Commercial truck collisions are not the same as ordinary car crashes. A single haul can involve a driver, motor carrier, broker, shipper, and outside maintenance vendors, each with different duties, contracts, and insurance. To understand your rights, consider speaking with a truck accident attorney Burbank. This guide explains who may be responsible, what evidence matters most, and the practical steps to protect a California claim.
Why Truck Cases Are Different
Truck claims move on a tighter, more technical timeline than typical fender-benders.
- Multiple parties may share fault, not just the driver.
- Larger policies and injuries raise the stakes for everyone involved.
- Time-sensitive evidence (electronic logs, telematics, dashcams) can be overwritten quickly if no one acts to preserve it.
Potentially Liable Parties
1) The Driver
Negligence may include speed, unsafe lane changes, fatigue, distraction, or impairment. Hours-of-service and mobile-phone rules are frequent pressure points. A clean-looking police report can change once logs, videos, and witness statements are collected.
2) The Motor Carrier (Trucking Company)
Carriers are commonly liable through vicarious liability for their driver’s negligence. They can also face direct liability if hiring, training, supervision, maintenance, or routing decisions were unsafe or if schedules encouraged fatigue.
3) The Broker or Shipper
Brokers connect shippers with carriers. If a broker or shipper negligently selects an unsafe carrier or exerts control over how the run must be performed, they may share responsibility. Contracts, emails, and dispatch notes can show who set deadlines and safety expectations.
4) Maintenance and Repair Contractors
Faulty brakes, worn tires, misaligned lights, or overdue inspections can point to negligent maintenance. Work orders, inspection sheets, and vendor invoices help establish what should have been fixed and when.
5) Truck or Parts Manufacturer
If a component fails due to a defect (steering, brakes, underride guards, tires), product liability may apply. Early inspection of the tractor and trailer helps preserve this angle.
Evidence That Moves the Needle
The most important step after any serious truck crash is preservation. Without it, routine deletion policies can erase crucial data.
- ELD/telematics: GPS tracks, hard-braking, speed, hours-of-service, and geofences.
- ECM (“black-box”) downloads: vehicle speed, throttle, braking, and fault codes.
- Driver qualification file: CDL status, training records, drug/alcohol tests.
- Dispatch records & bills of lading: show timelines, control, and who set the pace.
- Maintenance/inspection logs: pre-trip, post-trip, and annual inspections.
- Load/weight documents and cargo-securement notes.
- Scene materials: 911 audio, body-cam, dashcam, skid and gouge marks, and nearby business or traffic-cam video.
Send a clear preservation (spoliation) letter early to prevent routine deletion of ELD/ECM data and camera footage.
How Fault Gets Argued
Expect focused defenses and be ready to meet them with facts.
- Comparative fault: claims that the car cut in, stopped short, or sped. Scene measurements, video, and reconstruction address these.
- Independent-contractor labels: carriers may say the driver wasn’t an employee. Courts look past labels to the right of control and actual practices.
- Sudden emergency / “phantom vehicle”: quick witness follow-up and video canvassing matter here.
- Medical causation disputes: insurers may call injuries “pre-existing” or “minor.” Consistent medical notes and specialist opinions are key.
Insurance and Damages Basics
Truck cases often involve layered insurance (primary plus excess/umbrella). A complete claim accounts for both present and future losses.
- Medical bills & future care: ER, imaging, surgery, rehab, medications, devices, and projected treatment.
- Lost wages & earning capacity: missed work now and limits on future work if restrictions persist.
- Non-economic losses: pain, emotional distress, inconvenience, loss of enjoyment of life.
- Property loss & loss of use: repairs or total-loss valuation, rental or substitute transportation.
- Punitive damages: considered only in egregious conduct cases, where permitted.
A well-organized demand package ties these categories to proof, billing ledgers, medical summaries, wage documentation, photos, and expert reports, so the value isn’t based on speculation.
What to Do After a Truck Crash (Practical Steps)
- Get medical care first and follow provider instructions; gaps can hurt causation.
- Document vehicles, the road, skid marks, cargo spills, and visible injuries.
- Collect basics at the scene when safe: witness names, DOT numbers on the tractor/trailer, and any company names or broker labels on the paperwork or cab.
- Preserve evidence: send a preservation letter for ELD/ECM and camera footage; ask nearby businesses to hold video.
- Be cautious with insurers: avoid broad medical authorizations or recorded statements until the record is complete.
- Track losses: keep bills, receipts, pay stubs, mileage to appointments, and a simple pain/symptom journal.
When Legal Help Adds Value
Truck cases are evidence-heavy and deadline-driven. An attorney coordinates accident reconstruction, requests telematics and maintenance files, manages expert witnesses, and negotiates with layered insurers. If negotiations stall, filing suit triggers formal discovery and can surface documents and data that were unavailable in the claim stage.
Bottom Line
Responsibility in truck collisions can extend beyond the driver. The parties, contracts, and data systems surrounding each load create multiple paths to liability, and multiple opportunities for evidence to disappear if no one acts quickly. With timely preservation and a fact-driven approach, injured people can present a clear picture of what happened and pursue the compensation the law allows.