I was told by my neighbor who was in a car accident last year that my personal injury case, which involves a big rig, is going to be different to handle. Is that true, and if so, why?

Yes, an accident involving a big rig is handled differently than a collision involving other car accidents. The reason for this is that trucks, by law, are mandated to carry higher amounts of insurance and truckers must meet much higher safety standards than the average car drivers.

Because trucks travel from coast-to-coast, it means they are engaging in interstate commerce, and that means they are therefore subject to a myriad of federal rules and regulations that do not apply to other vehicles.
Trucking firms have the responsibility to do background checks before hiring a driver and they must also, on a regular basis, evaluate their job performance, which may include, but not be limited to: driving skills, driving record, reliability, up-to-date licenses and so forth. Part of what should be a yearly evaluation also includes drug and alcohol testing. Truckers must also obey the limit on the number of hours they may drive daily. In reality, that does not always happen and an accident may be caused by a fatigued driver.

If an attorney can prove the trucker and/or trucking company violated the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulation Act, it is often the foundation for establishing fault.

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