Hurt in a FedEx Truck Crash in Hialeah Gardens? Here Are Your Next Steps

When a FedEx Truck Crash Happens in Hialeah Gardens

If a FedEx truck crash hurt you or a family member in Hialeah Gardens, you may have a claim for compensation under Florida law. This guide explains the first steps, who may be responsible, and what Florida families should know.

Whether you’re headed to work or to a Miami Dolphins game, Miami-Dade roads move fast and crowd quickly. A single lane change can turn an ordinary drive into an emergency.

Picture this. You’re driving on Okeechobee Road, and traffic suddenly stops. A large FedEx truck doesn’t stop in time. Within seconds, your car is damaged, you’re hurt, and your mind is racing. That kind of moment is chaotic, and it’s normal to feel lost.

This page covers three things. It covers the steps that help protect a claim. It covers injuries these crashes can cause. It also covers what a family faces when a crash is fatal. Every crash is different, so the result depends on the facts of your case.

Our team at CHG Personal Injury Lawyers wrote this guide to help you understand the process. Reading it now can help you know what to ask and what to save.

First Steps After a FedEx Truck Crash

Call 911 as soon as it’s safe. Ask the responding officer for the crash report, and write down the agency name and the report number.

Get medical care promptly. Go to an emergency room or see a doctor, even if you feel only sore. Some head and spinal injuries don’t show symptoms right away. Follow your doctors’ care and keep every appointment. Medical decisions belong to your doctors.

Take photos while you can. Capture the vehicle damage, the scene, road and weather conditions, and any FedEx markings. If you can see a trailer or truck number, photograph that too. Photograph your injuries as well.

Collect names and phone numbers from witnesses. Write down what you remember while it’s fresh. Note the time, the lanes, what the truck did, and what you heard. Notes made the same day help you recall details later.

Be careful with insurance calls. An insurance company may ask for a recorded statement soon after a crash. Speak with a lawyer before you give one, including to your own insurer.

Who May Be Responsible in a FedEx Delivery Truck Crash

More than one party can share responsibility for a delivery truck crash. Possible parties include the driver, the company that employed or contracted that driver, and the owner or lessor of the truck.

Many FedEx deliveries are handled by contracted delivery businesses as well as by company staff. The company name on the truck may not tell the whole story. Identifying the right parties takes careful review of each crash.

Several records help show who may be responsible. These include the crash report, the driver’s employment details, and the truck’s registration and ownership records. Each one can point to a different party.

Florida’s fault rule shapes how any recovery is divided. Under § 768.81, in a negligence action, the court enters judgment against each liable party based on that party’s percentage of fault. Each party answers for its own share.

Why Hialeah Gardens Crashes Involve Heavy Commercial Traffic

Heavy commercial traffic on busy Miami-Dade roads raises the risk of a crash. Commercial trucks share these roads with cars, buses, and bicyclists every day.

Okeechobee Road, the Palmetto Expressway, and Florida’s Turnpike carry heavy traffic through this part of Miami-Dade County. Drivers on these roads face many moving parts at once. Traffic signals change, lanes merge, and drivers brake hard.

Certain conditions raise the risk. Frequent stops and starts add danger. So do quick lane changes, tight delivery windows, and trucks backing near driveways or loading zones. Large trucks also need more room to stop and turn than passenger cars do.

Knowing these risk factors helps you understand what to document. Note your lane position, the signal, the traffic around you, and where the truck was when the crash began.

Injuries That Large Truck Crashes Can Cause

Large truck crashes can cause serious injuries that change a person’s life. Common examples include traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, broken bones, and internal injuries. In severe crashes, injuries can include amputation or burns.

Some injuries change how a person moves, thinks, or works. Others affect daily routines for a long time. These effects often become clear only after weeks or months of treatment.

That is why organized records matter. Keep a folder for medical records, bills, pharmacy receipts, and notes about missed work. Write down how each injury affects your daily life.

Florida law also sets rules for proving medical expenses. If your treatment is under a letter of protection, which is an arrangement where a provider waits for payment until the case ends, you may need to share certain details. Florida law requires disclosure of items such as a copy of that letter before those expenses can be claimed, under § 768.0427.

