Fullerton Truck Accident Attorney

Fullerton sits at the north end of Orange County where the Santa Ana Freeway (I-5), the Riverside Freeway (State Route 91) and the Orange Freeway (State Route 57) come close together. Taken together, those freeways carry tens of thousands of trucks a day, and the interchanges that feed Harbor Boulevard and other city streets are where trucks and local traffic mix.

If you were hurt in a collision with a semi, box truck or other commercial vehicle in Fullerton, Saeedian Law Group can review what happened with you. We are based in Beverly Hills and do not have an office in Fullerton; we meet clients by phone, video or in person. There is no attorney fee unless there is a recovery. Call (310) 288-3000.

Freight Volumes Around Fullerton

Caltrans’s 2024 truck traffic table shows how much freight moves past the city. At the junction of I-5 and State Route 91 in Fullerton, one leg of I-5 carries about 223,000 vehicles a day, including roughly 19,000 trucks. On the 91 at Harbor Boulevard, the count is about 205,000 vehicles and around 15,400 trucks a day, about a third of them five-axle rigs.

The 57 carries an even heavier share of big rigs. Where it meets the 91 in Anaheim, just south of Fullerton, the table lists between about 17,000 and 21,000 trucks a day, depending on which side of the interchange is counted, and more than half are five-axle combinations. Further north at the Brea junction with State Route 90, the 57 still carries about 13,000 trucks a day on one leg.

Those freeway volumes spill onto local streets near interchanges, where trucks slow down, turn wide and merge across lanes of passenger traffic.

Reporting the Crash in Fullerton

The Fullerton Police Department runs an online system for reporting some collisions, but its own page sets clear limits. Online reports are not available for injury collisions, and the system is only for crashes inside Fullerton city limits that did not happen on a state freeway. If you were hurt, an officer needs to take the report. Call the department or 911 from the scene.

Crashes on the 5, the 57 and the 91 are investigated by the California Highway Patrol. You can request a CHP report with form CHP 190, in person or by mail at your nearest CHP Area office, or through the CHP’s online crash report portal. The CHP officer’s card or the tow receipt usually identifies the office.

Also keep in mind the DMV report. Vehicle Code section 16000 requires a driver in a crash that injures anyone, or causes more than $1,000 in property damage, to file a report with the DMV within 10 days.

The Carrier’s Crash History

A trucking company’s past crashes can be evidence in your case. Under 49 CFR 390.15, interstate motor carriers must keep an accident register for three years after each crash, listing the date, location, driver and whether there were injuries or deaths. That register, together with the carrier’s federal inspection and violation history, can show whether the company knew about a pattern of unsafe driving or poor maintenance.

When the history shows repeated problems with the same driver or the same type of failure, the case is no longer only about one bad moment on the freeway. It becomes a question of how the company hired, trained and supervised its drivers.

Hospitals That Treat Serious Crash Injuries

Orange County has a small number of trauma centers. UCI Health in the city of Orange describes itself as Orange County’s only certified Level I adult trauma center. Orange County Global Medical Center in Santa Ana operates a Level II trauma center and is one of the county’s designated adult trauma centers. Patients from north Orange County with serious injuries are often taken to one of those two hospitals.

If you were treated at a local emergency room first and released, follow up with your own doctor promptly. Many truck crash injuries, especially to the neck, back and head, become clearer over the following days.

Where a Fullerton Lawsuit Is Filed

Fullerton has a courthouse, the North Justice Center at 1275 North Berkeley Avenue, but it is not where most injury lawsuits are filed. The Superior Court of Orange County describes the North Justice Center as handling traffic, minor offenses and criminal matters, along with some civil proceedings, and lists its civil division mailing address in Santa Ana.

The Central Justice Center at 700 Civic Center Drive West in Santa Ana handles unlimited civil cases, and the court lists it as serving all Orange County cities for limited and unlimited civil matters. A truck accident lawsuit from Fullerton is normally filed there, unless the case belongs in federal court.

