Plymouth Truck Accident Lawyers

Commercial trucks move the goods that keep Plymouth’s harbor economy running, but when an 80,000-pound rig collides with a passenger vehicle on Route 3, the aftermath can be catastrophic. This comprehensive resource explains why truck crash claims are fundamentally different from ordinary car-accident cases, how Massachusetts and federal laws interact, and how our firm builds the strongest possible claim for injured clients in Plymouth and throughout the South Shore.

Plymouth sits at the midpoint of Route 3, a limited-access highway that funnels more than 70,000 vehicles a day past exits for Clark Road, Long Pond Road, and the Sagamore Bridge. In 2024 alone, the Plymouth segment recorded at least four high-profile crashes, three of them fatal, prompting local editors to label the corridor “one of the Commonwealth’s most crash-prone.”

Statewide figures confirm the danger. According to the Massachusetts Commercial Vehicle Safety Plan, FY 21 saw 1,880 FMCSA-reportable crashes involving large trucks and buses, with 21 fatalities and 623 injury crashes, even after pandemic traffic reductions. Nationwide, large trucks were involved in 5,800 fatal crashes the following year, an eight-percent year-over-year increase, underscoring the scale of the problem.

• Layered regulation. A claim may invoke both the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) and Massachusetts traffic, licensing, and insurance statutes.
• Corporate defendants. Liability often extends beyond the driver to the motor carrier, freight broker, shipper, maintenance vendor, or trailer owner.
• Commercial insurance limits. Motor carriers must carry at least $750,000 in liability coverage (often $1 million or more), meaning insurers mount aggressive defenses from day one.
• Rapid-response teams. Trucking companies dispatch investigators within hours; critical data can disappear unless a preservation letter is sent immediately.

Without counsel steeped in these nuances, vital evidence may be lost and liability diluted.

• Hours-of-Service (49 CFR §395). Drivers hauling property may drive up to 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty and may not exceed 60/70 hours in 7/8 consecutive days.
• Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs). Since 2017, most interstate carriers must record duty status electronically, creating tamper-resistant time stamps.
• CDL & Medical Certification. Massachusetts adopts FMCSA standards through 540 CMR 14 and M.G.L. c. 90, requiring valid commercial licenses and medical cards.
• Weight & size limits. Trucks over 99,000 lbs need permits on Bay State roads; an overweight operation may support a negligence per se argument.

A single breach of any of these rules can shift liability decisively in the plaintiff’s favor.

• Driver fatigue from improperly logged hours or unrealistic dispatch schedules
• High-speed lane changes at merges near Exit 13 and the Bourne connector
• Distracted or impaired driving on overnight hauls from Boston to Cape Cod
• Shifting loads leaving the industrial parks on Commerce Way
• Brake or tire failures traced to skipped inspection intervals

Each mechanism of failure calls for different experts, such as accident reconstruction, human factors, and mechanical engineering, to prove causation.

1. Seek emergency medical care, even if injuries seem minor, as adrenaline masks harm.
2. Call law enforcement; a Massachusetts State Police commercial-vehicle team will document scene evidence.
3. Photograph skid marks, debris fields, DOT numbers, and trailer placards.
4. Identify witnesses before they leave the scene.
5. Contact Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers to send a spoliation letter that freezes ECM data, ELD logs, and dash-cam footage held by the carrier.

Timely action preserves the data backbone of a successful claim.

• Event Data Recorder (black-box) downloads capturing speed, throttle, and brake application seconds before impact
• ELD logs cross-checked against toll and fuel receipts to uncover falsification
• Dispatch and text messages showing delivery pressure or route changes
• Maintenance records establishing prior brake or tire defects
• Load manifests and weight tickets that may reveal overloading or improper securement
• Surveillance video from MassDOT cameras at exits 9 through 12
• Driver qualification files uncover prior safety violations

We routinely obtain temporary restraining orders when carriers resist production.

Massachusetts follows modified comparative negligence: a plaintiff may recover as long as their fault does not exceed 50 percent (M.G.L. c. 231 §85). Potential defendants include:

• Truck driver for operational errors
• Motor carrier on theories of respondeat superior and negligent supervision
• Freight broker or shipper, when unrealistic schedules or improper loading contributed
• Maintenance contractor for negligent inspections under 49 CFR §396
• Vehicle or component manufacturer for defective design (e.g., underride guards)
• Government entity for hazardous road design, subject to the Massachusetts Tort Claims Act notice provisions

Pinpointing every liable party maximizes the collectible pool and deters finger-pointing at trial.

• Economic losses: hospital bills, rehabilitation, home modifications, lost wages, diminished earning capacity, vocational retraining.
• Non-economic losses: pain and suffering, disfigurement, loss of consortium, no statutory cap for injury claims in Massachusetts
• Wrongful-death damages under M.G.L. c. 229 §2, including funeral costs and loss of reasonably expected net income
• Punitive damages (rare) when the defendant’s conduct shows willful or reckless disregard, such as knowingly dispatching an unfit driver under the influence

Our economists and life-care planners quantify lifetime costs so juries understand the full impact.

• Investigation. Scene inspection, preservation letters, expert retention.
• Filing and discovery. Written interrogatories, depositions of the driver, the safety director, and the corporate 30(b)(6) witness.
• Mediation. Many carriers prefer early resolution once ELD and ECM data confirm liability.
• Trial. If the insurer refuses fair value, we present the case to a Plymouth County jury.
• Appeal (post-trial). Our appellate group safeguards the verdict.

Because evidence erodes quickly, delay only benefits the defense.

Three years from the crash date for personal injury and wrongful death (M.G.L. c. 260 §2A; §2C). Tolling may apply if the victim is a minor or the defendant conceals evidence.

Personal Injury Protection covers up to $8,000 in medical bills, but serious-injury thresholds are easily met in truck cases, allowing full tort recovery.

Yes, unless a jury finds you more than 50 percent responsible, your award is reduced by your assigned percentage.

Interstate carriers operating in Massachusetts submit to personal jurisdiction and must appoint an in-state agent for service of process.

• Focused experience. Our trial team has recovered millions for truck-injury clients statewide, including seven-figure results arising from Route 3 collisions.
• Rapid-response network. Investigators, mechanical engineers, and accident reconstructionists are dispatched within hours, often while the truck is still impounded.
• Cutting-edge technology. We deploy 3-D laser scanning, ECM-to-cloud extraction, and forensic video synching to recreate the crash for jurors.
• Client-centered approach. You will work directly with a partner, receive regular updates, and pay nothing unless we secure compensation.

Our Boston headquarters is a short drive up Route 3, and we gladly meet clients at South Shore Hospital or in their homes.

Every day that passes allows log data to be overwritten and witness memories to fade. If you or a loved one has been injured in a Plymouth truck accident, contact Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers for a free, zero-obligation consultation. We stand ready to hold negligent trucking companies accountable and to secure the resources you need to rebuild your life.