Can I Change Truck Accident Lawyers in Washington?

Why timing matters more when you switch on a truck case

A semi crash case is built on records the trucking company controls. Some of those records only have to be kept for a short time. If your current lawyer has not sent a written demand to preserve them, every week you wait to switch can cost you proof you can’t get back.

You have the right to end the relationship under Washington RPC 1.16, and your new firm handles the transfer. The general steps for any Washington case are on our Washington switching page. This page covers what is different when the other vehicle was a commercial truck.

Not sure a switch is right yet? Read whether you can switch personal injury lawyers before you decide.

Federal record rules and how fast truck evidence goes away

Interstate carriers follow federal motor carrier rules. A few of them set the clock for evidence:

• Hours-of-service logs. Under 49 C.F.R. 395.8(k), a carrier must keep each driver’s records of duty status and supporting documents for at least six months. After that, they can be gone. Logs show whether the driver was over hours or falsified time.
• Post-crash drug and alcohol tests. 49 C.F.R. 382.303 requires testing after a fatal crash, and after an injury or tow-away crash when the driver gets a citation. If an alcohol test is not done within eight hours, or a drug test within 32 hours, the carrier stops trying and writes down why. A new lawyer should ask whether a test was done and get that record.
• The accident register. 49 C.F.R. 390.15(b) requires carriers to keep an accident register for three years, including copies of accident reports given to the state or insurers.

Other proof has no set retention period at all. Engine control module data, telematics and GPS pings, forward-facing camera video, dispatch messages and the trailer itself can be overwritten, repaired or sold. A preservation letter on day one, and a court order if needed, is how a careful lawyer keeps them.

What a new lawyer has to catch up on in a Washington truck case

Truck cases often have more than one defendant. The driver, the motor carrier, a broker, the shipper or loader, a maintenance shop and the owner of the trailer can all be in the picture. The new lawyer should check:

• Who has been put on notice and who has not.
• The carrier’s identity and insurance. Truck companies often run under one name and insure under another.
• Whether anyone has reviewed the driver qualification file and maintenance records.
• Whether an accident reconstructionist inspected the scene and vehicles before they changed.
• Your own PIP and UIM coverage, which can pay medical bills while the liability claim moves slowly.

How Washington splits fault among trucking defendants

This is where a missed defendant hurts. Under RCW 4.22.070, the jury assigns a percentage of fault to every entity that caused the harm, including ones you released or never sued. Each defendant usually pays only its own share. There are two big exceptions. A company is responsible for the fault of its agent or employee, which is how carriers end up answering for their drivers. And if you are found not at fault at all, the defendants against whom judgment is entered are jointly and severally liable for their combined shares.

So if a broker or maintenance shop shares blame but was never named, a jury can still put a percentage on it, and you may not collect that part. Your own fault, if any, lowers the award but does not bar it under RCW 4.22.005.

Signs a truck case has stalled

Truck cases take longer than car cases, so slow doesn’t always mean neglected. Still, some signs are worth a direct question to your lawyer:

• Nobody can tell you whether a preservation letter went to the motor carrier, or when.
• Six months have passed and no one has asked for the driver’s logs.
• You don’t know the name of the trucking company’s insurer.
• The only defendant named is the driver.
• No expert has looked at the truck, the scene or the black box data.
• You were asked to give a recorded statement to the carrier’s insurer without your lawyer on the line.

If you raise these and get clear answers, you may not need to switch. If the answers don’t come, that tells you something too. Get your file before you decide. Our page on getting your case file explains how. Once a new firm has it, the first week is usually spent on preservation letters, insurer notices and a list of every company that touched the load, the truck or the driver.

Washington deadlines on a truck crash

The basic deadline to sue is three years under RCW 4.16.080(2). That sounds like a lot, but truck evidence runs on a much shorter clock, as shown above. If a public agency’s truck or a road design problem is involved, a claim form must be presented first, with a 60-day wait before filing, under RCW 4.96.020 for local agencies and RCW 4.92.100 for the State.

Fees when you move a truck case to us

Truck cases often involve expert costs early. Here is how money works if you switch. Your fee with us stays at our normal percentage, and whatever the former lawyer is owed for their time comes out of that fee. Under Ross v. Scannell, a discharged contingency lawyer in Washington is generally limited to the reasonable value of the work. Costs the old firm paid for, like a reconstruction expert, are normally repaid from the recovery. If nothing is recovered, you owe no fees or costs. See what happens to the old lawyer’s lien.

If you have already signed a release and the truck case settled, the case is generally over and we are not able to help.

Sources

1. Washington RPC 1.16, declining or terminating representation (courts.wa.gov)
2. 49 C.F.R. 395.8(k), hours-of-service records kept 6 months (ecfr.gov)
3. 49 C.F.R. 382.303, post-accident alcohol and drug testing (ecfr.gov)
4. 49 C.F.R. 390.15(b), carrier accident register kept 3 years (ecfr.gov)
5. RCW 4.22.070, allocation of fault among entities (app.leg.wa.gov)
6. RCW 4.22.005, contributory fault reduces but does not bar recovery (app.leg.wa.gov)
7. RCW 4.16.080(2), three-year limit for injury actions (app.leg.wa.gov)
8. RCW 4.96.020, local government claim and 60-day wait (app.leg.wa.gov)
9. RCW 4.92.100, claims against the State of Washington (app.leg.wa.gov)
10. Ross v. Scannell, 97 Wn.2d 598 (1982) (courtlistener.com)