A heavy truck at highway speeds can cause devastating injuries. Finding enough insurance to cover the damages can be a critical component for obtaining full compensation for injuries caused by a truck crash.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations (49 CFR 387.9) require most commercial trucks which travel between states to carry a minimum of $750,000.00 of liability insurance to cover damages. For trucks carrying hazardous cargo, the minimum insurance is either $1 million or $5 million, depending upon the type and amount of hazardous material being transported.

For motorists with catastrophic injuries, the trucking company’s insurance policy may not be sufficient to cover all of the damages caused by a truck crash. In that event, it may be possible to find additional insurance in unexpected places.

For example, in a crash involving a tractor-trailer rig, there may be separate insurance policies – one covering the tractor and the other covering the trailer. The Ohio Supreme Court considered such a situation in Lynch v Yob. In that case, the truck driver caused a crash while driving a tractor rig owned by his employer, Bath Transport. The tractor was covered by $1 million of liability insurance. (more…)