Orlando Truck Accident Attorneys
Personal Injury Representation for 18-Wheeler, Semi-Truck & Big Rig Crashes in Orange County
Semi-trucks and 18-wheelers 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 tractor-trailer and other 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.
Our mission is to fill you with confidence about your case so that you can move forward. Call (888) 979-4941 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation with a truck accident attorney in Orlando today.
Federal Trucking Regulations & How We Use Them to Build Your Case
Every semi-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%, 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 18-wheeler 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 big rigs 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, and in truck cases, that training goes to a specific question: what the vehicle was physically capable of doing. A loaded tractor-trailer needs substantially more room to stop than the passenger car beside it, and an air brake system introduces a lag before the brakes engage at all. Whether a driver could have avoided a collision, and whether the load or the maintenance history made that harder, are engineering questions before they are legal ones. 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.
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Legally Pink Law are personable, extremely knowledgeable, & professional.
“Carolyn and Lisa are amazing. I cannot give enough praise.”- Shannon M. -
Professional, compassionate, and truly committed to getting results.
“Carolyn and her team went above and beyond to make sure every detail of my case was handled with care. They took the time to explain everything to me, kept me updated throughout the entire process, and never made me feel rushed or overlooked.”- Katelyn J. -
I appreciate them with love & respect & I salute them with honor.
“They took my case and did exactly what they told me at the beginning of all the caring, support, and kindness towards me. They won my case when no others would take it at all.”- Ali M.
Your Questions, Answered
Get Clear, Straightforward Answers from Experienced Personal Injury Attorneys
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Semi-truck and 18-wheeler cases involve federal regulations, multiple insurers, and parties whose legal teams begin building a defense immediately after the crash. An experienced tractor-trailer accident lawyer in Orlando knows how to gather and preserve the evidence those teams can try to minimize, negotiate with carriers and their insurers, and pursue litigation when a fair settlement isn't offered. At Legally Pink Law, we handle only personal injury law, so every truck accident client receives our full attention from the first call through resolution.
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Under Florida law as amended in 2023, the statute of limitations for personal injury claims is 2 years from the date of the accident. If your accident occurred before March 24, 2023, a different deadline may apply. Acting promptly matters regardless: evidence degrades, witnesses become harder to locate, and black box data can be overwritten. Reviewing the dos and don'ts of filing an insurance claim is a useful starting point, but consulting with an attorney as soon as possible is the most reliable way to protect your rights.
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Victims may pursue compensation for current and future medical expenses, lost wages, reduced earning capacity, pain and suffering, and property damage. In cases involving egregious conduct, punitive damages may also be available. When a big rig accident results in a fatality, surviving family members may pursue a wrongful death claim covering funeral costs, lost financial support, and loss of companionship.
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Liability is established by reviewing driver logs, black box (event data recorder) data, maintenance records, cargo loading procedures, and the trucking company's hiring and training history. Eyewitness accounts and accident reconstruction analysis also play important roles. Because multiple parties can share fault, the investigation must examine every layer of the commercial trucking operation involved in your crash.
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Call 911 and get medical attention, even if you don't feel seriously hurt. Some injuries, such as traumatic brain injuries and internal damage, aren't immediately apparent. Document the scene with photographs, collect the driver's information and the trucking company's name, and don't give a recorded statement to any insurer before speaking with an attorney. Contact an Orlando truck accident attorney as soon as possible to protect your right to compensation.
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.
Common causes of these 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.
Florida's No-Fault System & Truck Accident Claims
Florida's no-fault insurance system means your personal injury protection (PIP) coverage pays for your medical expenses and a portion of lost wages first, regardless of who caused the crash. For minor collisions, that's manageable. Tractor-trailer accidents are rarely minor. When injuries exceed PIP limits, which they often do in semi-truck and 18-wheeler crashes, victims must step outside the no-fault system and file a personal injury claim directly against the at-fault parties.
Florida's modified comparative negligence rule, updated in 2023, adds another layer: if you're found 51% or more at fault for the crash, you can't recover damages. If your share of fault falls below that threshold, your recovery is reduced proportionally. Trucking companies know this, and their insurers routinely push to attribute partial fault to victims as a way to reduce payouts.
Trucking companies carry substantially higher insurance coverage than private drivers, which means more money on the table and more aggressive legal teams protecting it. Multiple parties, the driver, the trucking company, a leasing company, a cargo loader, and parts manufacturers, may carry separate policies. We investigate every policy, handle all insurer communications on your behalf, and make sure no avenue for compensation goes unexplored.
Talk to an Orlando Truck Accident Lawyer at No Cost
If you or a family member was injured in a crash involving a semi-truck, 18-wheeler, big rig, or any commercial vehicle in the Orlando area, don't wait to get legal guidance. The trucking company's insurer is already working the case. We can be too. Legally Pink Law offers free, confidential case evaluations with no obligation and no attorney fees unless we win or recover compensation. Our attorneys are available 24/7, and every client works directly with their attorney at every stage of the case.
Call (888) 979-4941 today to speak with an Orlando truck accident attorney and learn more about your legal options, or contact us online.
