Truck accidents are among the most devastating collisions on San Francisco’s roads and highways. When a fully loaded big-rig, semi-truck, or commercial vehicle strikes a passenger car, the results are often catastrophic — severe injuries, permanent disability, or death. Trucking companies and their insurers have teams of lawyers working immediately to protect their interests. You need an experienced trial attorney doing the same for you.
I represent victims of truck and commercial vehicle accidents throughout San Francisco and the Bay Area. I have recovered over $25 million for injured clients and fight aggressively against trucking companies and their insurers for maximum compensation. Free consultation. No fee unless I win. Representation is available in English or Spanish — I am a bilingual personal injury lawyer and conduct full representation in either language without an interpreter.
Why Trucking Accident Cases Are Complex
Unlike standard car accident cases, trucking accidents involve multiple potentially liable parties, federal regulations, and large corporate defendants with substantial legal resources. Key complexities include federal Hours of Service regulations governing driver rest requirements, commercial vehicle maintenance and inspection records, electronic logging device (ELD) and black box data that must be preserved immediately, trucking company hiring and training records, cargo loading and weight distribution records, and multiple insurance policies covering the driver, truck owner, and cargo.
Acting fast is critical — trucking companies dispatch investigators to accident scenes immediately to protect their interests. You need an attorney who moves just as quickly.
There is also a clock on a truck case that does not exist in an ordinary car case. Federal retention rules let a motor carrier destroy the driver logs, the supporting dispatch paperwork, and much of the electronic data on a schedule measured in months. A case that sits for a season can lose the proof that would have won it.
That is why the first calls in a truck case are not to the insurer. They are to the carrier and its insurer demanding that every category of evidence be preserved, and to the experts who can download an engine control module before the tractor is repaired, sold, or put back into service.
Common Causes of Truck Accidents in San Francisco
- Driver fatigue from violations of federal Hours of Service regulations
- Distracted driving — phone use, GPS, dispatch communications
- Speeding or following too closely on US-101, I-280, and I-80
- Improper lane changes on freeway on-ramps and off-ramps
- Overloaded or improperly secured cargo causing rollovers or spills
- Brake failures and mechanical defects from poor maintenance
- Wide turn accidents at San Francisco intersections
- Blind spot collisions — trucks have large no-zones on all four sides
- Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol
Federal Regulations That Govern Truck Drivers and Companies
One of the biggest advantages in trucking accident cases is the extensive paper trail federal law requires. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) mandates strict recordkeeping that becomes powerful evidence in your case:
Hours of Service (HOS) Regulations Truck drivers are limited in how many consecutive hours they can drive before mandatory rest periods. Violations — which are common and often deliberately concealed — are a leading cause of fatigue-related truck accidents. I subpoena electronic logging device (ELD) data, paper logs, and dispatch records to document violations.
Driver Qualification Files Trucking companies must maintain complete qualification files for every driver, including driving history, medical certificates, drug and alcohol testing records, and training documentation. A driver who should never have been hired or who had a history of violations represents direct evidence of company negligence.
Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance Records Commercial trucks must be inspected regularly and all maintenance documented. Brake failures, tire blowouts, and mechanical defects caused by deferred maintenance are the trucking company’s liability — and the records prove it.
Drug and Alcohol Testing FMCSA mandates pre-employment, random, post-accident, and reasonable suspicion drug and alcohol testing. A positive post-accident test — or records showing a company failed to test as required — is significant evidence of negligence.
Cargo Securement Standards Federal regulations govern exactly how cargo must be loaded, distributed, and secured. Overloaded trucks, improper weight distribution, and unsecured loads that shift in transit are violations that cause rollovers and accidents.
I issue litigation holds immediately upon retention to prevent destruction of these critical records — and I know exactly what to look for.
Where Truck Crashes Happen in San Francisco
San Francisco is not a trucking city the way Fresno or Sacramento are, and that is precisely the problem. Heavy commercial vehicles built for interstates are threaded through a dense nineteenth-century street grid with steep grades, blind corners, and constant pedestrian and bicycle traffic. The result is a small number of corridors that generate a disproportionate share of serious truck collisions.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s 2024 High Injury Network, drawn from 2020–2024 collision data, identifies 13 percent of city streets where 74 percent of the city’s serious traffic injuries and fatalities occur. The city’s truck routes overlap that network heavily.
