Hurt in a FedEx Freight Tractor-Trailer Crash? You Do Not Have to Face What Comes Next Alone

FedEx Freight Tractor-Trailer Crash: What to Know in Florida

What to Know After a FedEx Freight Tractor-Trailer Crash

If a FedEx Freight tractor-trailer crash hurt you in Florida, you may have a claim for your losses. People and companies can be held responsible for a crash, but strict deadlines apply, so early action matters.

This page is for injured drivers, passengers, and pedestrians. It is also for families who lost a loved one in a fatal crash. Many readers have never dealt with a trucking company or its insurer before.

A loaded semi-truck weighs far more than a passenger car. It needs much longer to stop, and its impact can cause catastrophic injuries. That is why these cases often involve permanent harm.

Knowing the basics early can help you protect your rights while you focus on your health.

What a FedEx Freight Tractor-Trailer Crash Can Involve

A FedEx Freight crash can involve more than one party. The crash facts decide who is responsible. Large trucks crash in several common ways:

• Rear-end impacts, where a truck hits a vehicle that has slowed or stopped
• Lane changes into an occupied lane
• Jackknifing, when the trailer swings out of line with the cab
• Rollovers, often on curves or at high speed
• Underride crashes, when a car slides under a trailer
• Intersection crashes involving turns or red lights

Freight work adds pressure. Drivers often follow delivery schedules set by dispatch. Loading affects weight and balance. Maintenance affects brakes, tires, and steering. Each of these can become part of the investigation.

Depending on the facts, the driver, the employer, a maintenance provider, or another company may be relevant to a claim. A truck’s size alone does not prove fault. What the driver and the company did before and during the crash matters most.

Injuries and Losses a Claim May Cover

Florida law counts past lost income and medical and funeral expenses as economic damages. See Fla. Stat. § 768.81.

Serious harm from a large-truck crash often includes:

• Spinal cord injuries and paralysis
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Amputations
• Severe burns
• Catastrophic back and neck injuries

Economic losses include medical care, rehabilitation, lost wages, and future care needs. Non-economic losses include pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life. Families also feel changes in daily routines and relationships.

When a crash causes a death, Florida law lets certain family members bring a wrongful death claim. Our team can explain who may be able to bring that claim and what it can cover.

Claims That May Apply Under Florida Law

Claims may rest on the driver’s conduct and on the company’s own decisions. Many injury cases center on questions about what happened and who may be responsible for the harm.

Driver claims often involve careless driving, fatigue, distraction, or impairment. Federal rules also bar a driver from operating a commercial motor vehicle, and bar motor carriers from requiring or permitting it, when the driver’s ability or alertness is so impaired, or so likely to become impaired, through fatigue, illness, or any other cause, as to make it unsafe to operate. See 49 C.F.R. § 392.3.

Company claims may look at how the carrier hired, trained, supervised, and maintained its drivers and trucks. Equipment claims may examine whether a design feature, such as a rear guard, made injuries worse.

Florida reduces damages based on the injured person’s own share of fault. Under Fla. Stat. § 768.81, in a negligence action your share of fault reduces the damages awarded, but a person found more than 50 percent at fault for their own harm may not recover any damages, except in personal injury or wrongful death cases arising out of medical negligence under chapter 766.

Deadlines apply. Contact our team promptly so key steps are not missed.

Evidence That Can Be Lost After a Crash

Key trucking records are kept for limited periods, so early preservation matters. Counsel can send a preservation letter asking the company to keep them.

• Driving-hour records. Federal rules limit how long a property-carrying driver may drive. A driver may drive a total of 11 hours within the 14-hour period that follows 10 consecutive hours off duty. See 49 C.F.R. § 395.3.
• Driver vehicle inspection reports. Carriers must keep these reports, the certification of repairs, and the driver’s review for three months from the date the report was prepared. See 49 C.F.R. § 396.11.
• Post-accident drug and alcohol testing. After a crash involving a loss of life, the employer must test each surviving driver who was performing safety-sensitive functions. Testing must happen as soon as practicable. If an alcohol test is not given within two hours, the employer must record why. See 49 C.F.R. § 382.303.
• Dashcam video, photos, and witness names. These can disappear quickly after a crash.

Talk with our team before giving a recorded statement to an insurer. Accident reconstruction professionals and medical witnesses can help explain how the crash happened and how the injuries occurred.

How the Process Works With CHG Personal Injury Lawyers

The process starts with a free, confidential consultation. It then moves through investigation, medical care, negotiation, and, if needed, a lawsuit. Timelines vary by case.

1. Free consultation. You share the facts, and we explain your options. The initial consultation is free, confidential, and carries no obligation to continue.
2. Investigation and evidence. We send preservation requests, review insurance coverage, and gather crash and medical records.
3. Medical care. Follow your doctors’ treatment plans. We work with providers so you can focus on recovery.
4. Negotiation. We present your claim to insurers. If needed, we file suit to protect your claim before the deadline.
5. Resolution. A claim may end in a settlement or at trial. Timelines vary.

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, other counsel. We will tell you if that applies to your case.

Why Injured Floridians Contact CHG Personal Injury Lawyers

CHG Personal Injury Lawyers is a Florida-based personal injury firm. The firm handles car, truck, and other accident claims for people across Florida. It publishes educational content in English and Spanish.

Igor Hernandez is the responsible lawyer for this page. He is a licensed attorney admitted to The Florida Bar.

Our lawyers and support staff take calls from injured people and their families. They explain each step in plain language so you know what to expect.

The firm handles truck accident claims, catastrophic injury claims, and wrongful death cases.

Frequently Asked Questions

Talk With Our Team About Your FedEx Freight Tractor-Trailer Crash

If a family is waiting on a loved one’s care after a FedEx Freight semi-truck crash, or an injured driver is unsure about speaking with an insurer, you do not have to decide alone. Reach out to CHG Personal Injury Lawyers through our contact page for a free, confidential consultation. Deadlines apply, so early contact helps protect your evidence and your options.