Ever been in a small fender bender?
You swap details, call your insurance and move on. Simple.
A semi-truck crash is a completely different animal.
If you’ve ever wondered what happens when an 80,000-pound big rig crashes into your everyday passenger vehicle, think bigger. Bigger injuries. More rules. More paperwork. And considerably more money. According to federal data, the average fatal large-truck crash costs $15 million.
The good news?
After learning why these crashes hurt so differently you can safeguard yourself and react accordingly.
Fact: Filing a commercial truck insurance claim is not like filing a regular car insurance claim. More people, higher policy limits and a team whose only goal is to pay you pennies on the dollar. That’s why many people choose to hire a truck accident lawyer to fight the trucking company and its insurance company on their behalf. It’s never a good position to be in when you find yourself square off against a commercial insurance adjuster.
Table of Contents
Here’s what’s ahead:
- Why Size And Weight Change Everything
- The Many People Who Could Be At Fault
- The Strict Rules Truckers Must Follow
- Why The Evidence Vanishes Fast
- The Commercial Truck Insurance Claim Maze
- Why The Payouts Are So Much Higher
Why Size And Weight Change Everything
The maximum loaded weight of a semi is 80,000 pounds. Regular car? Approximately 4,000 pounds.
That’s roughly 20x heavier.
So when they collide physics are violently unfair. Those inside the smaller vehicle are usually the losers.
It’s also why truck accidents result in more severe injuries than your run-of-the-mill car accident. That means broken bones, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries and things of that nature. Serious injuries also equal higher medical costs, extended recovery periods and significantly more complex claims.
Tiny dent in truck could equal totaled car — long hospital stay for driver.
The Many People Who Could Be At Fault
In a typical car accident scenario, liability is generally quite straightforward. Driver A rear-ended driver B. Simple.
Truck crashes are messy.
Consider this: every truck has an entire team of employees and companies behind it. Any single one of them could be partially responsible:
- The truck driver themselves
- The trucking company that employs them
- The company that owns the trailer
- The business that loaded the cargo
- The mechanic who serviced the truck
- Even the company that made a faulty part
Determining who did what is a monumental task. And each side typically has their own insurance company and their own attorneys. That means one accident can involve multiple concurrent lawsuits.
Pretty wild, right?
The Strict Rules Truckers Must Follow
Truck drivers and trucking companies aren’t held to the same standards as everyone else.
DOT drivers must adhere to an extensive manual of federal rules issued by FMCSA. Some of which include:
- How many hours a driver can be on the road
- How the cargo must be loaded and secured
- How often the truck is inspected and serviced
- Drug and alcohol testing for the drivers
The violation of any one of these rules can shift liability. If a driver missed a mandated rest period, or if a company insisted on an unrealistic delivery timetable that encouraged unsafe driving, they may be liable for the entire accident.
But here’s the catch…
In order to recognize when they’ve been violated, you must first be aware that these rules exist. The average everyday driver is unaware. That’s another reason these cases are so difficult to sort out.
Why The Evidence Vanishes Fast
This part surprises a lot of people…
Today’s trucks just swim in data. Every truck has what amounts to a “black box” that tracks speed, braking and hours driven. Throw in driver logbooks, GPS info, inspection reports and maintenance records…
All of this evidence is excellent for showing what actually occurred on the scene.
The problem?
The trucking company typically owns it. Plus they are not always eager to turn it over. Some of those records can even be destroyed after a period of time.
That’s why timeliness is so important. The more time that passes, the more evidence can silently vanish — and the harder it is to prove your commercial truck insurance claim.
The Commercial Truck Insurance Claim Maze
Here’s where things get really different.
A typical driver may have around $30,000 in coverage. Commercial trucks are different animals altogether. Federal regulations mandate most big rigs to have at least $750,000 in liability coverage — and many have millions.
That sounds like great news for victims, right?
Not so fast.
Larger policies represent a lot more money the insurance company can lose. They will litigate these claims vigorously, as they would not be a standard claim. They have whole departments of adjusters and lawyers fighting to preserve that cash.
A commercial truck insurance claim also has more moving parts than a regular one:
- Several insurance policies from different parties
- Strict deadlines and mountains of paperwork
- Investigators sent to the scene almost immediately
- Pressure to settle fast for less than you deserve
Here’s a tip…Never take the first offer on a commercial truck insurance claim. It will almost always be way too low.
Why The Payouts Are So Much Higher
Because truck crashes cause worse injuries, the costs climb quickly.
Federal data shows the average injury crash with a large truck costs $326,810. This number includes medical expenses, lost earnings, property damage and more.
Standard car accidents rarely come anywhere close to that.
Add up all those serious injuries. Factor in all those at-fault drivers and their big, money-making policies…and you’ll soon understand both the value of a commercial truck insurance claim and why they fight so hard!
Putting The Pieces Together
A semi-truck accident is not merely an oversized car wreck. It’s a different animal altogether.
Here’s a quick recap of the 6x reasons why:
- The sheer size and weight cause far worse injuries
- Several people and companies can share the blame
- Strict federal rules add another layer to every case
- Key evidence can disappear fast if you don’t act quickly
- A commercial truck insurance claim is bigger and harder to win
- The payouts are far higher than a regular car crash
So if you’re ever caught up in one of these wrecks, remember this…
Don’t think you’ve just got yourself in a car accident. You’ve got something much bigger than that. Act accordingly. Act quickly and get yourself the proper assistance you need to protect yourself and your family.
