Las Vegas Truck Accident Lawyer

We Fight the Corporate Giants So You Can Focus on Healing

A collision with an 80,000-pound commercial truck is not just a “car accident.” It is a life-altering event that pits you—an individual—against a billion-dollar corporation, a team of aggressive defense lawyers, and a complex web of federal regulations.

If you are reading this, you are likely overwhelmed. You or a loved one has been seriously injured, and you are suddenly facing a reality you never prepared for: massive medical bills, lost income, and a long, painful road to recovery. Meanwhile, the trucking company is already moving to protect its bottom line.

At Paul Padda Law, we want you to know two things immediately: You are not alone, and you do not have to fight this battle by yourself.

We understand that truck accidents in Las Vegas—whether on I-15, US-95, or local surface streets—are industrial disasters that require a sophisticated legal strategy. We don’t just sue the driver; we investigate the entire supply chain to ensure every negligent party is held accountable.We are your Recovery Team. While you focus on your physical recovery, we handle the corporate battle. We secure the black box data, audit the driver’s logs, and fight for the maximum compensation available under commercial insurance policies.

The “Rapid Response Team” Reality: Why You Need Help Now

The moment a commercial truck is involved in a serious crash, the trucking company activates its “Rapid Response Team.” Within hours—sometimes minutes—investigators, adjusters, and defense attorneys are dispatched to the scene.

Their job is simple: Control the narrative, protect the company’s assets, and minimize your payout.

They will be measuring skid marks, interviewing witnesses, and looking for any reason to blame you for the crash before the police have even finished their report. They may even approach you in the hospital with a quick settlement offer, hoping to close the case before you realize the true cost of your injuries.

You need a team that moves just as fast.

At Paul Padda Law, we launch our own investigation immediately. We prevent the destruction of evidence, we silence the harassing phone calls from corporate adjusters, and we level the playing field. We know their tactics, and we know how to beat them.

Immediate Steps: Protecting Your Future Claim

The days following a truck accident are chaotic. You may be in pain, on medication, and worried about your family. However, the steps you take now are critical.

1. Do Not Speak to the Trucking Company

You will likely be contacted by an insurance adjuster representing the trucking carrier. They will sound polite and concerned. They might say they want to “take care of everything” or “just get your statement to process payment.”

Do not trust them. They are trained to ask questions that can trap you. A simple “I’m doing okay” can be used later to argue that your injuries aren’t severe.

• The Rule: You are not required to give a recorded statement.
• The Solution: Tell them, “My attorney will handle all communications.” Then hang up and call us.

2. Do Not Sign Anything

One of the most common tactics we see is the “Swoop and Settle.” The company offers you a check right away—maybe $20,000 or $50,000. It seems like a lot of money when you are staring at an ER bill.

• The Trap: Once you sign that release, you can never ask for another penny. If you need surgery in six months, or if you can never return to your job, you are out of luck.
• The Advice: Never accept a settlement until your “Recovery Team” has reviewed it and your doctors have determined the full, long-term extent of your injuries.

3. Preserve Evidence (If You Can)

If you are physically able to do so at the scene:

• Take photos of the tire positioning, skid marks, and damage to all vehicles.
• Get the name of the Trucking Company (usually painted on the cab door).
• Get the license plate numbers for both the cab and the trailer (they are often different).

Why Truck Accidents Are Legally Complex

Many general personal injury lawyers treat truck crashes like big car wrecks. This is a mistake that can cost you millions. Trucking cases are governed by a strict set of federal laws known as the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR).

To win these cases, your attorney must understand not just Nevada state law, but the specific federal rules that keep these massive vehicles on the road.

The “Black Box” (ECM) Evidence

Most modern commercial trucks are equipped with an Electronic Control Module (ECM), commonly known as the “black box.” This device is the most critical piece of evidence in your case. It records data in the seconds leading up to a crash, including:

• Vehicle Speed: Was the driver speeding to meet a deadline?
• Braking: Did the driver brake too late, or not at all?
• Throttle Usage: Was the driver accelerating at the time of impact?
• Hours of Operation: How long had the truck been running?

The Danger: Trucking companies can legally destroy or overwrite this data if it is not preserved quickly. As new data is recorded, old data is erased.

Our Action: Our first step is often to send a Spoliation Letter. This is a formal legal demand that puts the company on notice to preserve the truck, the ECM data, and the driver’s logs. If they destroy the evidence after receiving this letter, they can face severe legal sanctions.

Hours of Service (HOS) Violations

Driver fatigue is a leading cause of truck crashes. To combat this, the federal government strictly limits how many hours a trucker can drive in a day and week.

• The Reality: Under immense pressure to meet delivery deadlines (“Just-in-Time” shipping), drivers often feel forced to drive while exhausted. They may falsify their logs or manipulate their Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) to hide their driving time.
• How We Find the Truth: We audit these digital logs against “hard data” like GPS pings, toll booth receipts, and gas station credit card swipes. If a driver claims they were sleeping in Utah at midnight, but a gas receipt places them in Las Vegas, we can prove they are lying—and that the company failed to supervise them.

The “Chain of Liability”: Who Is Actually at Fault?

In a standard car accident, you usually sue the other driver. In a truck accident, the driver is often just one piece of the puzzle.

To maximize your compensation, we investigate every link in the supply chain to find all available insurance policies. It is not uncommon for a single truck accident to involve claims against three or four different corporations.

1. The Trucking Company (Motor Carrier)

The company itself is often more liable than the driver.

