Can you sue the trucking company instead of the driver?
Yes, and in almost every case you should name both. A motor carrier is generally responsible for the negligence of a driver who was acting within the scope of the job, a rule lawyers call vicarious liability or respondeat superior. The carrier can also be directly liable for its own negligence, such as hiring an unqualified driver or ignoring maintenance, even when the driver's conduct alone would not explain the crash.
Direct negligence claims matter because they open the carrier's files to discovery. The driver qualification file, safety policies, dispatch records and prior crash history all become relevant when the claim is that the company itself fell short.
Negligent hiring, retention and supervision
Federal rules spell out what a carrier must check before and during a driver's employment. Within 30 days after hiring, the carrier must obtain the driver's motor vehicle record for the previous 3 years from each state that licensed the driver, and investigate the driver's safety performance with DOT-regulated employers over the same 3 years (49 CFR § 391.23). At least once every 12 months, it must pull and review each driver's record and give great weight to violations such as speeding, reckless driving and impaired driving (49 CFR § 391.25).
The carrier must keep a driver qualification file for every driver, including the application, road test, medical examiner's certificate and annual reviews, and keep it for as long as the driver works there and for 3 years after (49 CFR § 391.51). A thin or incomplete file, or one that shows red flags the company ignored, supports a claim that the carrier should never have put that driver on the road.
Company policies that push drivers into danger
Several federal rules bind the company as well as the driver. A carrier may not require or permit a driver to operate while too tired or ill to drive safely (49 CFR § 392.3). It may not allow or require drivers to text while driving (49 CFR § 392.80) or to use a hand-held phone while driving (49 CFR § 392.82). When dispatch messages, delivery windows or pay structures made it impossible to follow those rules, the company's own records can show it.
Maintenance is also the carrier's job. It must systematically inspect, repair and maintain every vehicle under its control and keep those records (49 CFR § 396.3), and it must repair any defect a driver reports on a vehicle inspection report before the vehicle goes back out (49 CFR § 396.11).
Leased trucks, brokers, shippers and loaders
Many drivers are owner-operators who lease their tractors to a carrier. Federal leasing rules require the lease to give the carrier exclusive possession, control and use of the equipment and complete responsibility for its operation during the lease (49 CFR § 376.12(c)(1)). That usually defeats the argument that the driver was an independent contractor the carrier is not responsible for.
A freight broker arranges transportation by an authorized motor carrier for compensation but does not haul the load itself (49 CFR § 371.2). Whether a broker can be held responsible for choosing an unsafe carrier is an actively contested area of law, and the answer depends on the facts and the court. A shipper or loader that packed and sealed a trailer can be responsible when an overweight, unbalanced or poorly secured load contributed to the crash.
Checking a carrier's safety record
Every interstate carrier has a USDOT number, usually painted on the cab door. That number connects to the carrier's public registration and inspection history with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Carriers must also keep their own accident register listing each reportable crash for 3 years (49 CFR § 390.15). A history of out-of-service orders or similar crashes can support a claim that the company knew of a problem.
Insurance usually follows the carrier. For-hire interstate carriers must carry federal minimum liability coverage, and some carry excess policies above it. Identifying the right carrier, and every other company in the chain, is how you find all the coverage that applies.
Deadlines and how the case starts
A Pennsylvania injury lawsuit against a trucking company generally must be filed within 2 years (42 Pa.C.S. § 5524). Where the case is filed depends on where the crash happened and where the defendants do business, so a crash on West Chester Pike may land in the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas while one on the Schuylkill Expressway may belong in Philadelphia. A case against an out-of-state carrier can sometimes be moved to federal court.
Warren I. Siegel, Esq., a Pennsylvania attorney since 1992, takes these cases on a 100% contingency fee. There is no attorney fee unless we recover, the firm advances all case costs, and those costs are repaid only from a recovery. Call (267) 412-4601 or send the free case review form.
Questions People Ask About Trucking Company Liability
How do you start a lawsuit against a trucking company?
Usually by first identifying the carrier from the USDOT number and police report, sending a preservation demand, and presenting a claim to its insurer. If the claim does not resolve, a complaint is filed in the proper Pennsylvania court or, in some cases, federal court, and served on the carrier and the other defendants. Discovery then gives access to the company's records.
What does it cost to sue a trucking company?
Truck cases carry real costs: records, depositions, filing fees and engineers who download and analyze truck data. With Your Legal Warrior you pay none of that up front. The firm advances all case costs, which are repaid only from a recovery, and there is no attorney fee unless we recover. If there is no recovery, you owe nothing.
What four things do you have to prove in a negligence case?
That the defendant owed you a duty of care, that it breached that duty, that the breach caused your injury, and that you suffered real damages. In a trucking case, the federal safety regulations help define the duty, and violating them is strong evidence of a breach.
How hard is it to win a negligence claim against a trucking company?
It depends on the evidence. Carriers and their insurers defend these cases seriously, and much of the proof sits in the company's own files. Cases are stronger when the truck data, logs and inspection records are preserved early and the injuries are well documented.
What if the trucking company is small or goes out of business?
Interstate carriers must carry minimum liability insurance, and the claim is normally paid by that insurer rather than from the company's own assets. Other parties such as a lessor carrier, shipper or maintenance vendor may also have coverage, and your own underinsured motorist coverage may apply if the available insurance is not enough.
Is it worth suing a trucking company rather than settling?
Many claims resolve without trial, and some resolve only after a lawsuit is filed. The decision turns on the offer compared with the likely result at trial and the time and risk involved. Your lawyer should explain that comparison, but the decision is always yours.
Sources
- 49 CFR § 391.23 (investigation and inquiries)
- 49 CFR § 391.25 (annual inquiry and review of driving record)
- 49 CFR § 391.51 (driver qualification files)
- 49 CFR § 392.3 (ill or fatigued operator)
- 49 CFR § 392.80 (prohibition against texting)
- 49 CFR § 392.82 (hand-held mobile telephone use)
- 49 CFR § 396.3 (inspection, repair and maintenance)
- 49 CFR § 396.11 (driver vehicle inspection reports)
- 49 CFR § 376.12 (lease requirements)
- 49 CFR § 371.2 (broker definition)
- 49 CFR § 390.15 (accident register)
- 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524 (two-year limitation)
Written for general information by the office of Warren I. Siegel, Esq., Pennsylvania Attorney ID 65342. Last reviewed 2026-09-25. This is not legal advice for your situation, and deadlines vary by claim. Talk to a lawyer before relying on any date.