!Overturned truck and trailer with a tow truck and city officials next to a photo of an accident involving a car and a truck
When you're involved in an accident with a semi, big rig, or other kind of commercial truck, filing a lawsuit means figuring out who is at fault for the crash, drafting the complaint (the document that spells out your case), and serving the lawsuit papers on the driver, their employer, and anyone else you're suing.
Let's walk through the process for filing a truck accident lawsuit, explain some related issues like the statute of limitations, and discuss why you'll want an experienced lawyer on your side.
In This Article
How to Start a Trucking Accident Lawsuit: Filing the Complaint
To get a truck accident lawsuit started, you first put together the complaint, which is the document that starts the lawsuit. The complaint:
- identifies the defendant(s); learn more about who can be sued after a truck accident.
- lists a series of facts related to the trucking accident, including where and when it happened, who was involved, and resulting injuries
- states the legal theories on which you're suing the defendant ("negligence" and violations of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations are common fault allegations in truck accident lawsuits), and
- asks the court for compensation ("damages"), usually without naming a specific figure (often with a request for a dollar amount that's simply above the court's jurisdictional minimum).
Where Do I File a Truck Accident Lawsuit?
The complaint is filed in court, but which court? Truck accident lawsuits can usually be filed in the state and county where the accident happened, or where the trucking company has its principal place of business. Learn more about where to file your lawsuit.
Serving the Lawsuit, and Getting the Defendant's "Answer"
In most states, the complaint is filed alongside a "summons," which will notify the defendant about the lawsuit, once the court stamps and authorizes the documents and they're served on the defendant—so they know they're getting sued, and that they need to respond. Learn more about service of process.
The defendant will need to file an "answer" to the personal injury complaint within a certain amount of time, typically around 20 to 30 days from the date of service, depending on the law in the state.
Once the complaint and answer are filed, the court will soon set an initial schedule for the case, including mandatory settlement conferences, discovery, and pre-trial hearings. Learn more about filing a personal injury lawsuit.
Truck Accident Statute of Limitations: How Long Do You Have to Sue?
Every truck accident lawsuit needs to be filed within the deadline set by the statute of limitations. These are laws that set a time limit on your right to bring a lawsuit, and every state has them (so do federal courts).
The deadline for filing a truck accident lawsuit usually maps to the statute of limitations for personal injury cases, or lawsuits claiming harm from "negligence," which can be anywhere from one to six years, depending on the state. But a special deadline might apply in certain situations, including where a truck accident results in death. Get state-by-state details on the statute of limitations in truck accident cases.
How Long Does a Trucking Accident Lawsuit Take?
Every truck accident case follows its own timeline, and there are way too many variables in play to accurately answer this question. This kind of case could end with an insurance settlement before any lawsuit is even filed (more on this in the next section). That could take just a few months, if there are no big-picture disputes on key issues like fault for the accident and the extent of the claimant's injuries.
But once a lawsuit is filed, there's typically a period in which both sides of the trucking accident case will dig in and use a variety of tools to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each other's positions.
Once the lawsuit enters this "discovery" phase—which includes interrogatories, depositions, and requests for documents and other evidence—it will usually tack at least six months onto the timeline. After that, if no settlement is reached, trial preparation begins, kicking off a whole new phase of the lawsuit.
Learn more about the timeline of a personal injury lawsuit and what happens if your vehicle accident case goes to trial.
Truck Accident Insurance Settlements vs. Filing a Lawsuit
Now that you have a sense of how the lawsuit process works, it's important to understand that you can hold the truck driver (and their employer and any other at-fault parties) liable for the accident, and get fair compensation for your injuries and other losses, without filing a lawsuit at all.
If the at-fault party and their insurance company are willing to offer you a fair settlement that you can live with, you can agree to resolve things without going to court. Of course, this kind of deal is almost always going to come about only after (sometimes tough) settlement negotiations, often kicked off by the sending of a demand letter. Learn more about getting a fair settlement in your truck accident case.
What Evidence Do You Need for a Truck Accident Lawsuit?
Before you file your lawsuit, putting your case together starts immediately after a semi truck or big rig accident. That means making sure you get your hands on (or can at least identify) some key pieces of evidence, including:
- a copy of any police report made over the crash
- names and contact information for any witnesses who may have seen any part of the accident
- photos of the accident scene, damage to your vehicle, your injuries, and anything else that might be relevant to the accident
- letters or emails sent to you from the driver's employer, a shipping company, a freight broker, insurance companies, and anyone else who might be liable for the accident
- medical records and bills related to treatment of your accident injuries, and
- pay stubs or other proof of earnings if your injuries have affected your income or ability to work.
The gathering of post-accident evidence is one area where trucking accident cases tend to be much more complex than a typical car accident claim. Much of what you'll need—especially when it comes to proving fault for the crash—is in the control of the truck driver, their employer, and others involved in the vehicle's operation.
After the crash, it's not your job to try to locate and obtain driver service logs (or Electronic Logging Devices), "black box" data, vehicle maintenance records, freight/carrier details, and similar evidence. An experienced attorney will handle this key aspect of case-building, often beginning with the sending of "spoliation letters" putting the employer and others on notice of the need to preserve certain evidence.
Your lawyer and their investigators will also work to locate surveillance video, traffic cameras, and other sources of potential video footage that might illuminate some aspect of the crash—which brings us to our next topic.
Do I Need a Lawyer for a Truck Accident Case?
A lawsuit over a big rig accident is different from a typical traffic accident case involving standard passenger vehicles. Proving fault can be more complex, understanding who might be liable (driver, employer, freight company, truck owner) can be a challenge, injuries can be more significant, and the other side (and their insurance companies and lawyers) is going to put up a serious fight. This isn't the kind of case you want to try handling on your own.
In some ways, the answer to the question "How do I file a trucking accident lawsuit" comes down to finding a personal injury lawyer who:
- believes in your case
- has the experience to handle every step of the lawsuit process
- has the right connections with accident reconstructionists and other experts
- will anticipate and work around (or through) obstacles and challenges, and
- is ready to fight with the defendants (and their insurance companies and lawyers) to get you the best result.
Put simply, you want to be able to hand everything off to an experienced lawyer and let them worry about the ins and outs of the lawsuit process. And you want to act quickly. Digital data related to the accident, including the truck's "black box" and company records will need to be flagged and preserved so that you can use them to build your case. A lawyer will make sure that this kind of evidence doesn't just conveniently disappear to the defendant's benefit.
Do Truck Accident Lawyers Work on Contingency Fee?
Yes. Any reputable attorney will take a trucking accident injury case under a contingency fee agreement. This means the lawyer's fee for representing you will be taken out of any settlement or court award the lawyer gets for you. If your case doesn't settle and you don't win in court, the lawyer gets no fee for their services. A typical contingency fee in a trucking accident case is 33%, but there are also variations like the "sliding scale," and you want to be clear on how case expenses are handled.
Learn more about how personal injury lawyers get paid, and get tips on finding the right injury lawyer for you and your case.