Deadlines for Fullerton Truck Claims

Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1 gives you two years from the date of injury to sue a private party, such as a trucking company or its driver. If a public agency was involved, whether a public transit bus, a city vehicle or a road condition on a state highway, Government Code section 911.2 requires a written claim within six months.

Talk to a lawyer before either deadline gets close. Building a truck case takes time, and the records you need are held by companies that do not have to keep them for long.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I file an online police report for a truck crash in Fullerton?

Only in limited cases. The Fullerton Police Department’s online crash reporting system is meant for non-injury collisions inside city limits that did not happen on a state freeway, with no evidence to collect and no known suspects. It is not available for injury collisions. If you were hurt, ask for an officer to respond and take a report at the scene, or contact the department as soon as you can. If the crash happened on the 5, the 57 or the 91, the California Highway Patrol handles it instead, and you request that report with form CHP 190.

Why would my Fullerton case be filed in Santa Ana?

The Superior Court of Orange County handles unlimited civil cases, which include most truck injury lawsuits, at the Central Justice Center at 700 Civic Center Drive West in Santa Ana. The court lists that courthouse as serving all Orange County cities for limited and unlimited civil matters. The North Justice Center on Berkeley Avenue in Fullerton mainly handles traffic, minor offenses and criminal matters, along with some civil proceedings, and its civil mailing address is the Santa Ana building. Your lawyer handles the filings, so the location of the courthouse rarely changes much for you day to day.

What is a carrier accident register and how does it help my case?

Federal rule 49 CFR 390.15 requires interstate motor carriers to keep an accident register for three years after each crash. Each entry lists the date, the city or town, the driver’s name, the number of injuries and deaths, and whether hazardous materials were released. In a lawsuit, we can request that register along with inspection and violation history. If the same driver or the same type of equipment problem shows up repeatedly, it supports a claim that the company itself was careless in hiring, training, supervising or maintaining its fleet.

Which hospitals handle serious injuries from north Orange County crashes?

Paramedics follow Orange County’s emergency medical services rules in choosing a destination. UCI Health in Orange describes itself as Orange County’s only certified Level I adult trauma center, verified by the American College of Surgeons. Orange County Global Medical Center in Santa Ana operates a Level II trauma center. A person with less severe injuries may be taken to a general emergency department closer to Fullerton. Whatever hospital you went to, request the complete record, including the ambulance report, which often documents your first complaints of pain.

What if a public bus or a city truck was involved?

A claim against a public agency must go through the Government Claims Act first. Under Government Code section 911.2, a written claim for personal injury has to be presented within six months after the injury. The City of Fullerton, the county’s transit agency and Caltrans are public entities, so a crash involving one of their vehicles, or a road defect they maintain, usually starts with that claim. A lawsuit can follow only after the agency rejects the claim or fails to act on it in time. The six-month window is short, so identify every vehicle’s owner early.

Do I have to deal with the trucking company’s insurer myself?

You do not. Once you hire a lawyer, we ask the insurer to send all communication through us. That protects you from giving a recorded statement while you are still in pain or unsure of the facts. Adjusters for commercial carriers often contact injured people within days and may ask for a broad medical authorization that reaches years of unrelated history. We review any request before you sign it, send the claim documentation ourselves and keep you informed at each step, in English or Spanish.

Which CHP office has the report for a truck crash on the 5 or the 91 in Fullerton?

Two CHP Area offices in Orange County list both the 5 and the 91 among the freeways they patrol. The Santa Ana Area works out of 2031 East Santa Clara Avenue and also covers the Orange Crush, where the 5, the 22 and the 57 come together. The Westminster Area is at 13200 Goldenwest Street. Which one wrote your report turns on the exact spot where the truck hit you. The report number on the officer’s business card helps the CHP find your report. You can submit form CHP 190 at your nearest CHP Area office, in person or by mail, or use the CHP’s online crash report portal. If the paperwork is unclear, call either office with the date, the time and the nearest exit.

Is St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton a trauma center?

