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Personal injury and mass tort

Truck accident settlement calculator

Estimate your commercial truck accident settlement based on injury severity, medical costs, liability strength, insurance coverage, and jurisdiction. Truck accident cases settle for significantly more than standard car accidents due to higher insurance limits and multiple liable defendants.

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Estimates only. Settlement amounts depend on facts specific to your case. This calculator provides a range based on general industry data. Always consult a licensed truck accident attorney. See our full disclaimer.

Truck accident settlement calculator

FMCSA violations like hours-of-service violations or failed inspections significantly strengthen liability. Use the FMCSA violation checker to document these.
More defendants mean more insurance policies and higher total recovery potential.

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Why truck accident settlements are larger than car accident settlements

Commercial truck accidents produce significantly higher settlements than standard car accidents for 3 reasons: injury severity, insurance policy limits, and multiple liable defendants.

An 80,000-pound fully loaded semi-truck hitting a passenger vehicle at highway speed causes devastating injuries. Spinal cord damage, traumatic brain injuries, and fatalities are common. The injuries alone drive up medical costs and lost wage calculations dramatically.

Federal insurance minimums

FMCSA regulations require commercial carriers to maintain minimum liability insurance of $750,000 for general freight and $5 million for hazardous materials. Many major carriers carry $1 million to $10 million in coverage. This is far higher than the typical $25,000 to $100,000 auto policy, which means more money is available to compensate injured victims.

Multiple defendants

Truck accident cases often involve multiple liable parties beyond the driver: the trucking company (vicarious liability and negligent hiring), the cargo shipper (improper loading), the truck manufacturer (defective parts), and the maintenance company (brake or tire failures). Each defendant adds insurance coverage and increases total recovery. Use the trucking company liability screener to identify all liable parties.

FMCSA violations

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration records are gold in truck accident cases. Hours-of-service violations prove driver fatigue. Failed inspection records show the carrier knew about defects. CSA safety scores reveal a pattern of unsafe operation. These violations support punitive damages claims on top of compensatory damages. Use the FMCSA violation checker to pull this data before it disappears.

Frequently asked questions

Statutes of limitations for truck accident personal injury claims vary by state, typically 2 to 3 years from the accident date. Wrongful death claims usually run from the date of death. But you should act much faster than the SOL deadline - truck companies have teams of adjusters and attorneys working the case from day one. Evidence like black box data, driver logs, and dashcam footage gets lost or destroyed quickly. Contact an attorney within days of a serious truck accident.
Commercial trucks carry Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) and Event Data Recorders (EDRs) that capture speed, braking, steering, hours driven, and other critical data in the moments before a crash. This data is often overwritten within 30 days unless preserved. Your attorney sends a spoliation letter immediately demanding the carrier preserve all electronic data. This is one of the most important early steps in a truck accident case.
Yes, in cases involving egregious conduct. Punitive damages are available when the carrier or driver acted with conscious disregard for safety - for example, allowing a driver with known hours-of-service violations to keep driving, or sending a truck with known brake defects back on the road. Punitive damages are separate from compensatory damages and can multiply the total recovery significantly.
Almost certainly no - at least not without an attorney reviewing it first. Insurance companies make quick low offers specifically because injured victims don't yet know the full extent of their injuries or the value of their claim. Accepting a settlement waives all future claims. Once you sign, you can't go back for more money even if your injuries turn out to be worse than expected. Have an attorney evaluate any offer before signing anything.
Often yes. Trucking companies frequently try to classify drivers as independent contractors to avoid liability, but courts look past that label when the company controlled how the driver did their work. If the carrier set the routes, required specific equipment, controlled dispatch, or required the driver to carry the carrier's logo, courts often find the driver was effectively an employee. Lease-operator arrangements are particularly scrutinized.

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