How are truck accidents different from car accidents?
Truck Accidents - September 11, 2026
Truck accidents differ from car accidents in ways that change how a claim works. The injuries tend to be more serious, federal safety rules apply on top of Illinois law, the company that ran the operation can share responsibility with the driver, and the insurance behind the truck is structured differently.
That makes a personal injury claim more complicated from the first week, because much of the evidence sits in a trucking company’s files rather than at the scene. A Chicago truck accident lawyer can identify every company involved and which state and federal rules reach each one.
Why are truck crashes more severe than car crashes?
Weight. A loaded tractor-trailer can run many times the weight of passenger vehicles, and in a collision the people in the smaller vehicle absorb most of the force, often needing extensive medical treatment and months off work.
Of the 106 people killed in Illinois tractor-trailer crashes in 2024, 83 were in other vehicles (IDOT crash data).
That severity is why evidence matters early, because it settles whether the crash came from what the driver did or from decisions the company made first.
What federal regulations apply to truck drivers and trucking companies?
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration sets them, and they cover driver qualifications, vehicle maintenance, recordkeeping, and how long a driver can stay behind the wheel.
Federal hours-of-service rules let a property-carrying driver drive up to 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty. The driver can’t drive past the 14th consecutive hour after coming on duty, and has to take a 30-minute break after 8 cumulative hours of driving.
These records can become important in truck accident cases when there is a question about fatigue or whether a trucking company allowed a driver to remain on the road longer than federal regulations allow.
Who can be held responsible besides the truck driver?
The company that put the truck on the road, and sometimes a company that never touched it. Responsibility can reach the motor carrier, a maintenance provider, the business that loaded the trailer, or the freight broker that arranged the haul.
Holding a company accountable means looking at how the operation ran. Did it check the driver’s record before hiring? Was the driver pressured to run past the hours limit?
Broker responsibility changed recently. In May 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court held that federal law doesn’t automatically block a state negligent hiring claim against a freight broker, reopening a route Illinois courts had been closing. We cover the decision in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II.
How is insurance different after a truck accident?
The coverage floor is higher. Federal rules require most interstate for-hire carriers hauling general freight in vehicles over 10,000 pounds to carry at least $750,000 in liability coverage, and carriers hauling oil or hazardous materials carry more.
A higher floor doesn’t turn into a larger recovery on its own. The insurance company can still dispute who was at fault, and whether the medical care an accident victim received came from the crash. Accident claims against a carrier still turn on the evidence.
Involved in a truck accident? Talk to Horwitz, Horwitz & Associates
If a commercial truck injured you, you probably have questions about who was responsible and whether the company followed the rules meant to keep its drivers and equipment safe.
Horwitz, Horwitz & Associates has represented injured people in Illinois since 1924, and the firm has the resources to take a case against a national carrier as far as it needs to go rather than closing it early. The firm works on a contingency fee basis, so you pay no attorney’s fees unless compensation is recovered. Call (800) 985-1819 or contact us online for a free consultation with a truck accident lawyer.
