Hit by a commercial truck in Florida? Trucking cases involve federal regulations, multiple defendants, and aggressive defense teams. We move fast to preserve evidence before it disappears.
Commercial truck accidents are different from car accidents in almost every way that matters. The injuries are usually catastrophic because of the size and weight differential. Federal regulations under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) apply alongside Florida law, opening up additional claims and liability theories. Multiple defendants may be involved: the driver, the trucking company, the broker, the shipper, the maintenance contractor, and any cargo loader. And critical evidence (electronic logging device data, black box telemetry, dashcam footage, dispatch records) overwrites or gets destroyed within days unless preserved by a written spoliation letter. Ilabaca Law represents Florida drivers and passengers injured by commercial trucks anywhere in the state.
A car accident has at most two insurance policies (the at-fault driver and the injured party). A trucking accident often has five or more: the driver's personal auto policy, the trucking company's primary commercial policy, an umbrella or excess policy, a contingent-cargo policy, and sometimes a separate policy on the trailer. Each layer has its own adjuster, its own counsel, and its own incentive to push liability onto another policy. The case strategy starts with mapping every policy and every potential defendant.
The FMCSA regulates almost every aspect of commercial trucking: driver hours of service (HOS), drug and alcohol testing, vehicle maintenance, cargo securement, electronic logging, and driver qualification. Violations of these regulations are powerful liability evidence. We routinely subpoena driver qualification files, drug test results, hours-of-service logs, vehicle inspection reports, and trucking company safety scores. Patterns of violations often establish negligent hiring, retention, or supervision claims against the trucking company itself, separate from the driver's individual negligence.
Driver fatigue from hours-of-service violations, distracted driving, improper lane changes (large blind spots), failure to maintain following distance, equipment failures (brake failures, tire blowouts, trailer detachment), improperly secured cargo, drug or alcohol impairment, inadequate driver training, and aggressive driving from time-pressured delivery schedules. Each cause has its own evidence trail, and most of that evidence lives on the truck or in trucking company records that must be preserved before they are routinely destroyed.
Truck accident attorneys who know federal trucking law and move fast to preserve evidence.
Trucking cases typically turn on four levers:
We send a written spoliation letter within days of the crash to preserve ELD data, dashcam footage, dispatch records, and maintenance logs that would otherwise be overwritten.
We subpoena driver qualification files, HOS logs, drug test results, and inspection reports to identify federal regulatory violations that drive liability.
Driver, motor carrier, broker, shipper, and maintenance contractor each have potential liability. We map every defendant and every policy.
Trucking injuries are typically severe. We work with life-care planners and economists to project lifetime medical and earning loss accurately.
2 years from the date of the accident to file a negligence claim, for accidents on or after March 24, 2023. Earlier accidents follow the prior 4-year rule. Different deadlines apply for claims involving governmental entities.
Federal regulations (49 C.F.R. Parts 350-399) govern commercial trucking. Violations of HOS rules, driver qualification standards, vehicle maintenance, and cargo securement provide powerful evidence of negligence and negligence per se.
Modified comparative fault under HB 837: if you are more than 50% at fault, you recover nothing.
We move fast: a written spoliation letter within days of the crash to preserve electronic and physical evidence. We get the police report, FMCSA crash data, and driver qualification file. We map every defendant and every policy. We coordinate with accident reconstructionists, FMCSA compliance experts, and life-care planners. We make a written demand to all defendants backed by evidence; if they will not engage reasonably, we file suit and take the case through to trial when needed.
Trucking insurers have aggressive in-house defense teams that arrive at crash scenes within hours. If you wait to get a lawyer involved, you are already behind. Attorney Nicholas Ravinet preserves evidence fast, identifies all defendants and policies, and builds the case from federal regulations on up.
Start your free case review today. Time matters in trucking cases. Send us the police report and Attorney Ravinet will follow up the same business day.
Every truck accident case is different. The best answers come from looking at the crash report, the FMCSA records, and your medical documentation. Contact Ilabaca Law for a free, no-obligation review and clear next steps.
Critical evidence overwrites or gets destroyed within days. Electronic logging device (ELD) data on hours of service is regularly overwritten on a rolling 7-day cycle. Dashcam footage often loops every 24-72 hours. Dispatch records, GPS data, and engine telemetry get archived in ways that make them harder to access over time. We send a written spoliation letter within days of the crash to preserve everything; the longer you wait, the more evidence is gone.
More parties than you might think. Potential defendants include the driver (negligent operation), the motor carrier or trucking company (negligent hiring, training, supervision; vicarious liability), the truck owner if separate from the carrier, the broker who arranged the load, the shipper if cargo was improperly loaded, and any maintenance contractor responsible for the vehicle. We map every potential defendant and every applicable insurance policy.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulates almost every aspect of commercial trucking: hours of service, driver qualification, drug and alcohol testing, vehicle maintenance, cargo securement. Violations of these federal regulations are powerful liability evidence and often establish "negligence per se" (the violation itself proves negligence). We routinely subpoena driver qualification files, HOS logs, drug test records, and inspection reports to identify violations.
Two years from the date of the accident under Fla. Stat. § 95.11, for accidents on or after March 24, 2023. Earlier accidents have the prior 4-year statute. Federal claims against the trucking company may have different deadlines. Always call early; trucking cases require fast evidence preservation regardless of the filing deadline.
Federal regulations require commercial trucks to carry minimum liability insurance: $750,000 for general freight, $1 million for hazmat, $5 million for hazardous chemicals. Most large carriers carry far more (umbrella or excess policies that bring total available coverage to $5-25 million or more). Catastrophic-injury cases can exceed even these limits, in which case we look at the broker, shipper, and other defendants.
Many trucking companies try to characterize drivers as independent contractors to avoid vicarious liability. This argument often fails under FMCSA regulations and Florida law because the carrier exercises significant control over the driver. We pierce that defense with the contract documents, dispatch records, and federal regulatory framework that hold the carrier responsible for drivers operating under its authority.
Past and future medical expenses, lost wages, lost earning capacity, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and (in catastrophic cases) loss of consortium for the injured person's spouse. Trucking cases also frequently support punitive damages where there is evidence of safety regulation violations or pattern misconduct by the carrier.
Nothing up front. Trucking cases are handled on a contingency-fee basis, with no attorney's fees unless we recover for you.
…and every county in between. Florida-only practice, statewide reach.
Florida deadlines are short. Get a free case review and a straight answer on what your claim is actually worth.
