February 12, 2026
When an 80,000-pound commercial truck collides with a passenger vehicle on Jacksonville’s busy highways, the results are often catastrophic. Commercial truck injury cases involve devastating consequences that change lives forever, from traumatic brain injuries to permanent paralysis. We’ve represented hundreds of commercial truck injury victims over our three decades of practice, and we routinely see injuries far more severe than typical car accidents. The aftermath of a semi-truck crash involves complex federal regulations, multiple liable parties, and aggressive insurance companies fighting to minimize payouts. If you’ve suffered a commercial truck injury, understanding your rights and the unique challenges of these cases is critical to securing full compensation.
Jacksonville’s position as a major logistics hub means our roads carry constant commercial truck traffic. Interstate 95 and Interstate 10 intersect here, making our city a critical crossroads for freight transportation throughout the Southeast. Combined with heavy truck traffic on major arteries like I-295, J Turner Butler Boulevard, and Atlantic Boulevard, Jacksonville drivers face daily risks from tractor-trailers, 18-wheelers, delivery trucks, and other commercial vehicles. The Florida Department of Transportation reports that Duval County experiences over 100 serious truck accidents annually, with many resulting in severe injuries or fatalities.
Unlike typical car accidents, commercial truck injury claims involve federal regulations, commercial insurance policies worth millions, corporate defendants with legal teams, and complex liability questions. Trucking companies and their insurers deploy experienced lawyers immediately after serious accidents to protect their interests. Without equally experienced representation, injury victims face an uphill battle securing fair compensation. Our truck accident lawyers in Jacksonville understand these challenges and know exactly how to build winning commercial truck injury cases against commercial carriers and their insurers. We’ve recovered millions in settlements and verdicts for clients injured by negligent truck drivers and companies.
This comprehensive guide explains the devastating impact of commercial truck injuries, the most common collision types we see in Florida, the unique liability issues in commercial vehicle cases, and how our legal team helps injury victims navigate these complex claims. Whether you’ve been hit by an 18-wheeler on I-95, injured in a wide right turn accident downtown, or hurt by a distracted commercial driver, understanding your rights is the first step toward justice and recovery.
The Devastating Impact of Commercial Truck Injuries
The sheer physics of commercial truck injury accidents separate them from typical car crashes. When a fully loaded semi-truck weighing 80,000 pounds collides with a passenger car weighing 3,000 pounds, the forces involved cause catastrophic damage. We’ve seen vehicles crushed beyond recognition, passengers trapped in wreckage, and commercial truck injuries so severe that victims never fully recover. The difference in mass and momentum between commercial trucks and passenger vehicles means even relatively low-speed collisions can prove deadly.
Traumatic Brain Injuries in Commercial Truck Accidents
Traumatic brain injuries represent one of the most serious consequences we see in commercial truck injury cases. The violent impact can cause the brain to strike the inside of the skull, leading to bleeding, swelling, and permanent damage. Victims may experience memory loss, cognitive impairment, personality changes, and physical disabilities requiring lifelong care. We recently represented a Jacksonville teacher who suffered a severe TBI when an 18-wheeler ran a red light at Beach Boulevard and Southside Boulevard. She can no longer work, requires around-the-clock assistance, and faces millions in future medical expenses.
Spinal Cord Damage and Paralysis
Spinal cord injuries occur frequently in commercial truck injury accidents due to the extreme forces involved. Complete spinal cord damage results in permanent paralysis below the injury site, meaning victims may never walk again. Incomplete injuries can cause partial paralysis, chronic pain, loss of sensation, and reduced mobility. These injuries require extensive rehabilitation at facilities like Brooks Rehabilitation in Jacksonville, adaptive equipment, home modifications, and ongoing medical care. The lifetime costs for spinal cord injury treatment often exceed $5 million.
Internal Organ Damage and Crush Injuries
Internal organ damage from blunt force trauma is another common consequence of commercial truck injuries. The impact can lacerate the liver or spleen, puncture lungs, rupture the aorta, or damage kidneys. These injuries require emergency surgery at trauma centers like UF Health Jacksonville or Baptist Medical Center, followed by lengthy recovery periods. Internal injuries aren’t always immediately apparent, which is why we tell every commercial truck injury victim to seek medical evaluation even if they feel okay initially.
