Truck Accident Laws in Delaware (2026): Deadlines & Liability

A crash with a tractor-trailer is not just a bigger car accident. A loaded commercial truck can weigh 20 to 30 times more than a passenger car, the injuries tend to be severe, and the case behind it usually involves a trucking company, federal safety rules, and several possible defendants. If a commercial truck hurt you in Delaware, the two things that frame your claim immediately are the filing deadline and how the state apportions fault.

This page covers Delaware's deadlines, negligence rule, and the role its mandatory PIP coverage plays, then explains the federal trucking rules that apply nationwide. It is general legal information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.

The Deadline to Sue in Delaware

Under Title 10 of the Delaware Code, section 8119, an action for personal injuries must be brought within two years from the date the injuries were sustained. For most truck crashes that runs from the date of the collision.

If the crash caused a death, the claim falls under the two-year limit in 10 Del. C. section 8107, generally measured from the date of death. Delaware's deadlines are firm, and filing late almost always bars the case no matter how serious the injuries are. A few circumstances, such as a claim against a government entity or one involving a minor, can affect the timeline, which is why the exact deadline is worth confirming early.

How Delaware Divides Fault

Delaware follows modified comparative negligence under 10 Del. C. section 8132. Your own negligence does not bar recovery as long as it was not greater than the negligence of the defendant, or the combined negligence of all defendants you are suing. This is a 51% bar: you recover if you are 50% or less at fault, and you recover nothing if your share reaches 51%.

When you recover, the court reduces your damages in proportion to your fault. If your damages are $300,000 and you are found 25% at fault, your recovery drops to $225,000. Because insurers often push to assign more blame to the injured person, both to threaten the 51% bar and to shrink the payout, the way fault is established matters in every truck case.

No-Fault and PIP in Delaware

Delaware is sometimes loosely called a no-fault state because it requires drivers to carry personal injury protection (PIP) under 21 Del. C. section 2118. In practice, Delaware is an at-fault, or tort, state. PIP pays your medical bills and lost wages up to your policy limits regardless of who caused the crash, but unlike a true no-fault state such as Florida, New York, or Michigan, Delaware imposes no serious-injury threshold you must clear before suing.

That means you can sue the at-fault truck driver and motor carrier directly for the full range of damages, including pain and suffering. The main limit is that you generally cannot recover again from the at-fault party for medical bills or lost wages that your PIP coverage already paid or was eligible to pay, which prevents a double recovery for the same loss.

Damage Caps in Delaware

Delaware does not cap compensatory damages in ordinary personal injury or wrongful death cases, so you can seek the full measure of economic and non-economic losses. A notable exception applies to claims against a Delaware county, city, or their employees, where total damages for a single occurrence are generally limited to $300,000 unless the government entity carries higher liability insurance. That cap can matter if a government-owned truck or driver is involved.

Minimum Insurance in Delaware

Delaware requires drivers to carry liability coverage of at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, plus $10,000 for property damage, and it requires PIP coverage. Those figures apply to ordinary vehicles. Commercial trucks running in interstate commerce face much higher federal minimums, covered below, which is one reason a truck claim can reach insurance that a car claim never would.

Federal FMCSA Rules That Shape Truck Cases

Most commercial trucks are governed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations enforced by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). These rules apply in every state, and a violation is frequently strong evidence of negligence.

• Hours of service (49 CFR Part 395): A property-carrying driver may drive a maximum of 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty, may not drive beyond the 14th hour after coming on duty, must take a 30-minute break after 8 hours of driving, and is capped at 60 hours in 7 days or 70 hours in 8 days. Fatigue and falsified logs are recurring problems.
• Electronic logging devices (ELDs): Most drivers must run an ELD that automatically records driving time, duty status, and location, which makes hours-of-service violations harder to conceal.
• Driver qualification and CDL: Carriers must confirm that drivers hold the proper commercial driver's license and meet medical and qualification standards.
• Drug and alcohol testing: FMCSA requires pre-employment, random, post-accident, and reasonable-suspicion testing for safety-sensitive drivers.
• Vehicle maintenance and inspection (49 CFR Part 396): Carriers must systematically inspect, repair, and maintain their vehicles and keep records. Brake and tire failures often trace back to skipped maintenance.

Who Can Be Liable After a Truck Accident

A car crash usually means one other driver. A truck crash often involves a chain of businesses, and several of them can share responsibility:

• The driver, for negligent or reckless operation.
• The motor carrier (trucking company), both vicariously for its driver acting in the scope of employment and directly for negligent hiring, training, supervision, or retention.
• A broker or shipper, in some circumstances tied to how the load or carrier was arranged.
• A cargo loader, if an improperly secured or overloaded load contributed to the crash.
• A parts or equipment manufacturer, if a defective brake, tire, or other component failed.

Pinning down every responsible party matters because it can open access to multiple insurance policies, a key difference from a typical car-accident case.

Federal Minimum Insurance for Trucks

Under 49 CFR 387.9, for-hire motor carriers operating in interstate commerce and hauling general (non-hazardous) freight in vehicles rated at 10,001 pounds or more must maintain at least $750,000 in liability coverage. Carriers transporting certain hazardous materials must carry $1,000,000 or $5,000,000. These federal floors dwarf a typical passenger-car policy, which is part of why truck cases are valued differently from car cases.

Why Preserving Evidence Early Matters

Much of the strongest evidence in a truck case sits inside the truck and the carrier's files. ELD and logbook data, the engine control module (ECM) or onboard event recorder often called the black box, dash-camera footage, and maintenance and inspection records can be overwritten, recycled, or lost on routine schedules. Sending a spoliation, or evidence preservation, letter to the carrier early can require it to hold this data before it is gone. The police report, photographs of the scene and vehicles, and your medical records are also central and should be secured promptly.

How to Evaluate a Truck Accident Claim

Most personal injury attorneys review truck cases on a contingency-fee basis, meaning the fee comes out of any recovery rather than up front, and many offer a free initial consultation. No lawyer can promise a particular outcome or dollar figure, and every case depends on its own facts and evidence. The practical steps stay the same: get medical care and follow through, keep the police report and your records, document your losses, and confirm the exact deadline for your situation, because Delaware's deadlines are strict and a missed date usually forfeits the claim.