Truck Accidents

Reviewed and Verified by Attorney Allan Berger — Licensed in Louisiana since 1974.

If you were injured in a collision with an 18-wheeler or commercial vehicle, you are likely facing extensive medical bills and complex legal challenges. Unlike standard car wrecks, truck accidents involve federal safety regulations and multiple corporate defendants. 

At Allan Berger & Associates, P.L.C., we have spent over 40 years holding trucking companies accountable and recovering the compensation our clients need to rebuild their lives.

If you need immediate help with a claim, contact Allan Berger & Associates, P.L.C. at 504-526-2222 for a free case review.

Quick Case Summary: Louisiana Trucking Laws & Regulations

Why are truck accidents different from car accidents?

Essentially, the difference lies in the scale of the damage and the number of laws involved. Because a fully loaded semi-truck can weigh up to 80,000 pounds, the physical impact is often life-altering.

• Federal Regulations: Trucking companies must follow strict FMCSA rules regarding driver rest, weight limits, and vehicle maintenance.
• Multiple Liable Parties: We investigate not just the driver, but also the trucking company, the cargo loaders, and the vehicle manufacturers.
• Immediate Defense Teams: Large trucking corporations often send “Go-Teams” of investigators to a crash site within hours. You need a legal team that starts gathering evidence just as quickly.

What is the “Statute of Limitations” for a truck accident in New Orleans?

To summarize, Louisiana law recently changed to give victims more time to file a lawsuit. Under the new legislation, effective July 1, 2024, most personal injury claims now have a two-year deadline.

1. If your accident happened before July 1, 2024: You likely have only one year from the date of the crash to take action.
2. If your accident happened on or after July 1, 2024: You generally have two years to file your claim.
3. Preservation of Evidence: While you have longer to file, we must act immediately to send a spoliation letter to the trucking company. This prevents them from legally destroying logbooks or repairing the truck before it can be inspected.

How do we prove the trucking company was at fault?

Put simply, we look for violations of safety standards. Trucking companies are required to keep detailed records, and when they cut corners, we use that data to prove negligence.

• Hours of Service (HOS) Violations: Federal law limits how long a driver can be behind the wheel. We review ELD data to see if the driver was fatigued or pressured to meet an illegal deadline.
• Inadequate Maintenance: We check logs for skipped brake inspections, tire tread depth violations, and steering system failures under 49 CFR Part 396.
• Negligent Hiring: We investigate the driver’s background to see if the company hired someone with a history of reckless driving or failed drug tests.
• Improper Loading: If a trailer is overloaded or the cargo shifts mid-turn, it can cause “jackknife” or rollover accidents.

Common Injuries in 18-Wheeler Collisions

Because of the massive force involved in these crashes, injuries are often catastrophic. Our firm works with medical experts to document the long-term costs of:

• Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI): Permanent cognitive deficits caused by high-impact trauma.
• Spinal Cord Damage: Injuries that result in partial or total paralysis.
• Crush Injuries: Often seen in smaller vehicles trapped under or between large trucks.
• Amputations: The loss of limbs due to severe impact or fire.
• Internal Organ Failure: Massive force can cause unseen internal bleeding that requires immediate surgery.

What damages can you recover in a New Orleans truck claim?

A truck accident settlement should account for every way the crash has changed your life. To summarize, we pursue compensation for:

• Medical Expenses: All past and future surgeries, hospital stays, and physical therapy.
• Lost Income: Both the wages you have already lost and the “loss of earning capacity” if you can no longer return to work.
• Pain and Suffering: Compensation for physical discomfort and the mental toll of the accident.
• Loss of Quality of Life: Money for the inability to enjoy family activities or previous hobbies.

High-Risk Locations for Truck Accidents in New Orleans

Understanding where accidents occur is a vital part of proving negligence. New Orleans’ unique infrastructure, including narrow historic streets and high-speed transit corridors, creates specific hazards for commercial vehicle drivers. 

Our firm frequently investigates collisions in these high-traffic areas:

• The I-10 High Rise & Twin Span: High-speed travel combined with heavy winds and steep inclines makes these stretches of interstate particularly dangerous for overloaded trailers and fatigued drivers.
• The West Bank Expressway: Complex interchanges and frequent merging lead to “sideswipe” and “underride” accidents where a truck’s blind spots prevent the driver from seeing smaller passenger vehicles.
• The Canal Street & North Rampart Corridor: These areas see heavy pedestrian traffic and narrow lanes. Large trucks navigating these historic streets often struggle with “wide-turn” accidents that can pin cyclists or pedestrians against curbs or buildings.
• Chef Menteur Highway (US-90): As a major artery for shipping and industrial transport in New Orleans East, this road sees a disproportionately high volume of 18-wheeler traffic, leading to frequent high-speed rear-end collisions.

How we preserve “Time-Sensitive” evidence

In trucking litigation, the first 48 hours are critical. Unlike a standard car accident, where evidence might be limited to a police report, a commercial truck is a “rolling computer” filled with data that the trucking company may legally purge if your attorney does not act quickly.

To summarize, we immediately issue a Letter of Spoliation to ensure the following data is preserved:

• Electronic Control Module (ECM) Records: Often called the “black box,” this records the truck’s speed, RPMs, and braking patterns in the seconds leading up to the crash.
• In-Cab Video Footage: Many modern fleets use dual-facing cameras that show exactly what the driver was doing (e.g., looking at a phone or falling asleep) at the moment of impact.
• Bill of Lading & Weight Manifests: These documents prove if a truck was overloaded beyond federal weight limits, which increases stopping distance and the likelihood of brake failure.
• Post-Accident Drug Testing Results: Federal law requires carriers to test drivers after a serious collision. We fight to obtain these results to determine if impairment was a factor.

Establishing a “Chain of Liability”

Liability in a trucking case is rarely limited to the driver. To maximize your recovery, we look for systemic failures within the logistics chain. This may include:

1. The Carrier (Trucking Company): For pushing drivers past legal hour limits or failing to conduct background checks.
2. Maintenance Contractors: If a third-party company failed to properly service the steering or braking systems.
3. Cargo Loaders: If a third-party warehouse failed to secure the load, leading to a “load shift” that caused the driver to lose control.

Why trust Allan Berger & Associates, P.L.C.?

Our firm has a proven history of success against national trucking carriers. We understand the “language” of trucking litigation—from interpreting black box data to cross-examining corporate safety directors. Our results include multi-million dollar recoveries for victims of heavy vehicle accidents, including a $9.15 million result in a specialized trucking engine explosion case.

We operate on a contingency fee basis — you pay no upfront costs, and we only receive a fee if we win your case.

Talk to a New Orleans personal injury lawyer today at 504-526-2222 or send us a message online to schedule your free consultation.