Written by Ali Razavi

Kern County sees a lot of big-rig traffic. U.S. Highway 99, Interstate 5, and State Route 58 all converge near Bakersfield, making this one of the busiest freight corridors in the state. When a loaded 18-wheeler hits a passenger car at highway speed, the force involved is categorically different from what you’d see in a typical fender-bender. The injuries reflect that difference, and so does everything that follows — the medical treatment, the insurance fight, and the legal claim.

At Razavi Law Group | Who Hurt You?, we handle these cases across California, and our Bakersfield clients face some specific challenges that I want to address directly in this post. What injuries are actually showing up in these cases? What causes the crashes in the first place? And how do complications like pre-existing conditions affect what you can recover? This post covers all of that in practical terms.

What Are the Most Common Injuries in California Truck Accidents in Bakersfield?

The injuries we see most frequently in Bakersfield truck accident cases fall into predictable categories, though each client’s situation is different. The physics of a collision involving a vehicle that can weigh 80,000 pounds loaded explains a lot.

Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) appear regularly, even when the person wasn’t knocked unconscious. A violent jolt can cause the brain to move inside the skull. Symptoms sometimes don’t surface for hours or days after the crash, which is one reason I always tell clients to get a full medical evaluation immediately — not just a quick emergency room discharge.

Spinal cord injuries and herniated discs are extremely common. The lumbar and cervical regions of the spine take the brunt of impact forces in a side collision or rear-end crash. Some of these injuries resolve with physical therapy; others require surgery and result in permanent limitations.

Broken bones — ribs, arms, legs, pelvis — occur frequently, particularly when a smaller vehicle is struck at speed or pinned. Pelvic fractures in particular can involve complex surgery and long recovery periods.

Internal organ damage is easy to underestimate at the scene, but blunt force from a seatbelt or dashboard can cause lacerations to the liver, spleen, or kidneys. Internal bleeding is life-threatening and requires immediate imaging to detect.

Crush injuries and amputations happen when a vehicle is struck from the side or overridden by a larger truck. These cases often involve permanent disability.

Severe burns occur when a tanker or fuel-carrying truck is involved in a collision that ignites cargo.

Beyond the physical injuries, psychological harm — including post-traumatic stress disorder — is real and compensable in California. Clients who can no longer drive on the freeway, or who wake up from nightmares about the crash, shouldn’t have that dismissed as inconsequential.

What Are the Most Common Causes of 18-Wheeler Accidents in California?

Driver fatigue sits at the top of the list. Federal hours-of-service rules under 49 CFR Part 395 set limits on how long a commercial driver can be behind the wheel before mandatory rest. Those rules exist because tired driving is as dangerous as impaired driving. We have seen logbooks — now usually electronic logging device (ELD) records — that reveal drivers pushed well past safe limits. Under 49 CFR 395.8(k)(1), carriers must retain records of duty status for at least six months, which is why acting quickly after a crash matters for preserving evidence.

Distracted driving is a growing problem. Dispatch communications, GPS navigation, and phones all compete for a driver’s attention.

Speeding and following too closely are mechanical causes that show up in crash reconstruction reports. A loaded semi traveling at freeway speed needs significantly more stopping distance than a passenger car. On a stretch of I-5 or Highway 99 where traffic can slow suddenly due to agricultural equipment or construction zones, that gap matters.

Improper cargo loading deserves attention. If freight shifts during transit, the truck’s center of gravity changes. A shifted load can cause a rollover on a curve or cause the truck to jackknife during braking. Responsibility for that often lies with the loading company, not just the driver.

Mechanical failure — brake defects, tire blowouts, steering problems — accounts for a significant share of crashes. Regular inspection and maintenance are legally required, and failure to perform them creates liability exposure for the carrier and potentially the maintenance contractor.

Poor weather on the Grapevine section of I-5 and on SR-58 toward the high desert creates road conditions that require a trained, attentive driver to handle. Ice, fog, and high winds all contribute to crashes when drivers aren’t adjusting.

What Are the Most Dangerous Highways in California for Truck Accidents?

Three roads stand out for truck crash frequency in and around Bakersfield.

Highway 99 runs directly through Kern County and carries enormous freight volume moving produce and goods between the Central Valley and Southern California. The mix of local traffic, agricultural vehicles, and long-haul trucks creates consistent conflict points.

Interstate 5 through the Tejon Pass (the Grapevine) is notorious. Grades of up to six percent on the southbound descent have contributed to brake failures and runaway truck incidents. The California Highway Patrol runs periodic brake inspection enforcement operations here for good reason.

State Route 58 heading east toward Mojave carries significant truck traffic from distribution centers and is known for high winds in certain segments that create rollover risk for high-profile vehicles like empty trailers.

Statewide, Caltrans crash data and CHP records consistently show that the Central Valley’s major freight corridors account for a disproportionate share of fatal commercial vehicle crashes. The combination of long straight highways, high speeds, and heavy truck volume creates conditions where a moment of inattention or mechanical failure becomes catastrophic quickly.

What Federal Trucking Regulations Apply to Accidents in California?

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulates interstate motor carriers — carriers that cross state lines or carry federally regulated cargo. When an 18-wheeler operating on an interstate route crashes in California, federal regulations typically apply alongside California state law.

Key federal regulations include hours-of-service rules (49 CFR Part 395), vehicle inspection, repair, and maintenance standards (49 CFR Part 396), driver qualification requirements (49 CFR Part 391), and drug and alcohol testing programs (49 CFR Part 382). These aren’t abstract bureaucratic requirements — they generate records that become evidence in litigation.

