When a Truck Crash Changes Your Family's Life, You Don't Have to Face It Alone

When a Truck Crash Changes Life in Pembroke Pines

Truck crashes differ from ordinary car wrecks, and families in Pembroke Pines often need answers fast.

Truck crashes often differ from car crashes in a few ways. A loaded truck is far heavier than a passenger car, so the force in a collision is much greater. Several companies may also be tied to one trip, including the driver’s employer, a loading company, or a repair shop. That makes the facts harder to sort out, and it makes early records important.

Going up against an insurance company alone can feel like playing a Miami Dolphins game with no one else on the field. It is a tough fight to take on by yourself, and you don’t have to make it alone.

Are Truck Accidents on the Rise?

Yearly crash totals rise and fall, and one year’s numbers rarely prove a trend. Federal agencies, including the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, track crashes across the whole United States, not one city.

That matters for a Pembroke Pines family. National totals don’t show what happened on Pines Boulevard or on your own street. They also can’t show who was responsible for your loss.

What shapes a claim is the facts of your crash, the official crash report, and the records the trucking company keeps. If you’re asking this question because someone you love was hurt, focus on those details. They are what matter for your case.

What Local Crash Reports Show in Pembroke Pines

Local news coverage in Pembroke Pines often describes rollovers, multi-vehicle collisions, crashes involving police vehicles, and semi-truck wrecks near canals, ditches, and busy intersections. These reports keep the community aware of what happens on local roads.

One example is a five-vehicle crash at Pines Boulevard and US-27. CBS News Miami reported on June 6, 2024, citing Pembroke Pines Police, that one person died and others were hurt. Traffic was diverted while crews worked the scene.

News reports describe what officials say at the time. Investigations can later change the picture, so a news story is a starting point, not a final account. News coverage alone cannot show who caused a crash. Families should rely on the official crash report and the evidence gathered afterward.

Why Truck Crashes Often Cause Catastrophic Injuries

Truck crashes often cause catastrophic injuries because of the weight and force involved. Spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, amputations, severe burns, and serious back and neck injuries can change a person’s life in one moment. Some crashes take a life.

Catastrophic injuries often need long-term medical care, equipment, and changes at home and at work. Follow your doctors’ care. Keep copies of every bill, discharge paper, and work record.

In some cases, a truck crash claim can involve several potentially responsible parties. These may include the driver, the trucking company, a shipper or loading company, or a maintenance provider.

When a death occurs, Florida law allows families to bring a wrongful death claim. Under Fla. Stat. § 768.21, each survivor may recover the value of lost support and services. A surviving spouse may also recover for lost companionship and for mental pain and suffering.

How to Find Out If Someone You Love Was in a Crash

You can start by asking the agency that responded to the crash, such as the Pembroke Pines Police Department or the Florida Highway Patrol, for information about the incident. Ask when the crash report will be ready.

Florida law requires a long-form crash report when a crash involves death, personal injury, or any complaint of pain. Under Fla. Stat. § 316.066, the investigating officer’s report must be submitted within 10 days after the investigation is completed. The parties involved and their legal representatives may access those reports.

Next, call the hospital or medical facility where the person may have been taken. Staff may not be able to share details because of privacy rules, so ask what they can confirm.

Keep a written log. Record who you contacted, the date and time, and what each person said. Clear notes help you and your family later.

Hit-and-Run Crashes in Florida: What the Law Says

Florida law requires a driver in a crash that results in a death to stop at the scene, or as close as possible, and stay until legal requirements are met. Under Fla. Stat. § 316.027, a driver involved in a crash on public or private property that causes injury must stop at the scene, or as close to it as possible, and remain there until the requirements of s. 316.062 are met.

Under the same statute, the penalty depends on the harm the crash causes. A willful violation of the duty to stop is a first-degree felony only when the crash results in death. Violations that cause injury, including serious bodily injury, carry lesser degrees of offense. The same minimum applies when the violation happens while the driver is under the influence.

Even when the other driver is never found, a victim may have other options. Under Fla. Stat. § 627.727, uninsured motorist coverage limits must be not less than the bodily injury liability limits the named insured bought, unless the named insured selects a lower limit that complies with the insurer’s rating plan. Whether that coverage helps depends on the facts and the policy.

Time-Sensitive Steps After a Florida Truck Crash

Protect medical care and evidence first. Take photos of the scene and vehicles when it is safe to do so. Collect witness names and phone numbers, and save medical records and bills.

Federal rules matter too. After a commercial truck crash that causes a loss of human life, the employer must test each surviving driver who was performing safety-sensitive functions for alcohol and controlled substances, as soon as practicable, under 49 C.F.R. § 382.303. Ask the trucking company in writing to keep electronic logging device data, dashcam footage, and maintenance records. Motor carriers, other than a private motor carrier of passengers (nonbusiness), must keep maintenance records for 1 year and for 6 months after a vehicle leaves their control, under 49 C.F.R. § 396.3.

Deadlines apply, and they can be short. Florida law sets a two-year deadline for actions founded on negligence under Fla. Stat. § 95.11. Wrongful death claims have their own timing, so contact our team promptly.

Florida also uses modified comparative fault (shared fault). Under Fla. Stat. § 768.81(6), in a negligence action to which this section applies, a party found greater than 50 percent at fault for their own harm may not recover any damages. Fla. Stat. § 768.81 reads: “This subsection does not apply to an action for damages for personal injury or wrongful death arising out of medical negligence pursuant to chapter 766.” Under Fla. Stat. § 768.81, any contributory fault chargeable to the injured person diminishes proportionately the amount awarded as economic and noneconomic damages. Keep records of missed work and expenses.

Serving Pembroke Pines and Broward County Families

CHG Personal Injury Lawyers is a Florida personal injury firm. It handles truck accident claims, catastrophic injury claims, and wrongful death claims for people throughout Florida, including families in Pembroke Pines and Broward County.

Igor Hernandez is the lawyer responsible for this page. Our lawyers are licensed to practice law in Florida and admitted to The Florida Bar.

CHG charges no attorney’s fees and no case costs unless there is a recovery. Some matters may be referred to, or handled together with, another law firm when the case calls for it.

Nearby Broward Communities We Serve

Truck routes and major roads cross many Broward cities, so a crash near a city line can involve more than one local agency. Families in Miramar, Davie, and Pompano Beach often travel the same corridors that run through Pembroke Pines.

A crash on one of those roads raises the same questions covered here. Families need to know which agency responded, where the crash report will be, and which deadlines may apply. Our team serves Florida families, including those in these Broward communities.

Talk With a Pembroke Pines Truck Accident Lawyer

If a truck crash has left you or someone you love facing injuries, bills, and hard decisions, a conversation with our team can help you see your next steps.

If a truck crash has left you or someone you love facing medical bills, lost work, and hard questions, reach out to our team for a free, confidential initial consultation with no obligation to continue. Request your free consultation.