Truck and Delivery Drivers

Long haul, port drayage, LTL, last-mile delivery, box truck, and route drivers.

Two things worth knowing before anything else:

Most driver injuries are not crashes. They happen getting into and out of the cab, and moving freight — and those are the ones that get treated as minor and turn out not to be.

And when it is a crash, the third-party case is usually worth more than the comp claim, because workers' compensation pays nothing for pain and suffering.

Am I even covered? The classification question

If you are an employee, you are covered. If you were told you are an independent contractor, that is a question, not an answer.

AB 5 and the ABC test apply to California trucking. The industry's challenge to that — California Trucking Association v. Bonta — did not ultimately exempt trucking from AB 5, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined review. Owner-operator arrangements in California are subject to the classification analysis.

And § 3357 presumes that any person rendering service for another is an employee. Misclassification is a factual question about control, and the burden is on the company.

A "lease-purchase" or "owner-operator" agreement does not decide the question. Whether the company controls your routes, your schedule, your appearance, your equipment, and your ability to work for others does.

If the company genuinely carried no coverage: UEBTF, plus a civil action under § 3706 with negligence presumed under § 3708. How.

App-based delivery is different — see rideshare and app-based drivers.

The injuries this work actually produces

Getting out of the cab. Three-point-contact falls, ankle and knee injuries, and — because drivers step down onto uneven yard surfaces thousands of times — cumulative knee and ankle damage. Knee injuries.

Freight handling. Loading, unloading, pallet jacks, hand trucks, liftgates, tarping, strapping, and moving freight up steps in last-mile delivery. Backs and shoulders. Low back · Shoulder

Whole-body vibration and prolonged sitting — a documented risk factor for lumbar degeneration, and the foundation of the cumulative trauma back claim in this industry. How cumulative trauma works.

Trailer and equipment work — landing gear, fifth wheel, kingpin release, cranking dollies, opening frozen doors. Shoulders, wrists, and hernias.

Crashes — including the ones that are not your fault and the ones where you were struck while outside the vehicle.

Dog bites in last-mile delivery, which are both a comp claim and a homeowner's liability claim.

Heat in unairconditioned box trucks and trailers — and 8 CCR § 3396, effective July 23, 2024, reaches delivery vehicles. Heat illness.

Diesel exhaust and port drayage exposure, particularly in Long Beach and San Pedro operations. Port and longshore claims.

And assault and robbery, which opens the psychiatric rating exception under § 4660.1(c)(2)(A).

The third-party case

In any crash, identify everyone:

The other driver and their employer, where they were working. The shipper or receiver, where improper loading caused a shift or a fall. The broker, in some circumstances. The trailer or equipment owner, where it is a different entity than your employer — which in drayage it usually is. Maintenance contractors, where a brake, tire, or coupling failure is involved. The manufacturer, in a product case. A property owner, where a dock, yard, or approach was unsafe. And the government entity, in a dangerous-roadway case — which carries a six-month claim presentation deadline that is far shorter than everything else.

Freight and telematics data — ELD records, dash camera footage, GPS, and the tractor's ECM — is the best evidence in a trucking case and it is routinely overwritten on a cycle measured in weeks. A preservation demand should go out immediately.

How third-party claims and liens work.

Frequently asked questions