Same Collision, Different Case
Two vehicles collide on I-95. If both are passenger cars, the claim is usually one driver, one insurer, one policy, and a fault question that turns on what each driver did in the seconds before impact. If one of them is a commercial truck, every one of those assumptions changes — not in degree, but in kind.
The differences below are structural. They are why a truck case is worked differently from the first week, and why the advice that serves a car claim well can actively hurt a truck claim.
There Is Rarely One Defendant
In a car crash the defendant is normally the other driver, with their insurer standing behind them. In a truck crash the driver is one of several parties whose decisions may have contributed, and several of them are companies.
| Who | What they may answer for |
|---|---|
| The driver | The conduct at the wheel — speed, following distance, lane position, fatigue. |
| The motor carrier | Hiring, training, supervision, scheduling, and maintenance. This is a direct claim against the company, not just responsibility for its driver. |
| The vehicle's owner | Often a different entity from the carrier, and in Florida the owner of a vehicle is generally vicariously liable for a permissive driver under the dangerous instrumentality doctrine. |
| The trailer's owner | Tractor and trailer are frequently owned separately, with separate maintenance records. |
| The shipper or loader | Where the load was secured or distributed badly — see lost load and cargo spills. |
| The broker | Where a broker arranged the load, its selection of the carrier can be in issue. |
| A parts or vehicle manufacturer | Where a component failed — a tire, a brake system, an underride guard. |
This matters beyond arithmetic. Under Florida’s modified comparative negligence rule in Fla. Stat. § 768.81, fault above 50% bars recovery entirely. Identifying every party whose conduct contributed is part of keeping an injured person under that bar, not only part of finding insurance. Our guide to who is liable works through the analysis.
The Insurance Is Layered, and Larger
Interstate motor carriers must carry minimum liability coverage set by federal regulation, starting at $750,000 for general freight and higher for certain hazardous materials. Above that primary layer there is frequently excess coverage, and sometimes an MCS-90 endorsement, which functions differently from ordinary liability insurance. Our guide to trucking company insurance covers how the layers interact.
The practical consequence is not that money is easier to reach. It is the opposite: larger exposure means the carrier’s insurer typically assigns adjusters and defense counsel immediately, sometimes within hours, and often sends an investigator to the scene before the vehicles are moved. A car-claim adjuster calls in a week. A truck-claim rapid response team is already working.
Most of the Evidence Belongs to the Defendant
This is the difference that most changes what an injured person should do in the first days.
In a car case, the evidence is largely shared: the scene, the damage, the police report, the medical records. In a truck case a decisive share of it sits inside the carrier — the driver’s hours, the maintenance history, the dispatch pressure, the electronic control module data — and it is governed by federal retention rules that are shorter than the filing deadline.
- Records of duty status and ELD data: six months (49 CFR § 395.8(k)(1)).
- Driver vehicle inspection reports: three months (49 CFR § 396.11).
- Maintenance records: one year while the vehicle is under the carrier’s control (49 CFR § 396.3(c)).
- Post-accident drug and alcohol testing: within 8 and 32 hours respectively, in the circumstances 49 CFR § 382.303 sets out.
- Dashcam and telematics footage: often the shortest cycle of all, and set by the carrier rather than by regulation.
A car claim filed at month twenty is timely and workable. A truck claim filed at month twenty is timely and may be missing the records that would have proved it. Our post on the retention clocks sets out each period with its citation.
What to Do Differently
- Begin medical care within 14 days. This one is the same as a car claim — Florida PIP under Fla. Stat. § 627.736 requires it either way.
- Capture the USDOT number. It is on the tractor door and generally on the crash report, and it is what makes the carrier’s federal safety record searchable. There is no equivalent in a car case.
- Find out where the vehicles are stored. The electronic data leaves with the tractor when it is repaired or released to salvage.
- Send a written preservation demand early. The retention clocks run whether or not anyone has hired a lawyer.
- Be more careful with a recorded statement. The carrier’s insurer is better resourced and moves faster, and the 50% bar means a casual account of your own driving costs more than it used to. See dealing with adjusters.
- Expect the investigation to be adversarial from day one. That is not a sign anything has gone wrong. It is how these claims are handled.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a truck accident claim worth more than a car accident claim?
Do I still use my own PIP if a truck hit me?
Why does the trucking company's insurer respond so quickly?
Can I handle a truck claim the way I would handle a car claim?
Shiner Law Group, P.A.
Founded by David I. Shiner, Esq. · AV Preeminent® rated · Florida Bar member since 2002
Shiner Law Group was founded by David I. Shiner, Esq., a Nova Southeastern University law graduate, a member of The Florida Bar since 2002, and AV Preeminent® rated by Martindale-Hubbell. The firm represents injured people across Florida from offices in Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Pierce, Orlando, Wellington, and Belle Glade, and handles truck accident cases on contingency: free consultations, and no fee unless there is a recovery.
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