Las Vegas Semi-Trailer Truck Accident Lawyers
A collision with an 18-wheeler, semi-truck, or other commercial vehicle is not like a standard car accident. A fully loaded commercial truck can weigh up to 80,000 pounds. At highway speed, that weight difference turns what might be a survivable crash between two passenger cars into something far more serious. The injuries are more severe. The liable parties are more numerous. And the companies you are up against have far more resources than a typical driver’s insurance company.
At Temple Injury Law, our Las Vegas truck accident lawyers represent victims and families across Clark County. We know how to investigate these cases, how to preserve the evidence that disappears fast, and how to go up against the commercial insurers and trucking company attorneys who show up before the wreckage is even cleared. The consultation is free, and you pay nothing unless we win.
Call (702) 487-4999 or contact us online.
What Makes Truck Accident Cases Different
Truck accident cases involve federal regulations that do not apply to ordinary car crashes, multiple parties who may share liability, and insurance policies that dwarf what typical drivers carry. Commercial trucking insurers often have seven-figure policy limits and internal legal teams whose job is to minimize what they pay. They know these cases, and they count on the fact that most injured people do not.
Marissa Temple spent 20 years as a defense attorney, including eight years working in-house for a major insurance company. She knows how commercial adjusters are trained to evaluate claims and how defense teams build their cases. That experience now works entirely for you.
Once you hire Temple Injury Law, we deal with the trucking company’s insurer, their attorneys, and their investigators. You focus on recovering.
The Evidence That Disappears After A Truck Accident
Truck accidents are different from car crashes in one critical way: the evidence that proves your case has a very short shelf life.
Commercial trucks are required by federal law to carry an Electronic Control Module (ECM), often called a black box. This device records speed, braking, throttle position, and hours driven in the moments before a crash. It is some of the most valuable evidence in any truck accident case, and trucking companies are permitted to overwrite or destroy it according to their own data retention schedules.
Driver logs and Electronic Logging Device (ELD) records document how many consecutive hours the driver was behind the wheel before the crash. If the driver violated federal Hours of Service regulations (49 CFR Part 395), those records show it. They also disappear on a schedule.
Truck inspection and maintenance records can show whether the vehicle had known mechanical defects that were ignored. Pre-trip inspection reports, repair orders, and weigh station records all belong in the same category.
We send a Letter of Spoliation immediately after being retained, which puts the trucking company on legal notice that they are required to preserve all of this data. We do this before anything else. If evidence is destroyed after receiving that letter, the consequences for the trucking company in court are serious.
Let our truck accident attorneys give you a free consultation. Our offices are located in Las Vegas at:
Central Office: 1300 S. Decatur Blvd. Las Vegas, NV 89102
Southwest Office: 8085 Blue Diamond Road, Unit 103, Las Vegas, NV 89178
Federal Regulations That Apply To Your Case
Commercial trucking is one of the most heavily regulated industries in the country. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) sets the rules that govern how trucks are operated, maintained, and loaded. When a trucking company or driver violates those rules and someone gets hurt, those violations are evidence of negligence.
The regulations we most often see violated in Las Vegas truck accident cases are Hours of Service limits (49 CFR Part 395), which cap how many consecutive hours a driver can operate before a mandatory rest period; drug and alcohol testing requirements (49 CFR Part 382), which commercial drivers are subject to both pre-employment and after any accident; vehicle inspection and maintenance standards (49 CFR Parts 393 and 396); and load securement requirements (49 CFR Part 393, Subpart I).
A trucking company that cut corners on any of these is not just civilly liable. In egregious cases, that knowing disregard for safety opens the door to punitive damages under Nevada law (NRS 42.005).
Who Can Be Held Liable
One of the things that separates truck accident cases from standard car crashes is the number of parties who may carry legal responsibility.
The truck driver is the most obvious starting point. Driver fatigue, distracted driving, speeding, improper lane changes, and driving under the influence are all common causes. When a driver violates federal Hours of Service limits and causes a crash, both they and their employer can face liability.
The trucking company is often the more important defendant. Under the legal doctrine of respondeat superior, employers are responsible for their employees’ negligent acts on the job.
Beyond that, trucking companies can be independently liable for negligent hiring (putting a driver with a poor safety record behind the wheel), negligent training, and for pressuring drivers to meet delivery schedules that require violating HOS rules.
The cargo loading company matters when the crash was caused by an improperly loaded or secured load. Shifting cargo can cause a truck to roll over or jackknife. If the cargo was loaded by a third party, that company may share in the liability.
Parts manufacturers can be liable when a mechanical failure caused or contributed to the crash. Defective brakes, faulty steering components, and blowout-prone tires are all categories we investigate.
Government entities can be liable when road conditions contributed to the crash: missing signage, unrepaired pavement damage, or poorly designed merge zones on the I-15 or US-95 corridor.
We investigate every possible source of liability from day one, because the full picture often does not emerge until after a thorough review of the evidence.
Common Causes Of Truck Accidents In Las Vegas
Driver fatigue is the cause we see most in cases involving long-haul operators on the I-15 corridor. Drivers push through mandated rest periods to meet delivery windows. Fatigue impairs reaction time and judgment at roughly the same rate as intoxication, and the HOS records often tell the story clearly.
