Truck Accident Lawyer in Miami, Florida

A crash with a semi-truck, box truck or delivery van in Miami is not a bigger version of a car accident. The vehicle is regulated by federal rules, the carrier usually has a legal team on call, and the evidence that proves what happened sits inside the truck. Florida Injury Team connects people hurt in truck crashes across Miami-Dade County with an independent Florida law firm that handles these cases. The consultation is free, and you pay nothing unless the firm recovers money for you.

Where truck crashes happen in Miami-Dade

Miami-Dade moves an enormous amount of freight. PortMiami, the cargo terminals at Miami International Airport, and the warehouse districts of Doral, Medley and Hialeah Gardens put commercial trucks on the same roads as commuters all day. Crashes with commercial vehicles are concentrated on a handful of corridors:

• I-95 through downtown and the Golden Glades interchange
• SR 826, the Palmetto Expressway, especially the interchanges with SR 836 and I-75
• SR 836, the Dolphin Expressway, between the airport and downtown
• Florida’s Turnpike and the Homestead Extension
• US-27 / Okeechobee Road, the main truck route into the Medley warehouse district
• NW 25th Street and the airport cargo corridor in Doral

Local delivery trucks and cargo vans are also a daily presence in dense neighborhoods such as Brickell, Little Havana and Kendall, where lower-speed crashes with pedestrians and cyclists still cause serious injuries.

What federal and Florida law say about truck cases

Carriers that operate across state lines must follow the rules of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Hours-of-service limits cap a driver at 11 hours of driving after 10 consecutive hours off duty, inside a 14-hour window. Most commercial trucks must record that time on an electronic logging device (ELD). Interstate carriers of general freight must carry at least $750,000 in liability coverage, far more than Florida requires for a private car.

Florida law adds three rules that shape every Miami truck claim:

• Two-year deadline. Negligence claims for crashes on or after March 24, 2023 must generally be filed within two years.
• Modified comparative negligence. You can recover as long as you are not more than 50% at fault, and your award is reduced by your share of fault.
• No-fault PIP. Your own personal injury protection pays the first $10,000 of medical bills regardless of fault, but only if you are treated within 14 days. Truck-crash injuries usually exceed that limit fast, which is why the claim against the carrier matters.

What to do in the first days after the crash

1. Get evaluated, even if you feel able to walk away. Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital is the Level I trauma center serving Miami-Dade. Treatment within 14 days also protects your PIP benefits.
2. Get the crash report. Crashes on the expressways are usually worked by Florida Highway Patrol Troop E. Inside city limits the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office (formerly Miami-Dade Police) or the City of Miami Police respond. Reports are available through the FLHSMV Crash Portal.
3. Do not give a recorded statement to the trucking company’s insurer. Its adjuster is trained to lock in details that limit the claim.
4. Preserve the evidence inside the truck. The firm sends a preservation letter demanding the ELD data, engine control module download, dashcam footage, driver qualification file, drug and alcohol test results, dispatch records and maintenance logs. Carriers are only required to keep some of these records for months, and data can be overwritten.
5. Keep everything. Photos of the scene and the vehicles, names of witnesses, medical bills, and proof of lost income.

Who can be held responsible

A single truck crash can involve several parties, each with its own insurer and each with a reason to blame the others:

• The driver, for speeding, fatigue, distraction or impairment
• The motor carrier, for the driver’s conduct and for its own hiring, training, supervision and hours-of-service practices
• The owner of the tractor or trailer when the equipment is leased
• The shipper or loader when the cargo was overweight, unbalanced or unsecured
• A maintenance contractor for brake, tire or coupling failures
• A parts manufacturer when a defect contributed to the crash

Identifying every one of them early is the difference between a claim limited to one policy and a claim that reaches the full value of a catastrophic injury.

Where a Miami truck case is handled

Lawsuits arising from crashes in Miami-Dade are filed in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit at the Miami-Dade County Courthouse, 73 West Flagler Street, unless the claim qualifies for federal court. Most cases settle before trial, but the firm prepares each one as if it will be tried, because that is what carriers and their insurers respond to.

How the referral works

Florida Injury Team is not a law firm. When you call, we take the basic facts and connect you with an independent, licensed Florida law firm with experience in commercial trucking claims. The firm reviews your case for free. If it takes the case, it works on contingency: no fees unless it wins. Before you hire any lawyer, you can ask that lawyer for written information about their qualifications and experience.