Broken bones and crush injuries occur when vehicles collapse during impact. Fractured ribs can puncture lungs, pelvic fractures cause internal bleeding, and compound fractures require multiple surgeries. Crush injuries to limbs may necessitate amputation. We’ve represented clients who’ve lost arms, legs, hands, and feet in truck accidents, facing lifetime disability and the need for prosthetics.
Emotional Trauma and PTSD
The emotional trauma following a commercial truck injury can be equally devastating. Post-traumatic stress disorder affects many survivors, causing flashbacks, nightmares, severe anxiety, and avoidance of driving. Depression is common as victims struggle with permanent disabilities, chronic pain, and lost quality of life. We’ve seen clients unable to return to careers they loved, relationships strained by injury-related stress, and once-independent people requiring assistance with basic daily activities.
Financial Devastation from Medical Expenses
The financial burden crushes families. Emergency room treatment, surgery, hospitalization, rehabilitation, medications, medical equipment, home modifications, and ongoing care create enormous expenses. Most health insurance policies have limits and exclude certain treatments. Medicare and Medicaid may place liens on settlements, further reducing victims’ recovery. When someone can’t work due to commercial truck injuries, lost income compounds the crisis. Families deplete savings, max out credit cards, and face foreclosure trying to stay afloat.
Lost earning capacity represents another major loss in commercial truck injury cases. A construction worker who can no longer perform physical labor, a nurse who can’t return to patient care due to back injuries, or a sales representative unable to travel loses not just current income but future earning potential. Calculating these losses requires economic experts who project lifetime earnings based on career trajectory, inflation, and retirement age. We work with qualified economists to ensure our clients receive full compensation for diminished earning capacity.
The ripple effects extend to entire families. Spouses become caregivers, sacrificing their own careers. Children lose the active parent they once knew. Social connections suffer as injury victims withdraw due to pain, disability, or emotional struggles. The life you had before the accident may never fully return, making adequate compensation critical to rebuilding as much normalcy as possible.
Common Types of Commercial Truck Injury Accidents in Florida
Understanding the most frequent commercial truck injury scenarios helps identify liability and prevent future crashes. Based on our decades representing Jacksonville injury victims and Florida Department of Transportation statistics, certain collision types occur repeatedly on our roads.
Rear-End Collisions Causing Catastrophic Injuries
Rear-end collisions involving commercial trucks cause devastating injuries due to the massive weight differential. When an 18-wheeler strikes a passenger vehicle from behind, occupants suffer whiplash, traumatic brain injuries, spinal damage, and worse. These accidents typically occur when truck drivers follow too closely, fail to adjust speed for traffic conditions, or become distracted. Florida law requires all drivers to maintain safe following distances, but fully loaded trucks need 300 feet or more to stop from highway speeds. That’s the length of a football field. Truck drivers who tailgate or fail to brake timely cause preventable rear-end collisions.
We routinely see these crashes on I-95 during rush hour traffic, where stop-and-go conditions catch inattentive truck drivers off guard. The average rear-end collision repair cost exceeds $8,000, but when trucks are involved, vehicles are often totaled and occupants seriously injured. Chain reaction crashes can involve six or more vehicles when a truck fails to stop, pushing cars into each other. Our firm recently settled a case where a distracted truck driver plowed into stopped traffic on I-295, causing a five-vehicle pileup that injured seven people.
Failure to Yield Truck Accidents
Failure to yield accidents occur when truck drivers ignore right-of-way rules. Commercial trucks require significantly more space to execute turns safely. An 18-wheeler needs an extra 12 feet compared to passenger cars when making left turns. When trucks fail to yield to oncoming traffic or pedestrians during turns, severe collisions result. We’ve represented victims struck by trucks making illegal turns at Jacksonville intersections like Philips Highway and Emerson Street, where sight lines are limited and trucks routinely cut corners.
