Pompano Beach Truck Accident Lawyer

A tractor-trailer running fully loaded weighs up to 80,000 pounds, roughly twenty times a passenger car. When one of them comes off I-95 at Copans Road or turns wide onto Powerline, the people in the smaller vehicle absorb nearly all of the force. Jacobson Injury Firm represents drivers, passengers, and families across Broward County in commercial vehicle claims.

The carrier’s insurer will have investigators working the scene within hours, sometimes before you have left the emergency room. Attorney Adam Jacobson handles every case personally, never passing it down to a case manager. Contact us today for a free consultation, and see our full Pompano Beach personal injury practice for related claims.

The Evidence Clock Starts the Day of the Crash

Truck evidence disappears quickly, and the exact deadlines matter because federal law sets them. Under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, a carrier is only obligated to keep records for a defined period. Once that period runs, destroying the file is lawful.

• Driver logs and supporting documents: six months. Records of duty status, dispatch records, bills of lading, fuel receipts, and toll records fall under 49 CFR 395.8(k).
• Electronic logging device data: six months. The backup copy requirement sits at 49 CFR 395.22. ELD systems capture duty status, location, speed, and braking, which is the material that answers whether the driver was fatigued or accelerating into the collision.
• Vehicle maintenance and inspection records: one year in service, plus six months after the vehicle leaves the fleet, under 49 CFR 396.3.
• Accident register: three years. Every carrier must log its reportable crashes under 49 CFR 390.15. That register shows whether this driver or this company has a pattern.
• Driver qualification file: employment plus three years. Application, driving record reviews, and medical certification live in Part 391.
• Drug and alcohol testing records: one to five years under Part 382, with positive results held the full five.

The six-month window on driver logs is the one that decides cases. A claim brought eight months after a crash may find the single most important piece of evidence lawfully gone. A preservation letter sent early freezes those records and creates consequences if the carrier destroys them anyway. That letter is the first thing we send, and sending it is the reason to call before the file goes cold.

Why Choose Jacobson Injury Firm for Your Pompano Beach Truck Accident Claim?

Command of the Federal Rules That Govern Trucking

A commercial claim runs on two bodies of law at once. Federal regulations administered by the FMCSA set hours of service, inspection duties, driver qualification, and drug testing, and a violation of any of them is evidence of negligence. Florida law then decides fault and damages, including the modified comparative fault standard under Florida Statute 768.81, which bars recovery once a claimant carries more than half the blame. Carriers push that percentage hard, so how comparative fault is argued frequently decides the outcome.

Public FMCSA safety records also let us see a carrier’s inspection and violation history before we ever send discovery. Claims arising in Pompano Beach proceed through the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in Broward County.

Demonstrated Results for Injured Clients

The firm’s case results include a $478,000 truck accident recovery, its largest reported result to date. Truck claims reward preparation more than volume, because the defense arrives organized and well funded. Our client reviews describe how the firm communicates through that process.

No Attorney Fees Unless You Recover

Commercial vehicle claims at the firm proceed on contingency. You pay nothing at the outset, and we advance the cost of reconstruction, records, and expert review. If there is no recovery, there is no fee.

Key Components of a Pompano Beach Truck Accident Claim

Establishing Negligence and Regulatory Violations

A claim requires duty, breach, causation, and damages. Negligence in a commercial case often traces to a specific regulation: driving past the hours limit, skipping a pre-trip inspection, or operating with a known defect. Physical evidence at the scene supports the reconstruction, and camera footage from businesses along the corridor can settle a disputed account if it is requested before it is overwritten.

Identifying Every Liable Party

Rarely is the driver the only defendant. The motor carrier answers for its employee and for its own hiring, training, and supervision decisions. A separate company may have loaded the cargo. A maintenance contractor may have certified a brake system that failed. A broker or shipper may have set a schedule no driver could meet legally. Florida’s dangerous instrumentality doctrine adds another route, holding a vehicle owner responsible for a permissive driver’s negligence, and Florida Statute 324.021 governs how far that liability reaches. Each additional defendant brings another policy.

Finding the Right Insurance Policy

This is where truck claims separate from car claims, and where the numbers get large. A truck operating only within Florida falls under Florida Statute 627.7415, which sets minimum combined liability coverage by weight: $50,000 for a vehicle between 26,000 and 35,000 pounds, $100,000 between 35,000 and 44,000 pounds, and $300,000 at 44,000 pounds and above.

