Table of contents
- Latest Trucking Accident Lawsuit Updates
- October 7, 2026: FMCSA Posts Split-Sleeper Pilot Notice
- October 6, 2026: FMCSA Posts Split-Duty Pilot Notice
- What Are Large Truck Crashes?
- Who May Be Affected?
- Reported Injuries or Damages
- Evidence to Preserve
- Filing Deadlines
- Potential Compensation
- Frequently Asked Questions
- What Happens If a Company Truck Hits You?
- Who Can Be Held Responsible in Trucking Accident Lawsuits?
- How Many Hours Can a Truck Driver Legally Drive?
- What Does the Research Say About Truck Crash Causes?
Lawsuits over truck crashes follow serious injuries and deaths in crashes with large trucks, including the tractor-trailers and 18-wheelers that haul most freight. These are individual injury and wrongful death claims brought by those hurt and by families.
A claim may name the driver, the motor carrier or others. No MDL or class action covers truck crashes. Federal motor carrier rules on hours of service, cargo securement, maintenance records and minimum insurance shape what is examined.
Claims often allege driver fatigue, hours-of-service violations, poor maintenance, unsecured cargo or impairment. Those are allegations, not findings by any court, and each claim depends on its own facts.
Latest Trucking Accident Lawsuit Updates
October 7, 2026: FMCSA Posts Split-Sleeper Pilot Notice
On October 7, 2026, the FMCSA published a Federal Register notice of an information collection for a split-sleeper pilot [1]. The pilot would test 6/4 and 5/5 sleeper-berth splits with about 256 drivers.
The pilot would collect fatigue and driving-performance data. It is a proposal, and the current hours-of-service limits are unchanged [2]. Public comment is open through December 7, 2026.
October 6, 2026: FMCSA Posts Split-Duty Pilot Notice
On October 6, 2026, FMCSA posted a notice on a split-duty pilot [3]. The notice asks to collect data from about 256 drivers. These drivers could pause the 14-hour driving window for 30 minutes to 3 hours.
What Are Large Truck Crashes?
According to FMCSA, its Large Truck Crash Causation Study looked at serious crashes. Each crash “involved at least one large truck and resulted in at least one fatality or injury” [4].
Over 60 percent of the trucks were “tractors pulling a single semi-trailer”. The report calls these “the ubiquitous 18-wheelers that haul most of the Nation’s freight”.
Who May Be Affected?
You may be affected if you were hurt in a crash involving a large truck, including one pulling a semi-trailer. Families of people killed in a truck crash may also be affected.
People in the other vehicles, such as drivers and passengers, may be affected too, since the crashes in the FMCSA study involved 959 non-truck motor vehicles.
Whether you can bring a claim depends on your own facts, and only an individual legal review can answer that. Crashes with smaller vehicles are covered in the car accident lawsuit guide.
Reported Injuries or Damages
The same FMCSA Large Truck Crash Causation Study recorded 251 deaths and 1,408 injuries in 967 crashes between 2001 and 2003. Of those crashes, 223 (23.1%) were fatal. These are study counts. They are not allegations in a case.
The study coded the mistakes and conditions present in each crash. Driver recognition and decision errors were coded most often. Fatigue was coded twice as often for passenger vehicle drivers, and speeding more often for truck drivers.
Brake problems were coded for almost 30 percent of the trucks but only 5 percent of the passenger vehicles. FMCSA notes that no judgment is made on whether a factor is related to a particular crash.
A court would have to decide each claim on its own facts, and only a court can find that any factor caused a particular injury.
Evidence to Preserve
Keep these items after a truck crash:
- Photographs of the crash scene, the vehicles, the road conditions and your injuries.
- The truck and trailer details, including the name of the carrier that operated them.
- The names of the driver and any witnesses, with their contact details if you can get them.
- Medical records and bills for every injury treated after the crash, kept in one place.
- Repair estimates for your vehicle and any property damaged in the crash.
- Your own notes about what happened, written down while you still remember the details.
Ask in writing that the carrier keep its records. A motor carrier must keep an accident register for 3 years after each accident [5].
Vehicle inspection, repair and maintenance records must be kept for 1 year and for 6 months after the vehicle leaves the carrier’s control [6].
Federal rules set minimum public liability coverage at $750,000 for for-hire carriers of nonhazardous property in vehicles of 10,001 or more pounds [7].
If you suspect that a defect in the truck played a part in the crash, you can also tell NHTSA [8].
Filing Deadlines
Filing deadlines for a truck crash claim come from state law. They depend on where the crash happened and who is being sued.
The date of the injury or death also matters. A claim can end if the filing date passes, even when the facts are strong. Ask a lawyer promptly, so that the deadline for your crash is checked in time.
Potential Compensation
Claims after a truck crash may seek medical expenses, lost income, loss of earning capacity and pain and suffering. In a death, a claim may also seek funeral costs and loss of support.
Compensation amounts vary by case. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Potential compensation depends on the facts of the crash.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Happens If a Company Truck Hits You?
If a company truck hits you, a claim may involve the driver and the motor carrier. Federal rules set higher minimum coverage for carriers of oil and certain hazardous materials than for other cargo, as 49 CFR 387.9 explains.
Who Can Be Held Responsible in Trucking Accident Lawsuits?
Who can be held responsible in trucking accident lawsuits depends on the facts, and it can include a cargo loader or a maintenance provider as well as the driver and the motor carrier.
How Many Hours Can a Truck Driver Legally Drive?
A truck driver may drive a maximum of 11 hours after 10 hours off duty. A 30-minute break is needed after 8 cumulative driving hours, and a 60 or 70 hour limit applies over 7 or 8 consecutive days.
What Does the Research Say About Truck Crash Causes?
The research on truck crash causes comes from the FMCSA study, which cited driving too fast for conditions and fatigue as important factors for both drivers in crashes between trucks and passenger vehicles.