Trucking Accident Lawsuits in California – How to Bring a Claim for Damages

After a semi-truck or tractor-trailer accident in California, you may be left with serious injuries and financial damages. If the truck driver or trucking company was negligent in causing the accident, you can seek damages by filing a lawsuit. A personal injury lawsuit can help you recover money for

• Lost wages,
• Doctor’s bills, and
• Pain and suffering.

The following flowchart shows the progression of trucking accident litigation in California.

Shouse Law Group is a personal injury law firm that represents accident victims nationwide. Below, our California trucking accident attorneys discuss the following topics:

• 1. Money Damages
• 2. Whom to Sue
• 3. What if I was partly to blame?
• 4. Injuries & Stats
• 5. When do I file?
• 6. Wrongful Death
• 7. Defenses
• 8. What To Do After a Truck Crash
• Additional Reading

If you have further questions after reading this article, we invite you to contact us at Shouse Law Group.

1. Money Damages

You can sue for compensatory damages to cover your losses following a trucking accident in California. Compensatory damages are divided into “economic” damages and “non-economic” damages.

Economic damages include those where a dollar value can be assessed, such as:

• Medical bills and ER treatment,
• Prescription drugs and medical supplies,
• Vehicle repairs,
• Lost wages and lost earning capacity,
• Future medical treatment, and
• Court costs.

Non-economic damages are more difficult to attach a dollar value to. Examples include:

• Pain and suffering,
• Emotional distress,
• Loss of consortium for a spouse or partner,
• Physical disability or disfigurement, and
• Loss of enjoyment in life.

Note that there can be different insurance policies for the truck/motor carrier and the trailer. This means more sources of coverage. Also, there may be an umbrella policy you can get damages from.

In some truck accident cases where the defendant acted with malice or extreme recklessness, you may be able to claim punitive damages (also called “exemplary” damages).¹ The purpose is not to compensate you but rather to punish the defendant for their bad behavior.

Settlements and Verdicts

In general, “minor” trucking accidents that cause only property damage yield settlements of up to $100,000. “Moderate” trucking accidents that cause physical injuries yield settlements of up to $500,000. Finally, “severe” trucking accidents – which usually involve fatalities or life-changing injuries – yield settlements of up to a million dollars or more.

Considering how large big rigs are, many of the crashes are severe. Cases that go to trial often result in “nuclear” verdicts of $10 million or higher. Here is a sampling of recent trucking crash verdicts in California:

• $70.5 million in 2019 – A RAI Transport tractor-trailer crashed into an SUV in Bakersfield, causing two of the passengers to sustain traumatic brain injuries.
• $52 million in 2018 – A CRST, Inc. big rig crashed into a car, causing the two passengers traumatic brain injuries.
• $3 million in 2022 – A C.R. England big rig crashed into a deaf motorcyclist in San Bernardino, causing fractures and requiring several surgeries.

The rise in nuclear verdicts may prompt trucking companies to make generous multi-million dollar offers upfront in an effort to avoid an expensive trial and bad publicity.²

2. Whom to Sue

If you are injured in a trucking accident, you can sue the trucking company for negligence. To prevail on a negligence claim in California, you would need to prove:

1. The trucking company owed you a duty of care;
2. The trucking company breached that duty;
3. The breach caused your injury; and
4. Your injury resulted in damages.

Examples of negligence by a trucking company include:

• Using unqualified drivers (“negligent hiring and training“),
• Using trailers that are overloaded, overweight, and/or unbalanced,
• Failing to maintain the trucks, and/or
• Overworking their drivers (such as encouraging them to drive more than 12 hours in a row in a 24-hour period in violation of VC 21702).

Trucking companies are also vicariously liable for their drivers’ traffic violations, such as:

• Speeding,
• Being distracted,
• Unsafe merging,
• Unsafe backing, and/or
• Drunk driving.³

Other Possible Defendants

Depending on your trucking accident case, you also may be able to sue:

• The truck driver, typically a commercial driver with a CDL from their home state;
• The truck driver’s employer, which often owns the vehicle;
• The truck’s manufacturer, if the crash may have been caused by a manufacturing defect or defective design;
• The big rig and tractor/truck owners and the party renting it at the time of the accident (if applicable);
• The mechanics who serviced the truck if they caused the vehicle to malfunction;
• The state or city government, if unmaintained roads caused the crash;
• the operating authority;
• the logistics company;
• the freight forwarder;
• the broker;
• the insurance company;
• the shipper; and/or
• the cargo loader.

Note that if you sue the truck or vehicle parts manufacturer, you do not need to prove that they were negligent. This is because manufacturers are strictly liable for their products. Instead, you would need to prove that:

1. The defendant designed, manufactured, distributed or sold the defective truck or part;
2. The truck or part contained the defect when it left the defendant’s possession;
3. The truck was used in a reasonably foreseeable manner; and
4. That you suffered harm as a result of the defect.

