Garbage and recycling trucks stop every few dozen feet, often before sunrise. They back down residential streets and alleys. Side-loading trucks swing a mechanical arm out to grab a cart, and rear-loading trucks carry workers on the back steps who jump on and off between stops. The driver sits high, with blind spots along the right side and directly behind. The people hurt are drivers who rear-end a truck that stopped suddenly, cyclists and pedestrians on the right side of the truck, children near the curb, and motorists struck by a truck backing out of a side street.
In some Florida cities the trucks are owned and driven by the city itself. In others, a private hauler holds a franchise or contract with the city or county. Which arrangement applies changes the deadlines, the notice rules and the amount that can be recovered.
1. Find out who owns and operates the truck
Photograph the truck's door, rear and sides, the license plate, and any unit number or company name. A government plate, a city seal, or a fleet number with a municipal prefix suggests a public truck; a company name and USDOT number suggest a private hauler. Ask the responding officer to note the owner in the crash report. We confirm ownership through vehicle registration records and the city's solid waste contract.
2. Request the records the truck creates
Modern collection trucks are heavily instrumented. Many have multiple cameras, including cameras on the right side, on the arm and at the rear. GPS units log each stop, and some systems record each cart lift. Route sheets show the schedule the crew was expected to keep. When the truck belongs to a city or county, its records are generally subject to Florida's public records law, which provides that "all state, county, and municipal records are open for personal inspection" and copying by any person (§ 119.01(1), Fla. Stat.). Video may be on a short overwrite cycle, so we send both a preservation letter and a public records request immediately.
“all state, county, and municipal records are open for personal inspection”
§ 119.01(1)
3. Look at backing, spotters and right-side visibility
Many garbage truck injuries happen while the truck is backing or turning right. We ask whether the backup alarm and cameras worked, whether a crew member was assigned to act as a spotter, what the hauler's backing policy required, and whether the route could have been designed to avoid backing on that street. For crashes involving workers on the rear steps, we look at the company's safety rules for riding and dismounting.
4. Consider the other driver's duties
Florida's Move Over law covers sanitation trucks. When a sanitation vehicle is performing sanitation work on the roadside, approaching drivers must move out of the nearest lane on a multilane road when it is safe, or slow to "20 miles per hour less than the posted speed limit" on a two-lane road where the posted limit is 25 miles per hour or more (§ 316.126(1)(b)). If you were a sanitation worker hit by a passing car, that statute is central to your claim against the driver who struck you.
“20 miles per hour less than the posted speed limit”
§ 316.126(1)(b)
5. Send written notice to the government, on time
If the truck is a public vehicle, a lawsuit may not be filed until the claim is presented in writing. Section 768.28(6)(a) provides that an action may not be instituted against the state or one of its agencies or subdivisions "unless the claimant presents the claim in writing to the appropriate agency," and, except as to claims against a municipality, county or the Florida Space Authority, also to the Department of Financial Services, "within 3 years after such claim accrues." The notice must include the claimant's date and place of birth and Social Security number (§ 768.28(6)(c)). The agency then has six months to resolve the claim before its failure to act is treated as a denial (§ 768.28(6)(d)). For a wrongful death claim, presentation to the Department of Financial Services must occur within two years (§ 768.28(6)(a)). Because a garbage truck may belong to a county, a city, or a special authority, and because the right recipient is not always obvious, we often serve both the agency and the Department of Financial Services.
“unless the claimant presents the claim in writing to the appropriate agency,”
§ 768.28(6)(c)
Who may be responsible
When a city or county operates the truck, the claim runs against the government entity. Florida law provides that the driver, as a government employee, may not be "held personally liable in tort or named as a party defendant" unless the employee acted in bad faith, with malicious purpose, or with wanton and willful disregard of human rights, safety or property (§ 768.28(9)(a)). When a private hauler operates the truck, the hauler and its driver can be sued under ordinary negligence rules, and the hauler's contract with the city often requires insurance and indemnity that we review. A truck manufacturer, an upfitter that installed the arm or cameras, or a maintenance vendor may be responsible for an equipment failure.
“held personally liable in tort or named as a party defendant”
§ 768.28(9)(a)
The Florida rules that matter
Limits on recovery from the government. Recovery against a public entity is limited to $200,000 for any one person and $300,000 for all claims arising from the same incident (§ 768.28(5)(a)). The portion of a judgment above those amounts "may be reported to the Legislature, but may be paid in part or in whole only by further act of the Legislature." Private haulers are not subject to those limits.
Deadlines. A lawsuit against a government entity must be filed within four years after the claim accrues (§ 768.28(14)), and the written notice must come first. Against a private hauler, most negligence claims carry a two-year limit (§ 95.11(5)(a)), and wrongful death claims also carry a two-year limit (§ 95.11(5)(e)). If ownership is unclear, we work to the shorter deadline.
Federal safety rules. The federal motor carrier safety rules state that they do not apply to "Transportation performed by the Federal government, a State, or any political subdivision of a State" (49 C.F.R. § 390.3T(f)(2)). Private haulers may be subject to them, and Florida applies many of those rules to in-state commercial trucks (§ 316.302(1)(b)). Section 316.302 contains no express exemption for government-owned trucks; how it applies to a city fleet is a question we analyze case by case.
Fault. Your recovery is reduced by your own percentage of fault (§ 768.81(2)) and barred if you are found more than 50 percent at fault (§ 768.81(6)).
“may be reported to the Legislature, but may be paid in part or in whole only by further act of the Legislature.”
§ 768.28(5)(a)
“Transportation performed by the Federal government, a State, or any political subdivision of a State”
§ 390.3
Your checklist
- Photograph the truck's markings, plate and unit number, and note whether it looks public or private.
- Write down the crew members' names and the time of the crash.
- Get medical care within 14 days, and sooner if you are hurt.
- Do not give a recorded statement to the city's claims office or the hauler's insurer.
- Gather your date and place of birth and Social Security number for the written notice.
- Call us right away so we can request camera footage and serve the required notice.
How we handle these cases
We begin by confirming who owns and operates the truck, because that decides every rule that follows. For public trucks, we prepare and serve the written notice under § 768.28 and request the city's records. For private haulers, we pursue the hauler, review its contract with the municipality, and identify every policy that may apply. We handle commercial vehicle 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.