- The I-80 approach to the Bay Bridge and the Fifth Street ramps. Merge-point collisions, sudden stops, and trailers that cannot slow at the same rate as the passenger cars around them.
- US-101 and the Central Freeway ramps at Mission, Duboce, and Octavia. Short ramps, tight radii, and trucks that swing wide through them.
- Bayshore Boulevard, Third Street, and the Illinois Street corridor. Port of San Francisco and industrial traffic mixing with the T-Third light rail line.
- I-280 and the Sixth Street and Mariposa ramps. Heavy container and construction traffic serving Mission Bay and Dogpatch.
- Downtown delivery corridors — Howard, Folsom, Harrison, and the alleys off Second and Fourth. This is where the box-truck and delivery-van cases come from, including Amazon delivery truck crashes, and where double-parked trucks force cyclists and motorcyclists into moving traffic.
- Steep-grade streets throughout the city. Brake failure and runaway loads are real in San Francisco in a way they are not in flat cities, and they point directly at maintenance records.
Drayage traffic moving to and from the Port of Oakland crosses the Bay Bridge in both directions all day. When one of those tractors is involved in a crash on the San Francisco side, the carrier, the trailer owner, the freight broker, and the shipper are frequently four different companies in three different states.
The Evidence That Disappears in Six Months
Under 49 CFR 395.8(k)(1), a motor carrier must retain its drivers’ records of duty status and the supporting documents “for a period of not less than 6 months from the date of receipt.” Six months. After that the carrier may lawfully destroy them — and many do, on a schedule, automatically.
The same is true across the rest of the evidence set. Electronic logging device data, engine control module and event data recorder downloads, dashcam and forward-facing camera footage, telematics and GPS breadcrumbs, dispatch records, bills of lading, weigh tickets, driver qualification files, drug and alcohol testing records, and maintenance and inspection histories all sit on retention schedules measured in months, not years.
The response is a spoliation letter — a formal written demand that the carrier and its insurer preserve every category of that evidence — sent within days of the crash, not months. If the letter goes out and the records are destroyed anyway, that destruction itself becomes evidence a jury can be instructed about. If no letter ever goes out, the records are simply gone and nobody is at fault.
This is also why the identity of the defendant matters early. Fleet cases have their own preservation paths: UPS truck accident claims run through a self-insured claims operation that responds quickly, while FedEx Ground contractor liability turns on the contract between the carrier and the route operator. Waiting to sort that out costs you the data.
What to Do After a Truck Crash in California
- Get emergency medical care and keep going back. Truck-crash injuries are frequently catastrophic and frequently under-documented in the first week, because the patient is in no condition to advocate for themselves.
- Capture the truck’s identifying information — the USDOT and MC numbers on the cab door, the carrier name, the trailer number, and the plates on both tractor and trailer. Photograph them. The name painted on the door is often not the company that employs the driver.
- Photograph everything at the scene, including the load, any spilled cargo, the tire condition, and the final rest positions of both vehicles.
- Get the police report number. SFPD for surface streets, CHP for the freeways. CHP reports on commercial vehicles often include an inspection component that becomes evidence.
- Say nothing to the carrier’s rapid-response team. Large carriers dispatch investigators and defense counsel to serious crash scenes within hours. They will arrive before you leave the hospital.
- Do not sign a medical authorization sent by the carrier’s insurer. It is almost always far broader than your claim.
- Call a lawyer inside the first week so a preservation letter can go out while the data still exists.
- Note the deadlines. Two years for personal injury under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1; six months for a claim against a public entity under Government Code section 911.2. Those are the litigation deadlines. The evidence deadline is much shorter.
Who Can Be Held Liable in a Truck Accident?
