St Louis Truck Accident Attorney | Bruntrager & Billings

A collision with a commercial truck is a different experience from most car accidents. The sheer size and weight of an 18-wheeler, semi-truck, or large delivery vehicle mean that the injuries are often catastrophic, the legal questions can be far more complicated, and the opposition is far better resourced. Trucking companies carry large commercial insurance policies, and those insurers deploy experienced defense teams quickly after a serious crash. At Bruntrager & Billings, P.C., we match that firepower.

Our St. Louis truck accident attorneys have decades of experience navigating the federal and state regulations that govern commercial trucking, and we know how to build the kind of case that holds carriers, drivers, and their insurers fully accountable. If you or a loved one has been seriously injured in a truck accident anywhere in the St. Louis area, we are ready to fight for you. All you have to do is contact our office for a free consultation today.

Why Are Truck Accident Cases More Complex Than Car Accidents?

When dealing with a car crash, there are typically two parties and one insurance company. A truck accident case can potentially involve the truck driver, the trucking company, a separate cargo loading contractor, a truck manufacturer, a maintenance company, and multiple layers of insurance coverage. Sorting out who is liable, and to what degree, requires a thorough investigation and a working knowledge of both Missouri personal injury law and federal trucking regulations.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) imposes strict requirements on commercial carriers operating in interstate commerce, including rules governing hours of service, driver qualification, vehicle maintenance, weight limits, and cargo securement. Violations of these regulations are not just administrative infractions, but they can be powerful evidence of negligence in a personal injury claim. Our truck accident lawyers know where to look and how to use what we find.

Why Does the St. Louis Region See So Many Truck Crashes?

St. Louis sits at one of the most significant freight crossroads in the country. Interstates 44, 55, 64, and 70 intersect in and around the city, making the region a critical hub for commercial freight moving in every direction across the country. The volume of 18-wheelers, semi-trucks, tanker trucks, flatbeds, and commercial delivery vehicles on St. Louis roads at any given time is substantial. High-risk areas for truck accidents include:

The heavily traveled stretch of I-70 between downtown and Lambert-St. Louis International Airport
The I-255/I-270 bypass corridors used by freight traffic skirting the city
The industrial access roads near the riverfront and in north St. Louis County

Highway 367 in Hazelwood and the commercial corridors near the interchange at I-44 and Highway 141 in west county also see significant commercial truck traffic, particularly involving delivery vehicles servicing distribution centers in the area.

When a serious truck accident occurs in the city, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department typically responds and prepares the initial crash report. County crashes fall to the St. Louis County Police Department or a local municipal agency. In fatal truck accidents, the Missouri State Highway Patrol may also be involved. Our team knows how to obtain the correct reports from each agency and how to supplement that initial investigation with our own.

According to Missouri Department of Transportation data, the state recorded approximately 136 fatalities involving commercial motor vehicles in 2025, and many more people sustained life-altering injuries. St. Louis County and St. Louis City consistently rank among the counties with the highest number of truck collisions statewide.

That volume of commercial traffic is exactly why so many of our clients come to us after a crash on the highways and roads described above.

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What Are Common Causes of Truck Accidents in St. Louis?

Truck accidents are rarely simple. While driver error is a factor in many cases, the underlying cause often runs deeper. Our St. Louis trucking accident attorneys regularly investigate crashes stemming from:

Driver Fatigue: Federal hours-of-service rules exist because fatigued driving is demonstrably dangerous. Despite these regulations, some drivers and carriers push past legal limits. We can subpoena driver logs, electronic logging device (ELD) data, and fuel and toll records to establish whether fatigue played a role.
Speeding and Aggressive Driving: Large trucks require significantly more distance to stop than passenger vehicles. Speeding in a fully loaded 18-wheeler substantially increases the severity of any collision.
Impaired Driving: Alcohol and controlled substances are factors in a significant number of commercial truck crashes. Post-accident drug and alcohol testing is required under federal law, and we move quickly to secure those results.
Distracted Driving: Cell phone use, dispatch communications, and in-cab technology all compete for a truck driver’s attention. We pursue phone records and in-cab data when distraction may be a contributing factor.
Negligent Maintenance: Commercial trucks require regular inspection and maintenance under both federal and state law. Brake failures, tire blowouts, and lighting defects are among the most common maintenance-related causes of serious crashes. When a trucking company’s maintenance records reveal a pattern of neglect, that evidence can be powerful in establishing liability.
Improper Cargo Loading: Overloaded or improperly secured cargo can cause a truck to roll over or lose control, endangering everyone on the road. Liability in these cases may extend to the shipper or cargo loading contractor, not just the driver or carrier.

