A collision with a commercial truck can leave you facing serious injuries, mounting medical bills, time away from work, and uncertainty about what comes next.
Accident cases on their own can be stressful, but truck accidents are often significantly more complex. Multiple companies may be involved, and important evidence can be lost if it is not identified and preserved early.
Anyone who drives through Detroit sees how widespread commercial trucks are across the city's highways and industrial corridors every day. What many don't see until an accident are the resources that trucking companies have to defend themselves. They have insurance professionals, attorneys, and investigators on standby, ready to build a claim that suits the trucking company and not the accident victim.
Nicolet Law represents people injured in truck accidents throughout Detroit and Wayne County. We work to preserve important records, investigate the collision, and pursue the compensation our clients need to move forward after a serious crash. For how federal FMCSA standards and Michigan no-fault rules apply statewide, see our Michigan truck accident lawyers page.
A truck case is not a car case with a bigger vehicle. It has a different evidence base, a shorter clock on that evidence, and usually more than one responsible party.
Call 1-855-NICOLET or contact us online for a free consultation. You do not pay attorney's fees unless we recover money for you.
Injured? Get Nicolet.
Detroit Truck Accident Lawyer Statistics
Commercial vehicle crashes are increasing in Michigan while overall crash deaths fall.
- Michigan recorded 16,689 commercial motor vehicle crashes and 128 deaths in those crashes in 2025, on page 3 of the Michigan State Police 2024 to 2025 year-end comparison (state level). Statewide traffic deaths fell 3 percent over the same period, so commercial crashes moved against the overall trend.
- Heavy trucks and buses were involved in 15,888 Michigan crashes in 2024, killing 110 people and injuring 3,613, per page 18 of the Michigan Traffic Crash Facts 2024 fact sheets (state level). That is 5.5 percent of all Michigan crashes.
- Detroit alone reported 1,844 crashes involving a commercial vehicle in 2024, nine of them fatal, in the City of Detroit's open crash dataset (city level).
- Wayne County ranks first among Michigan's 83 counties for people killed or seriously injured in heavy truck or bus crashes, with 377 over the five years from 2020 through 2024, in the Michigan Traffic Crash Facts county ranking (county level).
- 1,132,114 trucks entered the United States at the Detroit port in 2025, 21.5 percent of all truck traffic on the northern border, per the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics border crossing release (port level). The same release notes that carriers often shift to the Blue Water Bridge at Port Huron because of construction near the I-75 and I-96 interchange, which is a federal agency confirming that Detroit freeway work is actively rerouting freight.
Behind each of these numbers is a family dealing with a hospital stay, lost paychecks, and a trucking insurer that already has lawyers working the file. If a commercial vehicle crash in Detroit has changed your daily life, a Detroit truck accident lawyer from Nicolet Law can investigate what happened, deal with the carrier and its insurers, and pursue a claim that reflects the full impact of your injuries.
Why Are Truck Accident Cases Different From Car Accident Cases?
Because trucking is a federally regulated industry, and regulated industries leave paper trails. A car crash case is usually built from a police report, photographs, and medical records. A truck case adds an entire second layer of evidence that exists only because federal law requires the carrier to create it.
The federal paper trail a car crash does not have
Interstate carriers operate under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. Hours of service limits in 49 CFR 395.3 mandate that a property-carrying driver must:
- Drive at most 11 hours inside a 14-hour window after 10 consecutive hours off duty
- Take a 30-minute break once eight hours of driving time have passed
- Drive at most 60 hours on duty in seven days or 70 in eight, depending on the carrier's schedule
Since December 18, 2017, an FMCSA mandate has required most drivers to record duty status on an electronic logging device rather than on paper, which means the data exists in a form that can be compared against fuel receipts, dispatch records, and gate logs.
Why Michigan truck weight matters to your injuries
Michigan adds a wrinkle no other state has. Federal law caps trucks at 80,000 pounds on the Interstate system, but MDOT's own publication on Michigan's truck weight law explains that a properly configured 11-axle combination can lawfully reach 164,000 pounds on Michigan roads, under a grandfather clause dating back to before 1982. Michigan has some of the heaviest trucks in the country. Weight matters in a crash case because stopping distance, crush energy, and the severity of the injuries all scale with it.
What Evidence Disappears After a Detroit Truck Crash?
