Miami Truck Accident Lawyer

How is a truck accident claim different from a car accident claim?

A commercial truck crash is governed by federal safety regulations, often involves several companies that each may share responsibility, and is backed by insurance policies far larger than a typical car policy. The evidence is different, too: electronic logs, engine data, maintenance files and driver records that the trucking company controls.

When a passenger car collides with a commercial truck, the difference in size and weight means the people in the smaller vehicle usually take the worst of it. Truck crash cases are very different from regular car accidents, and trucking companies and their insurers typically send investigators to the scene quickly. At Jimenez Mazzitelli Mordes, a bilingual litigation firm serving clients in Florida, Texas & New York, we represent people who were seriously injured, and families who lost a loved one, in crashes with tractor-trailers, box trucks, delivery vans, dump trucks and other commercial vehicles.

Car accident claim vs. commercial truck accident claim

	Typical car accident claim	Commercial truck accident claim
Rules the driver must follow	Florida traffic laws	Florida traffic laws plus federal FMCSA safety regulations (hours of service, driver qualification, inspection and maintenance), which Florida largely adopts for intrastate trucking
Who may be responsible	Usually the other driver, sometimes the vehicle owner	The driver, the motor carrier, the truck or trailer owner, the shipper or loader, a maintenance contractor, and in some cases a broker or parts manufacturer
Minimum insurance	Florida requires no bodily injury liability coverage for most drivers	Federal minimum of $750,000 for most interstate for-hire freight carriers; more for hazardous materials
Key evidence	Crash report, photos, witnesses, vehicle damage	All of that, plus ELD hours-of-service records, engine control module data, driver qualification files, inspection and maintenance records, and dispatch communications
How fast evidence can be lost	Days to weeks (video, vehicle repairs)	Some records are kept for only months under federal rules, and electronic data can be overwritten sooner

We compare the two claim types in more depth in how a truck crash claim differs from a car accident claim. If a car or SUV was the only other vehicle involved, our Miami car accident lawyer page covers the rules that apply.

How common are commercial vehicle crashes in Miami-Dade?

Miami-Dade recorded 8,546 crashes involving a commercial motor vehicle in 2024, more than any other Florida county and more than the next two counties combined (Broward 4,551 and Palm Beach 3,166). That is about 23 a day, or roughly one every 62 minutes, according to state crash records compiled in our public-data study.*

• 1,364 people were injured and 18 were killed in Miami-Dade crashes involving a commercial motor vehicle in 2024.*
• Injuries in these crashes rose 25.3% from 2021 to 2024 (1,089 to 1,364), while injuries in all Miami-Dade crashes rose 2.3% (28,706 to 29,359) over the same years.*
• 14.2% of all Miami-Dade crashes in 2024 involved a commercial motor vehicle (8,546 of 60,000), compared with 12.2% statewide.*

The full methodology, sources and charts are in our study, Where Freight Meets Traffic: Commercial Motor Vehicle Crashes in Miami-Dade. The county’s freight activity around Miami International Airport, PortMiami and the Doral warehouse district puts heavy trucks on the same expressways and surface streets that commuters use every day. We’ve also written about what makes truck accidents in Miami so dangerous.

* Source: Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV), Florida Traffic Crash Facts, 2022, 2023 and 2024 editions. “Commercial motor vehicle” (CMV) is FLHSMV’s category and includes buses and medium/heavy trucks: vehicles with a weight rating of 10,001 lbs or more, vehicles carrying placarded hazardous materials, or vehicles marked commercial on the crash report. It is not limited to semi-trucks. Figures count crashes involving a CMV and are not a finding about fault. Injury counts include every person injured in those crashes, not only CMV occupants.

Which federal trucking rules matter in a Miami truck accident case?

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) set limits on how long truck drivers may drive, require electronic logging of those hours, and require carriers to qualify their drivers and systematically inspect, repair and maintain their vehicles. A violation of these rules is often strong evidence of negligence.