Many of these accidents happen because drivers underestimate how much room trucks need or because truck drivers rush to make turns before traffic catches them. The resulting accidents often involve trucks broadsiding passenger vehicles, causing catastrophic injuries. Pedestrians hit by trucks making illegal turns suffer even worse outcomes. We prosecuted a wrongful death case where a delivery truck failed to yield at a crosswalk downtown, killing a pedestrian who had the right of way.
Improper Lane Change Accidents
Improper lane changes cause numerous commercial truck injury accidents when drivers fail to check blind spots or signal intentions. Commercial trucks have massive blind spots extending 20 feet in front, 30 feet behind, and the entire right side. If a passenger vehicle sits in these zones, the truck driver can’t see them in mirrors. We’ve handled multiple cases where trucks merged into occupied lanes, sideswiping or crushing smaller vehicles. These accidents frequently occur on I-295 and I-10 where multiple lanes tempt truck drivers to weave through traffic.
Drivers of passenger cars also contribute to these accidents by lingering in truck blind spots or attempting to pass on the right side where visibility is worst. However, truck drivers have professional responsibilities to ensure lane changes are safe. Professional drivers are required to use proper mirrors, check blind spots, signal well in advance, and yield to traffic in the lane they’re entering. When they fail these duties, we hold them accountable.
Illegal Passing on the Shoulder
Passing on the shoulder represents one of the most reckless behaviors causing commercial truck injury accidents. While illegal throughout Florida, some drivers attempt to pass slower traffic by using the shoulder. When trucks do this, the results can be catastrophic. Shoulders aren’t designed for vehicle traffic, especially 80,000-pound trucks. They may contain debris, uneven pavement, or soft ground that causes trucks to lose control. We’ve represented clients injured when trucks swerved back into traffic lanes after shoulder passing, striking vehicles that had no warning or opportunity to avoid collision.
The double yellow lines and no-passing zones exist because adjoining lanes aren’t wide enough to safely accommodate two large vehicles. Trucks, buses, and tractor-trailers attempting to pass on shoulders demonstrate gross negligence. These accidents often involve rollover crashes when trucks lose control or head-on collisions when trucks swerve back into traffic. Our firm recently won a substantial settlement for a client paralyzed when a dump truck illegally passed on the shoulder of State Road 21 in Clay County, then overcorrected and rolled onto the victim’s vehicle.
Wide Right Turn Accidents in Jacksonville
Wide right turn truck accidents represent a particularly dangerous problem in Jacksonville, claiming lives and causing severe commercial truck injuries across our city. Over 100 of these crashes occur annually in Duval County according to transportation department statistics, and we’ve represented dozens of victims injured in these preventable collisions. The combination of large blind spots, massive vehicle momentum, and driver error creates deadly situations at intersections throughout Jacksonville.
Why Wide Right Turn Accidents Happen
The fundamental problem stems from physics and design. Commercial trucks physically cannot make tight right turns like passenger cars. The trailer’s rear wheels track inside the front wheels during turns, meaning drivers must swing wide into adjacent lanes to complete right turns. This creates a dangerous sweep zone where cars, motorcycles, and pedestrians get caught. The truck’s right side blind spot compounds the danger, as drivers cannot see vehicles or people in that area even using all their mirrors. We’ve investigated numerous cases where victims sat directly beside the truck at intersections, completely invisible to the driver, then got struck when the truck turned right.
An 80,000-pound truck carries tremendous momentum that makes quick stops impossible. Even at low speeds, the mass and weight mean that if a truck starts turning and something enters its path, the driver cannot stop quickly enough to avoid collision. Hitting the brakes in a fully loaded semi-truck takes significantly more time and distance than in passenger cars. This momentum turns even low-speed impacts into deadly events. We represented a family whose daughter was killed when a cement truck making a right turn at just 15 miles per hour crushed her compact car, despite the driver attempting to brake when he finally saw her.
Driver distraction dramatically increases wide right turn accident risks. Truck drivers face the same distractions as all motorists, from cell phones to GPS devices to eating while driving. When a commercial driver approaches a right turn distracted, they may fail to properly check mirrors and blind spots or misjudge how widely they need to swing. Taking eyes off the road for two seconds in a massive truck can mean running down someone you never saw. We’ve prosecuted cases where truck drivers were texting, talking on phones, or adjusting radios when they struck vehicles or pedestrians during right turns.
