If you or a loved one was hurt because your car ended up beneath a semi-trailer, you already know how frightening that moment was and how serious the injuries are. New Orleans is one of the busiest freight corridors in the country, which means that every day on I-10, I-610, and US-90, commercial trucks share the road with passenger vehicles, and when a car slides under a trailer instead of striking it, the results are often catastrophic. An experienced underride truck accident lawyer can help you understand what happened, who is responsible, and what your case may be worth.
Dudley DeBosier Injury Lawyers has represented Louisianans in truck accident cases for decades. Contact us for a free consultation.
How Underride Truck Accidents Happen
An underride crash happens when a smaller vehicle slides beneath the trailer of a semi-truck, either at the rear or along the side. The difference in ride height between a passenger car and an 18-wheeler creates a gap large enough for the car to pass under the trailer floor, which is why underride crashes so often produce roof intrusion and injuries to the head, neck, and upper body.
The point of impact matters. In a typical rear-end collision, a car’s crumple zones and airbag system absorb energy at bumper height. In an underride, the trailer strikes the windshield and roof pillars instead. Airbags may not deploy the way they were designed to, and the vehicle’s crash structure never engages. That is why relatively low-speed underride crashes still kill people.
Common causes include:
- Sudden truck stops: A trailer stopped in a travel lane, on the shoulder, or at a poorly marked construction zone can be difficult to see in time.
- Poor rear conspicuity: Missing, dirty, or damaged reflective tape and non-functioning trailer lights leave the back of a truck effectively invisible at night.
- Missing or damaged underride guards: When the guard is bent, cracked, or absent, nothing prevents a car from riding under the trailer.
- Weather and visibility: Fog, heavy rain, and standing water on Louisiana interstates cut reaction distance sharply.
- Following too closely: Passenger drivers often underestimate a loaded semi-truck’s stopping distance.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office estimated an average of about 219 deaths per year from truck underride crashes between 2008 and 2017, and reporting by PBS Frontline suggests the real figure is higher because underride is underreported on police crash forms.
Rear Underride Guard Laws, Standards, and Defects
Federal law requires most trailers to be built with a rear underride guard, a steel bar that hangs below the back of the trailer at roughly bumper height. The standards are set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards No. 223 and No. 224. Those rules cover how strong the guard must be, how it attaches, and how far below the trailer it can sit.
Two problems have shown up repeatedly in real-world crashes.
The guards fail in crash testing. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety runs a program called TOUGHGUARD that tests trailer guards at 35 miles per hour. Many designs pass a full-width test but fail an offset test where only part of the car strikes the guard. When the guard fails, the passenger compartment slides under the trailer even at low speeds.
Side underride guards are not federally required. Trailers can be struck along their length as well, and side guards would prevent many of those crashes. NHTSA has considered a side-guard rule for years without adopting one. Some manufacturers install them voluntarily. Most do not.
When a guard is defective in design or manufacturing, the manufacturer of the guard or the trailer can be held liable alongside the trucking company. That is a separate claim from a driver-negligence claim, and it can be pursued at the same time. Recalls and prior known defects in a specific guard model can strengthen the case.
Injuries Common in Truck Underride Crashes
Because these crashes strike higher and harder than the safety features in your car were designed for, the injuries tend to be severe. Recovery time from these types of injuries is often measured in years, not weeks. Underride crash injuries we see often include:
- Traumatic brain injuries: Roof intrusion and windshield-frame contact commonly cause skull fractures and closed head injuries. Even a moderate traumatic brain injury can affect memory, mood, and the ability to return to work.
- Spinal cord injuries: Compression forces on the neck and back can produce fractures, herniated discs, and in severe cases partial or complete paralysis. Serious spinal cord injuries often require lifelong care.
- Crush injuries: When the roof collapses, occupants can suffer crushed limbs and torso injuries that require reconstructive surgery.
- Amputation injuries: Sharp trailer edges and collapsed passenger structures can result in traumatic or surgical amputation.
- Severe lacerations and internal injuries: Broken glass and metal at head height frequently cause facial and neck lacerations, and blunt-force impact can rupture internal organs.
- Broken bones: Rib, sternum, and facial fractures are common because of where the trailer strikes the car.
The most severe underride crashes are fatal, and when a family loses someone this way, our wrongful death lawyers can help them understand their legal options.
