Serious Injuries From Delivery Trucks Deserve a Firm Pensacola Has Trusted Since 1973
A delivery vehicle does not have to be an 18-wheeler to change your life on impact. At Staples Law Group, P.A., we represent people across Pensacola and Escambia County who were hurt when a package car, a box truck, or a contracted delivery driver rolled through a stop sign, reversed out of a driveway, or turned across traffic on a tight schedule. We look past the driver to the company that put that vehicle on the road. Our Pensacola truck accident attorneys handle these cases from the first call through trial.
Why Injured Clients in Northwest Florida Trust Staples Law Group, P.A.
A delivery truck collision can raise questions that do not arise in an ordinary car accident: which company controlled the driver, what records may show what happened, and how serious injuries will affect your life. Staples Law Group brings local personal injury representation, medical insight, and litigation experience to injury claims throughout Northwest Florida.
- Serving the Florida Panhandle since 1973. Thomas Craft Staples founded the firm in 1973, and it has served Northwest Florida continuously since then.
- Medical insight for injury claims. Doctors and nurses on staff review personal injury cases, discuss clients’ medical issues with them, and help the firm identify appropriate medical experts when needed.
- Recognized trial credentials. Thomas Craft Staples holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell and is a life member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum.
- No attorney fees unless there is a recovery. Personal injury cases are handled on a contingency-fee basis, so clients pay no attorney fees if the firm does not recover damages.
- A free consultation focused on your circumstances. The firm takes time to understand what happened, listen to your concerns, and discuss the legal options available to you.
- Experience in state and federal courts. Thomas Craft Staples is admitted in Florida and in federal courts, including the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida.
- A Pensacola office. Staples Law Group, P.A. is located at 100 South Alcaniz Street, First Floor, Pensacola, Florida.
After a delivery truck crash, the details matter, from the medical consequences of the collision to the companies and insurance coverage involved. We offer Northwest Florida injury clients a firm with longstanding local roots, an in-house medical perspective, and experience handling cases that may require litigation.
The Safety Rules That Actually Governed the Van That Hit You
Most people assume the federal trucking rules reach only tractor-trailers. In Florida, they reach further, and how far depends on the vehicle’s weight and where it operates. Florida defines a commercial motor vehicle to include any vehicle used on public highways in commerce to carry cargo or passengers with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or more. Plenty of ordinary delivery trucks clear that line.
From there, Florida’s commercial vehicle safety statute sorts carriers into categories that matter a great deal to your case:
- Interstate delivery operations. Owners and drivers of commercial motor vehicles operated in interstate commerce are subject to the federal safety regulations in 49 C.F.R. parts 382 through 386 and 390 through 397.
- Intrastate delivery operations. Carriers operating only inside Florida are subject to those same parts as they existed on December 31, 2023, except as the statute otherwise provides.
- Lighter intrastate vehicles. A driver whose vehicle has a gross vehicle weight, a gross vehicle weight rating, and a gross combined weight rating all under 26,001 pounds, operating solely in intrastate commerce without placarded hazardous materials, is exempt from that subsection. Compliance is still required with parts 382, 392, and 393 and with sections 396.3(a)(1) and 396.9.
That last category covers much of the van and box truck traffic in Escambia County. Knowing which category applied tells us which rules were broken and which records the company had to keep.
Why Delivery Truck Evidence Disappears Faster Than People Expect
Where the full federal framework applies, a motor carrier must systematically inspect, repair, and maintain the vehicles under its control and keep parts and accessories in safe operating condition at all times. Those carriers must also keep records identifying each vehicle they control for 30 consecutive days, showing when maintenance was due and documenting every repair. Those records can be key to winning a delivery truck case.
Under the federal inspection, repair, and maintenance rules, a carrier must retain records where the vehicle is housed or maintained for one year, and for six months after the vehicle leaves its control. Fleets rotate vehicles constantly, so waiting can mean the maintenance history of the van that hit you is gone before anyone asks. Even an exempt lighter vehicle still owes the safe-condition duty, so our first question is which set of rules applied. We send preservation demands early, identify the correct motor carrier rather than the brand on the door, and pursue the records showing what the company already knew.
What Florida Law Lets You Recover After a Delivery Truck Crash
Florida places specific filters on motor vehicle injury claims. Three factors decide what your case is worth:
The Permanent Injury Threshold
In a tort action against the owner, registrant, operator, or occupant of a motor vehicle for which Florida’s required security has been provided, or against any person or organization legally responsible for that driver’s acts, such as the delivery company, you may recover for pain, suffering, mental anguish, and inconvenience only if the injury meets the “serious injury threshold.” That threshold includes significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function, permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability other than scarring or disfigurement, significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement, or death. Because that threshold turns on medical proof, our on-staff doctors and nurses review your records early and help us find specialists who can document a permanent injury properly.
Comparative Fault
Your share of the blame proportionally reduces both economic and noneconomic damages. A party found more than 50 percent at fault for their own harm may not recover at all.
The Filing Deadline
Florida’s statute of limitations set the deadline for filing personal injury lawsuits. An action founded on negligence must be brought within two years, and so must an action for wrongful death.
Talk With a Pensacola Delivery Truck Accident Attorney Today
If a delivery vehicle hurt you or someone in your family, the carrier’s insurer is already working. You should not face that alone while you are still recovering. Contact Staples Law Group, P.A. for a free consultation. We will explain where your claim stands and what evidence needs preserving now. You can also read about our Pensacola personal injury practice and our history here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a delivery van treated as a commercial motor vehicle in Florida?
Often, yes. Florida defines a commercial motor vehicle to include any vehicle used on the public highways in commerce to carry cargo or passengers with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or more. Many box trucks and larger delivery vans meet that description even though they look nothing like a tractor-trailer. Which federal rules applied depends on the weight and on whether the carrier ran across state lines.
How long do I have to file a delivery truck injury claim in Florida?
Two years. Florida requires an action founded on negligence to be commenced within two years, and the same two-year period applies to an action for wrongful death. Some older articles still list a longer deadline for injury claims, and they should not be relied on. Speak with an attorney well before then, because the carrier’s maintenance records may be gone long before your time to sue runs out.
What if the crash was partly my fault?
You may still recover. Florida reduces your damages in proportion to your share of the fault rather than barring the claim, and that reduction reaches both economic and noneconomic damages. There is a limit. A party found more than 50 percent at fault for their own harm may not recover any damages. Insurers know this rule and work to shift blame onto the injured person, which is why your own investigation matters.