable deadline should be evaluated based on the specific case.
Legal representation may be particularly helpful when serious injuries are involved, liability is disputed, several companies or insurance policies may be involved, trucking-company records need to be preserved, or an insurer is requesting statements or discussing settlement.
Contact Davis & Davis, PLLC at (228) 275-9922 or request your FREE consultation today. The sooner you take action, the sooner you can move forward with confidence.
