A loaded tractor-trailer outweighs your car twenty to one — and the company behind it starts building its defense within hours of the crash. From our Brooklyn office, we move just as fast: preserving the black-box data, the driving logs, and the maintenance records before they disappear, and pursuing every company that shares the blame. Free case review, no fee unless we win.
New York truck accident cases run on two clocks. The legal one: three years to sue (CPLR §214), 30 days to file your no-fault application, and just 90 days for a Notice of Claim if a sanitation or other government truck was involved. The practical one is faster: the motor carrier's investigators often reach the scene within hours, and the truck's electronic logging data can be overwritten in days. Federal FMCSA rules — hours-of-service limits, maintenance standards, driver screening — often decide these cases, and federal law requires interstate carriers to hold at least $750,000 in liability coverage. Onal Injury Law preserves the evidence and pursues every responsible company, with no fee unless we win: (201) 335-6788.
A truck crash isn't a big car crash — it's a case against a company. Motor carriers and their insurers send rapid-response teams to serious accident scenes within hours: photographing, measuring, interviewing, shaping the story before you've left the hospital. Waiting even a few weeks to get representation hands them the whole opening.
We answer with speed and paper. A spoliation letter goes out immediately, legally requiring the carrier to preserve the truck's electronic control module data, the driver's ELD logs, dashcam footage, the driver qualification file, drug and alcohol test results, dispatch records, and maintenance history. Then we dig into the federal safety rules — because in truck cases, the violation is usually already written down: a driver over his hours, a skipped inspection, a carrier that never should have hired him.
You work directly with John Onal from the first call to the final resolution. No fee unless we win.
Interstate trucking runs under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations: hours-of-service limits (no more than 11 driving hours in a 14-hour window), electronic logging devices, drug and alcohol testing, inspection and maintenance requirements, and driver qualification standards. When a rule was broken — and in serious crashes one usually was — the violation itself becomes powerful evidence of negligence.
The black-box (ECM) data showing speed and braking, the ELD driving logs, the dashcam, the maintenance file, the cargo records — nearly all of it sits in the trucking company's hands, and much of it can be legally overwritten within weeks. Our preservation demand goes out immediately, and if evidence disappears afterward, New York courts can sanction the carrier for spoliation.
Truck cases rarely stop at the driver. The motor carrier, the tractor and trailer owners, the freight broker or shipper, the cargo loader, the maintenance contractor, and sometimes a parts manufacturer can all share responsibility — each with its own insurance. Federal law requires interstate carriers to hold at least $750,000 in liability coverage (up to $5M for hazmat). Finding every defendant is often what changes the value of the case.
The lawsuit deadline is generally three years (CPLR §214), two for wrongful death — but New York's no-fault system still requires your NF-2 within 30 days, and a crash with a city sanitation truck, DOT vehicle, or other government truck triggers the 90-day Notice of Claim (GML §50-e) plus a 50-h hearing. New York's serious injury threshold (Ins. Law §5102(d)) applies too; truck-crash injuries usually clear it, but the medical record still has to prove it.
Under CPLR §1411, New York lets you recover no matter your share of fault, reduced by your percentage. Expect the carrier's team to argue you cut the truck off, lingered in a blind spot, or braked suddenly — it's how they shrink the number. We answer with the truck's own data, which has a way of ending those arguments.
New York layers its own rules on top: trucks are banned from parkways, restricted to designated truck routes, and squeezed through low-clearance bridges — which is why bridge strikes on the Belt and other parkways keep happening. A truck operating off-route or on a banned roadway hands your case a head start.
| Factor | Typical Car Case | Truck Case |
|---|---|---|
| Who you're up against | A driver and their insurer | Driver, motor carrier, owners, broker/shipper, loader, maintenance contractor — and their legal teams |
| Insurance available | NY minimum: $25K/$50K liability | Federal minimum $750K for interstate freight; up to $5M for hazmat; layered/excess policies common |
| Key evidence | Police report, photos, witnesses | All that — plus ECM "black box" data, ELD logs, driver file, drug tests, dispatch & maintenance records |
| Governing rules | NY traffic law | NY traffic law + federal FMCSA regulations + NYC truck-route rules |
| Defense response | An adjuster opens a file | Rapid-response investigators, often at the scene within hours |
| Injuries | Range widely | Disproportionately severe — the physics of 80,000 lbs |
Jackknifes, underride crashes, rollovers, and rear-end impacts on I-95, the Cross Bronx, and the BQE — the most severe collisions on New York roads, governed by the full federal rulebook.
The last-mile delivery boom put thousands more commercial vehicles on residential streets — often on brutal schedules. Dispatch pressure and screening shortcuts become part of the case, even when the driver is labeled a contractor.
