Truck Accident Claims in Florida: Liability, Evidence and Fatal Crashes

By the trial attorneys at Silva & Silva

A serious truck accident can change your life in an instant. If you have been injured or a loved one has tragically been killed in an accident involving a commercial truck, we know what you are going through, and we want you to know that we are genuinely here to help in any way we can.

Our Florida trucking accident lawyers prepared this guide for victims and families who want to learn more before contacting an attorney. It covers the evidence that proves liability, who can be held responsible, Florida’s fault and deadline rules, and how fatal truck crash cases work.

What evidence proves liability in a Florida truck accident case?

Liability in a Florida truck accident case is usually proved with the trucking company’s own records, checked against the physical evidence. The core records are the driver’s hours-of-service logs and electronic logging device data, the driver qualification file, inspection and maintenance records, and drug and alcohol test records, which federal safety rules require covered carriers to keep. Onboard truck data, camera footage, the scene and witnesses fill in the rest. Federal retention minimums for several of these records run only months, so early preservation matters.

Hours of service and logging device data (49 CFR Part 395)

With exceptions listed in § 395.1, a property-carrying driver may not drive without first taking 10 consecutive hours off duty, may then drive a total of 11 hours, and may not drive beyond the 14th consecutive hour after coming on duty (§ 395.3). Most carriers must have drivers record duty status on an electronic logging device, or ELD (§ 395.8), which automatically records the date, time, location, engine hours, vehicle miles and driver, vehicle and carrier identification (§ 395.26). Duty-status records and supporting documents such as bills of lading, dispatch records and fleet messages (§ 395.11) must be kept for not less than 6 months from the date of receipt (§ 395.8(k)(1)).

The driver qualification file (49 CFR 391.51)

A carrier must keep a file for each driver it employs, including the employment application, motor vehicle records, the road test certificate or an accepted equivalent, and proof of medical certification, which is the medical examiner’s certificate or, for many commercial driver’s license holders, the CDLIS driving record showing medical certification status (§ 391.51), and must investigate the driver’s safety performance history with DOT-regulated employers during the preceding three years (§ 391.23). The file is kept while the driver is employed and for three years after, though some items may be removed three years after the date of execution. Gaps in it can support a claim that the carrier should not have hired or kept the driver.

Inspection, repair and maintenance records (49 CFR Part 396)

Carriers must systematically inspect, repair and maintain the vehicles under their control and, for each vehicle they have controlled for 30 consecutive days, keep inspection, repair and maintenance records, retained for 1 year and for 6 months after the vehicle leaves their control (§ 396.3). With limited exceptions, a driver must report in writing at the end of each day’s work any defect that would affect safe operation; the carrier must repair a listed safety defect before the truck is driven again and keep the report for three months (§ 396.11). Each truck and trailer must pass a periodic inspection at least once during the preceding 12 months (§ 396.17), and that report is kept for fourteen months (§ 396.21).

Drug and alcohol testing records (49 CFR Part 382)

A new driver may not perform safety-sensitive functions until the carrier has a verified negative drug test result, with limited exceptions (§ 382.301). After a crash involving a commercial motor vehicle operating on a public road in commerce, the employer must test for alcohol and controlled substances, as soon as practicable, each surviving driver who was performing safety-sensitive functions with respect to the vehicle if someone died. If no one died, testing is required only if the driver receives a citation for a moving traffic violation arising from the crash (within 8 hours for the alcohol test, 32 hours for the drug test) and someone immediately received medical treatment away from the scene or a vehicle had to be towed for disabling damage (§ 382.303). If an alcohol test is not given within 2 hours, the employer must record why, and attempts stop at 8 hours; drug test attempts stop at 32 hours, also with a written record. Verified positive drug results, alcohol results of 0.02 or greater and refusals are kept for at least five years, negative drug results for at least one year (§ 382.401).

The accident register and the carrier’s insurance

Carriers must keep an accident register for 3 years after the date of each accident, as the federal rules define that term (§ 390.15). A for-hire carrier hauling nonhazardous property in interstate commerce in a vehicle rated at 10,001 pounds or more must have at least $750,000 in financial responsibility for public liability (§ 387.9), and proof of it, such as the insurer’s Form MCS-90 endorsement, must be produced on reasonable request by a member of the public (§ 387.7).

