What to Do After a Truck Accident in California (2026): 8 Steps, Deadlines and What Your Claim Is Worth
- Tom Feher, Esq.
From Tom Feher, Esq.
“Truck cases are not big car cases. The moment a commercial truck is involved, you are up against a motor carrier, its insurer, and a defense team that starts building its file within hours. We move just as fast, sending spoliation letters to preserve the black box and driver logs before they can be overwritten. The clients who recover the most are the ones who got that evidence locked down early and stayed off the record with the trucking company’s adjuster.”
Thomas Feher, Esq. · Founding Attorney, Feher Law APC · 50+ jury trials to verdict · $170M+ recovered
After a truck accident in California, move to safety and call 911, get medical care the same day, photograph the truck and the scene, collect the driver and carrier information, and contact a truck accident lawyer before you speak with the trucking company’s insurer. Commercial trucking cases involve federal safety rules, several potentially liable parties, and electronic evidence that can be overwritten within days, so what you do in the first 72 hours shapes what you can recover.
Key Takeaways
- Two deadlines matter most: two years to file an injury lawsuit under Code of Civil Procedure 335.1, and only six months to file a government claim if a public agency’s truck was involved under Government Code 911.2.
- Evidence disappears fast: the truck’s electronic logging device, engine control module and driver logs can be overwritten in as little as 7 to 30 days unless a preservation letter is sent.
- Several parties may be liable: the driver, the motor carrier, a maintenance contractor, the cargo loader, a broker and the manufacturer, each with its own insurance.
- Say nothing on the record: do not give a recorded statement to the trucking insurer or sign a medical release before talking to your own attorney.
- Commercial policies are large: interstate carriers must carry at least $750,000 in liability coverage, and many carry $1 million or more.
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California Truck Accident Settlement Ranges (2026)
Truck accident values vary with injury severity, liability, and available coverage. These ranges are general illustrations, not a promise of outcome. Every case turns on its own facts.
| Injury Severity | Typical Settlement Range | Key Value Drivers |
|---|---|---|
| Soft-tissue / minor injuries | $15,000 – $75,000 | Short treatment, full recovery, clear liability |
| Broken bones / surgery | $100,000 – $500,000 | Surgery, lost income, permanent hardware |
| Spinal injury / disc surgery | $500,000 – $2,000,000 | Fusion, chronic pain, reduced earning capacity |
| Traumatic brain injury | $1,000,000 – $10,000,000+ | Cognitive deficits, life-care needs, lost earnings |
| Wrongful death | $1,000,000 – $10,000,000+ | Dependents, lost support, egregious carrier conduct |
The ranges in this table are general illustrations and not a prediction of what any case is worth. Every case depends on its own facts, the evidence, the law that applies, and the insurance available. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. This is not legal advice.
Immediate Steps to Take After a Truck Accident
- Move to safety and call 911. If the vehicles can move, get out of traffic lanes; if not, turn on hazards and stay belted until help arrives. Ask for police and paramedics. A truck crash on a California freeway usually brings the CHP, whose report will identify the driver, the carrier and the vehicles.
- Get medical care the same day. Adrenaline masks serious injuries, and disc, brain and internal injuries often surface hours or days later. A same-day exam protects your health and ties the injury to the crash in the medical record, which is what the insurer will look at first.
- Report the crash. Vehicle Code 20008 requires a written report to the CHP or local police within 24 hours of any accident involving injury or death, separate from the officer’s report. Vehicle Code 16000 also requires an SR-1 report to the DMV within 10 days when anyone is hurt or property damage exceeds $1,000.
- Photograph everything. The truck from every side, the USDOT and motor carrier numbers on the cab door, the trailer number and hazard placards, the license plates, both vehicles’ damage, skid marks, debris, road and weather conditions, traffic signs and your visible injuries. Video the scene in one slow walk-around.
- Collect driver and carrier information. The driver’s name, license and employer, the motor carrier’s name and insurance, and the bill of lading if the driver will show it. The carrier, not just the driver, is usually the defendant that matters.
- Identify witnesses. Names and phone numbers of anyone who saw the crash, including other drivers who stopped. Independent witnesses are decisive when the trucking company disputes fault.
- Do not admit fault or give a recorded statement. Be factual with police and medical staff. Decline the trucking insurer’s recorded interview until you have counsel; you are not required to give one.
- Call a truck accident lawyer quickly. The most time-sensitive task is sending a preservation letter so the truck’s electronic data is not overwritten. That letter should go out within days, not weeks.
Evidence disappears fast. Do not wait.
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What Not to Do After a Truck Accident
The trucking company’s insurer and defense team begin building their file within hours. Avoid the mistakes they are counting on.
- Do not give a recorded statement or sign anything from the carrier’s insurer, including a medical authorization that lets them pull your whole history.
