A loaded dump truck can weigh several times more than a family car and needs a long distance to stop. It makes wide turns into and out of job sites, often across several lanes. Its driver has large blind spots, particularly when backing. Gravel and rock fall from uncovered beds and crack windshields. A raised bed can strike an overpass or a power line. A tailgate can swing open and dump its load on the road.
Many dump trucks are operated by owner-operators who haul for several companies, and many trips are short, in-state runs between a quarry or pit and a job site. That shapes which rules apply and who may be responsible.
1. Identify the truck, the hauler and the project
Photograph the truck's door, which usually shows the operator's name and USDOT number, and the license plate. Note the direction it was headed and any nearby construction site, quarry or concrete plant. Dump truck work is organized around projects, so knowing where the truck was coming from and going to leads us to the developer, the general contractor and the material supplier. Photograph any spilled material on the road and any damage to your windshield or paint.
2. Get the haul tickets and scale records
Every load of aggregate or fill typically produces a ticket at the pit or plant showing the time, the truck number and the weight. Those tickets show how heavy the truck was and how many loads the driver had already run that day. Drivers paid by the load have an incentive to hurry, and the tickets can show whether the pace was realistic. We also request the job site's gate logs and the contractor's daily reports, which record which trucks entered and when.
3. Check the load cover and the tailgate
Florida law requires loads of "dirt, sand, lime rock, gravel, silica, or other similar aggregate" to be covered or secured so material does not fall or blow out, and covering "with a close-fitting tarpaulin or other appropriate cover or a load securing device" satisfies that duty (§ 316.520(2), Fla. Stat.). More broadly, a vehicle may not be driven unless it is loaded "as to prevent any of its load from dropping, shifting, leaking, blowing, or otherwise escaping therefrom" (§ 316.520(1)). Photographs of an open bed, a torn tarp or a latched or unlatched tailgate are important evidence.
“dirt, sand, lime rock, gravel, silica, or other similar aggregate”
§ 316.520(2)
4. Look at hours, maintenance and the driver's record
Much dump truck work in Florida is intrastate. Florida applies the federal motor carrier safety rules to in-state trucking (§ 316.302(1)(b)) and sets its own hours limits for in-state drivers who are not hauling placardable hazardous materials: no driving after 12 hours of driving following 10 consecutive hours off duty, or after the 16th hour following 10 consecutive hours off duty, and no driving after 70 hours in 7 days, or 80 hours in 8 days for carriers that operate every day (§ 316.302(2)(b) and (c)). Carriers must "systematically inspect, repair, and maintain" their trucks (49 C.F.R. § 396.3(a)), and brake condition is especially important for heavy, rear-loaded vehicles. We also review post-accident drug and alcohol testing (§ 382.303) and the driver's qualification file.
“systematically inspect, repair, and maintain”
§ 316.302(1)(b)
5. Send a preservation letter to the hauler, the contractor and the supplier
Our letter goes to the truck's operator, any company that leased or dispatched the truck, the general contractor and developer on the project, and the pit or plant that loaded it. It demands the truck and its data, GPS and telematics history, haul tickets and scale records, dispatch records and text messages, gate logs and daily reports, the maintenance of traffic plan for any work zone, driver logs, maintenance records and post-accident test results. Driver inspection reports are kept for only three months (49 C.F.R. § 396.11), so we send the letter as early as possible.
6. Document the work zone if the crash happened near the site
Construction projects on or next to public roads usually operate under a traffic control plan that sets lane closures, flaggers, signs and truck entry points. If trucks were entering traffic without a flagger, or signs were missing, the contractor responsible for traffic control may share responsibility. Photograph the signs, cones and barricades as they were at the time of the crash.
Who may be responsible
The driver and the trucking company are the first defendants we consider. Where an owner-operator is leased to a carrier, federal leasing rules require the carrier to have "exclusive possession, control, and use of the equipment for the duration of the lease" and to "assume complete responsibility for the operation of the equipment" (49 C.F.R. § 376.12(c)(1)). Whether a general contractor or developer that hired the hauler is also responsible depends on the contracts and on how much control it exercised, and we investigate that in every case. A pit or plant that overloaded the truck, a contractor that ran an unsafe work zone, and a maintenance shop that missed a brake defect may also share fault. When the project is a public road job, the government owner may be involved, and Florida's sovereign immunity notice rules apply.
“exclusive possession, control, and use of the equipment for the duration of the lease”
§ 376.12(c)(1)
The Florida rules that matter
Deadlines. For most negligence claims, Florida's limitations period is two years (§ 95.11(5)(a)). A wrongful death action also has a two-year limit (§ 95.11(5)(e)).
Public projects. If the state, a county or a city shares responsibility, the claim must be presented in writing to the appropriate agency and, except for claims against a municipality, county or the Florida Space Authority, also to the Department of Financial Services, "within 3 years after such claim accrues" (§ 768.28(6)(a)). Recovery against the government is limited to $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident (§ 768.28(5)(a)).
Fault. Your recovery is reduced by your own percentage of fault (§ 768.81(2)) and barred if you are more than 50 percent at fault (§ 768.81(6)). Each defendant pays its own share (§ 768.81(3)), and a defendant that blames an absent contractor or supplier must plead and identify it (§ 768.81(3)(a)1.).
Insurance. Dump trucks working only in Florida may not be subject to the federal $750,000 minimum, which applies to for-hire carriers of nonhazardous property in interstate commerce (49 C.F.R. § 387.9). Contractors on large projects often require haulers to carry more, and the contractor's own policy may also apply. We request the subcontract and the certificates of insurance.
“within 3 years after such claim accrues”
§ 768.28(6)(a)
Your checklist
- Photograph the truck's door, plate and bed, and any spilled material.
- Note where the truck was coming from and any nearby job site or quarry.
- Photograph work zone signs, cones and flaggers, or their absence.
- Keep your damaged windshield or parts if material struck your vehicle.
- Do not give a recorded statement to the hauler's or contractor's insurer.
- Call us early so haul tickets, gate logs and truck data are preserved.
How we handle these cases
Dump truck cases are construction cases as much as trucking cases. We trace each load from the pit to the job site, match the haul tickets to the driver's hours and the truck's speed, and identify every company that hired, loaded, dispatched or directed the truck. We handle truck crash cases throughout Florida, including Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville. Meetings by appointment only. Call 305-748-3789.
This article is general information, not legal advice for your situation. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.