When a FedEx Truck Crash Is Fatal: Wrongful Death Claims in Florida

When a crash causes a death, Florida law allows certain family members to bring a wrongful death claim. Losing someone this way is devastating. Funeral plans, bills, and daily routines can change in a single day.

Florida’s wrongful death statute says that when a death is caused by a wrongful act or negligence, the party who would have been liable if the death had not occurred is liable for damages. This applies even though the injured person has died, under § 768.19.

The claim is brought by the decedent’s personal representative. That is the person who manages the deceased person’s estate. The claim is for the benefit of the survivors and the estate, under § 768.20.

Florida’s damages statute lists what survivors may recover. Damages are those specified in this act; under § 768.21, they include the value of lost support and services. A surviving spouse may also recover for lost companionship and for mental pain and suffering. Minor children may recover for lost parental companionship, instruction, and guidance. Survivors who paid medical or funeral expenses may recover them, under § 768.21.

You don’t have to make every decision at once. Ask for help with the paperwork, so you can focus on your family.

Florida Fault Rules and Filing Deadlines

Florida reduces a recovery by the injured person’s share of fault. A person found more than 50 percent at fault for their own harm may not recover any damages in a negligence action, under § 768.81; this bar does not apply to personal injury or wrongful death actions arising out of medical negligence under chapter 766.

Shared blame is common in crashes. A driver may feel fully in the right, yet someone may still argue that the driver contributed to the crash. That is why the facts of the crash matter so much.

Florida sets filing deadlines in § 95.11. The time limit depends on the type of claim. Wrongful death has its own entry in that statute, so families should not assume a general deadline applies.

Deadlines apply, and a missed deadline can end a claim. Contact a lawyer promptly rather than waiting.

Evidence That Can Disappear After a Truck Crash

Key evidence in a truck crash can be lost or overwritten. Early action protects it.

The crash report is a central record. Florida law requires a long-form report to be completed and submitted within 10 days after the officer finishes the investigation of a motor vehicle crash that resulted in death of, personal injury to, or any indication of complaints of pain or discomfort by any of the parties or passengers involved in the crash. Crash reports may be made immediately available to the parties, their legal representatives, and their insurers, under § 316.066.

Other evidence can include dash cam and onboard video, electronic data from the truck, and maintenance and dispatch records. Phone records and cargo records may also matter.

Driver logs matter too. Federal rules require motor carriers to require each driver to record the driver’s duty status for each 24-hour period, except private nonbusiness passenger carriers, under 49 C.F.R. § 395.8.

After certain serious crashes, the employer must test surviving drivers for alcohol and drugs. If an alcohol test is not administered within eight hours following the accident, the employer must stop trying to give it and keep a record of the reasons it was not promptly administered. Who is responsible after a truck crash depends on the facts of each case, so the details matter.

Records also have retention periods. Under 49 C.F.R. § 382.303, employers must test surviving drivers for alcohol and controlled substances as soon as practicable after a qualifying commercial vehicle occurrence; that section does not set federal record retention periods. Records not on the federal schedule are kept as each company decides, under 49 C.F.R. § 379.13.

Accident reconstruction professionals and medical providers may help explain how a crash happened and how injuries occurred. Write down the names of anyone who saw the crash, and keep a copy of every report and bill.

Talk With CHG Personal Injury Lawyers About Your FedEx Truck Crash

If a FedEx truck crash has left you facing injuries, bills, or a family loss, you don’t have to sort it out alone. CHG Personal Injury Lawyers is a Florida-based firm that represents people hurt in accidents throughout Florida. Our lawyers are licensed in Florida. Igor Hernandez is the lawyer responsible for this page.

Our initial consultation is free and confidential, with no obligation to continue. CHG charges no attorney’s fees and no case costs unless there is a recovery.

If you’re weighing whether to act now, send us your questions. Bring your crash report number, your medical bills, or your questions about a family member’s death. Contact CHG Personal Injury Lawyers to start the conversation.

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