Written and reviewed by Josh Kohanim, Esq., California Bar No. 328609 · Reviewed
In this guide
After a commercial truck crash in Los Angeles County, a file looks at seven parties, the theory that reaches each one, and what each one brings in coverage. How a case is valued and how long you have to file are on our Los Angeles truck accident lawyer page.
The seven parties who may owe you
Four terms do most of the work here. A motor carrier is the company that holds the operating authority and moves the freight. An owner-operator is a driver who owns the tractor and leases it, with themselves, to a carrier. A broker arranges transportation for compensation without moving anything. A shipper is the business whose goods are in the trailer.
| Party | Why they may answer | What proves it | Theory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Driver | Careless driving | Collision report, scene evidence, engine data | Negligence |
| Motor carrier | It employed the driver | Lease, dispatch records, pay records | CACI 3720 |
| Motor carrier | It hired or kept an unfit driver | Driver qualification file, prior violations | CACI 426 |
| Owner of the tractor | It entrusted the truck | Title, lease, what the owner knew | CACI 724 |
| Freight broker | It selected an unsafe carrier | Carrier selection file, safety record | Negligent selection |
| Shipper or loader | It loaded or sealed the cargo | Bill of lading, seal record, weights | Negligence |
| Maintenance contractor | It signed off on bad brakes | Work orders, inspection reports | Negligence |
| Parts or tire maker | The component failed | The part itself, failure analysis | Product liability |
The trucking company answers for its driver
Respondeat superior is the rule that an employer answers for the acts of an employee committed within the scope of employment. CACI No. 3720, the jury instruction on the point, tells a California jury that conduct is within the scope if it is reasonably related to the kinds of tasks the employee was hired to perform, or reasonably foreseeable in light of the employer's business. A driver hauling the carrier's freight on the carrier's schedule clears that bar without much argument.
The carrier's usual answer is that the driver was not an employee at all. CACI No. 3704 hands that question to the jury. The most important factor is the right to control how the work was performed, not only the right to specify the result, and it counts whether or not the carrier used it. The jury also weighs who supplied the equipment, whether the work was part of the carrier's regular business, and how the driver was paid.
The federal leasing rules make that argument harder than it appears. 49 CFR 376.12(c)(1) requires the lease between an owner-operator and an authorized carrier to give the carrier exclusive possession, control and use of the equipment for the term of the lease. The same paragraph makes the carrier assume complete responsibility for the operation of that equipment. The section adds at (c)(4) that this language alone does not settle whether the driver is a contractor, so the lease becomes evidence rather than an ending.
When the trucking company itself was careless
Negligent hiring, supervision and retention is a direct claim against the company, and it does not depend on the driver being an employee. CACI No. 426 requires proof that the driver was or became unfit or incompetent for the work. It requires proof that the employer knew or should have known, and that the unfitness created a particular risk to others. Then it requires proof that the unfitness harmed the plaintiff and that the employer's negligence was a substantial factor in causing the harm. The driver qualification file is where that proof lives.
Negligent entrustment reaches whoever owned or lawfully held the truck. Under CACI No. 724 the plaintiff must prove that the driver drove negligently and that the defendant owned or lawfully held the vehicle. The rest is knowledge: that the defendant knew or should have known the driver was incompetent or unfit, permitted the driving anyway, and that the unfitness was a substantial factor in causing the harm. A carrier that put a driver back in a truck after a suspension is answering both instructions at once.
The broker and the shipper
49 CFR 371.2 defines a broker as a person who, for compensation, arranges or offers to arrange the transportation of property by an authorized motor carrier. Brokers pick the carrier. For years they answered claims by arguing that the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act preempted, meaning overrode, any state negligence claim about that choice.
That argument failed in the federal appeals court that covers California. In Miller v. C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (9th Cir. 2020) 976 F.3d 1016, the Ninth Circuit held that a negligence claim against a freight broker arising out of a motor vehicle crash falls within the safety exception at 49 U.S.C. section 14501(c)(2)(A) and is not preempted. In practice that makes the broker's carrier selection file discoverable, meaning it must be produced in the lawsuit, and it adds a defendant with its own coverage.
The shipper and the loader enter through the cargo. 49 CFR 392.9 makes the driver check that the load is distributed and secured before driving, again within the first 50 miles, and at intervals after that. It also excuses the driver of a sealed vehicle who was ordered not to open it. When a trailer arrives sealed and overloaded, that exception is what moves the fault back up the chain.
Every defendant you add is another policy
Liability without coverage recovers nothing, so the point of naming the right parties is what each one carries. 49 CFR 387.9 sets the federal floor for interstate carriers, and the difference from a private auto policy is the reason for identifying the carrier, the broker and the shipper early.
| Vehicle and use | Minimum | Source |
|---|---|---|
| For-hire interstate carrier, 10,001 lbs or more, non-hazardous property | $750,000 | 49 CFR 387.9 |
| Oil and most hazardous materials or wastes | $1,000,000 | 49 CFR 387.9 |
| Listed bulk hazardous materials | $5,000,000 | 49 CFR 387.9 |
| California passenger vehicle, policy issued on or after January 1, 2025 | $30,000 / $60,000 / $15,000 | Veh. Code 16056 |
| Owner who only lent the vehicle | $15,000 / $30,000 / $5,000 | Veh. Code 17151 |
The owner who only lent the vehicle is often overlooked. Vehicle Code section 17150 makes an owner responsible for a negligent driver who used the vehicle with permission, and CACI No. 720 is the instruction. But section 17151 caps that imputed liability, the owner's liability for the driver's negligence, at $15,000 for injury to one person, $30,000 for more than one, and $5,000 for property damage. An owner who did nothing but hand over the keys is a small defendant, which is why the search moves to the carrier, the broker and the shipper instead.
Truck collision, concussion
Sideswiped on the freeway by a semi-truck. Settled on the eve of trial.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case depends on its own facts, injuries, and insurance coverage. Amounts shown are gross recoveries before attorney's fees, costs, and medical liens.
When the usual answer changes
- A public agency truck. If a city, county, school district or transit vehicle was involved, a written claim is due within six months under Government Code section 911.2, long before the two year deadline for a private defendant.
- You were the truck driver. Your first question is workers compensation, and a claim against a third party runs alongside it rather than instead of it.
- A one-truck carrier at the federal minimum. Some carriers hold exactly $750,000 and nothing above it, so the broker, the shipper and any excess policy, the layer above the primary one, stop being optional and become the case.
- Cargo damage only. Freight loss is a contract and cargo claim under separate federal rules, not a personal injury claim, and nothing on this page applies to it.
Who pays for your truck crash
Usually more than one company, and the order matters. Start with the driver, then the carrier that dispatched the driver, then everyone who chose that carrier or loaded that trailer. Each link has a file, and each file has a policy behind it.
Working out that order takes the lease, the dispatch records, the driver qualification file and the bill of lading. All of them are held by the people being sued, which is what the first weeks of the case are for. There is no fee unless we recover.
If fatigue is part of your crash, read hours of service and driver fatigue. If a delivery van hit you, the structure is different, and our page on delivery truck and last mile accidents covers it. If someone in your family did not survive, our Los Angeles wrongful death lawyer page explains who may bring that claim.