Who Can Be Held Responsible for Your Truck Accident?

One of the most important aspects of a truck accident case is identifying every party whose negligence contributed to the crash. Depending on the circumstances, liability may extend to:

The truck driver, for violations of traffic law or federal safety regulations.
The trucking company, for negligent hiring, inadequate training, or pressuring drivers to violate hours-of-service rules.
A third-party maintenance contractor, if a mechanical failure caused or contributed to the crash.
The cargo shipper or loading company, if improperly secured freight was a factor.
The truck manufacturer or a component manufacturer, if a defective part, such as a faulty brake system, was involved.

Identifying and pursuing all potentially liable parties is critical to securing full compensation. Our St. Louis truck accident lawyers conduct a comprehensive investigation before the trucking company and its insurer have a chance to control the narrative.

What Missouri Laws Govern Truck Accident Claims?

The legal framework that applies to your case is just as important as what caused the crash. As tractor trailer accident attorneys handling claims across the St. Louis region, we walk every client through how Missouri law will affect their case from the outset.

How Long You Have to File

Missouri gives injury victims five years from the date of the crash to file a lawsuit under RSMo § 516.120, which covers truck accident claims along with most other personal injury cases. Wrongful death claims arising from a fatal truck accident follow a shorter three-year deadline under RSMo § 537.100.

Five years may sound generous, but critical evidence, including driver logs, ELD data, and dashcam footage, is often destroyed or overwritten within weeks of a crash, which is why we recommend contacting a commercial vehicle accident lawyer well before any deadline is close.

Missouri’s Pure Comparative Fault Rule

One of the most important protections for injury victims in Missouri is the state’s pure comparative fault system, first adopted by the Missouri Supreme Court in Gustafson v. Benda, codified under RSMo § 537.765, and applied broadly to negligence claims, including truck accidents. Under this rule, you can still recover compensation even if you are found partially, or even mostly, at fault for the crash. Your award is simply reduced by your percentage of fault.

If a jury awards $500,000 in damages but finds you 20 percent responsible, you would still recover $400,000. Unlike states that cut off recovery entirely once a claimant crosses a 50 or 51 percent fault threshold, Missouri has no such bar. This matters enormously in truck accident cases, where trucking companies and their insurers routinely try to shift blame onto the injured driver to reduce their payout.

Joint and Several Liability in Multi-Defendant Cases

Truck accident claims frequently involve more than one defendant, such as a driver and the trucking company that employs them, or a carrier and a separate maintenance contractor. Under RSMo § 537.067, a defendant found to bear 51 percent or more of the fault for an accident can be held jointly and severally liable for the full judgment.

This means that an injured plaintiff can recover the entire award from that one defendant rather than trying to collect smaller shares from several parties individually. Sorting out how fault should be allocated among multiple defendants is one of the more technical aspects of a serious truck accident lawyer’s work, and it can significantly affect how and from whom you actually collect compensation.

Damage Caps: What Is and Is Not Limited

Missouri does not cap economic or non-economic damages in a standard truck accident claim arising from ordinary negligence. That means there is no statutory ceiling on compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, future earning capacity, or pain and suffering in the great majority of trucking cases we handle. This is an important distinction from Missouri medical malpractice claims, which are capped under a separate statute.

Punitive damages carry their own statutory cap on paper under RSMo § 510.265, but the Missouri Supreme Court has held that cap unconstitutional as applied to common-law claims, which includes ordinary negligence actions like most truck accident cases.

In practice, this means punitive damages, when a jury finds they are warranted by particularly reckless conduct, are not subject to the statutory limit in the majority of the cases our truck accident attorneys handle.

Injuries in Truck Accident Cases

Because of the enormous weight disparity between commercial trucks and passenger vehicles, the injuries sustained in truck accidents are frequently severe and life-altering. Our firm handles cases involving:

Spinal cord injuries causing partial or complete paralysis.
Severe burns in crashes involving tanker trucks or vehicles that catch fire.
Traumatic brain injuries and skull fractures resulting from high-impact collisions.
Multiple fractures and crush injuries requiring surgery and extended rehabilitation.
Wrongful death, when a family member has been killed in a truck accident.

