Orange Park - Jacksonville - I-95, I-10 & I-295 Corridors
North Florida Truck Accident Lawyer
Hurt in a car, truck, or motorcycle crash? Go to the page that matches your situation:
A crash with a commercial truck is not a bigger car accident. It is a different kind of case, with federal rules, corporate defendants, and evidence that starts disappearing the same day. Attorney Jeff Soud has handled serious injury cases in North Florida courts for more than 30 years.
- Free consultation - no fee unless we win your case
- The trucking company's rapid-response team may already be working. You need someone working for you.
- Signed up by the attorney personally, worked by a small senior team
Call (904) 353-9000 or text the SMART Line™ at (904) 639-5308 anytime.
Free consultation · No fee unless we win
Why a truck case is not just a bigger car case
The trucking company starts defending itself immediately. Major carriers dispatch rapid-response teams, sometimes to the crash scene itself, to photograph, measure, and build the company's defense before you have left the hospital. Every day you wait widens their head start.
There is usually more than one defendant. The driver, the motor carrier, the owner of the trailer, the shipper, the broker, and sometimes a maintenance contractor can each carry responsibility and insurance. Finding every source of coverage is a large part of what these cases are worth.
Federal rules create evidence car cases never have. Commercial carriers are subject to federal safety regulations covering driver hours, logbooks, inspections, and maintenance. Electronic logging devices and engine data recorders capture speed, braking, and hours behind the wheel. That data can be overwritten or lost unless someone demands its preservation quickly.
The injuries, and the stakes, are usually higher. An 80,000-pound vehicle does not produce fender benders. Catastrophic injury cases demand serious preparation, because the insurance limits are higher and the insurers fight harder for every dollar.
From Attorney Jeff Soud
What we do in the first days of a truck case
Send preservation demands immediately. Driver logs, electronic logging device data, engine control module data, dash camera footage, inspection and maintenance records, and the driver's qualification file. If nobody demands preservation, this evidence has a way of disappearing.
Identify every policy in the chain. Carrier liability policies, excess and umbrella layers, trailer interchange coverage, and the broker's coverage where applicable. What looks like one defendant is often four or five.
Reconstruct the crash while the scene is fresh. Skid marks fade, debris is cleared, and vehicles get salvaged. Photographs, measurements, and witness accounts gathered early are what the case stands on a year later.
Truck accident questions, answered
What makes truck accident cases different from car accidents?
Federal safety regulations, multiple potential defendants (driver, carrier, shipper, broker), higher insurance limits, and time-sensitive electronic evidence like driver logs and engine data. Trucking companies also begin building their defense immediately, sometimes at the crash scene.
Who can be held responsible for a truck crash?
Potentially the driver, the trucking company, the trailer owner, the cargo shipper or broker, and maintenance contractors. Each may carry separate insurance. Identifying every responsible party and policy is central to these cases.
How fast do I need to act after a truck accident?
Quickly. Electronic logging data and engine recorder data can be overwritten in days to weeks, and the carrier's defense team starts immediately. Preservation demands need to go out as early as possible.
What if the truck driver was an independent contractor?
That label matters less than trucking companies want you to believe. Depending on the facts, the motor carrier can still bear responsibility for a crash involving a truck operating under its authority. Bring the details to a free consultation.
What does a truck accident lawyer cost?
The consultation is free and we work on a contingency fee. You pay no fee unless we win your case, and we advance the case costs, including experts when the case needs them.
Their team started at the crash scene. Start yours now.
Driver logs, engine data, and camera footage can be overwritten within days, and the carrier's defense began the moment the crash was reported. The consultation is free, and preservation demands can go out immediately.
Office: (904) 353-9000