Every time you hit the road, you are bound to see a vehicle towing another vehicle. Tow trucks come in different shapes and sizes, ranging from a smaller “pickup” style truck to a car carrier designed to haul many cars at the same time. Their size and role often make them more of a danger than other vehicles on the road.
Another problem is the casual towing of vehicles. Every year, thousands of RV drivers and vacationers take to the road with their family car, boat, or recreational vehicle in tow. These drivers are less experienced than commercial tow truck drivers, making sharing the road all the more perilous.
Accidents involving specialized vehicles, such as tow trucks, can be significantly more catastrophic and complex in nature. Given their size and the unique risks they pose, tow truck accidents can lead to severe injuries and complicated legal battles. Because too many car accident lawyers think they are truck accident lawyers. The details in these cases are important, and you need an experienced truck accident lawyer to manage them.
Why Are Tow Trucks So Dangerous?
Tow trucks are large and cumbersome vehicles. As such, they have limited maneuverability compared to a normal car. Given this size disparity, any accident with a normal passenger vehicle is likely to cause more severe damage and injury to the smaller vehicle.
Plus, tow truck drivers may not be as experienced as they should be when operating such a large vehicle. While commercial and governmental tow truck drivers are specially licensed to drive larger vehicles, individuals who drive RVs or those who tow a trailer may not be as competent or experienced.
Regardless of the size of the vehicle, the same group of contributing factors leads to the majority of accidents. This includes distracted driving, driver fatigue, poor weather conditions, and speeding (among others). While these same issues plague tow truck drivers, the results of a crash are more severe when they are driving a large vehicle or towing another vehicle.
Tow truck drivers work one of the most dangerous jobs in the country—far more dangerous than most people realize. Let’s put this in context. According to a NIOSH study, their fatality rate is nearly 15 times higher than the average for all private industries. A stunning 119 towing workers died on the job, most often in traffic collisions. And for every death, there are hundreds more injuries. The nonfatal injury rate in the industry is more than twice the national average. These numbers are not just statistics. They are a warning: tow truck accidents are serious, and the risks are real.
Common Tow Truck Accidents
Since tow trucks are so heavy, it is more difficult for them to slow down and stop. This increases the risk of rear-end collisions for other drivers. Also, the size and height of tow trucks give them a higher center of gravity, which makes them more vulnerable to rollovers. Similar to a semi-truck, tow trucks also have a larger blind spot, compromising the safety of those driving next to them. Less commonly, some tow truck drivers may negligently tow cars, causing their loads to shift or come loose. It goes without saying that this presents an enormous hazard to other drivers. In the non-commercial context, though, inexperienced drivers may improperly hitch their load to the truck, blocking following drivers’ view of their brake lights and turn signals. The bottom line is that a lot more can go wrong with tow trucks than with normal passenger vehicles.
Causes of Tow Truck Accidents
Towing a vehicle is far more complex than it appears, and attorneys pursuing these cases must understand the underlying technical issues. It is not just about hitching a car and driving off—the small details can make a big difference in safety and liability.
- Weight Distribution: Tow truck operators must understand how to balance loads properly. A miscalculation in distribution can destabilize the truck, especially during turns or emergency braking.
- Securing Techniques: Properly securing a vehicle involves multiple anchor points, specific angles, and tension calibration. Mistakes can lead to the vehicle detaching mid-transit, creating serious roadway hazards.
- Vehicle Handling: Towing dramatically changes how a truck handles. Stopping distances are longer, maneuverability is limited, and reversing becomes much more difficult. Drivers without proper training can easily make judgment errors that result in crashes.
Improper Loading
Loading a vehicle onto a tow truck must be done carefully, not quickly. Many drivers rush the job, creating dangerous conditions for themselves and others on the road.
- Vehicle Positioning: The car must be properly centered. Too far forward or backward can create an unbalanced load that affects vehicle control and increases rollover risk at higher speeds.
- Securement Devices: Chains, straps, and clamps must be fully functional and correctly applied. Even one loose or faulty device can lead to catastrophic consequences.
Equipment Failure
Tow trucks rely on an array of mechanical systems that must work together seamlessly. When even one component fails, it can lead to serious accidents. These lawsuits are often more complex because of the number of potential failure points. Below are the most common issues our lawyers encounter:
- Brakes: Because tow trucks carry heavy loads, their braking systems are under constant strain. If the brakes are worn, poorly maintained, or malfunctioning, the truck may not stop in time to avoid a crash.
