> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://the-class-action-community.ghost.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Commercial Truck Accident Lawsuits in New York: Who Can Be Sued - URL: https://the-class-action-community.ghost.io/commercial-truck-accident-lawsuits-in-new-york-who-can-be-sued/ - Published: 2026-11-09T18:15:44.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-09T18:15:44.000Z - Author: Christopher Svensson - Tags: personal injury **Quick answer:** After a commercial truck accident in New York, you can usually sue more than just the driver. The trucking company, the truck’s owner, a freight broker, a parts or tire manufacturer and even a city or transit agency may share responsibility, whether the crash involved an 18-wheeler, box truck, delivery van or garbage truck. Westchester personal injury attorney Jeffrey Weiskopf recently published an[ analysis of the latest New York truck accident lawsuits](https://weiskopflaw.com/analyzing-the-latest-new-york-truck-accident-lawsuits/?ref=the-class-action-community.ghost.io), covering recent verdicts, pending cases and 2026 rulings. Here is who can be held responsible, based on those cases. ### **Can you sue both the truck driver and the trucking company?** Yes. In most cases, the motor carrier that employs the driver is responsible for the driver’s negligence on the job under a rule called respondeat superior. Injured people often add claims that the company hired, trained or supervised the driver poorly, such as putting someone behind the wheel without a valid commercial driver’s license. New York courts often dismiss those extra claims when the company admits the driver was working at the time, unless the injured person is seeking punitive damages. Violations of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) rules, such as hours-of-service limits, can also serve as evidence of negligence. That is why truck accident lawyers move quickly to obtain driver logs and inspection records. ### **Is the truck’s owner liable if someone else was driving?** Usually, yes. New York’s Vehicle and Traffic Law § 388 makes a vehicle’s owner liable when someone drives it with permission, which matters when the driver works for one company but the tractor-trailer belongs to another. Rental and leasing companies are the exception. A federal law called the Graves Amendment largely shields them, and in April 2026, New York’s highest court ruled 4-3 in[ *Second Child v. Edge Auto*](https://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/current/3dseries/2026/2026%5F02436.shtml?ref=the-class-action-community.ghost.io) that rental companies don’t have to provide primary insurance coverage to their renters. Rental companies can still be sued for their own mistakes, such as renting to an unsafe driver or skipping maintenance. If a rented box truck or moving van hits you, those direct claims matter more than ever. ### **Can you sue a freight broker after a truck crash?** Yes, as of 2026\. Freight brokers arrange loads but don’t drive the trucks, and for years many argued federal law protected them from injury lawsuits. On May 14, 2026, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court rejected that argument in *Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II*. Injured people can now sue a broker for negligently choosing an unsafe motor carrier, which settles a question New York’s federal appeals court had never decided. ### **Can bus companies, tire makers or successor companies be held liable?** Yes, and one crash can involve all of them. The 2023 Farmingdale High School band bus crash on I-84 in Orange County killed two adults, and federal investigators traced the cause to an underinflated, previously damaged tire. About 30 lawsuits have been filed against the bus company, the driver, Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations and the school district. A 2026 suit also targets another bus company, claiming it is the original operator’s legal successor, a theory that matters when a carrier closes or changes its name after a crash. Maintenance shops, cargo loaders and parts manufacturers can also share responsibility when their work contributed to a crash. ### **Can you sue the City of New York or the MTA after a truck or bus crash?** Yes, and some of New York’s largest recent commercial vehicle verdicts have been against public fleets. In October 2025, a Bronx jury awarded $50.7 million to a pedestrian struck by a city Sanitation garbage truck, and a Manhattan jury awarded $72.5 million to a woman hit and dragged by an MTA bus. Both verdicts remain subject to post-trial motions or appeal. These claims come with strict deadlines. You generally must file a notice of claim within 90 days and sue within one year and 90 days. Claims against New York State, including crashes on the Thruway, go to the Court of Claims with similarly short deadlines. ### **What can limit a truck accident claim in New York in 2026?** Three rules shape how much an injured person can recover: - **Fault:** For motor vehicle injury cases filed on or after May 26, 2026, you cannot recover if you are found more at fault than the defendants combined. - **Serious injury threshold:** To recover for pain and suffering, you must meet New York’s no-fault “serious injury” threshold, which the 2026 reforms narrowed for new cases. - **Wrongful death:** Families can recover financial losses but not grief. Governor Hochul vetoed the Grieving Families Act for a fourth time in December 2025. The general deadlines are three years for personal injury and two years for wrongful death. ### **Can a truck crash become a class action?** Rarely. Large crashes usually produce many separate lawsuits instead: the 2017 Dahlia tour bus crash in Queens led to 24, and the Farmingdale crash about 30. That means each injured person has to file their own claim and meet their own deadlines. No one files for you, so knowing who can be sued, and how quickly, is the first step. ### **Why does your truck accident lawyer’s background matter?** Because truck cases are won or lost on details: which companies to name, which court to file in and whether a big verdict survives appeal. Jeffrey Weiskopf, P.C. has established itself as a trusted advocate for victims of catastrophic injuries involving commercial trucks and heavy vehicles. The firm’s notable case results include a recent $3.25 million and $1.25 million recovery. It also holds a 5.0 rating from more than 60 Google reviews. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. As a New York truck accident lawyer, he is also admitted to the state’s federal courts, where interstate trucking cases can end up. TopVerdict recognized him among the Top 100 Personal Injury Jury Verdicts in New York for 2025. Jeff began his career as a Senior Court Attorney in the Civil and Criminal Courts of New York County, working inside the courthouse where judges evaluate injury claims. He later became a partner at a Manhattan firm, founded Jeffrey Weiskopf, P.C. in Ossining, and has practiced since 2007. He has taught Remedies, the area of law that governs what courts can award injured people, as an adjunct professor at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. He also handles appeals in the Appellate Division, First and Second Departments, the courts that review verdicts from Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Westchester and the Hudson Valley. ### ###