Trucking accident cases often involve multiple defendants including the truck driver, the trucking company, the truck owner if different from the company, the cargo loading company, the truck or parts manufacturer if a defect contributed, and the company responsible for truck maintenance. As an experienced San Francisco trucking accident lawyer, I investigate all potential defendants to maximize your recovery.
Delivery Truck Accidents: Amazon, FedEx, and UPS
Delivery vans and package trucks are their own category of commercial vehicle case, because each major carrier structures its driver relationships differently — and that structure decides who is liable for your injuries. Amazon delivery accidents typically involve independent Delivery Service Partner companies or Flex gig drivers rather than Amazon employees. FedEx truck accidents turn on whether the truck was FedEx Express (direct employees) or FedEx Ground (independent service provider contractors). UPS truck accidents involve direct company employees, making UPS itself answerable — but a hard-fought valuation battle. I handle all three, and identifying the correct corporate structure early is where these cases are won.
What Compensation Can You Recover?
You may be entitled to compensation for emergency medical care, surgery, and hospitalization, future medical costs including long-term rehabilitation and home care, lost wages and diminished earning capacity, pain and suffering, emotional distress and PTSD, permanent disability or disfigurement, wrongful death damages if a loved one was killed, and property damage.
Truck accidents are among the leading causes of subdural hematomas — a serious traumatic brain bleed that can cause permanent cognitive damage, personality changes, and an inability to return to work.
How Trucking Companies Fight Accident Claims — And How I Fight Back
Trucking companies are sophisticated defendants with dedicated accident response teams. Here is what happens the moment a serious truck accident occurs — and how I counter it:
The Trucking Company Dispatches Investigators Immediately Within hours of a serious accident, the trucking company’s insurer sends investigators, accident reconstructionists, and attorneys to the scene. Their goal is to document evidence in the light most favorable to the company before you have counsel. I move just as fast — issuing preservation letters, hiring my own reconstructionists, and securing evidence before it disappears.
They Destroy or Conceal Records ELD data, black box data, and driver logs can be overwritten or deleted within days. I issue litigation holds immediately upon retention demanding preservation of all electronic records. Courts take spoliation of evidence seriously — and I use it against them when it occurs.
They Blame the Victim Aggressive comparative fault arguments — that you were speeding, in a blind spot, or made an unsafe lane change — are standard tactics. I reconstruct the accident with independent experts to establish the true sequence of events and counter every fault allegation with evidence.
They Claim the Driver Was an Independent Contractor The independent contractor defense is common and often unsuccessful in California. I analyze the full relationship between driver and company — including dispatch control, equipment ownership, and exclusivity — to establish employer liability under California’s strict ABC test. I see this same defense raised constantly in Amazon delivery van accidents, where the driver is often technically employed by a Delivery Service Partner rather than Amazon itself — the same control-test analysis applies.
They Offer Fast, Low Settlements Early settlement offers to seriously injured victims are designed to close claims before the full extent of injuries and damages is understood. I advise every client: never accept an early offer from a trucking company insurer without experienced counsel reviewing the full value of your claim.
Common Questions About Trucking Accident Claims in San Francisco
Call 911 immediately and request medical attention even if you feel fine — truck accident injuries including spinal trauma and traumatic brain injury often present hours or days later. If physically able, photograph everything — the truck, trailer, cargo, license plates, USDOT number on the cab door, road conditions, skid marks, and your injuries — before anything is moved. Get the truck driver’s name, CDL number, trucking company name, and insurance information. Collect names and phone numbers of all witnesses. Contact me immediately — black box (ECM) data, electronic logging device (ELD) records, and dashcam footage can be overwritten within days if not formally preserved through legal action. Time is critical in trucking cases.
Trucking cases are significantly more complex. Commercial trucks are governed by Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations covering hours of service, weight limits, maintenance requirements, driver qualifications, and cargo securement. Violations of these regulations are powerful evidence of negligence. Trucking cases typically involve multiple liable parties — the driver, the trucking company, the cargo loader, the truck owner, and the manufacturer — each with their own insurance policies and legal teams. The evidence is also different — driver logs, inspection reports, maintenance records, and black box data must be subpoenaed quickly before they are altered or destroyed. These cases require an attorney with specific commercial vehicle litigation experience.
