plain-beaver-3685/12/2026

Freight truck hit my cousin — no ticket issued, first lawyer said 'no case.' Is that really true?

So my cousin got sideswiped by a commercial freight truck on the highway last month. It was a pretty bad hit — his car got pushed into the next lane and he ended up on the shoulder. When the cops showed up, both my cousin and the truck driver pointed fingers at each other, and the officer basically just filed a report and left without citing anyone. No ticket, no fault determination, nothing.

Here's where it gets frustrating. My cousin talked to one attorney and they basically said without a dashcam on his end, there's not much to work with and passed on the case. My cousin doesn't have a dashcam (lesson learned the hard way, I guess).

But here's what I keep thinking — this truck was clearly a company vehicle, had the logo plastered all over the trailer. Don't big trucking companies have cameras on their rigs? Like forward-facing, inward-facing, all of it? And if the driver caused an accident, wouldn't the company have some kind of record or internal report?

Also, isn't there something called a black box on commercial trucks that logs speed, braking, all that? I feel like there's got to be evidence somewhere even if my cousin didn't have his own camera.

The first lawyer said no, but should he try other attorneys? I don't want him to just give up because one person passed. His back and shoulder are still messed up and he's missing shifts at work. Any advice from people who've been through something like this?

8 replies

Most helpful first

bright-vole-4955/12/2026
Not legal advice, but I'd strongly encourage your cousin to not stop at one attorney's opinion. Commercial trucks are actually required to have electronic logging devices, and many carriers also run dashcam and telematics systems. A personal injury attorney with trucking experience knows how to send preservation letters fast — that data can get overwritten or 'lost' if nobody demands it be saved in writing. One pass doesn't mean no case.
- careful-lynx-0065/12/2026
  I went through almost the exact same thing two years ago — commercial truck, no ticket, he-said-she-said. The first lawyer I called didn't want it either. Third one I tried had handled trucking cases specifically and knew exactly what to ask for. Ended up being a totally different experience. Don't let one 'no' be the end of it.
- spry-tern-6445/12/2026
  Please tell your cousin not to talk to the trucking company's insurance adjuster without representation. They will call, they will sound friendly, and they will try to get a recorded statement that minimizes the claim. It happens fast after these accidents. Just something to watch out for.
candid-marmot-5905/12/2026
I used to work on the claims side and honestly, trucking companies know their rigs generate a LOT of data. Speed logs, GPS pings, hard-brake events, forward camera footage — it exists more often than not. The tricky part is that companies aren't going to volunteer it. Someone has to formally request preservation or it disappears on a routine overwrite cycle, sometimes within 30 days. Time really does matter here.
daring-crane-5235/12/2026
There are a few things worth knowing here. Commercial carriers are federally regulated, so there's a paper trail beyond just dashcam footage — driver logs, inspection records, hours-of-service compliance. If the driver was fatigued or had recent violations, that becomes relevant. An attorney who handles trucking cases specifically will know to look at all of it, not just the video angle.
wise-newt-5035/12/2026
The back and shoulder stuff your cousin is dealing with — please make sure he's seeing someone and documenting everything. Sometimes those injuries seem manageable at first and then get significantly worse over weeks. Having a clear medical record from early on matters a lot, both for his health and for any claim later.
wise-sparrow-6325/12/2026
Try at least two or three more attorneys. Many do free consultations for injury cases. Look specifically for ones who list trucking accidents on their website — it's a different animal than a regular fender-bender and not every PI lawyer handles it the same way.
tidy-beaver-7255/12/2026
Ugh, this is so stressful to deal with on top of recovering from an injury. I really hope your cousin finds someone who takes this seriously. Missing work shifts while your body is messed up and nobody is being held accountable — that's a lot to carry.