Under 49 CFR 387.9, a for-hire interstate motor carrier hauling general freight must carry at least $750,000 in public liability coverage. Carriers transporting certain bulk hazardous materials face a $5,000,000 minimum. These are minimum thresholds, not caps on recovery. A claim can exceed those amounts depending on the damages involved. More information on federal carrier insurance requirements is available through FindLaw’s trucking law resources.

A local delivery operation that operates entirely within California may be regulated by the California Highway Patrol and the California DMV rather than FMCSA. The regulatory overlap matters when we’re identifying who had oversight authority and whether that authority was exercised properly.

How Does the FMCSA Regulate Trucking Companies Involved in Accidents in California?

The FMCSA assigns each registered carrier a USDOT number and tracks safety performance through its Safety Measurement System. This system scores carriers on categories including crash frequency, hours-of-service violations, vehicle maintenance deficiencies, and driver fitness. Carriers with poor scores may face interventions ranging from warning letters to compliance reviews to operations shutdowns.

In practical terms for a crash case, a carrier’s FMCSA safety history can be powerful context. A carrier with a pattern of hours-of-service violations that employs a driver who was over his limit when your crash occurred is not dealing with an isolated incident — that’s a systemic problem, and it matters for how a jury will view the defendant.

The FMCSA also requires that carriers conduct pre-employment investigations of driver applicants, including checking the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, reviewing prior employment history for the previous three years, and obtaining motor vehicle records. When a carrier skips or shortcuts those steps and hires a driver with a history of violations, the carrier has its own exposure independent of whatever the driver did. The American Bar Association’s resources on commercial trucking liability provide additional background on how these regulatory frameworks translate into legal claims.

Our team at Razavi Law Group | Who Hurt You? routinely sends preservation demands to carriers within the first days after a crash — targeting ELD data, dispatch records, driver qualification files, drug test results, and vehicle inspection reports. That data disappears after minimum retention periods expire, and some carriers aren’t diligent about keeping it longer than required.

How Do Pre-Existing Injuries Affect a Truck Accident Claim in California?

This question comes up in almost every case I handle, and the short answer is: a pre-existing condition does not prevent you from recovering compensation. California law recognizes what’s called the “eggshell plaintiff” doctrine — a defendant takes the plaintiff as they find them. If you had a prior lumbar injury and the truck crash aggravated it severely, you can claim damages for the aggravation.

The key distinction is between what was there before and what the crash made worse or newly caused. Medical records from before the accident are not something to hide — they’re going to surface during discovery regardless. In my experience, the better approach is to address the prior condition directly, get clear medical documentation of how the new trauma differed, and let the treating physicians explain the difference between baseline symptoms and post-accident changes.

Where things get complicated is when the defense argues that all of your current symptoms are attributable to the pre-existing condition and not the crash. Carriers and their insurers frequently retain doctors to perform independent medical examinations (IMEs) for exactly this purpose. Having your own treating physicians document the mechanism of injury and the change in your functional capacity before and after the crash is important.

If your prior condition was actually stable or in remission and the crash destabilized it, California law supports a claim for the full extent of that destabilization. The defense cannot simply point to your prior medical history and declare your claim invalid. For a detailed look at how courts have applied these principles, Justia’s California case law database is a useful starting point, and Cornell Law’s overview of the eggshell plaintiff rule covers the doctrine’s broader legal context.

One practical note: some clients delay seeing a doctor because they assume their old injury is just flaring up. That delay is problematic. Gaps in treatment give the defense an argument that your symptoms weren’t caused by the crash or weren’t serious enough to warrant attention. See a doctor, report every symptom accurately, and let the medical record build in real time.

Liability in a Truck Accident Is Rarely Simple

One of the things that distinguishes truck accident cases from car accident cases is the number of potentially responsible parties. The driver, the carrier, the vehicle owner (which may be separate from the carrier), the maintenance contractor, the cargo loading company, and in some cases the freight broker can all have some share of responsibility. Responsibility depends on the specific facts — how the crash happened, who controlled what, and what each party knew or should have known.

California uses pure comparative fault, meaning that if you bear some responsibility for the crash, your recovery is reduced proportionally — but it is not eliminated. Even a plaintiff who is found significantly at fault retains a claim for the remaining percentage. This is a more plaintiff-friendly rule than many other states use, and it matters in cases where the defense argues the injured person contributed to the crash.

For a broader look at the legal framework governing these claims, our California truck accident attorneys page covers the general landscape, and our California personal injury attorneys page addresses the broader legal principles that govern injury claims in the state.

Acting Quickly Matters

California’s general statute of limitations for personal injury cases is two years from the date of injury under Code of Civil Procedure 335.1. Missing that deadline almost certainly ends your ability to bring a claim. If a government entity — such as a publicly owned vehicle — is involved, the timeline for filing a formal claim with that entity is six months from the date of injury under Government Code 911.2, with a separate deadline to file suit after the entity responds. These timelines are different and shouldn’t be confused with each other.

Evidence also degrades. ELD data, surveillance footage from truck stops and traffic cameras, and inspection records all have finite lives. The sooner a truck accident attorney gets involved, the better the chance of preserving what matters.

Talk to a Bakersfield Truck Accident Attorney

If you or someone in your family was hurt in a truck crash on Highway 99, I-5, SR-58, or any road in Kern County, get legal advice before you talk to the carrier’s insurance company. What you say in those early conversations can affect your claim.

Our Bakersfield team is ready to review your case and explain your options. Visit our office at 2601 Oswell St suite 206, Bakersfield, CA 93306, United States, or contact us to schedule a consultation. You can also reach us directly at (949)-694-3760.

Razavi Law Group | Who Hurt You? serves clients throughout California. Our fee arrangement means you pay nothing unless we recover for you — no upfront costs, no hourly billing.