If a semi or other commercial truck hit you in Bakersfield or anywhere in Kern County, get medical care the same day, request the crash report, and put the trucking company on written notice to preserve its driver logs before they are overwritten. The carrier only has to keep those records for six months, and they are often the strongest evidence in the case. A Bakersfield truck accident lawyer can send that preservation demand within days of the crash.
We are B&D Law Group, APLC. Our Bakersfield personal injury attorneys work from 4900 California Ave, Tower B, 2nd Floor, and handle commercial vehicle cases across Kern County. This guide covers what makes truck crashes here different, who can be held responsible, and the deadlines that decide whether a claim survives.
Why Truck Crashes Are Common Around Bakersfield
Bakersfield sits on some of the busiest freight routes in California. Highway 99 carries north-south traffic through the middle of the city, Highway 58 climbs east over the Tehachapi Pass, and Interstate 5 runs along the west side of the county and over the Grapevine. Add the trucks that serve Kern County agriculture, the oil fields and the warehouse and distribution centers around the city, and a driver here shares the road with heavy trucks on almost every trip.
Those routes produce familiar crash patterns: rear-end collisions when a loaded truck cannot stop in time on the 99, runaway or brake-failure crashes on long downgrades, unsafe lane changes into a truck’s blind spot, and wide right turns on surface streets like Rosedale Highway and Ming Avenue. Each pattern points to a different kind of evidence, which is why the first weeks after the crash matter so much.
Who Can Be Responsible Besides the Driver
A car crash usually involves one driver and one insurance policy. A truck crash is layered. Depending on the facts, a claim can reach the driver, the motor carrier that employed or contracted the driver, the company that owns the trailer, the shipper or loader if cargo was overloaded or badly secured, and a maintenance shop or parts maker if brakes or tires failed. We explain these roles in more depth in our guide to who bears responsibility in a California truck accident.
This matters because the money follows the responsible parties. Under 49 CFR 387.9, a for-hire carrier hauling general freight interstate must carry at least $750,000 in liability coverage, and the minimum rises to $1,000,000 or $5,000,000 for oil and certain hazardous materials. Those figures are floors set by federal rule, not caps on what an injured person can recover.
The Federal Hours-of-Service Rules, and the Farm Exemption
Fatigue is one of the most common issues in truck litigation. Under 49 CFR 395.3, a property-carrying driver may drive up to 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty, may not drive past the 14th hour after coming on duty, and must take a 30-minute break after 8 hours of driving. Weekly limits of 60 hours in 7 days or 70 hours in 8 days also apply. Trucks operating only within California follow the state’s own hours-of-service rules in California Code of Regulations, title 13, sections 1212 and 1212.5, which differ from the federal limits. A driver’s electronic log shows whether those limits were broken on the day of the crash.
Kern County adds a local wrinkle. Under 49 CFR 395.1(k), the hours-of-service rules do not apply to certain agricultural hauls within 150 air-miles of the source during the planting and harvesting periods set by the state. Expect a carrier hauling produce or farm supplies to raise that exemption. It does not excuse careless driving, and whether it applies depends on the load, the route and the dates, so it has to be checked against the actual paperwork rather than accepted on the carrier’s word.
Evidence That Disappears Fast
Under 49 CFR 395.8(k)(1), a motor carrier must keep records of duty status and supporting documents for at least six months. That is far shorter than the time you have to sue. If nobody demands those records early, the logs for the week of the crash can lawfully be gone before a lawsuit is ever filed. The same is true of dash camera footage, telematics data from the truck, and video from businesses near the crash site, which is often overwritten within days.
A preservation letter is a written demand to the carrier and its insurer to keep all of it. Sending one early is one of the most useful things a truck accident attorney does in the first week. For a fuller walkthrough of the early steps, see our article on what to do after a truck accident in California.
Getting the Crash Report in Kern County
Crashes on the state highways and interstates around Bakersfield are usually investigated by the California Highway Patrol. According to the CHP, a party to the crash can request the report online through the CHP crash portal, or submit form CHP 190 in person or by mail to the CHP Area office that handled the crash, along with the applicable fee. Crashes on city streets are usually handled by the Bakersfield Police Department, and crashes on state highways and county roads in unincorporated areas by the CHP, so check which agency responded before you request anything.
When You Were Working at the Time of the Crash
Many Kern County truck crashes happen to people who are on the job: farmworkers, delivery drivers, oilfield crews and other truck drivers. Workers’ compensation is generally the only remedy against your own employer under Labor Code section 3602, but it does not stop a separate claim against a trucking company or other outside party whose negligence caused the crash. The two claims often run side by side, and the third-party claim is usually where pain and suffering can be recovered.
Deadlines and Fault Rules That Control Your Claim
In California, Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1 generally gives you two years from the date of injury to file a personal injury lawsuit. If a public entity is involved, such as a city or county vehicle or a dangerous road condition, Government Code section 911.2 requires a written government claim within six months. Different rules can apply to minors, so confirm your deadline with a lawyer early.
California also uses pure comparative fault, adopted by the California Supreme Court in Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975). If you were partly at fault, your recovery is reduced by your share of the blame, but it is not wiped out. Truck insurers often try to push more fault onto the other driver, which is another reason the logs and vehicle data matter.
Truck injury lawsuits arising in the Bakersfield area are typically filed in Kern County Superior Court. The court lists its Bakersfield civil court location as the Metro Justice Building at 1215 Truxtun Avenue.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to file a truck accident claim in Bakersfield?
Generally two years from the date of injury under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. If a public entity is involved, a written claim is due within six months under Government Code section 911.2. Treat those as outside limits, because the carrier’s driver logs only have to be kept for six months.
Do farm trucks follow the same hours-of-service rules?
Not always. Under 49 CFR 395.1(k), certain agricultural hauls within 150 air-miles of the source are exempt from the federal hours-of-service rules during planting and harvesting periods set by the state. The exemption does not excuse unsafe driving, and whether it applies depends on the specific load and dates.
Can I sue a trucking company if I was hurt while working?
Often, yes. Workers’ compensation is generally your only remedy against your own employer under Labor Code section 3602, but you can usually bring a separate claim against a trucking company or other third party whose negligence caused the crash.
What if I was partly at fault for the crash?
You can still recover. California follows pure comparative fault, so your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault rather than barred.
Talk to a Bakersfield Truck Accident Attorney
If a commercial truck hurt you or a family member in Kern County, the sooner someone demands the carrier’s records, the more of the evidence survives. We handle these cases through our truck accident attorneys practice and our Bakersfield office. Call (888) 977-2238 or use our contact page.
Related Reading
- Bakersfield Wrongful Death Lawyer: Who Can File and What a Claim Covers
- Bakersfield Car Accident Lawyer: Pedestrian, Bicycle and Uber Crash Claims
- Injured in a Truck Accident in California? What to Do and What to Expect
- Truck Accident Attorneys — B&D Law Group
Attorney advertising. This article is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading this article or contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. If you have been injured, speak with a licensed attorney about your specific situation.