Onboard data, cameras and the scene

Engine control modules, telematics units and cameras may hold speed, braking, location and video from the moments around a crash. The federal event data recorder rule applies only to vehicles that have an event data recorder and a gross vehicle weight rating of 8,500 pounds or less, with an unloaded weight of 5,500 pounds or less (49 CFR 563.3), so it does not reach tractor-trailers; what a tractor-trailer keeps depends on its equipment and settings, and a qualified examiner should download it before the truck is repaired or returned to service. The police crash report helps identify who was involved, but a crash report made by a person involved in the crash, or that person’s statements to an officer for completing it, may not be used as evidence at trial, with limited exceptions (§ 316.066(4)).

Why a preservation letter matters

Federal retention periods for some of these records run only a few months, so a lawyer should promptly send the carrier and other parties a preservation letter naming the logging-device data, the driver file, maintenance and test records, onboard data, camera footage and the truck itself. Those periods are minimums and do not override a duty to preserve evidence: Florida courts have found such a duty when a party should reasonably foresee litigation. Under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.380(f), if electronically stored information that should have been preserved is lost because a party failed to take reasonable steps to preserve it, and it cannot be restored or replaced, a court that finds prejudice may order measures no greater than necessary to cure it. Only on finding an intent to deprive may the court presume the information was unfavorable, instruct the jury that it may or must so presume, or dismiss the action or enter a default judgment.

Understanding the Three Types of Truck Accident Claims

Filing a claim for a serious or fatal truck accident in Florida begins with a prompt, thorough investigation to identify the party (or parties) responsible, one reason to engage a law firm as soon as possible. Most claims fall into one or more of three categories:

1. Negligence Claims

Many severe and fatal truck accident cases involve negligence by the truck driver, the trucking company or a third party involved in the collision. Common forms include:

• Turning or merging without looking and other careless truck-driving mistakes
• Speeding, tailgating, running red lights and stop signs, and other forms of aggressive driving
• Driving while fatigued, under the influence of alcohol or the influence of drugs
• Driving while distracted by phone calls, text messages, GPS directions, or social media
• Hiring unqualified or inexperienced truck drivers
• Requiring truck drivers to spend too many consecutive hours behind the wheel
• Improperly loading truck cargo (i.e., overloading the truck or failing to secure its load correctly)

Some cases involve multiple causal factors. When we investigate truck accidents for our clients, we look for evidence of all forms of negligence to ensure we are pursuing all viable claims.

2. Vicarious Liability Claims

Trucking companies can be held liable for their own negligence, such as hiring unqualified drivers, and for their drivers’ mistakes. Under Florida law, employers are generally liable for their employees’ negligence within the scope of employment, so if an employee driver is at fault while on the job, the employer is generally responsible as well. That is why a claim often involves the trucking company and its insurer.

3. Product Liability Claims

Some truck accident cases also involve product liability claims. A manufacturer can be held strictly liable when a defect in the brakes, tires or another component causes or contributes to a crash; the injured person does not have to prove the manufacturer was careless, although the defect and its role in the crash still have to be proved. Even a defect that is only partly to blame may justify a claim against the manufacturer, so this possibility should not be overlooked at the investigation stage.

Who can be held responsible for a truck crash

Depending on the evidence, a claim may name:

• The truck driver, for careless or unlawful driving.
• The motor carrier, for its employee driver’s negligence on the job and its own negligence in hiring, supervision, scheduling or maintenance.
• The truck’s owner, if it is not the carrier. Florida’s dangerous instrumentality doctrine imposes strict vicarious liability on the owner of a motor vehicle who voluntarily entrusts it to someone whose negligent operation causes damage, with statutory limits for some lessors (§ 324.021(9)(b)). A business that rents or leases vehicles is not liable merely as owner for harm during the rental or lease unless it was itself negligent or engaged in criminal wrongdoing (49 U.S.C. § 30106).
• The shipper or loading company, for overloaded or poorly secured cargo, and a maintenance contractor, for negligent repair.
• The manufacturer of the truck, trailer or a component.
• The freight broker that arranged the load. In May 2026 the U.S. Supreme Court held that a claim that one company negligently hired another to transport goods is not preempted by the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, LLC, 608 U.S. 219).
• A government agency, when a public vehicle or road condition played a part. These claims require written notice before suit, and payment above $200,000 per person or $300,000 per incident generally requires a further act of the Legislature (§ 768.28).

Naming every responsible party matters: in a Florida negligence action, the court enters judgment against each liable party based on its percentage of fault, not under joint and several liability, and a defendant that blames a nonparty must plead and prove that nonparty’s fault (§ 768.81(3)).

