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Truck-crash injuries are often internal or neurological and show up over days. Consistent care documents them.
Personal injury
Long Beach Truck Accident Lawyer
Long Beach is a port city, and the trucks that hit people here are working. That makes a truck crash a claim against a company, its insurer, and a set of federal rules that most drivers never see. The consultation is free.
Patrick S. AguirrePersonal injury attorney · Long Beach4.7 out of 5 from 40+ Google reviews. 25+ years of experience Patrick handles your case personally
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The defendants
A truck case is a case against a company
When a commercial truck causes a crash, the driver is rarely the only party responsible. The motor carrier answers for its employee’s driving and for how it hired, trained, dispatched, and supervised that driver. The owner of the trailer, the maintenance contractor, and in some cases the shipper or the broker that put the load on an unfit carrier can share responsibility. Sorting out who owned what and who insured whom is the first job, because each of them has a policy.
The coverage is larger than in a car crash. Federal rules require interstate carriers of general freight to carry at least $750,000 in liability coverage, and many carry more. Drayage trucks serving the Port of Long Beach, the rigs on the 710, the 405, the 91 and the 605, and the delivery fleets on Long Beach streets are all subject to some version of these rules, federal or California’s own.
The rules
Federal safety rules that decide fault
Truck drivers work under hours-of-service limits set by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration: no more than 11 hours of driving inside a 14-hour window after 10 hours off, a 30-minute break after 8 hours of driving, and weekly caps of 60 or 70 hours. Electronic logging devices record whether those limits were honored. A crash at hour 13 of a shift is a different case from a crash at hour 3.
The same rules govern pre-trip inspections, brake and tire condition, cargo securement, driver medical certification, and drug and alcohol testing, including testing required after certain crashes. Each rule the carrier broke is evidence of negligence, and the carrier’s own records prove it.
The evidence
Records that exist today and not in six months
- Electronic logging device data and the driver’s hours for the preceding days
- Engine control module data: speed, braking, and throttle in the seconds before impact
- Forward- and driver-facing dashcam footage
- The driver’s qualification file, medical card, training, and prior violations
- Dispatch records, bills of lading, and delivery schedules showing time pressure
- Inspection, maintenance, and repair records for the tractor and trailer
- Post-crash drug and alcohol test results
Federal rules let carriers discard hours-of-service records after six months, and dashcam systems overwrite far sooner. A written preservation demand to the carrier and its insurer in the first days is what keeps this evidence alive.
How trucks hurt people
The crashes that recur in Long Beach
Wide right turns that sweep a car or a cyclist under the trailer. Lane changes into the blind spots along the trailer’s sides. Rear-end collisions when a loaded rig cannot stop in the distance a car can. Underride crashes, where a car goes beneath the trailer. Jackknifes and rollovers on freeway ramps. Cargo that shifts or falls. Each has a physical signature, and each points at a rule.
What is at stake
What a truck claim covers
Truck crashes produce the injuries that change lives: brain and spinal cord injuries, crushed limbs, burns, and deaths. The claim covers medical care past and future, lost income and earning capacity, the vehicle, pain and suffering, and wrongful-death damages for a family. California’s pure comparative fault rule applies, so a driver who shares some blame still recovers, reduced by that share. Proposition 213 generally bars pain-and-suffering damages for an uninsured driver, so check your own policy status before speaking to any insurer.
Deadlines
Two years, six months, and the evidence clock
A lawsuit against a private carrier must be filed within two years under Code of Civil Procedure 335.1. If a public entity is involved, a Port of Long Beach vehicle, a city truck, or a dangerous road condition on a state highway, a written government claim is due within six months under Government Code 911.2. The evidence deadline is shorter than either and is measured in days.
The first days
What to do this week
Get the report and the carrier’s name
CHP on the freeways, Long Beach Police on city streets. The report identifies the driver, the carrier, the DOT number, and the insurer.
Photograph the truck, the cargo, and the scene
The trailer markings, the license plates, the load, skid marks, and debris. The truck will be back in service within days.
Say nothing to the carrier’s insurer
Trucking insurers send investigators to the scene the same day. Do not give a recorded statement or sign anything. Report the crash to your own carrier only.
The office
How the Law Offices of Patrick S. Aguirre handles truck cases
Truck cases start with a preservation demand to every entity on the crash report and an early request for the driver’s logs, the dashcam footage, and the engine data, before the six-month record retention runs. The office identifies each defendant and each policy, works with reconstruction experts when the fault story is contested, and documents the injury through treating doctors so that future care is in the number. Where the carrier’s insurer does not pay what the case is worth, the lawsuit is filed in Los Angeles Superior Court and prepared for trial.
The office has represented injured people in Long Beach and across Los Angeles County for nearly three decades. The firm now has offices in Long Beach and Downey, and speaks Spanish.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions
The trucking company’s insurer called me the day after the crash. What do I say?
That you will have your representative contact them. Trucking insurers move fast because the early statement is where comparative fault gets built. You are not required to give a recorded statement to the other side’s insurer.
The driver was cited. Does that decide the case?
It helps, but the case against the company is usually larger than the citation. Hours-of-service violations, maintenance failures, and negligent hiring are proven from the carrier’s records, not from the ticket.
The truck was from out of state. Can I still sue here?
Yes. A carrier that operates on California roads can be sued in California courts for a crash that happened here, and interstate carriers are required to designate an agent for service of process in every state they run through.
How is a truck case different from a car accident case?
More defendants, more coverage, a body of federal safety rules that set the standard of care, and evidence that is richer but disappears faster. The medical side is often more serious as well. The two-year deadline is the same; the practical deadline for evidence is weeks.
Selected case results
Personal injury results
A selection from 55 documented results
$2,850,000
Slip-and-fall matter
Premises liability
$320,000
Civil injury matter
Maricopa County, Arizona
$480,000
Slip-and-fall matter
Premises liability
$520,000
Civil injury matter
Maricopa County, Arizona
$360,000
Motor-vehicle collision
Los Angeles Superior Court
Client experiences
What clients say
★★★★★
Patrick and his staff were very helpful with taking care of all the bills and legalities, so we can focus on healing.
★★★★★
Got my money and my vehicle fixed. Don’t hesitate to give them a call.
★★★★★
Patrick helped me with a dog bite case. He was able to get me more than I expected and was easy to work with. … I would recommend his services.
★★★★★
Patrick is very reliable, trustworthy, and will definitely be able to help you out. Cost is very reasonable.
Meet your attorney
Law Offices of Patrick S. Aguirre
A Professional Law Corporation
The future of your case may depend on a successful outcome. It can be stressful to go through the legal process alone—but thankfully, you don’t have to.
The Law Offices of Patrick S. Aguirre will stand up for clients’ interests and rights, providing high-quality representation in personal injury cases and criminal defense matters throughout California from its Long Beach office.
We work with you and for your best interests. Our legal team is compassionate, hard-working, and tenacious—fighting to get the job done right when it matters most. No case is too complicated or insignificant for our full attention. Our clients may move forward into a brighter future free from worry about past mistakes.
We’re the legal team that never gives up. When you need an attorney who will fight for what’s right, turn to us, and we’ll do everything in our power to help. No matter how challenging your situation may seem, there is hope.
“Courage is the most important attribute of a lawyer.”
Robert F. Kennedy
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