A collision with a commercial truck is not a bigger car accident. The vehicle is heavier, the injuries are worse, and the party on the other side is usually not an individual driver but a company with an insurer, a safety department and, frequently, an investigator on the road within hours.
That speed of response is the single most important thing to understand. By the time most people have finished being treated, the trucking company has already gathered its version of what happened.
The Evidence That Decides These Cases Has an Expiry Date
Commercial trucks generate records passenger cars do not, and those records are what turn a disputed case into a clear one:
- Electronic logging data showing hours of service, which is how fatigue violations surface.
- The engine control module, which captures speed, braking and throttle in the seconds before impact.
- Driver qualification and drug-testing files, maintenance records and inspection reports.
- Dashcam and telematics footage, where the carrier runs it.
- Dispatch messages, GPS data and fuel receipts, which show where the truck was supposed to be, and when.
Federal rules only require carriers to retain some of this for limited periods, and routine business practice overwrites much of the rest. Duty-status records and their supporting documents must be kept for six months (49 C.F.R. 395.8(k)(1)). Engine data and camera footage last only as long as the carrier’s own systems keep them.
What a Preservation Letter Asks For
A preservation letter sent early is often what separates a provable claim from one that comes down to two conflicting accounts. It goes to the carrier and its insurer and lists what must be kept: the ECM download, ELD and dispatch records, video, the driver’s files, and inspection and repair records. It also asks that the truck not be repaired before it is inspected. Destroying evidence after notice of a claim can bring court sanctions.
Federal Safety Rules Set the Baseline
Interstate trucks operate under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. A violation does not decide a case by itself, but it is often the clearest evidence that a driver or carrier cut a corner that mattered. Four parts come up most:
- Hours of service (Part 395). A property-carrying driver may drive no more than 11 hours, may not drive past the 14th hour after coming on duty, and must take a 30-minute break after 8 hours of driving (49 C.F.R. 395.3).
- Electronic logging devices. Most carriers must have drivers record duty status on an ELD (49 C.F.R. 395.8(a)). Because the device is tied to the engine, its records are harder to adjust than paper logs.
- Driver qualification (Part 391). Carriers must keep a file on every driver, including the application, driving-record checks and medical certificate, for the length of employment plus three years (49 C.F.R. 391.51). A lapsed medical card points at the company, not only the driver.
- Inspection and maintenance (Part 396). Carriers must systematically inspect, repair and maintain every vehicle they control (49 C.F.R. 396.3). Brake and tire defects can appear in drivers’ daily inspection reports well before a crash.
More Than One Party May Be Responsible
In an ordinary crash you are usually dealing with one at-fault driver and one policy. In a truck case the potentially responsible parties can include the driver, the motor carrier, a freight broker or shipper, the company that loaded the trailer, a maintenance contractor, and the owner of the trailer if it is separate from the tractor.
The Driver and the Carrier
An employer is generally answerable for an employee’s negligence on the job, a rule known as respondeat superior. A carrier can also be liable for its own failures: hiring a driver it should have screened out, keeping one after warning signs, or setting schedules that cannot be met legally.
Carriers often call the driver an independent contractor. That label carries less weight in trucking. Federal leasing rules require the lease to give the carrier exclusive possession, control and use of the equipment and complete responsibility for its operation (49 C.F.R. 376.12(c)), and the safety rules count an independent contractor driving a commercial vehicle as an employee (49 C.F.R. 390.5). Courts have relied on these provisions, sometimes calling the carrier a “statutory employer,” though results depend on the facts and the court.
Brokers, Shippers, Loaders and Repair Shops
A freight broker may share responsibility if it chose a carrier it knew, or should have known, was unsafe. In Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, LLC (No. 24-1238, May 14, 2026), the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that federal law does not preempt that negligent-selection claim, because states keep their authority over motor vehicle safety. A shipper or loader can answer for an overweight or poorly secured load, and a repair shop for bad brake work.
This matters for a practical reason more than a legal one: more responsible parties usually means more available insurance, and commercial policies are written at limits far above the personal minimums.
The Insurance Behind a Commercial Truck
A for-hire interstate carrier hauling non-hazardous property in a vehicle rated at 10,001 pounds or more must carry at least $750,000 in liability coverage. The minimum rises to $1,000,000 for oil and many hazardous materials, and to $5,000,000 for certain bulk hazardous loads (49 C.F.R. 387.9). Intrastate and private fleets can fall under different rules.