High-Risk Jacksonville Intersections
Several Jacksonville intersections see frequent wide right turn crashes. The I-295 exit at San Jose Boulevard on Jacksonville’s south side is a prime hot zone. This exit carries heavy commercial truck, passenger car, and pedestrian traffic all day. The wide road and lanes create visibility challenges for everyone. Trucks exiting the interstate must slow from highway speeds while executing a sweeping 90-degree turn. Limited visibility means they easily miss seeing cars approaching on their right side. This single intersection experienced 15 right-turn truck crashes between 2018 and 2020, several involving serious commercial truck injuries.
Downtown Jacksonville near major intersections like Forsyth Street and Bay Street represents another high-risk area. Downtown’s narrower lanes force trucks to slow for tight turns at traffic lights, but buses, delivery vans, bicycles, and riders create chaotic conditions. Pedestrians crossing in blind spots face particular danger. Downtown Jacksonville recorded over 20 right-turn truck crashes in the last three years, including several pedestrian fatalities. We represented a pedestrian struck by a delivery truck making a right turn onto Hogan Street who suffered multiple fractures and a traumatic brain injury.
Lem Turner Road from Daisy Plaza down to I-295 on Jacksonville’s north side is a third hot zone. This corridor contains numerous businesses receiving truck deliveries off I-295. Lem Turner Road’s wide lanes let vehicles build up speed, but permitted right turn lanes still create blind spots at intersections. The Daisy Plaza intersection alone saw over a dozen right-turn crashes recently. We prosecuted a case where an Amazon delivery truck struck a motorcyclist making a right turn at this intersection, causing permanent spinal injuries.
Preventing Wide Right Turn Accidents
Preventing these accidents requires vigilance from all road users. Passenger car and motorcycle drivers should never linger in trucks’ right side blind spots and should pass on the left whenever possible. At intersections where trucks prepare for wide right turns, wait until you’re certain the driver sees you before proceeding. Give trucks extra room to swing wide rather than trying to squeeze by on the right. The few seconds you save aren’t worth catastrophic injury or death. Pedestrians should avoid crossing near intersections where trucks are turning right and make eye contact with drivers before crossing to ensure they’ve been seen.
Unique Liability Issues in Commercial Truck Injury Cases
Commercial truck injury cases involve complex liability questions that don’t exist in typical car crashes. Multiple parties may share fault, including the truck driver, trucking company, vehicle owner, cargo loader, maintenance provider, and parts manufacturers. Determining who’s liable requires thorough investigation and knowledge of federal and state trucking regulations. This complexity is why you need experienced legal representation rather than trying to handle truck accident claims alone.
Trucking Company Liability
Trucking companies frequently bear liability for driver negligence through the legal doctrine of respondeat superior, which holds employers responsible for employee actions within the scope of employment. When a truck driver causes an accident while working, the company that employs them faces liability. This matters because trucking companies carry substantial insurance policies, often $1 million or more, providing resources to fully compensate injured victims. However, companies fight these claims aggressively, arguing drivers were independent contractors rather than employees or claiming accidents occurred outside working hours.
We routinely combat these tactics by examining employment contracts, pay records, and company control over drivers. If the company dictated routes, schedules, or vehicle use, the driver was likely an employee making the company liable. Companies can’t escape responsibility by misclassifying employees as contractors. We’ve won cases where trucking companies insisted drivers were independent but company records showed they controlled virtually every aspect of operations.
Negligent Hiring and Supervision
Negligent hiring and supervision represents another company liability avenue. Trucking companies must screen drivers, verify licenses, check driving records, conduct background checks, and ensure proper training. Companies that hire drivers with poor safety records, DUI convictions, or insufficient training demonstrate negligence. We investigate company hiring practices, driver qualification files, and training records to establish whether companies met their duties. If they hired a dangerous driver who later caused an accident, that’s powerful evidence of corporate negligence.
