Huntington Beach Truck Accident Attorney

Huntington Beach is not a freight hub, and that is exactly why truck crashes here look different. Few tractor-trailers travel Pacific Coast Highway or Beach Boulevard compared with the freeways inland. The trucks people collide with in Huntington Beach are more often delivery trucks, box trucks, dump trucks and contractor vehicles working on city streets, along with the big rigs on the San Diego Freeway (I-405) at the city’s northeast edge.

Saeedian Law Group represents people injured in collisions with commercial vehicles of every size in Huntington Beach and across Orange County. We are based in Beverly Hills and do not have an office in Huntington Beach. We meet clients by phone, by video or in person, and there is no attorney fee unless there is a recovery. Call (310) 288-3000.

What Caltrans Counts Show About Huntington Beach Trucks

Caltrans’s 2024 truck traffic table makes the pattern clear. Beach Boulevard (State Route 39) at Main Street and Ellis Avenue carries about 61,700 to 67,100 vehicles a day, with roughly 700 to 830 of them trucks. Only about 14 percent of those trucks are five-axle rigs. Most are two- and three-axle vehicles.

Pacific Coast Highway (State Route 1) at the northern Beach Boulevard junction counts about 300 trucks a day out of 38,300 vehicles. The 405 is a different road. At the Beach Boulevard interchange it carries up to about 149,800 vehicles and 5,200 trucks a day, and about 42 percent of those trucks are five-axle combinations.

So a crash on the 405 usually involves a long-haul or regional carrier. A crash on Beach Boulevard, Brookhurst Street or near the pier is more likely to involve a local business vehicle, a rental truck or a contractor’s work truck.

Smaller Trucks Still Create Commercial Claims

Federal motor carrier rules define a commercial motor vehicle as one with a gross weight rating of 10,001 pounds or more that operates in interstate commerce, among other categories, under 49 CFR 390.5. Many box trucks and dump trucks meet that weight. When they do, and the operation is interstate, the carrier has to follow federal driver qualification, hours-of-service and maintenance rules, and those records become evidence.

Lighter delivery vans and pickups may fall outside those federal rules. That does not leave you without a claim. Under California Civil Code section 2338, a principal is responsible to third persons for an agent’s negligence in carrying out the principal’s business, and a business that owns or rents out the vehicle may carry its own policy. The first task is to find out who the driver was working for at the moment of the crash, which may be a delivery contractor rather than the company whose name is on the package.

Police and CHP Reports

On city streets, the Huntington Beach Police Department’s Traffic Bureau handles collisions, and the department’s page links to a form for requesting a copy of a traffic collision report. We have a separate guide to getting a Huntington Beach accident report that walks through the steps.

On the 405, the California Highway Patrol investigates. The CHP’s Westminster Area office at 13200 Goldenwest Street lists I-405 among the freeways it patrols. You can request a CHP report with form CHP 190, in person or by mail to the Area office.

Trauma Care for Huntington Beach Patients

Orange County’s emergency medical services agency reported in its 2018 trauma system status report that UCI Medical Center, a Level I trauma center, and Orange County Global Medical Center, a Level II trauma center, receive trauma patients from the northern, western and parts of the central and eastern county, which includes Huntington Beach. UCI Health in Orange describes itself as the county’s only certified Level I adult trauma center. People with less severe injuries are often seen at a local emergency department instead.

Keep the ambulance report and every discharge summary. If you see a chiropractor, physical therapist or specialist later, those records belong in the claim too.

Where a Huntington Beach Case Is Filed

The Superior Court of Orange County hears unlimited civil cases at the Central Justice Center, 700 Civic Center Drive West in Santa Ana. The court lists the Central Justice Center as serving all Orange County cities for limited and unlimited civil matters, so an injury lawsuit from a Huntington Beach crash is normally filed there.

The Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach is closer, but the court describes it as handling traffic, minor offenses and criminal matters. It is not where a truck injury lawsuit is filed.

Deadlines

California gives you two years from the date of injury to sue a private trucking company or driver, under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. A claim against a public entity, such as a city vehicle, a public transit bus or a road condition on a state highway like Beach Boulevard or Pacific Coast Highway, requires a written claim within six months under Government Code section 911.2.

If you share some fault, California’s pure comparative fault rule, adopted by the California Supreme Court in Li v. Yellow Cab Co., still lets you recover. Your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault.

Frequently Asked Questions

What kind of trucks cause most crashes on Huntington Beach streets?

Caltrans’s 2024 truck traffic counts give a useful picture. On Beach Boulevard at Main Street and Ellis Avenue, roughly 700 to 830 trucks pass each day, and only about 14 percent are five-axle rigs. Most are smaller two- and three-axle trucks. On Pacific Coast Highway the truck count is lower still. That points to delivery vehicles, box trucks, dump trucks and contractor equipment as the trucks most people encounter in town. Each type raises its own questions, such as whether a rental company owns the vehicle or whether the driver was an employee or a contractor.

The truck that hit me was a small delivery van. Is that still a truck accident case?

It can be a commercial vehicle claim even if federal trucking rules do not apply. The federal definition in 49 CFR 390.5 covers interstate vehicles of 10,001 pounds or more, so many vans fall below it. California Civil Code section 2338 still makes a principal responsible for an agent’s negligence in the course of the principal’s business, and a company that owns, leases or rents the vehicle may have separate coverage. Many delivery drivers work for contractors rather than the retailer whose name appears on the package, so we trace the driver’s actual employer and every policy that could apply.

Which court hears a Huntington Beach truck accident lawsuit?

The Superior Court of Orange County lists the Central Justice Center, 700 Civic Center Drive West in Santa Ana, as serving all Orange County cities for limited and unlimited civil cases, so that is where a Huntington Beach injury lawsuit is normally filed. The Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach handles traffic, minor offenses and criminal matters, according to the court, and is not the venue for these cases. Some lawsuits against out-of-state trucking companies can be moved to federal court, which is decided after the case is filed.

How do I get the police report for a crash on Beach Boulevard?

Beach Boulevard is a state highway, but inside the city it is a surface street, and crashes there are generally handled by the Huntington Beach Police Department rather than the CHP, which focuses on the freeway. The department’s Traffic Bureau page links to a form for requesting a copy of a traffic collision report. Our Huntington Beach accident report guide explains the steps in more detail. If your crash happened on the 405, the CHP’s Westminster Area office, which lists I-405 among its patrolled freeways, likely wrote the report, and you can request it with form CHP 190.

Where are seriously injured Huntington Beach crash victims taken?

Paramedics in Orange County follow county trauma triage rules. UCI Health in 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 describes itself as one of only three designated trauma centers in the county. Patients whose injuries do not meet trauma criteria are often taken to a closer emergency department. Wherever you were treated, request the full chart and the ambulance run report, since they record your first account of the crash and your symptoms.

Can I still recover if the officer said I was partly at fault?

Yes. California follows pure comparative fault, a rule the California Supreme Court adopted in Li v. Yellow Cab Co. in 1975. You can recover even if you share responsibility, and your damages are reduced by your percentage. A police report’s fault opinion is not binding in a civil case. Truck evidence the officer may not have seen, such as the vehicle’s telematics, the driver’s phone records and video from nearby businesses, can shift the analysis. Do not agree to a fault percentage with an adjuster before that evidence has been reviewed.