- Do not accept a quick settlement. Early offers arrive before your injuries are fully diagnosed and are almost always a fraction of the claim’s value.
- Do not post about the crash on social media. Photos and comments are routinely used to argue you were not seriously hurt.
- Do not delay or skip treatment. Gaps in care are the insurer’s favorite argument that something else caused your injuries.
- Do not repair, sell or scrap your vehicle before it has been inspected and photographed; its damage and onboard data are evidence.
- Do not speak with trucking company representatives who contact you at the scene, the hospital or your home. Refer them to your lawyer.
How to Document a Truck Accident
Good documentation starts at the scene and continues for months. Keep a single folder, paper or digital, with the police report number, every photo and video, the driver and carrier details, witness contacts, and your dashcam footage if you have it. Start a daily injury journal: pain levels, sleep, missed work, activities you cannot do, and every appointment. Save every bill, receipt, prescription, mileage log and pay stub showing lost income. Request your own medical records as treatment progresses. In our practice, clients who kept a contemporaneous journal recover more for pain and suffering because the record proves what the injury took from them day by day rather than asking a jury to imagine it.
Why the First Few Days Decide the Case: Electronic Evidence
Commercial trucks record data that ordinary cars do not. The engine control module, the black box, captures speed, braking and throttle in the seconds before impact. The electronic logging device required by 49 CFR 395.8 records the driver’s hours behind the wheel, and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration hours-of-service limits in 49 CFR 395.3 cap driving at 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty. Carriers must also keep inspection and maintenance records under 49 CFR Part 396. Much of this data sits on the carrier’s own systems and is overwritten on a normal business cycle, sometimes within 7 to 30 days. The first document we send is a spoliation letter demanding the carrier preserve the ELD, black box, driver logs, dispatch records, dashcam video and maintenance history. We explain what each record proves in our guide to truck accident black box and evidence preservation.
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How Fault Is Determined in a California Truck Accident
Fault turns on negligence: whether the driver or the carrier failed to use reasonable care under Civil Code 1714. The CHP report, scene photos, witness statements and the truck’s own data establish what happened. Federal safety violations are powerful evidence of negligence: a driver over his hours, a truck with brake defects noted on prior inspections, a carrier that skipped background checks or ignored a driver’s prior violations. California follows pure comparative negligence, the rule from Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975) 13 Cal.3d 804, so if you were partly at fault your recovery is reduced by your percentage rather than barred. Expect the trucking insurer to argue you were partly to blame precisely to shrink the payout; documented evidence of the driver’s violations is the answer.
Who Can Be Held Liable in a Truck Accident
Unlike a two-car crash, a truck case often has several defendants, each with its own insurance. The driver for negligent, distracted, impaired or fatigued driving. The motor carrier for negligent hiring, inadequate training, pushing illegal schedules, or simply because it employs the driver. A maintenance contractor for brake or tire failure. The cargo loader or shipper for an unsecured or overweight load that caused a rollover or jackknife. A freight broker that hired an unsafe carrier. The truck or parts manufacturer for a defective component. Identifying every responsible party matters because it multiplies the available insurance coverage, which is what funds a large recovery.
When to Consult a Truck Accident Lawyer
Consult a lawyer immediately if anyone was injured, if the trucking company’s insurer has contacted you, or if fault is disputed. The reason is timing, not formality. The carrier’s insurer assigns an adjuster and often an investigator within hours, and the evidence that proves fault is controlled by the other side. A lawyer sends the preservation demand, identifies every liable party and policy, handles all communication with the insurer, retains accident reconstruction and trucking safety experts, and values the claim against real verdicts and settlements. Truck accident lawyers work on contingency: there is no fee up front and no fee at all unless you recover, so the only cost of calling early is nothing, while the cost of waiting can be the evidence itself.
What Happens After You File a Truck Accident Claim
- Investigation and preservation. Your lawyer sends spoliation letters, obtains the police report, downloads vehicle data and interviews witnesses.
- Medical treatment and documentation. You treat until your doctors can say what your long-term condition will be. The claim is not valued until that point is known.
- Demand. A demand package presents liability evidence, medical records, lost income and a damages figure to every insurer involved.
- Negotiation. Most truck cases settle, but carriers pay full value only when they believe the firm will try the case.
- Lawsuit and trial. If the offers are inadequate, suit is filed before the two-year deadline. Discovery, depositions and expert work follow, and the case either settles on the courthouse steps or goes to a jury.
Simpler cases with clear liability can resolve in months. Serious-injury cases usually take a year or more, and rushing them costs money. Our guide to how long a California accident settlement takes walks through each stage.
Deadlines to File a Truck Accident Claim in California
You generally have two years from the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit, and two years from the date of death for a wrongful death claim. If the truck belonged to a city, county, transit agency or other public entity, you must first file a government claim within six months, and a late claim is usually fatal to the case. Add the 24-hour police report and the 10-day DMV SR-1 report described above. Insurance policies may also set notice requirements. Because the shortest deadline controls, treat six months as the planning horizon until a lawyer confirms which rules apply.
