Mississippi 18-Wheeler Accident Lawyer

18-Wheeler and Big-Rig Accident Lawyers for All of Mississippi

Mississippi’s interstates – I-20, I-55, I-59, I-10 and I-22 – and highways such as US 45, US 49, US 61 and US 82 carry a constant stream of tractor-trailers between the Gulf, Memphis, Birmingham and the Port of New Orleans. When an 80,000-pound rig collides with a passenger car, the people in the car rarely walk away without suffering from some degree of injury given the sheer size and weight of these behemoths. The Hamilton Law Firm has handled 18-wheeler cases from our Meridian office, at the junction of I-20 and I-59, for more than 35 years, and our results include multiple multi-million-dollar recoveries for clients injured by commercial trucks. We represent trucking victims and their families anywhere in Mississippi.

Why an 18-Wheeler Case Is Not a Car Wreck Case

Trucking companies and their insurers treat a serious crash as a business event. Rapid-response teams are often at the scene before the vehicles are towed. The company’s obligations under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations – hours-of-service limits, electronic logging devices, driver qualification files, drug and alcohol testing, inspection and maintenance records, cargo securement – create a paper trail that proves negligence, but only if it is preserved. We send preservation demands for the truck’s electronic control module, the ELD data, the driver’s logs and qualification file, dash-camera footage, dispatch and GPS records, and post-crash drug test results immediately after we are hired.

Who Can Be Held Responsible

  • The driver, for fatigue, speeding, distraction, impairment or careless lane changes.
  • The motor carrier, for negligent hiring, training and supervision, unrealistic schedules, and hours-of-service violations.
  • The owner or lessor of the tractor or trailer, and the company that maintained it.
  • The shipper or loader, where an unbalanced or unsecured load caused the crash.
  • Brokers that placed freight with unsafe carriers.
  • Manufacturers of defective brakes, tires, under-ride guards or other components.

Identifying every responsible party matters because trucking insurance policies are large – federal law requires at least $750,000 for most interstate carriers, and many carry far more. We go to work immediately to ascertain who can be held responsible and to identify all sources of recovery for our injured clients.

Common Causes of 18-Wheeler Wrecks in Mississippi

  • Driver fatigue and hours-of-service violations on long interstate runs
  • Rear-end collisions with stopped or slowing traffic, especially in work zones, due to accidents ahead, and at interchanges
  • Under-ride crashes when a car goes beneath a trailer
  • Improper lane changes and wide right turns
  • Jackknife and rollover crashes from speed, brake failure or shifting cargo
  • Tire blowouts and failed maintenance
  • Trucks parked on the shoulder without proper placement of warning devices

Deadlines

Mississippi allows three years from the crash to file suit (Miss. Code § 15-1-49), but trucking evidence is lost in days: ELD data is overwritten, drivers’ records are purged on federal retention schedules, and trucks are repaired and returned to service. Contact us before you speak with the trucking company’s insurer.

Mississippi 18-Wheeler Accident FAQs

What if the trucking company’s investigators try to talk to me?
Trucking insurers send rapid-response teams to serious crashes within hours. You are not required to speak with them, and, in fact, you should not do so before talking to us. Their job is not to help you but rather to try to gather information that will help them avoid liability or having to pay you for the damages that they caused.

Does it matter that the police report says I caused the wreck?
Reports are written at the scene, often from the surviving driver’s account. We regularly reverse initial fault findings with ECM data, dash-camera footage, reconstruction and witnesses.

Do you handle crashes with dump trucks, log trucks, tankers and delivery trucks?
Yes. Log trucks and dump trucks are common on Mississippi highways and are subject to the same safety rules as over-the-road 18-wheelers; many are also subject to the federal regulations that govern these large commercial vehicles, even if they are not traveling across state lines when the incident occurred.

Are truck drivers drug-tested after a crash?
Federal rules require post-accident alcohol and drug testing after crashes involving a fatality, or an injury or tow-away with a citation. A company that fails to test, or a test that is positive, matters greatly to the case.

What if a family member was killed?
We bring wrongful death claims for families against every responsible party. Contact R. Kevin Hamilton at (601) 693-5548. We also handle trucking cases locally from our Meridian and Ridgeland offices statewide.