Los Angeles Truck Accident Attorney

Los Angeles is the busiest truck market in the country because the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach feed the I-710 and I-110 north to the rail yards and warehouses along the I-5, the I-10 and the 60. Tractor-trailers share the I-405 and US-101 with commuters, and delivery trucks, box trucks and dump trucks run all day on Figueroa Street, Western Avenue, Vermont Avenue and Sunset Boulevard. The most common patterns we see: rear-end crashes in stop-and-go traffic, unsafe lane changes into a truck’s blind spot, wide right turns that trap a car or a cyclist, and trucks stopped on the shoulder being hit at speed.

The California Office of Traffic Safety counted 8,116 people killed or injured in Los Angeles crashes in 2023, including 1,432 pedestrians, 553 motorcyclists and 2,549 injury hit-and-run crashes; 1,508 victims were in alcohol-involved crashes and 1,104 crashes were speed-related (OTS Crash Rankings, 2023 data).

Driver fatigue, speed and maintenance show up again and again in Los Angeles truck cases. Drivers paid by the load skip rest breaks; brake and tire problems get deferred; and some carriers put drivers on the road without checking their records. Each of those is a federal violation — and evidence.

• Seven people hurt, including an LAFD firefighter, when a fire truck crashed on Figueroa Street in South Los Angeles
• SUV slams into a semi-truck parked on the shoulder of the 5 Freeway at Roxford Street in Sylmar
• LAFD ambulance crash on Boyle Avenue in Boyle Heights injures firefighters and a patient
• Fatal two-vehicle crash on the 5 Freeway at Los Feliz Boulevard

All Los Angeles accident news · Law Blog

Serious injuries from Los Angeles crashes go to the county’s trauma centers: Los Angeles General Medical Center (formerly LAC+USC) in Boyle Heights, Cedars-Sinai in Beverly Grove, Ronald Reagan UCLA in Westwood, Harbor-UCLA near Torrance and Northridge Hospital in the Valley. Which hospital you were taken to tells us which records to request first.

If a claim has to be filed, it goes to the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Central District cases are heard at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse, 111 N. Hill Street, Downtown; a crash in the Valley, the South Bay, the Pomona Valley, Compton or the Westside can be assigned to the Van Nuys, Torrance, Pomona, Compton or Santa Monica courthouse instead. More on where Los Angeles cases get filed

Federal rules limit a property-carrying driver to 11 hours of driving inside a 14-hour window, require a 30-minute break after 8 hours, and cap the week at 60 or 70 hours. Since 2017 those hours are recorded on an electronic logging device (ELD). A driver who was over hours when he hit you was breaking the law, and the ELD proves it — but carriers only have to keep the data for six months, which is why we send a preservation letter immediately. Read 49 CFR Part 395

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (49 CFR § 390 et seq.) make the trucking company responsible for hiring qualified drivers, checking their driving and drug-test history, inspecting and maintaining the truck and keeping the records that prove it. Interstate carriers must also carry far more liability insurance than a private driver — at least $750,000 for most freight (49 CFR § 387.9). In practice this means a Los Angeles truck case can involve the driver, the carrier, the owner of the trailer, the shipper who loaded it and the shop that serviced the brakes. Read 49 CFR Part 390

Under Civil Code § 1714 everyone is responsible for injuries caused by their lack of ordinary care, and an employer is responsible for an employee driving on the job. California applies pure comparative negligence (Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975) 13 Cal.3d 804): if a jury finds you 20% at fault, you still recover 80% of your damages. Trucking insurers push hard to shift blame to the car driver; the ELD, dashcam and physical evidence usually tell a different story.

You have two years from the crash to file an injury lawsuit (CCP § 335.1) and three years for property damage (CCP § 338). If the truck belonged to a public agency — a City of Los Angeles sanitation truck, an LAFD apparatus, a Metro bus, a Caltrans vehicle — or a road defect contributed, a government claim must be presented within six months (Gov. Code § 911.2). That is the deadline people miss.

DUI (Veh. Code § 23152) and handheld phone use (Veh. Code § 23123.5) are both negligence per se, and commercial drivers are held to a 0.04% blood-alcohol limit. When a driver was drunk, California allows punitive damages on top of compensation (Taylor v. Superior Court (1979) 24 Cal.3d 890), which no insurance policy covers — a powerful lever in negotiation.

