Commercial Vehicle Accident Lawyer

If you were hurt in a crash with a commercial vehicle — a delivery van, taxi, rideshare vehicle, work truck, or bus — in Wilmington or New Castle County, get medical care first. These cases can involve more than one responsible company, and some of the records that explain what happened are kept on a schedule the crash didn’t set. This page covers local and regional commercial vehicles, including buses; for a tractor-trailer or semi-truck crash, see our Delaware truck accident page, since those cases involve different federal rules and evidence. Nothing here predicts the outcome of any individual case.

A commercial crash may involve more than the driver, but responsibility is fact-specific. Preserve photos, witnesses, identifiers, records, and insurer communications — some business records may be overwritten, so prompt review can help identify what to save and how.

What should I do after a commercial vehicle accident?

1. Get medical care. Some injuries don’t feel serious at the scene. See a provider and follow through on the treatment recommended, even if you feel able to walk away.
2. Make sure the crash is reported and documented. Confirm a police report was taken and get the report number. Photograph the vehicles, any company name or logo on the vehicle, its license plate and unit number if visible, the road conditions, and your injuries.
3. Get witness names and contact information. Passengers, other drivers, and bystanders can be hard to track down once the scene clears.
4. Be careful with insurer contact. It’s reasonable to report the crash to your own insurer. Before giving a recorded statement to the commercial vehicle’s insurer or signing anything from them, talk with a lawyer.

For the broader set of general post-crash steps that also apply here, see our Delaware Car Accident Guide.

Who can be liable in a commercial vehicle accident?

More than one party can be responsible, but which ones depends entirely on the facts. Depending on what happened, responsibility can involve:

• The driver — for how the vehicle was operated at the time of the crash.
• The employer or company that operates the vehicle, for hiring, training, supervision, or scheduling decisions.
• The owner of the vehicle, if different from the driver or the operating company.
• A maintenance provider, if poor upkeep of brakes, tires, or lights played a role.
• A broker or contracting company, if one arranged the trip or delivery and its role becomes relevant.
• An insurer, since a commercial policy — sometimes more than one — is often involved.

Which of these parties are actually responsible depends on the facts and evidence in your case; it is not something that can be assumed from the fact that a commercial vehicle was involved.

Local commercial vehicles, buses, and tractor-trailers aren’t the same case

A crash with a local delivery van, work truck, taxi, rideshare vehicle, or bus is not evaluated the same way as a crash with a tractor-trailer. Smaller commercial vehicles typically don’t carry the onboard data recorders that semi-trucks do, and the federal motor carrier safety regulations that apply to over-the-road trucking generally don’t apply to local vehicles. That can mean different evidence and a different path to proving fault. If your crash involved a semi-truck or tractor-trailer, see our Delaware truck accident page instead.

Bus crashes have their own wrinkle: a bus may be operated by a private company or by a public transit agency. If a public agency is involved, different notice deadlines and procedures may apply on top of the usual filing deadlines — another reason to have your situation reviewed promptly rather than wait.

What evidence should I save?

Save what you can reach quickly — photos, witness contact information, the report number, and copies of anything the insurer sends you — because some records held by the company are not preserved indefinitely. Depending on the vehicle and the company involved, evidence an attorney may seek to have preserved can include:

• Dispatch and trip records
• Maintenance and inspection logs
• GPS or telematics data
• Onboard or terminal surveillance and dashcam footage
• Driver qualification, training, and scheduling records
• The insurance policy and any internal incident report the company prepared

Some of this information is routinely overwritten, recycled, or deleted on a schedule set by the company — not by any court. That’s why a preservation letter is often sent early, putting the company on notice not to destroy records tied to the crash. Whether preservation steps are appropriate, and what to request, depends on the facts of your case and is a decision for your attorney after reviewing the details with you.

Should I talk to the company’s insurer?

Be cautious. The commercial vehicle company’s insurer represents that company’s interests, not yours. It’s reasonable to decline a recorded statement, decline to sign a broad medical authorization, and decline any early settlement offer until you’ve talked with a lawyer — especially before you know the full extent of your injuries. This is true even if the adjuster is polite and responsive.

Injuries and losses in these cases

Because commercial vehicles vary so widely in size — from a delivery van to a transit bus — so does the severity of injuries in these crashes. Cases can involve broken bones, traumatic brain injury, spinal injuries, and, in the most serious crashes, wrongful death. What a specific case may be worth depends entirely on its own facts, medical records, and evidence — we do not estimate value before that review, and no outcome is guaranteed.

What a first call with Murphy & Landon covers

Murphy & Landon’s first conversation is for understanding what happened, what injuries are documented, and what should happen next; a consultation doesn’t obligate you to hire the firm. We represent injured people and families — never companies or insurers. Bring, or plan to gather, the crash report, any photos or video, insurance information, and a list of the medical providers you’ve seen so we can talk through how your situation fits.

Call 302-472-8100 or reach out to us online to get started. We handle these cases on a contingency basis — you pay no fees unless we recover for you.

This page is general information about Delaware commercial vehicle accident claims. It does not predict the outcome of any case, does not identify who is at fault in any specific crash, and does not create an attorney-client relationship.