Hiring a Truck Accident Lawyer in Florida

Why Truck Cases Need Different Experience

A truck claim is not a larger car accident claim. The differences are structural, and they show up in the first two weeks rather than at trial.

• Federal regulation. Hours of service, maintenance, cargo securement, and driver qualification are governed by written federal rules, and knowing which records exist is what makes a violation provable. See FMCSA Regulations.
• Evidence that expires. Camera footage and electronic data are overwritten within weeks unless a preservation demand goes out immediately.
• Multiple corporate defendants. Carrier, trailer owner, shipper, broker, maintenance contractor, and manufacturer may each be responsible and each separately insured.
• Rapid-response investigation. Carriers’ insurers frequently have investigators at a serious scene within hours, building their account while the injured person is in an emergency room.
• Expert-dependent proof. Reconstruction, electronic data interpretation, and life care planning are routine rather than exceptional.

None of this means a general practitioner cannot handle a truck claim. It means the questions to ask are about specific familiarity with these mechanics, not about years in practice generally.

How Contingency Fees Actually Work

Almost all Florida personal injury representation is on contingency, meaning the fee is a percentage of any recovery rather than an hourly charge, and there is no fee if there is no recovery. Several points are worth understanding before signing:

• The fee is a percentage set out in a written agreement. Florida Bar rules govern contingency fees in personal injury matters, including the structure of permitted percentages and the requirement for a written contract.
• Costs are separate from fees. Filing fees, expert witnesses, records retrieval, depositions, and reconstruction can be substantial. The agreement should say who advances them and whether they are deducted before or after the fee is calculated — that ordering changes the net figure.
• What happens if you lose should be explicit. Many firms absorb advanced costs; not all do.
• Medical liens and PIP may need to be resolved from the recovery, and the agreement should explain how.
• You are entitled to a copy and to have your questions answered before signing. A firm unwilling to explain its own fee agreement is telling you something.

A free consultation means exactly that: an assessment at no cost and no obligation. It is not a commitment, and speaking to more than one firm is entirely normal.

Published By

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.

The firm works to keep this information current and consistent. Spotted something wrong? Email joseph@shinerlawgroup.com and we will fix it. About this site →

Questions Worth Asking

1. How many commercial trucking cases have you handled, as distinct from car accident claims?
2. What will you do in the first week to preserve the carrier’s electronic data and camera footage?
3. Who will actually handle my case day to day, and how will I reach them?
4. How are costs handled — who advances them, and are they deducted before or after your fee?
5. What happens to advanced costs if the case does not succeed?
6. Do you try cases, or refer them out if they do not settle?
7. What is your assessment of the difficulties in my case, not just its strengths?
8. How will medical liens and PIP be resolved from any recovery?

That last-but-one question is worth weight. A firm that describes only strengths at a first meeting is not assessing your case, and a candid account of the problems is a better signal than confidence.

When to Get Advice

Sooner than most people think, and for a reason that has nothing to do with litigation.

The evidence that proves a truck case — camera footage, engine control module data, electronic logs — sits on systems the carrier controls and is lawfully overwritten on cycles measured in days and weeks. A preservation demand stops that. Sent early it works; sent after a month it may arrive to find the material gone.

Getting advice is also not the same as bringing a claim. An assessment can tell you whether there is anything worth pursuing, and if there is not, you have lost nothing. If there is, the steps that protect it are already underway rather than being reconstructed later. Florida’s two-year deadline for claims arising after March 24, 2023 under Fla. Stat. § 768.81 and the related limitations rules is the outer limit, not the working one — see Florida’s Truck Accident Deadline.

What to Bring to a Consultation

1. The crash report number, and the report if you have it.
2. Photographs from the scene and of your injuries.
3. The carrier’s DOT number and trailer number if you recorded them.
4. Names and contact details for any witnesses.
5. Your insurance policy, including any uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage.
6. Medical records and bills to date, and the names of treating providers.
7. Any correspondence from the carrier’s insurer, including offers.
8. Employment records showing time lost.

If you do not have all of it, go anyway. Much of it can be obtained, and the preservation clock is running in the meantime.

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