Trucking & Transportation
Thomas Rubin & Kelley PC represents trucking companies, motor carriers, commercial fleets, and their insurers in commercial vehicle accident litigation throughout Arizona. The firm handles tractor-trailer collisions, fleet vehicle accidents, driver and carrier negligence claims, broker and shipper involvement, and fatality cases. Our attorneys are well-versed in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs), driver qualification requirements, hours-of-service rules, and commercial vehicle accident reconstruction. Our representation runs from initial investigation through trial or resolution, beginning in the first days after a serious accident.
Commercial Vehicle Claims and Parties
We defend bodily injury, wrongful death, and property damage claims arising from accidents involving tractor-trailers, box trucks, delivery and service fleets, and other commercial vehicles. Claims commonly include direct negligence against the driver, vicarious liability against the motor carrier, and independent claims for negligent hiring, training, supervision, retention, and maintenance.
The firm also handles the issues that arise among transportation parties, including lease and interchange agreements, broker and shipper involvement, and contractual indemnity and additional insured obligations.
Accidents involving fleet vehicles operated by service and delivery companies raise similar questions even when the federal regulations do not apply, including the company's hiring and training practices and its use of telematics to monitor drivers. Thomas Rubin & Kelley PC defends these fleet claims with the same early investigation it brings to tractor-trailer cases.
Rapid Response and Regulatory Review
In a serious trucking case, the most important work takes place in the first days after the accident. Our attorneys help insurers and motor carriers preserve the vehicle, engine control module and electronic logging device data, dashcam and telematics data, driver logs, and dispatch communications, and coordinate scene documentation and reconstruction.
The firm then reviews the driver qualification file, hours-of-service records, maintenance and inspection records, and drug and alcohol testing results to identify regulatory issues before the plaintiff does. That review produces an early assessment of exposure for the carrier and the motor carrier.
Reports address liability, regulatory compliance, comparative fault, and damages, with a recommended strategy and a budget for the expert work these cases require.
Plaintiffs' counsel in trucking cases frequently put the company's safety program on trial along with the accident itself. We prepare the driver and corporate witnesses for deposition and trial with that strategy in mind, and we prepare each case to be tried.
Issues That Shape Trucking & Transportation Cases
Our attorneys review each carrier's compliance record under the federal regulations, including drug and alcohol testing, driver qualification, hours of service and electronic logging devices, and inspection and maintenance, and we evaluate whether any alleged violation had a real connection to the accident.
Fault in a commercial vehicle case is divided among the driver, the motor carrier, other motorists, and outside maintenance providers, and a carrier's responsibility for its own driver is frequently undisputed. We focus the investigation on the conduct of other drivers, road conditions, and vehicle maintenance, and we handle the wrongful death claims that follow fatal accidents. Lease and interchange agreements, broker contracts, and shipper arrangements also affect which parties and insurers respond, and we sort out those relationships early.
Punitive damages allegations based on safety violations are common in trucking litigation, and case value is also shaped by offers of judgment and the presentation of medical expenses. For further reading, see Punitive Damages in Negligence Cases, along with the firm's analysis of Rule 68 offers and The Collateral Source Rule is Alive & Well in Arizona. Many trucking cases also overlap with the firm's automobile liability practice.
Assigning a Transportation Matter
After a serious commercial vehicle accident, the firm can begin work before suit is filed, including preservation letters and early witness statements. Motor carriers and their insurers can call (602) 274-8289 or use the contact page to assign a transportation matter.