Generally two years from the date of your accident under California’s statute of limitations. However if a government entity is involved — such as a municipal vehicle, Caltrans truck, or road defect — the deadline may be as short as six months. More importantly, the practical deadline in trucking cases is much earlier — critical evidence like black box data, ELD records, and dashcam footage disappears within days or weeks. Contact me immediately after your accident so I can send a spoliation letter requiring the trucking company to preserve all evidence before it is destroyed.
Often yes — and California law makes this particularly favorable for victims. Under California’s AB5 law and the Borello test, trucking companies face a high legal bar to prove a driver is truly an independent contractor rather than an employee. Even when the driver is legitimately an independent contractor, the trucking company may still be liable under theories of negligent hiring, negligent entrustment, or negligent supervision. I analyze the full relationship between the driver and company to identify every avenue of liability and ensure you are not left with an underinsured or uninsured defendant.
Trucking cases routinely involve multiple defendants. Potentially liable parties include the truck driver for negligent operation, the trucking company for negligent hiring, supervision, or maintenance, the cargo loading company if improperly secured freight caused the crash, the truck or parts manufacturer if a mechanical defect contributed, and the government entity responsible for road maintenance if hazardous conditions played a role. Identifying every liable party is critical — truck accident damages are often catastrophic and a single defendant’s insurance policy may be insufficient to cover your full losses.
Truck accidents frequently cause catastrophic injuries due to the size and weight of commercial vehicles. Compensation can include emergency and ongoing medical treatment, future medical costs including long-term rehabilitation, lost wages, diminished earning capacity, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and permanent disability. Commercial trucking companies carry significantly larger insurance policies than individual drivers — often $750,000 to $1,000,000 or more — which means the potential recovery in a serious trucking case is substantially higher than a standard car accident claim. I offer free consultations to evaluate your specific situation.
Nothing upfront. I handle all trucking accident cases on a pure contingency-fee basis — you pay no attorney fees unless I recover compensation for you. No hourly charges, no upfront costs. My fee is a percentage of your final settlement or verdict, clearly explained in writing before you sign anything. If I don’t win, you don’t pay.
Interstate for-hire carriers hauling general freight in vehicles over 10,000 pounds must carry at least $750,000 in public liability coverage under 49 CFR Part 387, and $1 million is the common practical standard brokers and shippers require. Large fleets add excess layers above that. It is far more than the $30,000 per person California requires of passenger vehicles.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. Part 395 limits driving to 11 hours within a 14-hour on-duty window, requires a 30-minute break, and caps weekly hours at 60 in 7 days or 70 in 8. Part 391 sets driver qualification standards. Part 396 governs inspection, repair, and maintenance. California adds Vehicle Code section 34500 and the CHP’s Biennial Inspection of Terminals program. Violations of these rules often form the core of the negligence case.
No. Large carriers dispatch rapid-response teams to serious crash scenes within hours, and their job is to build the defense before you have a lawyer. You are not required to give them a recorded statement, sign a medical authorization, or answer their questions. Refer them to counsel.
Those cases have their own structure. Amazon routes most deliveries through Delivery Service Partners and argues the driver is not its employee. FedEx Ground uses contracted route operators. UPS self-insures and responds quickly. In each case the question is which entities can be reached, and the answer is usually more than one.
Serving Truck Accident Victims Throughout San Francisco and the Bay Area
Truck accidents on US-101, I-280, I-80, and San Francisco city streets affect victims throughout the region. Whether you were injured in the Richmond District, SoMa, near Civic Center, in the Marina District, Bernal Heights, the Sunset District, or anywhere in the Bay Area, I am ready to fight for you. View all areas I serve.
Insurance Reality: Why Truck Cases Are Different
An interstate for-hire carrier hauling general freight in a vehicle over 10,000 pounds must carry a minimum of $750,000 in public liability coverage under 49 CFR Part 387. In practice, brokers and shippers commonly require $1 million, and large fleets carry layered excess coverage above that.