If your injuries required treatment at a Level I trauma center such as Barnes-Jewish Hospital or SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital, the medical documentation from that care is a critical part of building your damages case. We work closely with treating physicians, rehabilitation specialists, and life care planners to ensure that the full cost of your injuries, both present and future, is accounted for in your claim.

How We Handle Truck Accident Cases

Time matters in truck accident cases. Trucking companies and their insurers often dispatch accident investigators to the scene within hours of a serious crash. We move quickly to preserve evidence, issue litigation holds to prevent the destruction of driver logs and electronic data, and secure any available surveillance or dashcam footage before it is overwritten.

Thorough Investigation

Our team gathers police reports from the relevant agency, reviews FMCSA safety records for the carrier, analyzes the truck’s black box and ELD data, and works with accident reconstruction experts when the facts of the crash are in dispute. We also investigate the trucking company’s hiring and training practices and maintenance history for the specific vehicle involved.

Skilled Negotiation

Commercial trucking insurers are experienced at minimizing payouts, and they have seen every tactic for doing so. Our truck accident attorneys are equally experienced on the other side of that table. We negotiate aggressively for full compensation covering medical expenses, lost wages, future earning capacity, pain and suffering, and, in appropriate cases, punitive damages.

Trial-Ready Litigation

Bruntrager & Billings, P.C. is a trial firm with a long history of litigating serious injury cases in the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis, the St. Louis County Circuit Court, and more. When an insurer refuses to offer fair compensation, we are fully prepared to take the case to a jury.

Frequently Asked Questions About St. Louis Truck Accident Claims

How can a federal regulation violation establish negligence in my case?

Missouri recognizes negligence per se, which allows the violation of a safety regulation, such as FMCSA rules on hours of service, driver qualification, or maintenance, to establish negligence automatically rather than leaving a jury to decide what a reasonable driver should have done. Even where a court treats the violation as strong evidence rather than an automatic finding, it still shifts the case toward proving the violation caused your injuries.

What is a letter of preservation, and why does it matter?

A letter of preservation is a formal notice demanding that a trucking company preserve evidence like ELD data, dashcam footage, and maintenance logs before it’s destroyed or recorded over. If a company ignores that notice, a court can instruct the jury to presume the missing evidence was unfavorable to them. Because this data is often cycled out within days or weeks, sending this letter immediately can determine whether key evidence still exists by the time your case is ready.

Can I sue the trucking company, not just the driver?

Yes, and in many cases you should. Trucking companies can be held liable for negligent hiring, inadequate training, pressuring drivers to violate hours-of-service rules, or failing to maintain their vehicles. A thorough investigation often reveals that the carrier bears as much, or more, responsibility than the driver behind the wheel.

Do I need a tractor trailer accident attorney, or can a general injury lawyer handle my case?

Truck accident cases involve federal trucking regulations, commercial insurance policies, and evidence like ELD data and carrier safety records that a typical car accident claim never touches. A tractor trailer accident attorney with specific experience in these cases is far better positioned to identify every liable party and build a claim that accounts for the full extent of your losses.

How much is my commercial vehicle accident claim worth?

There is no fixed formula. Value depends on the severity of your injuries, your current and future medical costs, lost income, and the degree of fault attributable to each party involved. Because Missouri does not cap damages in standard negligence claims, a thorough accounting of both current and future losses is essential to accurately valuing a claim.

What should I do immediately after a St. Louis truck accident?

Seek medical attention first, even if your injuries seem minor. Where safe to do so, document the scene with photos, get contact information for any witnesses, and avoid giving a recorded statement to the trucking company’s insurer before speaking with an attorney. The company’s investigators often move within hours of a serious crash, so early legal guidance can make a real difference.

Contact our Auto Accident Attorneys in St. Louis

If you or a loved one has been injured in a big rig crash, reach out to our experienced law firm that regularly handles truck accidents. We offer free initial consultations, during which we can discuss your case and provide an unbiased view of the possible legal options available to you.

During your consultation, we will:

Listen to your story and understand the details of your truck accident.
Evaluate the strengths and potential challenges of your case.
Provide you with clear and practical advice on how to proceed with your claim for compensation.

Never attempt to handle complex truck accident cases on your own. Allow our dedicated team at Bruntrager & Billings, P.C. to fight tirelessly for justice and ensure your rights are protected while securing the compensation you deserve. Contact us today to set up a free appointment to review your situation and begin pursuing justice after your truck accident injury.

Don’t let a truck accident define your future. Our experienced attorneys are here to help you every step of the way.

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