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Founding Member & Managing Partner at Gina Corena & Associates
Practice Areas: Personal Injury
Life can change in an instant when you’re involved in a truck accident. These accidents often lead to catastrophic injuries, massive medical bills, lost wages, and long-term physical and emotional suffering.
Many victims naturally assume they should sue the truck driver responsible for the crash after being injured. Many don’t realize that they may also hold the trucking company legally accountable.
The law requires trucking companies to follow strict federal and state regulations to ensure their vehicles and drivers operate safely on the roads. But in many cases, they cut corners—forcing drivers to work long hours, neglecting proper vehicle maintenance, or hiring unqualified drivers.
Suppose a trucking company’s negligence contributed to your accident. In that case, you may be able to file a lawsuit against both the driver and the company—increasing your chances of receiving maximum compensation for your losses.
However, trucking companies often have powerful legal teams working to protect their interests. They may try to shift the blame onto the driver or even the accident victim to avoid paying settlements. Understanding how liability works in truck accident cases and how to prove negligence against a trucking company is crucial to winning your case.
In this guide, we’ll break down everything you need to know about suing both the truck driver and the trucking company, what legal strategies work best, and how you can fight back against large trucking corporations to get the justice you deserve.
The truck driver is often the first to blame when a truck accident occurs. However, in many cases, the trucking company may also bear responsibility for the crash.
This is due to a legal principle known as vicarious liability (or respondeat superior). Vicarious liability states that employers can be held responsible for their employees’ actions if they were performing their job duties at the time of the accident.
However, the relationship between truck drivers and trucking companies can vary. Some drivers are full-time employees. Others are independent contractors. Whether or not the company can be sued depends on this distinction. If the driver is an employee, the company is more likely to be held responsible. The trucking company may try to deny liability if the driver is an independent contractor.
Another crucial factor is whether the trucking company itself was negligent. Even if the driver was at fault, the company might have contributed to the accident through improper hiring, training, or maintenance practices.
A trucking company can be held directly liable if its negligence played a role in causing the accident. Some of the most common ways trucking companies contribute to accidents include:
Trucks are large, complex machines. They require regular inspections and maintenance. If a trucking company neglects necessary repairs or skips routine maintenance, mechanical failures, such as brake failures or tire blowouts, can occur, potentially leading to serious accidents.
Federal trucking regulations set strict limits on how long drivers can be on the road without rest. However, some companies pressure drivers to work beyond legal limits to meet deadlines. This increases the risk of fatigue-related accidents.
“The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) mandates that trucking companies maintain detailed driver logs, enforce service hour limitations, and conduct regular vehicle inspections to ensure road safety.”
Trucking companies must ensure that the drivers they hire are qualified, licensed, and adequately trained. Perhaps a company hires a driver with a poor driving history, inadequate training, or a record of safety violations. Victims may hold the trucking company accountable if that driver causes an accident.
Trucks carrying excessive weight or improperly secured cargo can become challenging to control, leading to rollovers, jackknifes, or spilled loads that cause accidents.
It’s often possible to sue a trucking company after an accident. However, there are some situations where they may not be held responsible.
“Under Nevada’s comparative negligence law (NRS 41.141), a victim can recover damages as long as they are less than 50% at fault for the accident. However, their compensation will be reduced by their percentage of fault.”
Proving that the trucking company is liable requires strong evidence. Key pieces of evidence that can help build a case include:
Trucking companies often have strong legal teams and insurance adjusters working to protect them. It’s essential to have your own experienced truck accident lawyer who can collect and present the necessary evidence when building a case.
Victims of truck accidents can recover compensation for:
Suing a trucking company is often more complicated than suing an individual driver. Some of the biggest challenges include:
| Scenario | Truck Driver’s Liability | Trucking Company’s Liability |
| Driver was speeding but within regulations | Primary liability | No liability |
| Driver was forced to drive beyond HOS limits | Partial liability | Major liability (violated FMCSA regulations) |
| Truck had mechanical failure due to poor maintenance | No liability | Full liability (company failed to maintain vehicle) |
| Driver was intoxicated while working | Full liability | Possible liability (if negligent hiring is proven) |
| Driver was an independent contractor | Full liability | No liability (unless company controlled work conditions) |
Yes, if the trucking company is responsible for the driver’s actions under vicarious liability or if it engaged in negligent practices like poor maintenance or hiring unqualified drivers.
You typically may only sue the driver if the driver is not an employee of the trucking company. However, it might be possible to sue the company if it exercises direct control over a driver’s work.
The statute of limitations in Nevada is two years from the date of the accident for personal injury lawsuits.
Victims can seek compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and sometimes punitive damages if the company engages in gross negligence.
Evidence such as driver logs, black box data, maintenance records, and eyewitness testimonies can help prove liability.
Truck accidents are far more complex than regular car accidents. This is especially true when it comes to determining liability. While the truck driver may have caused the accident, the trucking company may also be responsible due to negligent hiring, maintenance failures, or violating federal safety regulations. Holding the company accountable can significantly increase your compensation as these corporations have more extensive insurance policies than individual drivers.
To successfully sue a trucking company, you need strong evidence, such as black box data, driver logs, and maintenance records, to prove their role in the accident. But trucking companies don’t give up easily. They often have high-powered attorneys and insurance adjusters working to reduce their liability and minimize payouts. That’s why having an experienced Las Vegas truck accident lawyer on your side is essential.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a trucking accident in Las Vegas, the legal team at Gina Corena & Associates is ready to help. With extensive experience in handling complex truck accident cases, we know how to take on powerful trucking companies and win. Don’t let them deny you the compensation you deserve. Contact us today for a consultation and take the first step toward justice.
As founder of Gina Corena & Associates, she is dedicated to fighting for the rights of the people who suffer life-changing personal injuries in car, truck and motorcycle accidents as well as other types of personal injury. Gina feels fortunate to serve the Nevada community and hold wrongdoers accountable for their harm to her clients.