Compare that to a passenger-car case, where California’s minimum liability limits — raised on January 1, 2025 by Senate Bill 1107 to $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident — often cap the recovery long before the medical bills are paid.
More coverage means more defense. A serious truck case draws a defense team, an accident reconstructionist, a biomechanical expert, and a claims professional whose job is to set a low reserve number early and defend it. Nothing about that process is passive. If the at-fault side’s coverage still does not reach your damages, your own underinsured motorist coverage under Insurance Code section 11580.2 becomes the next layer, and an underinsured motorist arbitration may be where the case is actually decided. California’s several-liability rule for non-economic damages under Civil Code section 1431.2 (Proposition 51) then determines how a multi-defendant verdict is apportioned.
Filing in San Francisco Superior Court
Truck cases that do not settle are filed at San Francisco Superior Court, 400 McAllister Street. Two practical realities shape strategy here.
First, San Francisco juries. In my experience they are receptive to catastrophic-injury plaintiffs and skeptical of large out-of-state carriers, which is why national defense firms often push hard for early mediation in San Francisco cases rather than trying them.
Second, venue fights. When the carrier is headquartered in Texas, the trailer is owned by an Illinois leasing company, and the broker is in New Jersey, the defense will look for a way out of San Francisco. Keeping the case here is itself a piece of case value.
If a public entity contributed — a defective signal, a dangerous roadway design, an unmarked trench, a Muni vehicle — the Government Claims Act applies. A written claim must be presented within six months under Government Code section 911.2, and under Government Code section 835 you must show the entity had actual or constructive notice of the dangerous condition with time to fix it.
Case Results
- $6 million — settlement for a pedestrian struck by a vehicle who suffered a traumatic brain injury
- $2.185 million — settlement in a traumatic brain injury case (pedestrian versus auto)
- $1.6 million — settlement for multiple severe fractures and long-term disability (pedestrian versus auto)
- $750,000 — arbitration award in an underinsured motorist claim involving mild traumatic brain injury
Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future case. Every case turns on its own facts.
Who I Fight For — and Who I Don’t
I take truck cases involving serious injury or death: catastrophic orthopedic injuries, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injury, and cases that become a wrongful death claim. Cases where a big rig, a box truck, a delivery van, or a construction vehicle was being operated by someone doing a job for someone else. Cases where the carrier and the driver and the broker are all pointing at each other. Cases where a worker was hurt on the job by a vehicle and workers’ compensation is not the end of the story.
I am not the right lawyer for every case. I do not defend carriers or drivers. I do not handle commercial vehicle citations or CSA score disputes. I do not take property-damage-only claims. And I take a limited number of cases at a time, because I handle every one of them personally rather than assigning it to an associate. If your case is not one I can move, you will hear that on the first call.
Why Choose Me
I have extensive trial experience fighting for injury victims against large corporations and insurance companies throughout San Francisco and the Bay Area. I have recovered over $25 million for clients, I am recognized as a Super Lawyer 2021–2026, I am bilingual in English and Spanish, and I handle every case personally. No fee unless I win.
Contact a San Francisco Trucking Accident Lawyer Today
Call (415) 851-4557 for a free consultation. Available 24/7. No fee unless I win.
Related Practice Areas
If you were injured in another type of accident, I can help. I also represent clients in Motorcycle Accidents, Bicycle Accidents, Amazon Delivery Truck Accidents, FedEx Truck Accidents, UPS Truck Accidents, and Car Accidents throughout San Francisco and the Bay Area.
About the Author
John J. Roach is a San Francisco personal injury trial attorney who has represented injury victims throughout the Bay Area since 2009, recovering more than $25 million in settlements, jury verdicts, and arbitration awards. He handles every case in the office personally and represents clients in English and Spanish without an interpreter.
Last reviewed: July 27, 2026
Sources cited on this page: 49 CFR Parts 387, 391, 395 and 396 (including 49 CFR 395.8(k)(1)); California Vehicle Code section 34500; Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1; Government Code sections 835 and 911.2; Civil Code section 1431.2; Insurance Code section 11580.2; California Senate Bill 1107 (2022), effective January 1, 2025; SFMTA 2024 High Injury Network.