A carrier operating across state lines answers to federal minimums instead. Under 49 CFR Part 387, a freight vehicle of 10,001 pounds or more carrying non-hazardous property must hold at least $750,000. Certain hazardous materials loads require $5,000,000, and passenger carriers seating sixteen or more require $5,000,000 as well. Determining whether the truck that hit you was interstate or intrastate can therefore change the available coverage by hundreds of thousands of dollars, and it is one of the first things we establish.

Meeting the 14-Day Treatment Deadline

Your own personal injury protection still applies even though a commercial vehicle caused the crash, and it carries the same trap. Florida Statute 627.736 forfeits PIP benefits entirely unless you obtain initial medical care within 14 days. The benefit pays 80 percent of reasonable medical expenses and 60 percent of lost wages, and it drops from $10,000 to $2,500 without an emergency medical condition diagnosis. In a truck case those figures are consumed almost immediately, but losing them for nothing is avoidable.

Crossing the Permanent Injury Threshold

Florida permits recovery of pain and suffering from an at-fault driver only where the injury meets one of four categories under Florida Statute 627.737: significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function, permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement, or death. Commercial collisions clear that threshold more often than ordinary crashes, but documenting permanency through treating physicians still decides how the claim is valued.

Proving Medical Damages Under the 2023 Rules

Florida rewrote the evidence rules for medical damages in Florida Statute 768.0427, requiring disclosure of letters of protection and the referral relationships behind them, and changing what a jury sees regarding amounts billed against amounts paid. Where and how a client treats now shapes claim value from the first appointment rather than at settlement.

Pursuing Punitive Damages Where the Conduct Warrants

Some commercial cases involve more than carelessness. Falsified logbooks, a positive post-crash drug test, or a carrier that kept a driver on the road after repeated violations can support punitive damages. Florida Statute 768.72 does not allow those damages to be pleaded at will. A court must first find a reasonable evidentiary basis, which means the underlying proof has to exist before the claim can even be raised, and that proof usually sits in the records subject to the six-month clock.

Acting Within Two Years

Florida shortened the negligence deadline from four years to two in March 2023 under Florida Statute 95.11. Our statute of limitations resource explains how the clock runs. Where a government-owned vehicle is involved, Florida Statute 768.28 adds written pre-suit notice to the agency and the Department of Financial Services.

“Excellent service and results. Attorney Jacobson was professional, responsive, and truly cared about my case. They explained everything clearly and delivered great results.”

Isaac M.

Why Pompano Beach Sees So Much Truck Traffic

Pompano Beach sits on the freight spine of southeast Florida. I-95 and the Florida Turnpike both run through the city, and cargo moving north out of Port Everglades passes directly through it. The industrial corridor along Powerline Road and the warehouse district near Copans Road and NW 15th Street generate constant local delivery and container traffic, which then merges onto Atlantic Boulevard and Sample Road alongside ordinary commuters. The FLHSMV crash dashboard tracks these collisions for Broward County, the Florida Department of Transportation publishes the underlying safety data, and the City of Pompano Beach continues redesigning several of these intersections in response.

Types of Truck Accident Claims We Handle in Pompano Beach

Underride Collisions

A smaller vehicle slides beneath the trailer, and the passenger compartment takes the impact directly. Research from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has repeatedly shown that side and rear guards reduce these deaths, which makes guard condition and compliance a live question in the case.

Jackknife and Rollover Crashes

Braking too hard or cornering too fast folds the trailer against the cab or puts the rig on its side, frequently blocking several lanes and involving multiple vehicles. Load distribution, brake maintenance, and speed relative to conditions all come under examination.

Wide Turn and Blind Spot Collisions

A tractor-trailer swings left before turning right, and a driver alongside has nowhere to go. Large trucks also carry blind zones along both sides, directly in front, and well behind the trailer, and a lane change made without clearing them is a straightforward regulatory failure.

Tire Blowouts and Equipment Failure

A failed tire or brake system at highway speed can bring exposure for the carrier, the maintenance provider, and sometimes the component manufacturer. Inspection records determine which, which is why the one-year retention period on maintenance files matters.

Cargo Shift and Unsecured Loads

Improperly secured freight changes how a truck handles and can spill across a roadway. Federal cargo securement standards apply, and the loading company may carry liability separate from the carrier.

Fatigued and Impaired Driving

Hours-of-service limits exist because fatigue impairs reaction time in measurable ways. Logs, dispatch records, and fuel receipts frequently contradict the hours a driver reports, and that contradiction is often the strongest evidence in the case.