Distracted driving, especially phone use, causes a disproportionate number of large truck crashes because the stopping distances involved are so much greater. A truck driver glancing at a phone for four seconds at 65 miles per hour travels the length of a football field without watching the road.
Improperly loaded cargo causes rollovers and jackknife accidents, particularly on highway on-ramps and in emergency braking situations. When the load shifts, the driver loses control.
Mechanical failures, including brake failures and tire blowouts, are more common with poorly maintained commercial fleets. Trucking companies that defer maintenance to cut costs create serious risks on Nevada highways.
Blind spot violations are a persistent cause of side-impact crashes in Las Vegas traffic. A standard 18-wheeler has four significant blind spots, and passenger vehicles that linger in them are invisible to the driver.
What You Can Recover
Economic damages cover your direct financial losses: emergency treatment, surgery, and ongoing care; future medical costs and long-term rehabilitation; lost wages and reduced earning capacity; vehicle damage; and specialized equipment or home modifications your injuries require.
Non-economic damages cover what cannot be quantified on a bill: pain and suffering, emotional distress, PTSD, loss of enjoyment of life, permanent disability or disfigurement, and loss of consortium for family members.
Punitive damages are available in truck accident cases where the trucking company’s conduct rises above ordinary negligence. An operator who knowingly put an exhausted driver on the road or ignored brake failure warnings is a strong candidate.
One point worth knowing: commercial trucking policies carry far higher limits than personal auto policies, often $750,000 to $1,000,000 or more. The full value of what you can recover is typically higher than in a standard car accident case, which is part of why commercial insurers fight these claims hard.
Common Injuries In Las Vegas Truck Accidents
Because of the size and weight differential, truck accident injuries tend to be severe. The injuries we handle most often are traumatic brain injuries and concussions, spinal cord injuries and paralysis, multiple bone fractures, internal organ damage and internal bleeding, severe burns from fuel fires, crush injuries to the lower extremities, amputations, and PTSD.
Wrongful death is an outcome in a meaningful number of truck accident cases. If you lost a family member in a truck crash, a wrongful death claim can recover funeral costs, lost future income, and loss of companionship. These cases are handled with the same thorough investigation as serious injury claims, and the same willingness to take them to trial.
Case Results In Serious Accident Cases
$1,300,000 — Pedestrian struck in crosswalk Our client suffered a traumatic brain injury when a driver struck them in a marked crosswalk. The insurance company denied liability. We found a witness, built the case, and recovered $1.3 million.
$450,000 — Hit-and-run on Desert Inn Road Our client was struck by a driver who fled the scene. We located the at-fault driver through Tesla dashcam footage and recovered full compensation through the client’s uninsured motorist coverage. The insurer said there was nothing to collect. There was.
$400,000 — Rear-end collision Our client was rear-ended while the at-fault driver was on the clock. We pursued claims against both the driver and the employer’s insurer and settled for an amount that reflected the full impact on our client’s life.
$255,000 — Fault-free passenger A passenger with no fault in a multi-vehicle crash. We identified and recovered from multiple insurance policies, including the client’s own underinsured motorist coverage.
Prior results do not guarantee what your case will recover. Every case is different.
Frequently Asked Questions About Truck Accident Cases In Las Vegas
Call 911. Get medical attention even if you feel okay. Photograph the scene, the truck, the license plate, and the DOT number on the side of the cab if you can. That number identifies the carrier. Do not discuss fault at the scene and do not give a statement to the trucking company’s insurer. Then call us. The evidence preservation process needs to start that day, not after you have had time to think about it.
Because the black box data and driver logs have retention periods. Once they are gone, they are gone. We send a Letter of Spoliation immediately after you retain us, which legally requires the trucking company to preserve all electronic data, logs, and maintenance records. If you wait weeks to call, that window may already be closed.
Your own health insurance covers treatment while the case is ongoing. If you have MedPay or PIP coverage on your auto policy, that may also be available. The settlement or verdict recovers your medical costs, including future treatment. We help you navigate all of it.
Yes. Large trucking carriers keep accident response teams on retainer precisely for this situation. Their goal is to gather evidence and statements before you have legal representation. Do not speak with them. That is exactly what we are here for.
Often yes. Trucking companies frequently try to classify drivers as independent contractors to avoid liability, but courts look at the actual working relationship. If the company controlled how the driver operated, set the route, and required compliance with company policies, that driver may be considered an employee for liability purposes. We investigate the full employment relationship.
Your claim is filed in Nevada and governed by Nevada law, regardless of where the driver or trucking company is based. Federal FMCSA regulations apply to all commercial carriers operating in the United States. Out-of-state trucking companies are not outside Nevada’s jurisdiction.
No. The evidence preservation window does not wait for your recovery. You should also know your full injury picture before settling anything, which is a separate issue. We can begin the investigation while you are still treating and make sure no deadlines are missed.
Nothing upfront. We work on contingency, which means our fee comes from your recovery. If we do not win, you owe us nothing.
Jeff Temple
Truck Accident Lawyer
Talk To A Las Vegas Truck Accident Lawyer With Temple Injury Law
If you or a family member were injured in a truck accident in Las Vegas, Henderson, or anywhere in Clark County, the time to act is now. Jeff Temple and Marissa Temple represent truck accident victims across the Las Vegas Valley. Whether you need a truck accident attorney or help with any other personal injury claim, the consultation is free and there is no fee unless we win.
Call (702) 487-4999 or contact us online.
