Proving Liability After a Distracted Semi Rear-End Crash

Attorney Answer

A rear-end collision is one of the more provable claims in California traffic law: the following-distance statute does most of the work, each injured passenger has a separate claim, and a lawsuit is often not needed to resolve one.

The statute is Cal. Veh. Code § 21703: “The driver of a motor vehicle shall not follow another vehicle more closely than is reasonable and prudent, having due regard for the speed of such vehicle and the traffic upon, and the condition of, the roadway.” A driver who cannot stop before striking the vehicle ahead has usually not kept that distance. Pair it with Cal. Civ. Code § 1714(a): “Everyone is responsible, not only for the result of his or her willful acts, but also for an injury occasioned to another by his or her want of ordinary care or skill in the management of his or her property or person, except so far as the latter has, willfully or by want of ordinary care, brought the injury upon himself or herself.” Between the two, each injured passenger must show that the truck driver fell below ordinary care and that the crash caused their injuries and losses.

Being rear-ended is not automatic liability, and it is worth knowing the defense in advance. It is normally that something else explains the impact — a sudden unexplained stop, a vehicle cutting in, a chain of collisions from behind. California resolves that by apportioning fault rather than by an all-or-nothing rule: a party’s own share reduces recovery in proportion instead of barring it, which is the pure comparative system the Supreme Court reaffirmed in Daly v. General Motors Corp., 20 Cal. 3d 725 (1978). Passengers are rarely assigned any share at all.

Two things are different about a commercial truck. First, the driver’s employer may also answer for a crash caused on the job, which usually matters because a commercial policy is far larger than a personal one; whether a particular driver was an employee acting within the job is a fact question for a lawyer. Second, the proof of distraction sits with the company — driving logs, dispatch messages, onboard electronic data, phone records — and those records are kept on retention schedules and can be overwritten. Getting a written demand out to the carrier to preserve them is something lawyers do at the very start of these cases.

What you can do

1. Get medical care for every injured passenger and keep all records and bills — each person has their own claim.

2. Get the traffic collision report, and note the carrier’s name and USDOT number from the truck’s door or from photos.

3. Write down what you remember while it is fresh: lane positions, speed, brake lights, weather, traffic, and anything the driver said.

4. Report the crash to your own insurer and ask what medical payments and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage you carry (Cal. Ins. Code § 11580.2).

5. Ask a local personal injury lawyer promptly about a preservation letter to the trucking company, and about whether a lawsuit is actually needed — many of these resolve without one. Most lawyers offer a brief initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1 gives two years for an action for injury to, or the death of, an individual caused by another’s wrongful act or neglect; vehicle-damage claims run on the three-year period in Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 338(c)(1). When the clock started, and whether anything changes it for a particular passenger — a minor is treated differently under Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 352(a) — depends on the facts. Have a local attorney check the dates against your own file rather than relying on a general rule.