Practice Area
Hit by a semi or other commercial truck? The trucking company starts protecting itself the day of the crash. We start building your case just as fast, and you pay nothing unless we recover.
When you hire Smith & Weidinger, you work with the lawyer handling your case, not a call center. Founding partner Matthew A. Weidinger focuses on serious-injury cases with complex liability and damages. Before co-founding the firm, he worked at large and small personal injury firms in Denver and Colorado Springs and served as a Deputy District Attorney in Mesa County.
Semi truck accidents are one of Matthew’s focus areas. We handle truck crash claims from our offices in Denver (1040 S. Gaylord St.) and Colorado Springs (415 N. Tejon St.), including crashes on I-25 along the Front Range, I-70 through the mountains, and I-76 toward Nebraska. Nationally, large-truck crashes killed 4,807 people and injured about 74,000 in 2023, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
Truck cases often involve several defendants, and each may carry its own insurance.
Federal law requires most for-hire interstate carriers hauling general freight to carry at least $750,000 in liability coverage, and $1 million or $5 million for oil and certain hazardous materials (49 C.F.R. 387.9). Colorado’s minimum for a car is $25,000 per person. Trucking insurers defend these claims hard, and some send investigators to the scene within hours.
The key evidence is in the trucking company’s hands, and some of it doesn’t last. Carriers must keep driver logs for only six months and driver inspection reports for three, and engine data and video can be lost sooner. Most truck crash lawsuits must be filed within three years (C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)), but the preservation letter needs to go out in days. On I-70 through the mountains, commercial trucks must carry chains from September 1 through May 31, and bad weather doesn’t excuse a driver who ignored the conditions.
Colorado personal injury
Trucking companies can discard some records within months. Get a free consultation with a Colorado injury attorney. Not a screener.
You pay nothing upfront.
Not a call center.
Serious-injury crashes and the insurance claims that follow.
Commercial trucking crashes with complex liability.
Injuries caused by dangerous property conditions.
Truck cases are won with the trucking company’s own records. The driver’s hours, the truck’s speed and braking, the maintenance history, and the drug test results usually tell the story. Most of that sits with a company that has every reason to keep it quiet.
So we move first. The preservation letter goes out as soon as we take your case, and we don’t wait for the insurer to decide what we get to see.
Every truck accident claim is built from the same pieces:
A written demand that the carrier keep its evidence. If a company willfully destroys relevant evidence, a Colorado court can tell the jury to assume it would have hurt the company.
Electronic logging device records, engine control module data, and dashcam video can show hours, speed, and braking in the seconds before impact.
Driver qualification, training, maintenance, inspection, and post-crash testing records.
Driver, carrier, trailer owner, shipper, and maintenance company. Each may have its own coverage.
Truck crashes cause severe injuries. We document future care and lost earning capacity, not just the bills so far.
We look at all of it. Then we decide, with you, whether to settle or file suit.
You talk with a lawyer, not a screener. We explain your options, the deadlines that apply, and how our contingency fee works.
Get the care you need. We deal with the insurance companies and help coordinate MedPay, health insurance, and providers so your treatment doesn't stall.
We collect the reports, photos, video, witness statements, and records, and we send preservation letters before evidence is lost.
Once your doctors have a clear picture of your recovery, we document your losses (medical bills, lost income, future care, and how the injury changed your life) and present the claim.
We negotiate with every insurer involved, and with the health plans and providers that want to be repaid, so more of the settlement stays with you.
If the insurer won't be fair, we file suit before the deadline and prepare the case for trial. Most cases settle, and that preparation is what gets them to a fair number.
Recent outcomes from our motor vehicle injury cases. None of these involved a commercial truck.
Settlement for a client rear-ended at high speed by a distracted driver.
Settlement for aggravation of neck and back injuries.
Settlement for a client struck by a red-light runner who tried to blame our client.
Results depend on the specific facts and legal circumstances of each case. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome.
Unedited, from our Google profile.
Reviews are published on Google by the people who wrote them. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
These are the questions we hear most after a crash with a commercial truck. The answers below are general. The truck, the carrier, and your injuries decide how they apply to you.
Often both. A trucking company is generally responsible for crashes its driver causes on the job, and it can also be directly at fault for poor hiring, training, scheduling, or maintenance. Shippers, repair shops, and parts makers can share responsibility too.
For most for-hire interstate carriers hauling general freight, the federal minimum is $750,000. Trucks hauling oil or certain hazardous materials need $1 million or $5 million. The requirement depends on the cargo and how the truck operates, so we track down every policy.
Not long. Carriers must keep hours-of-service records for six months and driver inspection reports for three months. Engine data and video can be lost even sooner, which is why we send a preservation letter as soon as we take your case.
Not necessarily. Truck drivers must adjust to conditions, and commercial trucks on I-70’s mountain stretch must carry chains from September through May. A driver or company that ignored the weather or the chain law can still be at fault.
Most truck accident lawsuits must be filed within three years of the crash. If a government vehicle was involved, like a city dump truck or a snowplow, written notice is due within 182 days. Because trucking evidence disappears fast, don’t wait.
It can be, because injuries tend to be more severe and more insurance is usually available. Every case turns on its facts: your injuries, who was at fault, and the coverage involved. We tell you what your case is worth, not what you want to hear.