Most of it, on a schedule. Here is what the federal rules actually permit.
| Evidence | How long it is required to exist | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Records of duty status and supporting documents | Not less than six months from receipt | 49 CFR 395.8(k)(1) |
| Driver's own copy of recent duty status records | Previous seven consecutive days, carried in the vehicle | 49 CFR 395.8(k)(2) |
| Supporting documents in the driver's possession | Submitted to the carrier within 13 days | 49 CFR 395.11 |
| Electronic logging device data | Governed by the ELD rules at 49 CFR 395.20 through 395.38 | FMCSA hours of service program |
| Onboard event recorder and telematics data | No federal preservation period, often overwritten in days | Carrier policy |
| Commercial and traffic camera video near the scene | No federal requirement, commonly overwritten within days | Property owner policy |
| The tractor and trailer themselves | No federal requirement, frequently repaired or sold | Carrier policy |
The practical consequence is that a case starting at month seven can be missing the documents that would have proved a violation.
What we do in the first days
One of our first steps in a Detroit truck case is to send a spoliation and preservation letter to the carrier, its insurer, and any broker or shipper involved, followed by requests to inspect the vehicle and download the electronic data before anything is repaired.
Who Can Be Held Responsible in a Michigan Truck Case?
Potentially more parties than the driver, and finding them is often the difference between adequate coverage and inadequate coverage. Michigan gives injured people a specific tool here: under MCL 257.401, the owner of a vehicle is liable for injuries caused by its negligent operation when the vehicle was being driven with the owner's consent or knowledge. That is true vicarious liability, not just liability for the owner's own carelessness.
| Potential defendant | Theory of responsibility |
|---|---|
| The driver | Negligent operation, hours of service violations, distraction, impairment |
| The motor carrier | Vicarious liability, negligent hiring, training, supervision, or retention |
| The vehicle's owner or lessor | Owner liability under MCL 257.401, subject to statutory lease limits |
| A maintenance contractor | Negligent inspection, repair, or brake service |
| The shipper or loader | Improper loading, securement failure, weight distribution |
| A freight broker | Negligent selection of an unsafe carrier |
| A parts or component manufacturer | Product defect in brakes, tires, or coupling equipment |
| A road agency | Defective road design or maintenance, subject to strict notice deadlines |
Pay special attention to that last row. A claim against a governmental road agency requires notice within 120 days under MCL 691.1404, and the lawsuit deadline for a road defect claim is two years rather than the usual three under MCL 691.1411. If a work zone on the I-75 corridor or an unmaintained shoulder contributed to your crash, those days start running immediately.
Driver fatigue and the duty status record
Hours of service violations rarely announce themselves. We compare the electronic log against fuel receipts, dispatch messages, gate logs, and toll data to see whether the driving time the carrier reported matches the driving time the rest of the paperwork shows. When a driver's log balances perfectly but surrounding records do not, that can be a key finding in a case.
Driver qualification and hiring records
The carrier's own file on the driver often matters as much as the crash itself. We request the driver qualification file, the road test, the medical certification, prior employer safety history, and drug and alcohol testing records. A carrier that puts an unqualified driver on the road can be liable for that decision, separately from the driver's own negligence.
Maintenance and inspection history
Mechanical failures usually have a paper history. We look at brake adjustment measurements, tire conditions, annual inspection reports, repair orders, and the driver vehicle inspection reports filed at the end of each shift. Deferred maintenance shows up in the paperwork long before it shows up in a crash.
If a truck crash in Detroit has left you with serious injuries, the evidence clock is already running. Call 1-855-NICOLET or contact us online for a free consultation. You do not pay attorney's fees unless we recover money for you.
How Do Michigan No-Fault Rules Apply to a Truck Crash?
Michigan no-fault rules apply to a truck crash through your own personal injury protection benefits on your auto policy. This protection pays initial medical expenses and compensates part of your wage loss regardless of who was at fault for the accident, up to the coverage level you carry under MCL 500.3107c. Truck crash injuries are frequently severe enough to exhaust a $250,000 or $50,000 PIP limit, and the excess economic loss can then be pursued from the at-fault parties.
Personal injury protection does not cover pain and suffering damages, but the at-fault claim can. For pain and suffering, MCL 500.3135 requires death, permanent serious disfigurement, or a serious impairment of body function. In heavy commercial crashes, the threshold question is rarely the hard part. The hard parts are proving the carrier's role, valuing lifetime care, and getting past the layered insurance policies that trucking companies use.
Keep in mind that filing for PIP benefits must be commenced within one year under MCL 500.3145, and that statute also limits recovery to benefits incurred in the twelve months before filing. The at-fault claim against the carrier runs three years under MCL 600.5805(2). These periods carry exceptions, and the exceptions are fact-specific. Early legal review is the practical way to keep a claim from expiring by accident.