• Hours of service. A property-carrying interstate driver may drive up to 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty, may not drive after the 14th hour following coming on duty, must take a 30-minute break after 8 hours of driving, and may not drive after 60 hours on duty in 7 days or 70 hours in 8 days. Florida applies similar limits to intrastate drivers, with some adjustments (for example, 12 hours of driving and no driving after the 16th hour on duty).
• Electronic logging devices (ELDs). Most motor carriers must have their drivers record duty status on an ELD. These logs show when the driver was driving, on duty or resting, and whether the hours limits were broken.
• Driver qualification. Carriers must keep a qualification file on every driver, including the employment application, driving records and medical certification. A carrier that hires or keeps an unqualified or unsafe driver can be responsible for that choice.
• Inspection, repair and maintenance. Carriers must systematically inspect, repair and maintain their vehicles, and drivers must complete vehicle inspection reports. Brake, tire and lighting failures often trace back to skipped maintenance.
• Drug and alcohol testing and cargo securement. Separate federal rules govern testing of commercial drivers and how loads must be secured. Shifting or overloaded cargo can cause rollovers and jackknifes.

Trucking records that can prove fault, and how long carriers must keep them

Record	What it can show	Federal minimum retention
ELD / hours-of-service records	Driving time, rest breaks, fatigue, falsified logs	6 months
Driver vehicle inspection reports	Defects the driver reported and whether they were repaired	3 months
Inspection, repair and maintenance records	Skipped maintenance, brake and tire problems	1 year, and 6 months after the vehicle leaves the carrier’s control
Driver qualification file	Driving history, medical certification, hiring decisions	Length of employment plus 3 years
Carrier accident register	Prior crashes involving the carrier’s vehicles	3 years after each accident
Engine control module (“black box”) data	Speed, braking and throttle in the seconds before impact	No federal retention rule; can be overwritten

Who can be held liable for a truck accident in Miami?

Several parties can be responsible for a single truck crash, and each may carry its own insurance. Identifying all of them early matters, because the driver’s policy alone may not cover serious injuries.

• The truck driver, for speeding, distraction, impairment, fatigue or unsafe lane changes.
• The motor carrier, which is generally responsible for its drivers’ negligence on the job and for its own failures in hiring, training, supervision, scheduling and maintenance.
• The truck or trailer owner, when different from the carrier, under Florida’s dangerous instrumentality doctrine and lease arrangements.
• The shipper or cargo loader, when an overloaded, unbalanced or poorly secured load contributed to the crash.
• A maintenance or repair contractor, when faulty work on brakes, tires or other systems played a role.
• A freight broker, in some cases, for negligently selecting an unsafe carrier. Whether and when brokers can be held responsible is a contested and evolving area of law.
• A parts manufacturer, when a defective component failed.

Freight patterns in different parts of Miami-Dade shape who is involved. If your crash happened in Doral or along the warehouse corridors near the airport, our Doral truck accident lawyers handle those claims. Farther south, a truck accident lawyer in Homestead covers produce-hauler and US-1 crashes across South Miami-Dade, and we explain why farm-corridor truck crashes raise different liability questions. When a truck sets off a chain-reaction crash, fault is divided among several drivers; see how Florida courts handle multi-car pileup liability.

What should I do after a crash with a commercial truck?

Get medical care, call police, and document the truck’s identifying information before it leaves the scene. Then speak with a lawyer quickly, because the trucking company controls most of the evidence and some of it can be lost within days.

1. Call 911 and get medical care. Florida PIP medical benefits require initial care within 14 days.
2. Photograph the truck. Capture the company name, USDOT number on the cab door, trailer number, license plates and cargo.
3. Collect witness names and phone numbers. Independent witnesses are especially valuable against a well-prepared carrier.
4. Do not give a statement to the trucking company or its insurer. Their adjusters and investigators work for the carrier.
5. Keep every record of treatment, bills, missed work and vehicle damage.
6. Get a preservation letter sent quickly so the carrier is on notice to keep its logs, data and video.

What is a preservation (spoliation) letter, and why does it matter?