If you were in a car, your own personal injury protection pays early medical bills and part of lost wages regardless of fault (see how PIP works in Utah). To claim pain and suffering from the trucking company, you generally need medical expenses over $3,000, or a fracture, permanent disability or impairment, permanent disfigurement, dismemberment or death (Utah Code 31A-22-309(1)). In the worst cases, underinsured motorist coverage can add to the carrier’s policy.
Punitive Damages Against a Carrier After May 6, 2026
For claims arising on or after May 6, 2026, a new statute bars holding an employer vicariously liable for punitive damages based solely on its driver’s conduct (Utah Code 78B-8-204). The injured person must show by clear and convincing evidence that the company itself acted willfully, maliciously or in reckless disregard of safety, authorized or approved the conduct, or was reckless in hiring or keeping the driver. That applies even when the driver was impaired.
So the focus shifts to what the carrier knew: a file full of violations, dispatch that required illegal hours, repair reports nobody acted on. Compensatory damages for medical bills, lost income and pain and suffering are unaffected; see damages in a Utah personal injury case.
Fault Still Gets Apportioned
Utah’s modified comparative fault rule under Utah Code 78B-5-818 applies here as it does anywhere else. Your recovery is reduced by your share of responsibility, and at 50% or more you recover nothing. Expect a well-resourced effort to move that percentage, particularly around speed, lane position and following distance.
The usual arguments: the car cut in and braked, the car sat in a blind spot, or a mechanical failure came out of nowhere. Each has a factual answer. ECM data shows speed and braking, video shows the lane change, and repair records show whether the “sudden” failure had been written up before.
What These Claims Are Worth
There is no reliable average. Settlements are private and are not compiled anywhere. Value turns on injury severity, how clearly the carrier is at fault, and how much coverage sits behind the vehicle.
West Injury Law has recovered $500,000 and $125,000 for truck collisions in Utah County, $225,000 in Salt Lake County and $50,000 in Washington County. Every case is different, and past results do not guarantee or predict the outcome of any future case. The range between those figures reflects how much the specific facts matter.
Spinal cord and brain injuries, amputations and severe burns usually call for a life-care plan and an analysis of lost future earnings; see catastrophic injury claims in Utah. When a crash is fatal, the family’s claim follows Utah’s wrongful death rules.
Deadlines, Including Government Trucks
Most Utah injury lawsuits must be filed within four years (Utah Code 78B-2-307), and a wrongful death action within two (Utah Code 78B-2-304). See Utah’s statute of limitations for injury claims for the exceptions.
If a UDOT snowplow or a city garbage truck hit you, a written notice of claim must be filed with the correct office within one year (Utah Code 63G-7-402). Suit cannot be filed until 60 days after the notice, and must be filed within two years after the claim arises (Utah Code 63G-7-403). Damages are capped by statute, the caps are adjusted periodically so the current figure has to be checked, and no punitive damages are allowed against the entity. More on crashes with government vehicles in Utah.
What to Do After a Truck Collision
- Call the police and make sure a report is generated. Commercial crashes often trigger additional reporting requirements, and that paperwork is useful to you.
- Photograph the tractor and trailer markings. The company name, USDOT number and trailer number identify who you are actually dealing with.
- Get medical care right away. A gap between the crash and the first visit is something insurers point to when they question an injury.
- Do not give a recorded statement to the carrier’s insurer. They will call quickly, often before you have seen a doctor.
- Get legal advice early, specifically about preservation. This is the one situation where waiting a few weeks can cost you the evidence.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I sue the trucking company if the driver was an independent contractor?
Often, yes. Leasing rules put the carrier in control of the equipment, and the carrier can be liable for its own hiring and maintenance failures.
Will the trucking company’s insurer pay my medical bills as they come in?
Usually not. A liability insurer generally pays once, at settlement or judgment. Until then, your own PIP coverage and health insurance pay as bills arrive.
What if a UDOT plow or a city truck hit me?
Treat the one-year notice-of-claim deadline as the real one. A call or letter to an adjuster does not count; the notice has to meet the statute and reach the designated office.
Talk to a Utah Truck Accident Attorney
If you were hit by a commercial truck in Utah, contact West Injury Law for a free case review by phone, video or in person. An attorney reviews every case at intake, and once you sign, the firm handles all communication with the insurance companies. You pay nothing up front, and no attorney fees unless we win. Every client can reach someone who speaks Spanish. You can also read more about how we handle truck accident claims in Salt Lake City, Ogden and St. George.