Since January 1, 2025 the minimum auto policy in California is $30,000 per person / $60,000 per accident / $15,000 property damage (SB 1107). If the at-fault vehicle was a small local truck with a minimum policy, or a hit-and-run, your own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage (Ins. Code § 11580.2) may be the real source of recovery. We check every policy that could apply.

The first offer usually arrives before anyone knows how badly you are hurt, and accepting it closes the claim for good. Our team includes former insurance adjusters who know how carriers value truck accident claims and what they leave out. We handle every call with the insurance company so you never have to.

In truck cases we also retain the experts the carrier’s insurer expects — accident reconstruction, trucking-safety and medical — so the demand is built on the truck’s own data, not on the driver’s version.

• Order the police report and your 911 and dispatch records.
• Send preservation letters for video, data and documents before they are erased.
• Help you get your vehicle repaired or valued, and a rental where coverage allows.
• Refer you to doctors and specialists who treat on a lien, so care does not wait for a settlement.
• In some cases, help arrange pre-settlement funding so bills do not force a bad decision.
• Open the claim with every insurer that may owe coverage, including your own UM/UIM policy.

Most Los Angeles truck accident claims resolve by settlement once treatment is finished and a complete demand goes out. A straightforward claim can resolve in a few months. If the insurer will not pay what the case is worth, we file in Los Angeles County Superior Court; litigated cases commonly take one to two years, and the great majority still settle before trial.

Deadlines run from the day of the crash: two years for injury (CCP § 335.1) and only six months to present a government claim if a City of Los Angeles, Metro, County or Caltrans vehicle or road defect is involved (Gov. Code § 911.2).

No attorney fee unless we win. Whether case costs are deducted from a recovery is explained in your written fee agreement. Everything is explained in writing before we start.

Results shown on our About page include a $2,500,000 settlement after an initial offer of $100,000, and Lyft and Uber accident settlements after initial offers of $60,000 and $30,000. Results vary. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Beverly Law was founded in 2008 and has 4.8 stars from 600+ Google reviews. Cases are reviewed by Michael Shemtoub, Esq. (California State Bar #253948, admitted 2007), a former corporate attorney who also worked for a federal judge, named a Super Lawyers Rising Star 2015–2017 and rated 10.0 “Superb” by Avvo.

There is no formula. The value depends on the injuries and whether they are permanent, your medical bills and future care, lost income, how clear fault is and — often the real ceiling — how much insurance exists. Truck cases tend to be worth more than car cases because the injuries are more severe and the carrier’s policy is larger (federal rules require at least $750,000 for most interstate freight). Any lawyer who quotes a number before reading the police report and your medical records is guessing.

Potentially the driver, the motor carrier that employed or leased him, the owner of the tractor or trailer, the company that loaded the cargo, the maintenance contractor, and — if a public vehicle or a road defect was involved — a city, county or state agency. Identifying every party early matters because each one has its own insurer and its own deadline.

Usually not. Most truck accident claims in Los Angeles settle with the insurance company before a lawsuit is filed, and most filed cases settle before trial. If a lawsuit is needed, it is filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court (the Stanley Mosk Courthouse for the Central District) and we handle every hearing. You would only testify if the case went to a deposition or trial, and we prepare you for both.

Yes. California follows pure comparative negligence (Li v. Yellow Cab Co., 1975). Your recovery is reduced by your share of fault, but it is never cut off — even a person found 60% at fault recovers 40% of their damages. Insurers routinely overstate the victim’s share, which is one reason not to give a recorded statement.

A claim with clear fault and finished treatment can settle in three to six months. Cases with serious injuries, disputed fault or several insurers take longer, and a case that is filed in court commonly takes one to two years. We do not rush a settlement before your doctors know whether you will need future care.

Yes. Beverly Law’s intake team, case managers and attorneys work in Spanish and English every day. Your calls, texts, WhatsApp messages and documents can all be in Spanish, and this page has a Spanish version (the ES button at the top).

Beverly Law is at 4929 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 960, Los Angeles, CA 90010, in Mid-Wilshire. You can come in by appointment, or we can handle everything by phone, video and WhatsApp — many clients never need to visit. Call 1 (877) 427-2752 any time.