A preservation letter, sometimes called a spoliation letter, is a written demand that the trucking company and other parties keep all evidence related to the crash. It puts them on formal notice that litigation is likely, so destroying or overwriting that evidence afterward can carry consequences in court.

The letter typically covers ELD and hours-of-service records, engine control module data, dash-camera and in-cab video, GPS and telematics data, dispatch and phone records, the driver qualification file, drug and alcohol test results, inspection and maintenance records, bills of lading, and the truck and trailer themselves. In Florida, when a party loses or destroys evidence it had a duty to keep, courts can impose sanctions or instruct the jury that it may infer the evidence would have been unfavorable to that party. Because a backup copy of ELD records only has to be kept for six months, and engine data can be overwritten with continued use, the letter should go out as early as possible.

How much insurance do trucking companies have to carry?

Federal law requires most for-hire interstate carriers hauling general freight in vehicles of 10,001 pounds or more to carry at least $750,000 in liability coverage. Carriers of oil and certain hazardous materials must carry $1 million, and some hazardous loads require $5 million. Florida sets its own minimums for commercial vehicles operating in the state.

Minimum liability insurance for commercial trucks

Type of vehicle or cargo	Minimum coverage	Source
For-hire interstate carrier, general (non-hazardous) freight, 10,001 lbs or more	$750,000	Federal (49 C.F.R. § 387.9)
Oil and certain hazardous materials	$1,000,000	Federal (49 C.F.R. § 387.9)
Certain bulk hazardous materials and explosives	$5,000,000	Federal (49 C.F.R. § 387.9)
Commercial vehicle in Florida, 26,000 to under 35,000 lbs	$50,000 per occurrence	Florida (§ 627.7415, Fla. Stat.)
Commercial vehicle in Florida, 35,000 to under 44,000 lbs	$100,000 per occurrence	Florida (§ 627.7415, Fla. Stat.)
Commercial vehicle in Florida, 44,000 lbs or more	$300,000 per occurrence	Florida (§ 627.7415, Fla. Stat.)

These are minimums, not limits. Many carriers carry excess or umbrella policies, and a shipper, broker, owner or maintenance company may have separate coverage. Finding every available policy is one of the first things we do.

How do Florida PIP, deadlines and comparative fault apply to truck crashes?

The same Florida rules that govern car crashes apply when a truck is involved. Your own PIP pays first (up to $10,000 if you get care within 14 days), you can sue for pain and suffering if your injury meets Florida’s permanent-injury threshold, and you generally have two years to file a negligence lawsuit for crashes after March 24, 2023.

Florida’s modified comparative negligence rule also applies: your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault, and if you are found more than 50% at fault, you recover nothing. Trucking defense teams often argue that the car driver cut in front of the truck or stopped suddenly, which is why the truck’s own data matters so much. Read more about how Florida’s modified comparative negligence law affects your case. Wrongful death claims carry their own two-year deadline, counted from the date of death.

What compensation can I recover after a Miami truck accident?

Truck crash victims may recover past and future medical expenses, lost income and earning capacity, pain and suffering, and, for families who lost a loved one, wrongful death damages. Because truck injuries are often severe, future care and lost earning capacity are frequently the largest parts of the claim.

• Emergency, surgical and long-term medical care
• Rehabilitation, therapy and mobility devices
• Lost wages and reduced future earning capacity
• Pain and suffering, mental anguish and loss of enjoyment of life
• Scarring, disfigurement and permanent disability
• Wrongful death and funeral costs

Common truck-crash injuries include traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, fractures and internal injuries. These cases show why serious truck-accident injuries need a different legal approach than an ordinary car accident claim. When a crash takes a life, our Miami wrongful death lawyers can explain who may bring the claim and what the family can recover.

How does Jimenez Mazzitelli Mordes handle truck accident cases?