Truck parts that are commonly recalled due to products liability defects include:

• Tires
• Brakes
• Airbags
• Gas pedals
• Engines
• Transmissions
• Steering wheels
• Wiper blades
• Tie-downs and ratchet straps

3. What if I was partly to blame?

You still may be eligible to recover damages after a truck accident if you were partly at fault. Under California’s “comparative fault” law, the court would just reduce your monetary award by your degree of fault.

For example, if you were 50% at fault for a trucking accident that resulted in $100,000 of damages, you would be eligible for $50,000 (50% of your damages).

Note that you may be considered partly negligent even if you did not cause the accident: For example in California, the trucking company that caused your accident could reduce their liability if you were not wearing a seat belt.⁴

In any case, do not admit fault at the scene, to an insurance adjuster, or to anyone before speaking to an attorney. You could be wrong, and admitting fault could prevent you from recovering all the damages you are owed.

4. Injuries & Stats

In a trucking accident, the occupants of a passenger vehicle generally suffer graver damage than the truck driver. The most serious trucking accidents often involve major vehicle damage where the passenger is trapped inside.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2021, 5,788 people killed and 154,993 people injured in traffic accidents involving large trucks.⁵ In 2022 alone, California’s five largest counties saw more than 3,000 fatalities and injuries.⁶

5. When do I file?

You generally have two (2) years to file a claim for damages in a California civil court after a trucking accident. However, depending on the situation, the statute of limitations could be longer or shorter.

For example, personal injury claims against the state of California may only have a statute of limitations of six (6) months.⁷ This is why it is important to talk to a lawyer as soon as possible to make sure there is still time to file a lawsuit and that you will not miss a deadline.

6. Wrongful Death

If your child, spouse, or other family member is killed in a tractor-trailer accident, you may be able to file a lawsuit under California’s wrongful death laws.⁸

Damages available in a wrongful death lawsuit include:

• Burial expenses,
• Funeral costs,
• Loss of financial support that the deceased would have provided if they survived, and
• Compensation for the loss of support, protection, guidance, and support.

In California, the individuals who can file a wrongful death claim include the victim’s:

• Spouse,
• Domestic partner,
• Children,
• Grandchildren (if the children are deceased), or
• Other heirs.

7. Defenses

There are many possible defenses that defendants in California trucking accident lawsuits may claim. In addition to comparative negligence (discussed above in section 3), these defenses include:

• The defendant complied with the FMCSR;
• The defendant is excused by the “sudden emergency doctrine”;
• The driver was acting outside the scope of their employment;
• The driver was an independent contractor;
• You had pre-existing conditions;
• The accident was caused by weather or road conditions;
• Another driver caused the crash;
• You returned to work and/or did not mitigate damages; and/or
• There were owner/operator agreements or lease-back agreements that prevents you from recovering insurance.

8. What To Do After a Truck Crash

First and foremost, get medical attention. Even if you feel uninjured, you might have soft tissue damage or a hairline fracture that does not manifest until later. Also, medical records from right after the crash is invaluable evidence.

If you are able, gather as much evidence as you can such as photos and videos of your injuries, property damage, and the crash scene. Also collect the names and numbers of any eyewitnesses. The more proof you have of what happened, the easier time we will have in securing a favorable settlement.

Also, do not admit fault or say you are unharmed to anyone, especially to the other drivers or to your insurance adjuster. You may be wrong. Also, these “admissions” could make it very difficult to win a settlement later on.

Finally, do not accept the trucking company’s first offer to settle as they are probably low-balling you. Instead, hire an experienced trucking accident attorney.

Your legal team will call upon an accident reconstruction expert to piece together what happened and consult with a medical expert to calculate all your projected medical expenses (which may include lifelong home-health care in the most serious cases).

Your attorney will also uncover all the available evidence demonstrating the fault of the truck company (and possibly other parties such as the trucking manufacturer, etc.). Relevant evidence your attorney can gather may include:

• electronically logged data (ELD) of the truck
• driver logs
• bills of lading
• weigh slips
• dispatch information
• GPS tracking
• medical records
• inspection/maintenance records
• safety and training materials
• lease agreements
• traffic collision reports
• independent contractor agreements
• employee/driver files
• motor carrier ID reports
• google map images of the location

Finally, your attorney will aggressively negotiate with the defendants’ attorneys for the highest settlement possible to cover all your past, present, and future expenses caused by the truck crash. If necessary, your attorney litigate the case all the way to trial in pursuit of a “nuclear” verdict.

Additional Reading

For more in-depth information, refer to these scholarly articles:

• Costly Crashes: A Small-Town Personal Injury Case Sends a Powerful Message to the Trucking Industry – A.B.A. Journal.
• Evidentiary Issues in Trucking Cases – The Brief.
• Limiting Liability for Trucking Accidents by Uniting Safety and Claims Departments When Addressing the Preventability of Accidents – The Brief.
• The Right-to-Know and the Trucking Industry: Regulating Regulations – Transportation Law Journal.
• Trucking Accidents: Navigating Claims, Investigations, and Litigation – The Brief.

Also see our articles on California truck accident settlements and 18-wheeler accident settlements.

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