• Negligent Hiring: Did they hire a driver with a history of DUIs, speeding tickets, or license suspensions? We subpoena personnel files to find out.
• Negligent Supervision: Did they ignore alerts from the truck’s safety systems? Did they push the driver to break speed limits to make a delivery window?
• Negligent Maintenance: Did they skip required brake inspections to keep the truck on the road earning money?

2. The Shipper or Loader

Sometimes the truck driver did everything right, but the truck itself became uncontrollable.

• Improper Loading: If a truck rolls over on a curve or jackknifes, it may be because the cargo was loaded improperly. If the weight is not distributed evenly, or if cargo shifts during transit, the trailer can swing out of control.
• Liability: In these cases, the third-party company that loaded the trailer may be responsible for the crash.

3. The Maintenance Provider

Bald tires and brake failures are common on trucks that travel thousands of miles a week. We look at the maintenance logs to see if a third-party mechanic or fleet manager cut corners on safety repairs or used substandard parts.

4. The Manufacturer

If a tire blew out or a steering column failed due to a design defect, we can file a product liability claim against the manufacturer of the part.

Common Types of Truck Accidents in Nevada

Every year there are hundreds of accidents in Nevada involving large trucks. While highways are a common location, deadly wrecks often happen on surface streets where drivers are less attentive. Paul Padda Law has seen a wide variety of truck collisions and understands the physics behind each one.

Underride Accidents

These are among the most terrifying and deadly collisions. They occur when a passenger car slides underneath the trailer of a truck, often crushing the top of the car. While trucks are required to have “underride guards” (ICC bars), these often fail at high speeds. We investigate whether the guards were up to federal standards.

Jackknife Collisions

When a truck brakes too hard, the cab stops, but the heavy trailer continues moving forward due to momentum. It swings out to the side like a closing pocketknife. This can sweep across multiple lanes of traffic, hitting cars that were otherwise safe in their own lanes.

The “Squeeze” (Wide Turning Accidents)

Commercial trucks cannot turn like cars. To make a tight right turn, they often must swing wide to the left first. Unaware drivers may try to pass on the right, only to be trapped—or “squeezed”—between the truck and the curb when the driver swings back.

Rollovers

The Las Vegas valley is known for high winds. When combined with an improperly loaded trailer or a driver taking a curve too fast, high-profile vehicles can tip over, crushing cars in adjacent lanes.

Blind Spot Crashes

“If you can’t see my mirrors, I can’t see you.” Trucks have massive blind spots on all four sides (the “No-Zones”). While drivers are professionally trained to manage these, they often fail to check them before changing lanes, merging, or turning.

Accidents Involving Major Commercial Fleets

We handle cases against all major carriers operating in Clark County. Each of these companies has specific insurance protocols and defense tactics.

• Amazon Delivery Vans: Under immense pressure to meet “Prime” delivery windows, these drivers are often inexperienced and rushed. We investigate the pressure put on them by dispatchers.
• FedEx / UPS / DHL: These global carriers have massive “self-insured retention” limits. This means they pay the first few million dollars of any claim out of their own pockets rather than using insurance. This makes them fight even harder to deny liability.
• Walmart Transportation: One of the largest private fleets in the world, Walmart has its own specific safety protocols that we audit for violations.
• Republic Services / Waste Management: Garbage trucks operate in residential zones, posing unique risks to pedestrians, cyclists, and children.
• Uber Freight / Independent Contractors: We navigate the complex insurance layers to determine if the driver was a true independent contractor or if the hiring company exerted enough control to be liable.

Find out why thousands of clients trust us with their toughest moments by clicking on the video below.

Compensation: Why Truck Cases Are Different

Paul Padda Law is well known for recovering damages that other firms often leave behind. Because truck accidents cause such severe devastation, federal law requires commercial trucks to carry much higher insurance limits than passenger cars.

Commercial Insurance Limits

While a standard Nevada driver might only carry $25,000 in liability coverage, commercial trucks are often required to carry a minimum of $750,000. Trucks carrying hazardous materials or oil may carry policies of $1 million to $5 million or more. This allows us to pursue comprehensive compensation for catastrophic injuries.

Punitive Damages

In cases of extreme negligence, we may pursue punitive damages. These are designed not just to compensate you, but to punish the trucking company and send a message to the industry.

• Example: If we find evidence that the trucking company knew their driver was using methamphetamines to stay awake and let him drive anyway, a jury may award millions in punitive damages to ensure they never do it again.

What We Help You Recover

• Medical Bills: Past, present, and future surgeries, rehabilitation, and home nursing care.
• Lost Wages: Including loss of future earning capacity if you can no longer work in your chosen profession.
• Home Modifications: Ramps, lifts, or accessible bathrooms if you have been disabled.
• Pain and Suffering: Compensation for the physical agony and emotional trauma of the crash.
• Wrongful Death: Funeral expenses, loss of income, and loss of consortium (companionship) if a loved one was killed.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Let the Recovery Team Handle the Fight

Truck accidents kill innocent motorists every year. If you or a loved one have been hurt, your life has been changed forever through no fault of your own. You deserve justice, and you deserve a team that has the resources and the grit to stand up to corporate bullies.

The lawyers with Paul Padda Law have spent decades fighting for the victims of trucking accidents. We know the tactics the trucking giants use. We know the federal regulations they try to ignore. And we know how to win.

Contact us today at (702) 707-7000 or through our online form to speak with an experienced Las Vegas truck accident lawyer. We offer free, no-risk consultations, and there are no up-front costs. We are only paid when we win your case.

Get Your Free Consultation – Available 24/7