We move quickly to lock down evidence, identify every responsible company and policy, and build the case for trial from the start. Here is what that looks like, in English or Spanish:

1. Free consultation to understand what happened and what you need now.
2. Preservation letters to the carrier and other parties to protect logs, data and video.
3. Investigation with accident reconstruction engineers, a review of the carrier’s federal safety record, and inspection of the truck when possible.
4. Records requests and discovery for ELD logs, maintenance files, driver qualification files and dispatch records.
5. Damages work with treating physicians and, where needed, life-care planners and economists to document future needs.
6. Negotiation and litigation. If the insurers will not pay fair value, we file suit and prepare the case for trial.

Truck crashes are part of our broader Miami personal injury practice. We work with injured people and families, not trucking companies or insurers.

What does a Miami truck accident lawyer cost?

We handle truck accident cases on a contingency fee. You pay no attorney’s fee up front, and we are paid only if we recover money for you. The consultation is free, and the fee percentage and how case costs are handled are written into your agreement before work begins.

Florida Bar rules regulate these fees: the standard schedule presumes a fee is excessive if it exceeds 33⅓% of a recovery up to $1 million before an answer is filed, or 40% after an answer is filed through judgment, with lower percentages above $1 million. You receive a Statement of Client’s Rights before signing and may cancel the contract in writing within three business days. Truck cases often require reconstruction and medical witnesses, and your agreement explains how those costs are handled. No lawyer can guarantee a result, and we will not.

Truck accident questions and answers

What makes truck accidents more dangerous than car accidents?

Size and weight. A loaded commercial truck can weigh many times more than a passenger car and needs far more distance to stop, so occupants of the smaller vehicle often suffer severe or fatal injuries. Fatigue, tight delivery schedules, heavy cargo and poor maintenance add risks that ordinary car crashes rarely involve.

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Who can be held liable in a truck accident claim?

Often more than one party. Depending on the facts, the truck driver, the motor carrier, the owner of the truck or trailer, the shipper or cargo loader, a maintenance contractor, a parts manufacturer, and sometimes a freight broker may share responsibility. Each may have its own insurance, which matters when injuries are serious.

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How long do I have to file a truck accident lawsuit in Florida?

For crashes after March 24, 2023, Florida generally allows two years from the crash to file a negligence lawsuit, and wrongful death claims must be filed within two years of the death. Truck cases need that time for investigation, so evidence preservation should start within days, not months.

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What is an ELD, and why does it matter in a truck accident case?

An electronic logging device records a truck driver’s driving and duty time. Federal rules require most carriers to use one and limit how long drivers may drive. ELD records can show fatigue or hours violations, but carriers must keep backup copies for only six months, so they should be preserved quickly.

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How much insurance does a commercial truck have to carry?

Most for-hire interstate carriers hauling general freight in vehicles of 10,001 pounds or more must carry at least $750,000 in liability coverage, with $1 million or $5 million required for certain hazardous cargo. Florida sets separate minimums for commercial vehicles by weight. These are minimums, and additional policies may apply.

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Does PIP apply if I was hit by a truck in Florida?

Yes. Your own Personal Injury Protection pays first, covering 80% of medical bills and 60% of lost income up to $10,000, if you get initial care within 14 days. Because truck injuries often exceed that amount, most serious cases also involve a claim against the trucking company and other responsible parties.

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How much does a truck accident lawyer in Miami cost?

We work on a contingency fee, so you pay no attorney’s fee unless money is recovered, and the consultation is free. Florida Bar rules presume a fee is excessive above 33⅓% of a recovery up to $1 million before an answer is filed, or 40% after. Case costs are explained in your written agreement.

Contact a Miami truck accident lawyer

If you or a loved one was hurt in a crash with a commercial truck, the evidence that proves what happened is in the trucking company’s hands, and some of it will not last. The consultation is free, you pay no fee unless we recover money for you, and we are open 24 hours.

Call (305) 548-8750 to speak with a Miami truck accident attorney at Jimenez Mazzitelli Mordes, or connect with us online through our Miami Law Firm Contact Page. Hablamos español.

This page provides general information about Florida and federal law and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.