Comparative fault and filing deadlines after HB 837

Trucking companies and their insurers often argue that the injured person shared the blame. Florida’s 2023 tort reform law (HB 837, chapter 2023-15, Laws of Florida) changed the rule for actions filed after March 24, 2023 (section 30). For those actions, section 768.81(6) provides: “In a negligence action to which this section applies, any party found to be greater than 50 percent at fault for his or her own harm may not recover any damages.” A person found 50 percent or less at fault can still recover, reduced in proportion to his or her own fault (§ 768.81(2)). See our guide to partial fault and Florida’s 51 percent rule.

The same law made the time to file an action founded on negligence two years (§ 95.11(5)(a)) for causes of action accruing after March 24, 2023 (chapter 2023-15, section 28); claims that accrued on or before that date keep the former four-year period. In actions filed after March 24, 2023, section 768.0427 also limits evidence of past medical bills that have been paid to the amount actually paid, regardless of the source of payment.

Financial Compensation in Serious and Fatal Truck Accident Cases

Whichever type of claim applies, the damages available under Florida law depend mainly on whether the crash caused serious injuries or a death.

Personal Injury Cases Involving Serious Truck Accidents

In non-fatal cases, victims may seek compensation for the financial and non-financial costs of their injuries, past and future: medical bills and other out-of-pocket expenses, loss of income and benefits, pain and suffering, emotional trauma and loss of enjoyment of life. In a tort action against the owner or operator of a motor vehicle insured under Florida’s no-fault law, damages for pain, suffering, mental anguish and inconvenience are available only if the injury involves significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function, permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement, or death (§ 627.737(2)).

Wrongful Death Cases Involving Fatal Truck Accidents

Wrongful death cases differ from injury cases in essential respects. When a personal injury results in death, “no action for the personal injury shall survive” (§ 768.20); the wrongful death claim instead seeks the estate’s losses, such as lost earnings between the injury and death and medical or funeral expenses charged to the estate, and the survivors’ own losses, such as lost support, lost companionship and mental pain and suffering. These cases are more complex than most personal injury cases, making experienced legal representation extremely important. Silva & Silva represents families in complex wrongful death cases (see cases we have handled), and we can use our experience to seek justice on your family’s behalf.

How do wrongful death truck crash cases work in Florida?

A fatal truck crash case in Florida is brought under the Florida Wrongful Death Act, sections 768.16 through 768.26. One action is filed by the personal representative of the person who died, for the benefit of the survivors and the estate. The statute defines who the survivors are and lists the damages each may recover. The action generally must be filed within two years, and liability is proved with the same evidence used in an injury case.

The personal representative is the person the court appoints to administer the estate; family members do not file separate suits (§ 768.20). Survivors are “the decedent’s spouse, children, parents, and, when partly or wholly dependent on the decedent for support or services, any blood relatives and adoptive brothers and sisters,” and the definition “includes the child born out of wedlock of a mother, but not the child born out of wedlock of the father unless the father has recognized a responsibility for the child’s support” (§ 768.18(1)). Under § 768.21, each survivor may recover lost support and services; a surviving spouse, lost companionship and protection and mental pain and suffering; minor children (under 25), and all children if there is no surviving spouse, lost parental companionship, instruction and guidance and mental pain and suffering; and each parent of a deceased minor child, mental pain and suffering (a parent of an adult child only if there are no other survivors). The estate may recover lost earnings from the injury to the death and, in some cases, lost prospective net accumulations. The § 768.21(8) limits on adult children and parents of an adult child apply only to medical negligence claims. The two-year period is in § 95.11(5)(e). See who can file a wrongful death claim in Florida and our wrongful death practice.

Essential Steps for Seeking the Financial Compensation You and Your Loved Ones Deserve

Whatever happened, some crucial steps protect your legal rights, and your law firm can handle the more difficult ones. If you can:

• Prioritize Your Well-Being – Get the treatment you need and follow your doctor’s advice (or seek a second opinion if necessary). If you are struggling to cope with the loss of a loved one, do not hesitate to seek help.
• Take Detailed Notes – While we know it can be difficult, write down everything you remember about the accident, then set your notes aside until you meet with a lawyer.
• Start a File – Paperwork piles up quickly. Keep the documents you receive, with any photos, videos and witness names, in a file to share with your lawyer.
• Be Careful to Protect Yourself – The trucking company’s insurer may begin its own investigation quickly. Before you give a recorded statement to the other side’s insurer or sign anything it sends you, talk to a lawyer, who can deal with the insurers for you.
• Talk to a Lawyer – Do this as soon as possible, in part because carriers are required to keep some records for only months. The sooner your lawyer can get to work, the sooner you can begin trying to move on with your life.