No. The Orange County EMS agency lists St. Jude Medical Center, at 101 East Valencia Mesa Drive, as an emergency receiving center. Its trauma centers are a short list: UCI Health in Orange, Orange County Global Medical Center in Santa Ana, Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo, and Rady Children’s Hospital-Orange County on West La Veta Avenue for children. So after a Fullerton truck crash you might be seen at St. Jude and then moved, or driven straight past it to a trauma center. A transfer leaves two sets of records behind. Get both, plus the transfer note, which usually states why the first hospital sent you on. Insurers later argue about how badly people were hurt, and that note answers them in a doctor’s words.

What evidence matters after a jackknife truck crash on the 5 or the 91?

In a jackknife, the trailer swings out and folds toward the cab, and it can block several lanes in seconds. Where the 5 meets the 91 in Fullerton, Caltrans counts close to 19,000 trucks a day on one leg of I-5. One folded trailer there can catch a lot of cars. We look first at brakes, speed and how the load sat. Under 49 CFR 396.3, carriers keep inspection, repair and maintenance records for each truck for a year where it is housed or maintained, and for six months after the truck leaves the carrier’s control. Driver vehicle inspection reports, which note defects such as brake trouble, only have to be kept three months under 49 CFR 396.11. Engine data has no comparable federal retention rule. Send the preservation letter early.

How can I find out which trucking company hit me in Fullerton?

Start with the cab door. Under 49 CFR 390.21, a truck covered by federal rules has to show the operating carrier’s name and its USDOT number on both sides, in letters you can read from 50 feet while the truck is parked. When another company’s name is painted on the truck, the real operator’s name must appear after the words “operated by.” If you can, photograph both sides at the scene, whether that is a lot off Harbor Boulevard or the shoulder of the 57. With the USDOT number in hand, the FMCSA’s public SAFER Company Snapshot shows the carrier’s registration, its number of power units and its inspection and crash summaries. That is a starting point. It tells us what to ask for once the case is filed.

Does the truck driver get drug and alcohol tested after a crash in Fullerton?

Sometimes. It depends on what happened at the scene. Under 49 CFR 382.303, a carrier must test its surviving driver for alcohol and drugs after any crash that kills someone. When nobody died, testing is required only if the driver is cited for a moving violation and either a person was hurt and treated away from the scene or a vehicle had to be towed away because of disabling damage. For alcohol the citation has to come within 8 hours. For drugs the window is 32 hours. In Fullerton, that citation would normally come from the CHP on the freeway or from Fullerton police on city streets. We ask the carrier for the results and for its records of when each test was done, or the reason it was skipped.

What rules apply when a truck crosses the BNSF tracks in Fullerton?

Fullerton has already moved two streets off the tracks. OCTA’s OC Bridges program rebuilt Raymond Avenue and State College Boulevard as undercrossings, so drivers there no longer meet BNSF trains at street level. At any crossing that is still at grade, federal rules apply to the truck. A cargo tank truck used for hazardous materials must stop under 49 CFR 392.10, loaded or empty, and so must trucks with many kinds of hazmat placards. The driver stops between 15 and 50 feet from the rails, looks and listens both ways, then crosses without shifting gears. Other trucks must approach slowly enough to stop before the nearest rail, under 49 CFR 392.11. Whether the driver followed those steps goes straight to fault.

Contact Saeedian Law Group

Call (310) 288-3000 or send a message online to schedule a free case review. We speak English and Spanish, and we can begin requesting the crash report and preserving the truck’s records right away.

Our California truck accident lawyer page covers the statewide rules, and our Fullerton personal injury lawyer page covers other kinds of injury cases in the city. We also handle truck crashes in Anaheim, Orange and Santa Ana.

About the Author

Michael Saeedian, Esq., Founding Attorney, Saeedian Law Group (California State Bar #265470). Michael founded Saeedian Law Group in 2009 and has spent more than 16 years representing injured Californians and their families in personal injury and wrongful death matters across the state. His practice includes truck accident cases throughout Orange County.

Legal disclaimer: This page provides general information about California truck accident law and does not constitute legal advice. Every case is different; past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship with Saeedian Law Group. For advice specific to your situation, contact our office at (310) 288-3000 or schedule a free consultation.