Louisville Tanker Truck Accident Lawyer

• Liquid surge. A partly full tank sloshes when the driver brakes or turns. That moving weight can push the truck forward at a stop or tip it on a curve or ramp.
• High center of gravity. Tankers roll over more easily than most trucks, especially on interchange ramps taken too fast. See our rollover accident and jackknife truck accident pages.
• Fire and explosion. Fuel and flammable gases can ignite after an impact. See our burn injury lawyer page.
• Toxic exposure. A leak can injure drivers, passengers, first responders and people who live or work nearby, through the skin, eyes or lungs. See our chemical exposure lawyer page.
• Road closures and evacuations. Hazmat cleanups can close an interstate for hours and push people out of their homes.

Tanker and hazmat drivers have to meet extra requirements:

• Special license endorsements. A driver needs a tank vehicle endorsement to drive a tanker and a hazardous materials endorsement to haul hazmat, each with its own test (49 CFR 383.93).
• The federal trucking rules apply, including licensing, driver qualification, hours of service, inspection and hazmat driving rules (49 CFR 177.804). Kentucky adopts most of those rules for in-state trucks as well. See truck driver fatigue for the hours-of-service limits.
• No texting or hand-held phones while driving a placarded load (49 CFR 177.804(b)).
• Placards and shipping papers have to identify what's in the tank, so responders know what they're dealing with.

When a carrier or driver breaks one of these rules and someone gets hurt, the violation can be strong evidence of negligence. Our trucking company liability page explains how a carrier can be responsible for its own hiring, training and supervision.

Higher. Federal rules set minimum coverage by what the truck is hauling (49 CFR 387.9):

• $5,000,000 for bulk hazardous substances hauled in cargo tanks, portable tanks or hopper-type vehicles, and certain other bulk hazardous materials. This tier covers both for-hire and private carriers, including trucks that never leave Kentucky.
• $1,000,000 for oil and other listed hazardous materials. It applies to interstate loads of any size and to in-state loads in bulk.
• $750,000 for ordinary freight hauled for hire across state lines, for comparison.

Kentucky has its own floor for in-state hazmat carriers: at least $1,000,000 per vehicle, except for bulk petroleum loads under 10,000 pounds (KRS 281.655(6)).

These are minimums. Carriers often have more, and the federal MCS-90 endorsement can make an insurer pay even when it says the policy doesn't cover the truck. See our MCS-90 endorsement guide.

• The trucking company and its driver, for speeding on a ramp, fatigue, poor training or a bad safety record. Check a carrier's history with our FMCSA safety records guide.
• The shipper or loading company, if the tank was overfilled, underfilled, mislabeled or improperly secured
• A freight broker, in some cases. See freight broker liability.
• The tank or truck manufacturer, if a valve, weld or brake failed. See our product liability lawyer page.
• A maintenance contractor that skipped repairs

Tanker cases generate records that ordinary crashes don't. The carrier must call the National Response Center within 12 hours when a hazmat incident kills someone, sends someone to the hospital, evacuates the public for an hour or more, or closes a major road for an hour or more (49 CFR 171.15). It must file a written federal incident report within 30 days after a release, or after damage to a cargo tank of 1,000 gallons or more (49 CFR 171.16).

We also go after:

• The truck's electronic data: engine and electronic logging records showing speed, braking and hours. See truck black box evidence.
• Shipping papers and loading records, showing what was in the tank and how full it was
• Driver qualification, training and drug-testing files
• Inspection and maintenance records for the tank, valves and brakes
• Hazmat response and fire department reports, and air or water testing done after the spill

1. Get away from the truck and follow responders' instructions. Don't walk through spilled liquid or vapor.
2. Get checked by a doctor, even if you feel fine. Some chemical and smoke injuries to the lungs and eyes show up later. For serious injuries, see where Louisville's trauma centers are.
3. Write down the time and place you were exposed, and keep any evacuation notices.
4. Photograph the scene from a safe distance, including the truck and any markings, if you can do it safely.
5. Don't give a recorded statement to the trucking company's insurer before you talk to a lawyer.

For people hurt in the crash, Kentucky generally allows two years from the injury or the last PIP payment (KRS 304.39-230(6)). If you weren't in a vehicle, for example if you were exposed to fumes at home, a one-year deadline may apply instead. Our statute of limitations guide explains the differences. Don't wait on either: the truck's data and the cleanup records can disappear quickly.

We send preservation letters to the carrier, the shipper and the cleanup contractors right away, and we work with reconstruction engineers and toxicologists to show what happened and how it hurt you. We look for every policy that applies, including the higher hazmat limits. We prepare every case for trial. Larry Forman has tried 50+ jury trials and won 95% of them. Learn more about Larry Forman, see our case results (past results don't guarantee a similar outcome), or return to our truck wreck lawyer page.

Other large trucks have their own risks. See our pages on garbage truck accidents and commercial vehicle crashes. If a tanker crash took a family member's life, see our wrongful death lawyer page.