Private carting trucks on overnight routes and city sanitation vehicles both cause serious crashes — but a city truck triggers the 90-day Notice of Claim clock. Which truck hit you changes everything about the case.
Overloaded beds, unsecured debris, and construction-site traffic put dump trucks in constant conflict with cars, cyclists, and pedestrians — and often add a construction company to the defendant list.
Fuel and chemical haulers carry federal insurance requirements up to $5 million — and crash risks that go far beyond the impact itself, from fires to exposure injuries.
Blind spots, wide turns, and off-route trucks make people on foot and on bikes the most vulnerable victims in the city — and the injuries the most severe. These cases get our most urgent evidence work.
Free consultation · No fee unless we win · Available 24/7
Call (201) 335-6788 NowTruck-crash injuries are frequently internal and worse than they first feel. The police report also captures the carrier name, USDOT number, and driver details you'll need — information that gets harder to pin down later.
The truck (including its company markings and plate), the trailer, skid marks, debris field, road signs, and your vehicle from every angle. Trucks get repaired and returned to service fast — photos freeze what the scene actually looked like.
The company's investigator or insurer may reach out within a day, sometimes with a quick offer. Don't give a recorded statement, don't sign anything, don't accept anything — early offers arrive before anyone knows what your injuries really are.
This is the step that can't wait: a spoliation letter legally obligating the carrier to preserve the black-box data, ELD logs, dashcam footage, driver file, and maintenance records. Every day without one is a day that evidence can lawfully vanish.
We send the preservation demand, file your no-fault paperwork inside the 30-day window, identify every defendant and policy, and handle every insurer conversation — while you focus on recovering. The consultation is free.
The severity of truck crashes means many cases proceed through our brain & spinal injury and wrongful death practices — prepared with the same trial-ready standard.
From our office at 449 Bay Ridge Avenue in Brooklyn, we handle truck accident cases across the five boroughs and beyond — the I-95 / Cross Bronx corridor, the BQE and Gowanus, the Belt Parkway (where off-route trucks and bridge strikes keep happening), the Van Wyck, Hunts Point and the market truck traffic around it, and every borough street on the city's truck-route network. New Jersey truck cases run through our Elmwood Park office — see our New Jersey truck accident page.
Whether a delivery van clipped you at a light or a tractor-trailer changed your life, you get the same thing from us: direct attention from John Onal, a full investigation, and a file prepared as if it's going to trial — because that's what makes a trucking company's insurer take a case seriously in the first place.
Free consultation. No fee unless we win. Available 24/7.
Generally three years (CPLR §214), two for wrongful death — but a government truck (sanitation, DOT, MTA) triggers a 90-day Notice of Claim, and your no-fault NF-2 is due within 30 days. The practical deadline is faster still: the carrier's ELD and dashcam data can lawfully cycle within weeks, so the preservation demand needs to go out now.
Often several parties at once: the driver, the motor carrier, the tractor and trailer owners, the freight broker or shipper, the cargo loader, a maintenance contractor, and in defect cases the manufacturer — each with its own insurance policy. Finding every defendant is often what changes the value of a truck case.
The FMCSA regulations: hours-of-service limits (11 driving hours max in a 14-hour window), electronic logging requirements, drug and alcohol testing, inspection and maintenance standards, and driver qualification rules. When one was violated — and in serious crashes one usually was — the violation is powerful evidence of negligence.
The truck's black-box (ECM) data, ELD driving logs, dashcam footage, driver qualification file, drug-test results, dispatch records, and maintenance history. Nearly all of it sits in the trucking company's hands, and much can be legally overwritten in weeks. A spoliation letter freezes it — which is why calling early matters more in truck cases than any other.
Yes. A New York City sanitation or government truck requires a Notice of Claim within 90 days (GML §50-e), a 50-h hearing where the city questions you under oath, and suit within one year and 90 days. A private carting truck is sued like any commercial carrier. Which truck hit you changes the whole clock — get it identified fast.
Federal law requires interstate carriers to hold at least $750,000 in liability coverage for most freight, and up to $5 million for hazardous materials — plus layered and excess policies. It's a major reason truck cases are valued differently than car cases.
Yes — New York's no-fault system applies, including the 30-day NF-2 deadline and the serious injury threshold (Ins. Law §5102(d)). Truck-crash injuries usually clear the threshold given the forces involved, but the medical record still has to prove it, and we build it so it does.
Not before an attorney reviews it — for free. Early offers arrive before anyone knows the full extent of your injuries, and acceptance is final. A quick offer usually tells you the carrier knows its exposure is much bigger.
Often yes — box trucks and last-mile delivery vans are commercial vehicles with commercial policies, and the company's dispatch pressure, screening, and scheduling can all be part of the case, even when the driver is labeled an independent contractor.
Nothing up front. We work on contingency: no fee unless we recover money for you, and the consultation is always free and confidential.