Who Can Be Held Liable for a New Orleans Underride Crash
Louisiana follows a modified comparative fault system under Louisiana Civil Code Article 2323. For injuries occurring on or after January 1, 2026, that means if you’re found 51 percent or more at fault for the crash, you can’t recover any compensation. If your share of fault is 50 percent or less, you can still recover, but your compensation is reduced by your share of the fault.
Truck underride cases often involve more than one potentially liable party. Identifying all of them is one of the most important things a lawyer does early on in a case.
Parties who may share fault in an underride crash:
- Truck drivers. A driver can be responsible when their actions directly contribute to the crash. For example, a driver fails to use reflective triangles or hazard lights after parking on the shoulder at night, and a car slams into the rear of the trailer because it was not visible.
- Other motorists. A third driver’s reckless behavior can force a truck into a position where an underride is unavoidable. For example, a car cuts off a semi and slams on the brakes, the truck jackknifes across the highway, and a following vehicle crashes underneath the trailer.
- Trucking companies. A carrier can be liable for hiring an unqualified driver, ignoring Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration maintenance rules, or dispatching a trailer with a damaged guard.
- Maintenance companies. A contracted maintenance provider can be at fault for failing to identify a cracked weld or worn mounting hardware on an underride guard during inspection.
- Underride guard and trailer manufacturers. A poorly designed or defectively manufactured guard that fails at speeds it should have withstood exposes the manufacturer to product liability.
Because so many parties can share responsibility, timing matters. Louisiana’s prescriptive period for most personal injury claims is now two years from the date of the injury under Louisiana Civil Code Article 3493.1, following a 2024 change in the law. Before July 1, 2024, the deadline was one year, and the old rule still applies to injuries that happened before that date. The more parties involved, the more evidence a lawyer needs time to collect. This is yet another reason not to wait to get help.
Evidence That Proves an Underride Truck Accident Claim
Truck cases are won and lost on the evidence collected in the first few weeks. Some of the most important evidence disappears fast, which is why an underride claim needs to be investigated quickly.
Evidence that matters most in these cases:
- The truck’s electronic control module (ECM) data: The “black box” records speed, braking, and throttle inputs in the moments before the crash. That data can be overwritten if the truck goes back into service.
- Scene photographs: Photos of the damaged guard, the position of both vehicles, skid marks, and lighting conditions are often more persuasive than any single witness statement.
- The guard itself: The physical underride guard should be preserved and inspected by an engineer for weld quality, mounting condition, and prior damage.
- Driver logs and hours-of-service records: Federal rules limit how long a driver can be behind the wheel. Fatigued driving shows up in the logs, or in gaps in the logs.
- Dispatch, routing, and maintenance records: These document what the trucking company knew about the driver, the trailer, and the load.
Sending a preservation-of-evidence letter, sometimes called a spoliation letter, to the trucking company early tells the carrier that destroying relevant records will be treated as evidence of wrongdoing. An experienced truck accident lawyer knows how to send that letter within days of taking a case.
Where Truck Underride Crashes Happen in New Orleans
The Port of New Orleans is one of the largest port complexes in the country, and truck traffic in and out of the port terminals feeds the city’s major interstates at all hours. That baseline volume, combined with weather that regularly cuts visibility, makes the New Orleans area a high-risk environment for underride crashes.
Corridors where these cases most often arise:
- I-10: From the Twin Span through downtown and out to Kenner, I-10 sees heavy freight traffic mixed with commuter volume. Sudden slowdowns are common, especially near the I-510 and I-610 splits.
- I-610: The bypass carries a large share of the trucks routing around the CBD and is a frequent site of rear-end truck crashes.
- US-90: The Westbank Expressway and the approach to the Crescent City Connection funnel port and industrial traffic across the river.
- Pontchartrain Expressway and the Crescent City Connection: Congestion and lane changes at the bridge approaches force sudden braking that can catch following drivers by surprise.
Immediate emergency care matters. Level I trauma care in the region is available at University Medical Center New Orleans, and Ochsner Medical Center also treats serious traumatic injuries. Following your doctors’ guidance and keeping every medical record is important both to your recovery and to your case.
Compensation You Can Pursue After an Underride Crash
Underride injuries typically require long-term medical care, and many people never fully return to the work they did before. Compensation in a truck underride case can help ensure the cost of recovery does not fall on the injured family.