Vehicle Maintenance Failures
Vehicle maintenance failures cause many commercial truck injury accidents. Federal regulations require regular inspections, maintenance, and repairs to keep commercial vehicles safe. When companies skip inspections, ignore needed repairs, or falsify maintenance logs to keep trucks on the road, they create deadly hazards. We’ve handled cases where brake failures, tire blowouts, and steering system failures caused crashes that could have been prevented with proper maintenance. Subpoenaing maintenance records often reveals companies knowingly operated unsafe trucks to avoid downtime costs.
Cargo Loading Company Liability
Cargo loading companies can face liability when improperly secured loads shift during transport, causing drivers to lose control. Federal regulations specify exactly how different cargo types must be secured. Overloaded trucks or trucks with unbalanced loads become unstable, particularly during turns or emergency maneuvers. We’ve represented victims injured when improperly loaded lumber, steel coils, or construction materials shifted, causing trucks to rollover or jackknife. Loading companies that failed to follow regulations share liability for resulting crashes.
Parts Manufacturer Defects
Parts manufacturers may be liable when defective truck components cause accidents. Brake system failures, tire defects, steering problems, or faulty coupling devices can all lead to crashes. These product liability cases require expert engineering analysis to prove defects existed and caused the accident. We work with qualified engineers who inspect failed components, review design specifications, and testify about manufacturing defects or design flaws.
Driver Negligence Forms
Driver negligence takes many forms beyond simple inattention. Speeding, following too closely, failing to yield, improper lane changes, driving while fatigued, driving under the influence, and violating traffic laws all constitute negligence. Federal hours of service regulations limit how long truck drivers can work before mandatory rest breaks. Drivers who falsify logbooks to exceed these limits and then cause accidents due to fatigue face liability, as do companies that pressured them to violate regulations.
Evidence Preservation Requirements
Proving liability requires substantial evidence that must be preserved quickly. Trucking companies often destroy records after accidents or claim they’ve been lost. Electronic logging devices, GPS data, black box downloads, maintenance records, driver qualification files, cell phone records, and dash cam footage all provide critical evidence. We send preservation letters immediately after serious accidents, legally requiring companies to preserve evidence. We’ve litigated cases where companies destroyed evidence, allowing courts to instruct juries that destruction indicates consciousness of guilt.
Federal Regulations and Evidence in Truck Cases
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations govern commercial trucking throughout the United States, creating numerous rules that truck drivers and companies must follow. These regulations cover driver qualifications, hours of service, vehicle maintenance, cargo securement, and more. Violations of these federal rules provide powerful evidence of negligence in commercial truck injury cases. Unlike typical car accident cases that rely on basic traffic laws, truck cases involve a complex regulatory framework that experienced attorneys must understand to build winning claims.
Hours of Service Regulations
Hours of service regulations limit how long truck drivers can work before mandatory rest breaks. Drivers can work a maximum of 14 hours after coming on duty, with a maximum of 11 hours actually driving. After 14 hours, they must take 10 consecutive hours off duty. These rules combat driver fatigue, a leading cause of truck accidents. Drivers and companies that violate hours of service regulations by falsifying logbooks or pressuring drivers to exceed limits demonstrate clear negligence when fatigue-related accidents occur.
Electronic logging devices now track driver hours automatically, making it harder to falsify records. However, we still see violations where drivers manipulate ELD data or companies create pressure to drive beyond safe limits. We subpoena ELD data, logbooks, and company communications to prove hours of service violations. In a recent case, we discovered text messages from a dispatcher encouraging a driver to exceed his hours, proving the company knew about and encouraged illegal practices.
Vehicle Inspection Requirements
Vehicle inspection regulations require daily pre-trip inspections by drivers and regular periodic inspections by qualified mechanics. Drivers must check brakes, tires, lights, steering systems, coupling devices, and other safety components before each trip. If defects are found, they must be repaired before the vehicle operates. We’ve handled numerous cases where accidents resulted from brake failures, tire blowouts, or steering problems that pre-trip inspections should have caught. Companies that pressure drivers to skip inspections or falsify inspection reports demonstrate knowing disregard for safety.
Drug and Alcohol Testing
Drug and alcohol testing requirements prohibit truck drivers from operating commercial vehicles while impaired. Random testing programs, post-accident testing, and reasonable suspicion testing all aim to keep impaired drivers off roads. We’ve prosecuted cases where drivers tested positive for illegal drugs or alcohol after causing serious accidents. These cases often involve punitive damages because driving a commercial vehicle while impaired demonstrates extreme negligence.
