Orlando Truck Accident Attorneys
Personal Injury Representation for 18-Wheeler, Semi-Truck & Big Rig Crashes
Commercial trucks weighing up to 80,000 pounds don’t share the road on equal terms with passenger vehicles. When a tractor-trailer or big rig collides with a car, the results are often catastrophic: severe injuries, mounting medical costs, and lost income that pile up while the trucking company’s insurer works quickly to limit what they pay out. Truck accidents are among the most complex personal injury cases we handle, and we treat them that way.
At Legally Pink Law, we represent Orlando-area victims of commercial truck crashes exclusively in personal injury law, meaning your case won’t compete for attention with unrelated matters. We’re available 24/7, offer free confidential case evaluations, and work on a contingency fee basis: you pay nothing unless we win.
Our mission is to fill you with confidence about your case so that you can move forward. Call today for a free initial case evaluation and begin pursuing your truck accident claim.
Federal Trucking Regulations & How We Use Them to Build Your Case
Every commercial truck accident investigation starts with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the federal agency that sets the safety standards all commercial carriers must follow. FMCSA rules limit drivers to 11 hours of driving within any 14-hour window and require a 30-minute break after every 8 hours behind the wheel. Commercial drivers are held to a blood alcohol concentration limit of 0.04 percent, half the standard for non-commercial drivers. Weight limits, cargo securement requirements, hazardous materials training, and mandatory maintenance schedules all carry the force of federal law.
When these rules aren’t followed, crashes happen. Many truck accidents involve at least one safety violation, and identifying that violation is how liability gets established.
The FMCSA regulations we investigate in every case include:
- Hours-of-Service Limits: Drivers exceeding allowable driving hours face sharply elevated fatigue risk; we pull driver logs to verify compliance.
- Weight Restrictions: Overloaded trucks compromise braking distance and mechanical stability.
- Cargo Securement: Improperly balanced or unsecured freight can cause rollovers or road debris incidents.
- Hazardous Materials Training: Drivers carrying toxic or flammable cargo must meet additional certification requirements.
- Vehicle Maintenance: Deferred inspections and skipped maintenance create brake failures, tire blowouts, and other mechanical hazards.
Our founder, Carolyn Salzmann, holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering, a credential that directly shapes how she approaches truck accident cases. She analyzes velocity, angles of impact, and the mechanical forces involved in how a crash unfolded in ways many personal injury attorneys can’t replicate. We collect driver logs, trucking company records, black box data (formally called event data recorder information), and witness statements to demonstrate how an FMCSA violation contributed to your crash and build the strongest possible claim.
Common Causes of Truck Accidents in Orlando
Orange County recorded 2,747 commercial vehicle crashes in 2022, resulting in 1,032 injuries and 15 deaths, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Behind those numbers are identifiable causes, and identifying the cause of your specific crash is the first step toward determining who is liable.
Leading causes of truck accidents include:
- Excessive speed
- Distracted or drowsy driving
- Drunk or drug-impaired driving
- Insufficient training or supervision by the trucking company
- Reckless driving by the truck driver or other motorists
- Brake failure or tire blowouts from deferred maintenance
- Improper cargo loading causing load shifts or rollovers
- Poor judgment or failure to observe traffic rules
- Unsafe passing practices
Driver error is the most common cause, but individual mistakes often reflect systemic failures by the trucking company: unrealistic delivery schedules, inadequate hiring standards, or pressure to skip required rest breaks. Identifying the root cause determines whether liability rests with the driver, the trucking company, a cargo loader, a parts manufacturer, or some combination of all of them.
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Contact our Orlando truck accident lawyers 24/7 for immediate legal assistance. Call (888) 979-4941 to get started on your claim.
Have Questions? GET ANSWERS
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What types of damages can I claim?
In all cases, there are two general categories of damages – economic damages and non-economic damages. You can be compensated for both past and future economic and non-economic damages.
Economic damages are things such as wage loss, mileage expense to go to doctor appointments, prescription costs, co-pays on insurance, over-the-counter medications, diminution in value to your car, etc. The other category is non-economic damages, which may include things such as pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, emotional distress, etc.
The non-economic damages are often greater than the economic damages if the injuries are significant enough. Consult with an attorney for a full explanation of these types of damages.
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Are there deadlines for filing claims?
Yes. Under Florida law, there are very specific, detailed deadlines to file claims. If you do not meet these deadlines, you may be forever barred from bringing your claim forward.
These time restrictions are known as statutes of limitations, and they vary depending on the type of claim you are bringing. It is critical that you consult with an attorney as soon as possible after your incident so you can receive good legal advice on the time limits for filing a personal injury claim.
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How can I recover lost wages?
Wage loss is paid out under your Personal Injury Protection benefit, which happens to be mandatory coverage for auto insurance in the State of Florida. There are exceptions, such as when you elected to have your wage loss reimbursement excluded on your Personal Injury Protection (PIP) benefit when you obtained your policy.
Normally, people who have their wage loss benefits excluded are those who are not employed for some reason or another. You can also elect to have a standard PIP (which covers wage loss at 60%) or extended PIP (which covers wage loss at 80%).
You will need to provide proof of income in the form of a paycheck stub, income tax return, or some other verifiable means. The remaining percentage of your wage loss not covered by your PIP insurance will become part of your claim against the defendant driver.
When cases do not involve PIP coverage, the wage loss becomes part of the demand to the at-fault party. In most cases, proof of lost income is rather simple if the injured person receives a paycheck. For our clients who are self-employed, we work very closely with them to help them assemble the necessary documentation to prove the wage loss claim. Tax returns can be helpful in instances where clients are self-employed.
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How can I recover my out-of-pocket expenses?
Out-of-pocket expenses are always made part of your claim and are part of your economic damages that we seek to recover from the at-fault party. When your claim is presented to the at-fault party, we include your out-of-pocket expenses as part of the demand package.
If your case does not settle in what we call the "pre-suit phase," then your case will proceed to court where we will ask a jury for your out-of-pocket expenses as part of your economic damages on the verdict form.
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Will my insurance premiums increase if I report an accident to my insurance company?
Your insurance premiums should not go up if you are not at fault for the accident. It will be part of your insurance record, but if you are not at fault, your premiums should not increase.
In most situations, your own insurance company will go after the insurance company that insures the at-fault party to recover the costs it may have paid to you for things such as car repairs or additional medical expenses.