Categories a claim can seek:
- Medical costs: Emergency care, surgeries, hospitalization, rehabilitation, physical therapy, medication, and mental health counseling.
- Long-term care needs: Assistive devices, prosthetics, and home or vehicle modifications.
- Lost income: Wages lost during recovery and diminished future earning capacity.
- Vocational retraining: When a return to the prior job is not possible.
- Non-economic damages: Pain and suffering, disability, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of consortium.
- Wrongful death damages: For surviving family members when the crash was fatal.
How Our New Orleans Truck Accident Lawyers Can Help
Insurance companies representing trucking carriers do not treat underride crashes as ordinary auto claims. They send investigators to the scene within hours, and their goal is to control the narrative before the injured driver has even left the hospital.
When you hire Dudley DeBosier, you can count on:
- Fast investigation: We can move quickly to preserve ECM data, secure the trailer for inspection, and lock down witness accounts.
- Resources for the fight: We can hire the accident reconstructionists, engineers, and medical experts these cases require.
- Trial readiness: We can prepare every case as if it is going to court, which changes how insurers value it.
- Our No Fee Guarantee®: You pay us nothing — no fees, costs, or expenses — unless we get you money.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Is an Underride Truck Accident Different From a Regular Rear-End Crash?
An underride crash involves a passenger vehicle sliding beneath the trailer of a semi-truck, so the impact enters the car above the bumper line, often at windshield level. The safety systems built for a normal rear-end collision, including airbags and crumple zones, cannot protect occupants the way they were designed to. Injuries tend to be much more severe as a result.
What Is a Rear Underride Guard, and Is It Required by Law?
A rear underride guard is a steel bar mounted below the back of a semi-trailer, designed to keep a car from sliding under the trailer in a rear-end collision. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards 223 and 224 require most commercial trailers to have one and set the strength standards it must meet. Side underride guards are not federally required, which is one reason side underride crashes remain common.
Who Can Be Held Liable for a Truck Underride Crash in Louisiana?
Multiple parties often share fault: the truck driver, the trucking company, the trailer or guard manufacturer, a maintenance contractor, or a third driver whose behavior caused the crash. Louisiana’s modified comparative fault rule under Civil Code Article 2323 allows an injured person less than 51 percent at fault to recover from any of these parties, reduced by their own share of fault if any. Identifying every responsible party early is one of the biggest factors in the value of a case.
How Long Do I Have to File an Underride Truck Accident Lawsuit in Louisiana?
For injuries that happened on or after July 1, 2024, Louisiana law gives you two years from the date of the crash under Civil Code Article 3493.1. For older injuries, the prior one-year deadline still applies. Some claims, including certain wrongful death and medical claims, have their own separate rules, so it is worth confirming your specific deadline with a lawyer as soon as possible.
What Evidence Should I Preserve After a Truck Underride Crash?
Photograph the scene, both vehicles, the underride guard, and the surrounding road conditions if you are able. Save your medical records, keep every receipt for out-of-pocket expenses, and write down what you remember about the crash while it is fresh. A lawyer can send a preservation-of-evidence letter to the trucking company right away to lock down the truck’s electronic data, driver logs, and maintenance records before they are lost.
What if the Underride Guard on the Truck Was Defective or Missing?
A missing, damaged, or defectively designed underride guard can be the basis of a separate product liability claim against the manufacturer, in addition to any negligence claim against the driver or carrier. Recalls and prior known failures of the same guard model can strengthen the case significantly. An engineer will typically need to inspect the guard to determine whether it met federal strength standards.
Do I Need a Lawyer to Handle an Underride Truck Accident Claim?
Trucking companies deploy defense teams and investigators immediately after a serious crash, and their goal is to minimize what the injured driver recovers. Handling a case of this size on your own means negotiating against those resources without them. An experienced truck accident lawyer levels the field and can pursue every source of compensation available.
Talk to a New Orleans Truck Underride Lawyer Today
If a truck underride crash upended your life or took someone you love, you should not have to sort out the legal side while trying to recover. Dudley DeBosier has represented Louisianans in truck accident cases for decades, and we can start work on your case today.
You pay us nothing — no fees, costs, or expenses — unless we get you money.
Contact us online for a free case review. We answer the phone 24 hours a day.