We also represent people hurt in car accidents and motorcycle crashes involving commercial vehicles, and we handle catastrophic injury and wrongful death claims arising from them. See all practice areas, or read about our Delray Beach truck accident work.

What to Do After a Truck Accident in Pompano Beach

• Get medical care within 14 days without exception, even if you believe you escaped serious harm.
• Photograph the truck’s markings before it is moved. The USDOT number, the carrier name, and the trailer number identify who is responsible and whether the carrier operates interstate. Evidence at the scene cannot be recreated.
• Call law enforcement and obtain the crash report number. Reports are available through the FLHSMV crash portal, and incidents in the city are typically handled by the Broward Sheriff’s Office.
• Collect witness contact details at the scene, because commercial crashes often have several and none of them will still be there later.
• Say nothing recorded to the carrier’s insurer or its investigator until you have spoken with a lawyer. Our guide to insurance companies explains why their early contact is not a courtesy.
• Call a lawyer within days rather than weeks, so a preservation letter reaches the carrier while the driver logs still exist. Then follow your treatment plan without gaps, since those gaps become causation arguments later in the case timeline, and document broken bones, back injuries, and soft tissue injuries

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do I have to file a truck accident lawsuit in Florida?

Two years from the date of the crash for most negligence claims, reduced from four years in March 2023. The practical deadline is much shorter, because carriers may lawfully destroy driver logs and electronic logging data six months after the records were created. Waiting even a few months can cost you the evidence that proves the case.

Who can be held liable in a truck accident?

Often several parties. The driver, the motor carrier that employed them, the company that loaded the cargo, a maintenance contractor, a broker or shipper that set an impossible schedule, and sometimes a parts manufacturer. Florida also holds vehicle owners responsible for permissive drivers. Each additional defendant brings another insurance policy into the claim.

How much insurance do trucking companies carry in Florida?

It depends on whether the carrier operates interstate. A truck running only within Florida must carry between $50,000 and $300,000 in combined liability coverage depending on weight. A carrier crossing state lines must hold at least $750,000 for a freight vehicle over 10,001 pounds, with $5,000,000 required for certain hazardous loads. Establishing which category applies is one of the first steps in the case.

What is a spoliation or preservation letter?

It is a formal demand that the carrier preserve specific records and the vehicle itself. Once sent, destroying that material carries consequences in the litigation. Since federal rules only require six-month retention of driver logs and electronic logging data, the letter is often the difference between having proof of fatigue and having none.

Does my PIP still apply if a commercial truck hit me?

Yes. Your own personal injury protection pays first regardless of who caused the crash, and the 14-day treatment deadline still applies. Miss it and the coverage is forfeited entirely. PIP will not go far against truck accident injuries, but the shortfall is recovered from the carrier’s liability coverage rather than absorbed by you.

Can I sue if I was partly at fault?

Yes, provided your share does not exceed 50 percent. Your recovery is reduced by your percentage, and more than 50 percent bars recovery entirely. Carriers and their insurers push that number hard in commercial cases, which is why reconstruction evidence matters so much.

Can I recover punitive damages against a trucking company?

Sometimes, but not automatically. Florida requires a court to find a reasonable evidentiary basis before punitive damages may even be pleaded. Falsified logs, a positive post-crash drug test, or a carrier that kept a driver working after repeated violations can support the claim, and that proof usually sits in records subject to the six-month clock.

How much is my truck accident case worth?

Value depends on the severity and permanence of your injuries, your medical costs and lost income, whether you cross the permanent injury threshold, how many liable parties exist, the coverage available, and your share of fault. Commercial claims typically carry higher value than ordinary crashes because the injuries and the policies are both larger.

Should I talk to the trucking company’s insurance adjuster?

Not before speaking with a lawyer. Carrier insurers deploy investigators within hours and their early contact is part of building a defense. Anything recorded can be used to shift fault onto you, and Florida’s comparative fault rule gives them a strong reason to try.

How long does a truck accident case take?

Longer than a typical car accident claim. Multiple defendants, federal records, and expert reconstruction extend the timeline, and one to two years is common where liability is contested. Cases with clear liability and adequate coverage can resolve sooner once treatment is complete.

Speak With a Pompano Beach Truck Accident Lawyer

Every week that passes brings the six-month records deadline closer while the carrier’s team keeps building its file. Reach out today to speak directly with Adam Jacobson, so a preservation letter goes out while the evidence still exists. Consultations are free and you pay nothing unless we recover for you. Call (561) 567-7163 or send us a message. The firm also serves Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, and West Palm Beach, with the full list on our areas we serve page a