Cargo Securement Standards
Cargo securement regulations specify exactly how different types of loads must be secured during transport. Lumber, steel coils, machinery, vehicles, and other cargo each have specific securement requirements. Unsecured or improperly secured cargo can shift during transport, causing drivers to lose control. We inspect cargo securement after accidents and compare it to federal regulations. Violations provide clear evidence of negligence.
Black Box Data Analysis
Black box data from electronic control modules provides crucial evidence about truck speed, braking, and other factors immediately before crashes. This data is often dispositive in determining fault. We hire experts to download and analyze black box data, creating detailed reports showing exactly what the truck and driver did in the seconds leading to collision. Companies often resist providing this data, requiring court orders to compel production.
Maintenance Record Reviews
Maintenance records reveal whether companies properly maintained vehicles or skipped inspections and repairs to save money. Federal regulations require detailed maintenance documentation. We subpoena complete maintenance files and have mechanics review them to identify violations. Companies that operated trucks with known defects face substantial liability.
Driver Qualification File Audits
Driver qualification files must contain licenses, medical certificates, driving records, background checks, and training documentation. These files reveal whether companies properly screened and qualified drivers. We’ve found cases where companies hired drivers with multiple DUI convictions, suspended licenses, or no commercial driver’s licenses at all. These discoveries strengthen negligence claims dramatically.
How Our Jacksonville Attorneys Handle Commercial Truck Injury Cases
Our approach to commercial truck injury cases differs substantially from how we handle typical car crashes. These cases require immediate action, extensive investigation, federal regulation knowledge, and willingness to take on major corporations and their legal teams. We’ve developed effective strategies over three decades that consistently produce substantial settlements and verdicts for our clients.
Immediate Evidence Preservation
Immediate evidence preservation is critical in commercial truck injury cases. We send spoliation letters within 24 hours of serious truck accidents, legally requiring companies to preserve all evidence including electronic logging device data, GPS records, black box downloads, maintenance logs, driver qualification files, hiring records, training materials, dash cam footage, cell phone records, and any other relevant documentation. Companies often destroy evidence after accidents or claim it’s been lost. Our spoliation letters create legal consequences for destruction, including adverse inference instructions where judges tell juries that destroyed evidence likely showed company fault.
Independent Accident Investigation
We conduct independent investigations rather than relying on police reports alone. Our investigators visit accident scenes, photograph conditions, interview witnesses, obtain surveillance footage from nearby businesses, and document road conditions and traffic controls. We hire accident reconstruction experts who analyze physical evidence, create computer simulations, and determine exactly how crashes occurred. These experts testify at trial, explaining complex accident dynamics to juries in understandable terms.
Federal Regulation Violation Analysis
Federal regulation violations provide powerful evidence of negligence. We obtain and analyze all required records, comparing them to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. Hours of service violations, maintenance failures, driver qualification deficiencies, cargo securement problems, and other regulatory violations all strengthen our cases. We work with experts familiar with these regulations who can explain violations and their causal relationship to accidents.
Comprehensive Medical Documentation
Medical documentation is crucial to proving commercial truck injury severity and future needs. We ensure clients receive thorough medical evaluations at facilities like UF Health Jacksonville, Baptist Medical Center, or Memorial Hospital. We work with treating physicians to document injuries, treatment plans, and prognosis. For severe injuries, we retain life care planners who calculate lifetime medical costs, and economic experts who determine lost earning capacity. This documentation supports our compensation demands.
Aggressive Settlement Negotiations
Insurance companies representing trucking firms deploy experienced defense lawyers immediately after serious accidents. These lawyers work to minimize company liability and reduce settlement values. They’ll argue comparative fault, claim injuries weren’t as severe as alleged, or dispute medical treatment necessity. We combat these tactics aggressively, building comprehensive cases that demonstrate clear liability and thoroughly document injuries.
Settlement negotiations require patience and leverage. We don’t accept low initial offers that fail to fully compensate our clients. We prepare every case for trial from day one, which gives us negotiating leverage. Insurance companies know we’re ready to try cases and have a track record of substantial verdicts. This encourages reasonable settlement offers. However, we never pressure clients to settle. The decision is always yours.
