Truck Accident Lawyer in Miami

We move first. Dennis Gonzalez Law, P.A. handles catastrophic truck cases across South Florida, in English and Spanish, and our office answers 24 hours a day.

What a truck crash does to a life

A loaded tractor-trailer can weigh many times more than a car. When that much mass hits a sedan, the people inside take forces the human body was never built to absorb. The injuries we see are the ones that change a family's future: traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, crushed limbs and amputations, internal organ damage, severe burns, and death.

The costs do not stop at the hospital. A brain or spinal injury can mean months of rehabilitation, a wheelchair-accessible home, a van, attendant care, lost years of work, and a spouse who becomes a full-time caregiver. A truck case has to be built to pay for all of it, for the rest of a life, because you only get one recovery.

The medicine, in plain English

Brain injury. In a violent stop, the brain keeps moving inside the skull. It can bruise where it strikes the bone, and the long nerve fibers that connect brain regions can stretch and tear. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) describes this diffuse axonal injury as one of the most common types of TBI and lists auto crashes as a common cause. A standard CT scan often cannot show it. Read more on our diffuse axonal injury page.

Spinal cord injury. NINDS explains that an injury higher on the spinal cord affects more of the body: high injuries can affect all four limbs, lower injuries the legs. Damage can also get worse over the following hours and days from bleeding and swelling. See our spinal cord injury page.

Delayed symptoms are normal. Adrenaline masks pain. Headaches, confusion, memory gaps, numbness, and weakness can surface hours or days later. Get checked, tell the doctor everything, and keep going back if symptoms continue.

What to do now, and what we preserve

1. Get medical care and follow up. Gaps in treatment are the first thing the insurer will use against you.
2. Do not give a recorded statement to the trucking company or its insurer. Call us first.
3. Keep everything: photos, the police report number, names of witnesses, your damaged property, your medical paperwork.
4. Let us send preservation letters immediately. In a truck case, we demand that the company keep:

- The engine control module data (the truck's black box): speed, braking, throttle, and cruise control in the moments before impact.

- Electronic logging device (ELD) records showing the driver's hours behind the wheel.

- Dispatch records, GPS, and messages between the driver and the company.

- Dash-cam and driver-facing camera video.

- Driver qualification, training, drug and alcohol testing, and inspection and maintenance records.

Federal safety rules apply. Florida law makes owners and drivers of commercial trucks subject to the federal motor carrier safety regulations (Florida Statutes § 316.302). Those federal rules cover things like driver qualifications, hours of service, and vehicle inspection and maintenance. When a company cut corners on any of them, the records usually show it, if we get them before they disappear.

Who can be responsible

A truck case often has more than one defendant: the driver, the motor carrier, the truck's owner or lessor, the company that loaded the cargo, a maintenance shop, or a parts manufacturer. Each may carry its own insurance. Finding every responsible party is how a catastrophic case gets fully paid.

The deadline

For most Florida injury claims based on negligence, you have two years to file a lawsuit (Florida Statutes § 95.11(5)(a)). That two-year rule applies to claims that accrued after March 24, 2023, the day HB 837 became law (Chapter 2023-15, Laws of Florida, § 28). For most injuries, a claim accrues on the day of the crash. If yours happened on or before March 24, 2023, the older four-year rule may still apply. Wrongful death claims also carry a two-year limit, and claims against a government agency or involving medical care follow their own rules. Some websites still say four years. For new injuries, that is wrong.

In a truck case, two years is short. Reconstruction, data downloads, and expert work take months.

If they say it was partly your fault

Florida uses modified comparative fault (Florida Statutes § 768.81). If you share some of the blame, your award is reduced by your percentage of fault. If a jury finds you more than 50 percent at fault for your own harm, you recover nothing. Trucking defense teams know that line, and they will try to push you over it. The black box, the logs, and the video are how we push back.

Insurance, in plain terms

• The truck's liability insurance. Florida requires heavier commercial trucks to carry minimum liability coverage that increases with the truck's weight, and trucks subject to federal regulation must carry the federal minimum (Florida Statutes § 627.7415). Many carriers carry more, plus excess policies.
• Your own PIP coverage usually pays first for early medical bills, if you get initial care within 14 days of the crash, and for part of lost income (§ 627.736).
• Your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, if you bought it, can add protection.
• Medical bills in court. Since HB 837, evidence of past medical bills is generally tied to what was actually paid, or what health coverage or a Medicare-based formula would pay (§ 768.0427). How your care gets paid for matters. Ask us before you sign anything at a clinic.

How a truck case runs

1. First days: preservation letters, scene and vehicle inspection, black-box download.
2. Treatment: you focus on recovery; we gather records and bills.
3. Experts: accident reconstruction, and for serious injuries, medical, life care, and economic experts.
4. Demand or lawsuit: we present the full claim, and we file suit when the insurer will not pay what the case is worth, always inside the deadline.
5. Discovery: depositions of the driver and company, document fights, corporate safety records.
6. Mediation. Most cases resolve before trial. We prepare every catastrophic case as if it will be tried.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do I have to sue after a truck accident in Florida?

For most negligence claims that accrued after March 24, 2023, Florida gives you two years to file suit (§ 95.11(5)(a)). Older claims may fall under the prior four-year rule. Wrongful death is also two years. Do not wait: black-box and log data can be lost long before any deadline.

What is a truck's black box, and why does it matter?

Most commercial trucks have an engine control module that records speed, braking, and throttle around a crash. Electronic logging devices record driving hours. This data can show speeding, late braking, or a tired driver. It can also be overwritten, so we send preservation demands right away.

Should I talk to the trucking company's insurance adjuster?

Not before talking to a lawyer. Adjusters call fast, sound friendly, and record what you say. Saying you feel fine can be used to fight a later brain or spine diagnosis. You are not required to give the other side a recorded statement. Send them to us.

Who pays when a commercial truck causes a crash?

Often several parties: the driver, the trucking company, the truck's owner, a cargo loader, a repair shop, or a manufacturer. Each may have separate insurance. Florida sets weight-based minimum coverage for commercial trucks, and many carriers carry more. We look for every policy.

What if the police report says I was partly at fault?

A police report is not the final word, and it is generally not what a jury decides on. Under Florida's comparative fault law, your recovery is reduced by your share of fault, and barred only if you are more than 50 percent at fault. Evidence often changes the picture.

I felt fine at the scene. Can I still have a serious injury?

Yes. Adrenaline hides pain, and brain and spinal injuries can worsen over hours or days from swelling and bleeding. Many brain injuries do not show on a CT scan. See a doctor promptly, report every symptom, and keep your follow-up appointments.

Do you handle cases in Spanish?

Yes. We work with clients fully in Spanish: calls, meetings, documents explained line by line, and updates. Your family can be part of every conversation in the language you are comfortable with.

Talk to us today

Truck companies send investigators to the scene within hours. You need someone on your side just as fast. Call (305) 209-0384 or message us on WhatsApp. Our office answers 24 hours a day.

Former Miami-Dade prosecutor · Since 2012 · Super Lawyers Rising Stars · Avvo Rating 10.0