These are not the only steps, far from it, but they will help put you on the path toward recovery.

Hiring a Lawyer to Handle Your (or Your Family’s) Truck Accident Claim

Once you hire a lawyer, your lawyer can begin helping you immediately by:

• Investigating the Accident – An unbiased investigation, started as soon as possible, preserves evidence before it disappears, beginning with preservation letters, and determines what company (or companies) are liable.
• Answering Your Questions – Bring a list of questions to your initial consultation.
• Giving You Advice – Your lawyer can advise you on what to do (and what not to do) as you move forward.
• Explaining What You Can Expect – Your lawyer can walk you step by step through holding the at-fault party (or parties) legally and financially accountable.
• Taking Action on Your Behalf – From dealing with the insurance companies to filing a lawsuit, your lawyer can take all necessary legal action, at the outset and throughout the process.

There are many more ways we help our clients in these cases. To learn more, contact us to arrange a free, no-obligation consultation.

Who should I hire after a fatal 18-wheeler crash in Florida?

Look for a Florida trial firm that treats a fatal 18-wheeler crash as wrongful death litigation from the first day. It should send preservation letters within days, know the federal carrier records and how long each must be kept, look at every party that may share fault, from the carrier and the broker to the maintenance shop, explain the personal representative’s role and each survivor’s claim, and prepare the case for trial. Ask who will handle the case and how fees work.

Silva & Silva is a Coral Gables trial firm that represents injured people and families in catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases across Florida, in English and Spanish, and we prepare every case for trial from day one. The consultation is free, and there are no fees unless we recover.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a trucking company have to keep its logs and records?

Federal rules set minimum periods: duty-status records and supporting documents, not less than 6 months (49 CFR 395.8(k)(1)); driver vehicle inspection reports, three months (§ 396.11); maintenance records, for 1 year and for 6 months after the truck leaves the carrier’s control (§ 396.3); periodic inspection reports, fourteen months (§ 396.21); driver qualification files, generally the length of employment plus three years (§ 391.51). These are minimums, not permission to destroy evidence once litigation is foreseeable, and a preservation letter asks the carrier to keep everything relevant.

Does a truck driver have to be tested for drugs and alcohol after a crash?

Yes, in defined cases. Under 49 CFR 382.303, if a crash involving a commercial motor vehicle operating on a public road in commerce kills someone, each surviving driver who was performing safety-sensitive functions with respect to the vehicle must be tested for alcohol and drugs as soon as practicable. Otherwise, testing is required only after a citation for a moving traffic violation arising from the crash (within 8 hours for alcohol, 32 for drugs) plus an injury treated immediately away from the scene or a disabling-damage tow.

How long do I have to file a truck accident claim in Florida?

For negligence claims that accrued after March 24, 2023, Florida generally allows two years to file a lawsuit (§ 95.11(5)(a)), and a wrongful death action also has a two-year period (§ 95.11(5)(e)). Claims against a government agency carry their own written-notice requirements (§ 768.28(6)). Exceptions and start dates depend on the facts, so talk to a lawyer well before any deadline.

Can more than one company be responsible for one truck crash?

Yes. One crash can involve the driver, the motor carrier, the truck’s owner, a freight broker, a shipper or loader, a maintenance shop and a manufacturer. Because Florida courts enter judgment against each liable party based on its own percentage of fault rather than under joint and several liability (§ 768.81(3)), leaving a responsible party out of the case can leave part of the loss unpaid.

Can adult children recover damages after a fatal truck crash in Florida?

In some cases, yes. Under § 768.21(3), minor children, meaning children under 25, may recover for lost parental companionship, instruction and guidance and for mental pain and suffering, and all children of the decedent may do so if there is no surviving spouse. The § 768.21(8) limit on adult children applies only to medical negligence claims, not to truck crashes.

Contact Silva & Silva for a Free, No-Obligation Consultation

If you need to know more about filing a claim for a serious or fatal truck accident in Florida, we strongly encourage you to contact us. Call 305-445-0011 or contact us online to speak with an experienced lawyer in confidence as soon as possible. The consultation is free, and there are no fees unless we recover.