Truck Accident Law Glossary

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is the U.S. Department of Transportation agency that...

An electronic logging device is a tamper-resistant device mandated by FMCSA for most commercial moto...

An event data recorder, or 'black box,' is an electronic device in commercial vehicles that captures...

A motor carrier is a for-hire or private entity that operates commercial motor vehicles in interstat...

Hours-of-service regulations under FMCSA 49 CFR Part 395 limit the daily and weekly driving time of ...

Respondeat superior is the legal doctrine that holds an employer vicariously liable for the negligen...

Under FMCSA regulations, an owner-operator is deemed a statutory employee of the motor carrier for s...

Negligence per se is a doctrine under which a defendant's violation of a statute or regulation satis...

California's pure comparative fault system from Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975) allocates liability prop...

A Driver Qualification file is the required documentation package that motor carriers must maintain ...

FMCSA cargo securement regulations under 49 CFR Part 393 Subpart I set minimum standards for securin...

The statute of limitations is the legally mandated deadline for filing a civil lawsuit; missing the ...

Punitive damages under California Civil Code Section 3294 are an award beyond compensatory damages w...

Gross Vehicle Weight Rating is the maximum operating weight of a vehicle as specified by the manufac...

Product liability is a legal doctrine that holds manufacturers, distributors, and sellers strictly l...

Wrongful death is a civil cause of action under California Code of Civil Procedure Section 377.60 br...

A life care plan is a comprehensive expert document projecting the lifetime medical costs of a catas...

Spoliation is the destruction, alteration, or failure to preserve evidence that is known to be relev...

FMCSA's CSA program assigns Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs) scores to m...

Discovery is the pre-trial phase of civil litigation during which parties exchange evidence through ...