Compensation You Can Recover
Economic damages cover past and future medical bills, lost wages, lost earning capacity and out-of-pocket costs. Non-economic damages cover pain and suffering, disfigurement and loss of enjoyment of life. Punitive damages under Civil Code 3294 may apply where a carrier’s conduct was egregious, such as falsifying logs or keeping a dangerous driver on the road. Feher Law has recovered $4 million for a client with a mild traumatic brain injury from a truck crash and $1.7 million in Marquez v. OB Trucking for back and neck injuries, among other truck results; every case depends on its own facts and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. For a starting estimate, use our semi-truck accident settlement calculator and read our guide to average truck accident settlements in California.
Common Causes of California Truck Accidents
Driver fatigue and hours-of-service violations, speeding to meet delivery windows, distracted driving, impairment, improper lane changes and wide right turns, overloaded or shifting cargo, poor maintenance, especially brakes and tires, and inadequate driver training. Many of these trace back to decisions made by the motor carrier rather than the driver alone, which is why the company itself is so often a defendant and why its safety records are among the first things we demand.
What to Expect When You Work With Feher Law
- Free initial consultation: We review the crash, your injuries and the carrier involved at no cost and explain your options in plain language.
- Immediate evidence preservation: We send spoliation letters the same week to lock down the black box, ELD and driver logs before they can be lost.
- Full investigation: We identify every liable party and every insurance policy and work with accident reconstruction and trucking safety experts.
- Aggressive claim handling: We deal with the carrier and its insurer so you do not have to, and we build the case for full value.
- No fee unless we win: We work on contingency. You pay nothing up front and nothing at all unless we recover for you.
Why California Truck Accident Clients Choose Feher Law
Thomas Feher, Esq. founded Feher Law APC to take on exactly these fights: corporate defendants with deep resources and a head start. With more than 50 jury trials to verdict and over $170 million recovered for injured Californians, our firm has the experience and the willingness to try a case, which is what forces trucking insurers to pay full value rather than lowball. We serve clients throughout California from offices in Torrance and Huntington Beach, including the port and freight corridors of the South Bay, Los Angeles, the Inland Empire and Orange County. Every truck accident case is handled on contingency under a written agreement as Business and Professions Code 6147 requires: you pay nothing unless we win, and your consultation is always free.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Call 911, get to safety, accept medical evaluation, photograph the truck and scene, collect the driver and carrier information and witness contacts, decline recorded statements, and call a truck accident lawyer so a preservation letter goes out before the truck's data is overwritten.
Get examined the same day anyway. Disc, brain and internal injuries often surface hours or days later, and a gap between the crash and your first visit is the insurer's main argument that the crash did not cause the injury.
Potentially the driver, the motor carrier that employs or hired the driver, a maintenance contractor, the cargo loader or shipper, a freight broker, and the manufacturer of a defective part. Most serious cases involve more than one of them, each with separate insurance.
Generally two years from the crash under Code of Civil Procedure 335.1. If a public entity's truck was involved, a government claim must be filed within six months. Deadlines can be shorter depending on the defendant, so speak with a lawyer promptly.
Not before consulting your own attorney. The adjuster works for the carrier and will use a recorded statement to minimize or deny your claim. You are not required to give one. Politely decline and refer the adjuster to your lawyer.
The engine control module data, the electronic logging device showing the driver's hours, driver qualification and training files, inspection and maintenance records, dispatch logs, dashcam video and the police report. The carrier controls most of it, so a preservation letter should go out immediately.
A failure to use reasonable care that causes harm. In trucking cases it is often proven through federal safety violations: hours-of-service breaches, skipped inspections, overloaded cargo, or a carrier that hired a driver with a disqualifying record.
Medical bills, future care, lost wages and earning capacity, pain and suffering, disfigurement and loss of enjoyment of life. Punitive damages are possible where the carrier's conduct was egregious. Wrongful death claims add funeral costs and the family's lost support.
It depends on injury severity, the strength of the liability evidence, your medical costs and lost income, and the insurance available. Minor-injury cases may resolve in the tens of thousands; serious spinal, brain-injury and wrongful death cases can reach seven or eight figures.
Nothing up front. Truck accident cases are handled on contingency under a written fee agreement, so the fee is a percentage of the recovery and there is no fee at all if there is no recovery.
You can still recover. California uses pure comparative negligence, so your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault rather than eliminated. At 30 percent responsibility you recover 70 percent of your damages.
Cases with clear liability may resolve in several months. Serious-injury cases often take a year or more, especially while your long-term condition is still being established or the carrier disputes fault. Rushing a case at the expense of its value is a mistake.
Last reviewed by Thomas Feher, Esq. – October 2026