Trial Preparation and Litigation
When settlement negotiations fail, we’re prepared to try cases before Duval County juries. Our trial lawyers have decades of courtroom experience presenting complex commercial truck injury cases. We use technology to show juries accident reconstructions, medical evidence, and regulatory violations in compelling ways. We tell our clients’ stories effectively, helping juries understand the life-changing impact of injuries caused by corporate negligence.
Contingency Fee Representation
We handle commercial truck injury cases on contingency fees, meaning you pay nothing unless we recover compensation. We advance all case costs including expert fees, investigation expenses, and court costs. This allows injured victims to pursue justice against well-funded corporations without financial risk. Our fees come from any recovery we obtain, never from your pocket.
Frequently Asked Questions About Jacksonville Truck Accidents
How long do I have to file a commercial truck injury lawsuit in Florida?
Florida’s statute of limitations gives you two years from the accident date to file personal injury lawsuits and four years for property damage claims. However, you should contact an attorney immediately after serious truck accidents. Critical evidence disappears quickly, witness memories fade, and companies may destroy records. Earlier involvement allows us to preserve evidence and build stronger cases.
What compensation can I receive after a commercial truck injury?
You may recover compensation for medical expenses, future medical care, lost wages, diminished earning capacity, property damage, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and disability. In cases involving extreme negligence like drunk driving or knowingly operating unsafe trucks, punitive damages may be available. Compensation amounts depend on injury severity, liability strength, and insurance coverage available.
Can I sue if a family member died in a truck accident?
Yes. Florida’s wrongful death statute allows surviving family members to pursue compensation for loss of support, loss of companionship, funeral expenses, and the deceased’s pain and suffering before death. These cases require filing within two years of death. Our attorneys handle wrongful death claims with compassion while aggressively pursuing full compensation.
What if I was partially at fault for the truck accident?
Florida follows comparative negligence rules, meaning your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault. If you’re found 20% at fault, you receive 80% of total damages. However, you can still recover compensation even if partially responsible. Insurance companies often argue comparative fault to reduce payouts, which is why experienced legal representation matters.
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Contact a Jacksonville Commercial Truck Injury Lawyer Today
Commercial truck injuries cause catastrophic harm that changes lives forever. The complex liability issues, federal regulations, and aggressive insurance company tactics make these cases challenging for injury victims to handle alone. You need experienced legal representation that understands commercial truck injury law, knows how to investigate these crashes, and isn’t intimidated by major corporations and their legal teams.
Martino & McCabe has represented Jacksonville commercial truck injury victims for over 30 years, recovering millions in settlements and verdicts. Nicholas E. Martino earned his Masters of Law in Trial Advocacy with Honors from Temple University’s Beasley School of Law, consistently ranked by U.S. News & World Report in the top two in the country for trial advocacy programs. He won more than 100 awards for his public speaking and legal advocacy abilities and brings experience representing individuals, corporations, and government entities on complex legal matters.
Michael J. McCabe is a licensed Professional Engineer with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Florida State University and seven years of experience as an aviation, transportation, and structural engineer before earning his Juris Doctor from Florida Coastal School of Law. His engineering background provides unique technical insight into commercial truck injury cases involving vehicle mechanics, accident reconstruction, and structural failures that many attorneys lack.
We’ve handled over 500 successful cases across all personal injury practice areas, with particular expertise in complex commercial truck injury litigation. We know how to combat tactics that trucking companies and insurers use to avoid responsibility. We preserve critical evidence, work with qualified experts, and build comprehensive cases that demonstrate clear liability and thoroughly document injuries. Don’t face this challenge alone. Contact us today for a free consultation about your commercial truck injury case. We’re ready to fight for the compensation you deserve.
Michael J. McCabe, is a partner and owner of Martino & McCabe and practices in the areas of personally injury, auto accidents, and premises liability. He is a licensed Professional Engineer and received his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Florida State University. He earned his Juris Doctor degree from Florida Coastal School of Law in 2005 while continuing to work as a Professional Engineer.