What Compensation May Be Available After a Detroit Truck Accident?
Serious truck crash claims are usually built from six categories, and each has to be documented separately.
Medical expenses, including emergency and trauma care, surgery, rehabilitation, and long-term attendant care.
Future medical care, supported by treating physician opinions and, where injuries are catastrophic, a life care plan.
Lost income, including the portion beyond the three-year no-fault work loss window.
Diminished earning capacity, where an injury changes what kind of work you can do at all.
Pain, suffering, disfigurement, and loss of enjoyment of life, subject to the threshold.
Wrongful death damages under MCL 600.2922, including funeral expenses, the decedent's conscious pain and suffering, and the family's loss of financial support, society, and companionship.
Carriers and their insurers often fight back against the future-care and earning-capacity categories, because that can be where the largest numbers sit. We work to support them with treating physicians, vocational analysis, economists, and life care planners when the injuries call for it.
Should You Talk to the Trucking Company's Investigator?
Not before you talk to a lawyer. A carrier's rapid-response team may reach you within a day, sometimes with an offer to help with the vehicle or a rental. Their assignment is to evaluate and limit the company's exposure, and a recorded statement you give while on pain medication can backfire later.
Nicolet Law has recovered more than $500,000,000 for clients across the Midwest. Our bench pairs trial attorneys with colleagues who once handled claims for insurers and registered medical professionals on staff, and we build commercial files as though they will be tried in Wayne County Circuit Court.
How our fee works on a truck case
A truck case costs money to build, and we front those costs. Our fee is a percentage of any recovery, so there is nothing to pay while the case is pending and no attorney's fees if we recover nothing. The percentage and the expenses are spelled out in writing before you sign.
Schedule a free consultation with a Detroit truck accident lawyer. Call 1-855-NICOLET or contact us online. We work on a contingency fee, so you do not pay attorney's fees unless we recover money for you.
Injured? Get Nicolet.
FAQs About Detroit Truck Accident Lawyers
Does it matter whether the truck was hauling across the border?
It can matter a great deal. Cross-border carriers may involve Canadian operating entities, different insurance structures, and additional layers of broker and shipper responsibility. Detroit handles more Canadian truck freight than any other port on the northern border, so this comes up regularly, and it changes who we send preservation demands to.
What if the truck driver was an owner-operator rather than a company employee?
The carrier can still be responsible. Owner-operator arrangements are common in trucking, and they do not automatically insulate the motor carrier whose authority the load moved under. Federal leasing rules and Michigan's owner liability statute both matter here, and the analysis depends on the paperwork behind the load.
Can a claim proceed if the police report blames the driver of the car?
Yes. A crash report should be an objective assessment of an accident scene, and it is not the final word on fault. We have seen reports change once electronic data showed a truck's actual speed or brake application, and Michigan's comparative fault rules under MCL 600.2959 reduce rather than eliminate recovery in most shared-fault situations.
Is a jackknife or underride crash handled differently?
The mechanics change, the legal framework does not. Underride and jackknife crashes tend to raise questions about trailer equipment, brake maintenance, and load securement, which pushes the investigation toward the maintenance and loading records rather than the driver's log alone. The injuries in these crashes are also typically severe, which raises the stakes on the future-care analysis.
What if the truck was a delivery van or box truck rather than a semi?
Many of the same rules can apply, depending on weight and whether the operation is interstate. Vehicles over 10,000 pounds fall within much of the federal safety framework, and last-mile delivery operations in a dense city generate their own patterns of pressure on drivers. We look at the operation, not the label on the door.
Legal Resources About Michigan Truck Accident Claims
At Nicolet Law, we are eager to help those who have been through a truck accident, but we understand that you may not feel ready to pick up the phone. Below are some attorney-curated resources that go over truck accidents, including commonly asked questions that we receive. These articles contain general information and are not a substitute for a one-on-one conversation with an attorney.
- Who Is Liable for a Truck Accident?
- What Is the Truck Accident Claim Process?
- What Happens if Truck Driver Fatigue Causes an Accident?
- 7 Key Questions About Commercial Truck Accidents
- What Happens if an Accident Occurs With an Uninsured Truck Driver?
- Truck Accident Injuries: What Compensation Am I Entitled To?
Every commercial crash has its own paper trail. If you were injured by a truck in Detroit, call 1-855-NICOLET or contact Nicolet Law through our online contact form for a free case evaluation.