- Hitches & Hydraulics: These critical systems secure and lift vehicles. Malfunctioning equipment can cause a vehicle to detach suddenly, leading to rear-end collisions, roadside injuries, or multi-car pileups.
- Lighting Systems: Visibility is key, especially at night or in low-visibility situations. Broken tail lights, turn signals, or hazard lights increase the chance of another driver failing to react in time.
Environmental Factors
Towing often happens during bad weather or at night. That does not excuse negligent behavior. Tow truck drivers have a duty to drive safely, no matter the conditions. Common environmental challenges include:
- Wet Roads: Rain reduces traction, increasing the chances of sliding or hydroplaning—especially dangerous for a fully loaded tow truck.
- Icy Conditions: Even with chains or winter tires, ice makes braking and steering unpredictable. Downhill segments are particularly treacherous.
- Low Visibility: Heavy fog, snow, or rain can reduce visibility to dangerous levels. Other drivers may not see the tow truck or its cargo in time to react safely.
The Aftermath of a Tow Truck Accident
The aftermath of a tow truck accident is rarely minor. These vehicles are heavy, long, and difficult to maneuver, especially when towing another vehicle. When they crash, the consequences are serious. The size and weight of a tow truck mean that even a low-speed collision can cause extensive damage. Victims in smaller passenger vehicles are at a severe disadvantage, and the resulting injuries are often catastrophic.
Common injuries include broken bones, spinal cord trauma, internal organ damage, and traumatic brain injuries. In some cases, victims are left permanently disabled. Others do not survive at all. These are not fender benders. A collision with a tow truck can change a life, or end one…in an instant.
If you or someone in your family has been hurt in a tow truck accident, you may be facing a mountain of medical bills, lost income, and long-term physical and emotional pain. You deserve full and fair compensation—not just for your current losses, but for the long-term impact this accident will have on your life.
At Miller & Zois, we understand how high the stakes are. We have decades of experience handling commercial vehicle and truck accident cases, and we bring that same aggressive, client-centered approach to every tow truck injury case we handle. Our attorneys know how to investigate these accidents, uncover hidden layers of liability, and demand the compensation our clients are entitled to.
Tow Truck Verdicts and Settlements
While the value of a tow truck accident case depends heavily on the facts, such as liability, the nature and severity of injuries, available insurance coverage, and the jurisdiction, recent verdicts offer insight into the range of compensation juries are willing to award. Tow truck accident cases often involve commercial defendants, meaning larger policies and higher potential payouts than standard auto claims. Below are notable examples:
- 2024, Kentucky: $163,900,000: A jury awarded $163.9 million to a man who was left paralyzed after being rear-ended by a flatbed tow truck owned by Midnight Recovery. The plaintiff alleged that both the tow truck company and GEICO, which contracted the company for roadside assistance, were negligent. The massive award included $150 million in punitive damages.
- 2024, Missouri: $42,000,000: A jury in Missouri returned a $462 million verdict after a deadly crash involving a semi-trailer with an allegedly defective rear underride guard. Two men died when their vehicle went under the trailer. While not a traditional tow truck case, the verdict is relevant due to the overlap in trailer safety and commercial trucking liability. $450 million of the award was punitive damages against Wabash National, the trailer manufacturer.
- 2024, Pennsylvania: $12,000,000: A Philadelphia jury awarded $12 million to a pedestrian who was struck in a crosswalk by a utility truck operated by a Penske technician. The injuries included long-term damage to the back, hip, and shoulder. The verdict shows the high value juries can assign to cases involving commercial vehicles and pedestrian injuries, even without permanent paralysis or death.
- 2023, Florida: $662,631 Verdict: The plaintiff was operating his tow truck at an accident scene on the highway when he was struck and seriously injured by a vehicle in the nearby traffic. He sues the Miami Police Department for negligently failing to secure the scene of the accident. His injuries included fractures of his right tibia and fibula, as well as unspecified injuries to his neck, back, right knee and left shoulder.
- 2023, Virginia: $700,000 Verdict: A tow truck driver and battery technician is assisting a vehicle owner with a presumed dead battery in her manual transmission car. As the technician tests the battery, the vehicle owner suddenly drives the vehicle forward, trapping the technician’s leg between the two vehicles. This results in an abrasion and hematoma on the inner side of the technician’s left knee, which later develops into a MRSA infection. The technician requires 16 debridement sessions and self-packs the wound around 30 times, ending up with a scar. The plaintiff files a two-truck accident lawsuit. He testifies about the MRSA infection, its physical pain, and the mental distress from the treatments. His wife, often the best witness in a damages case, testifies on the suffering he endured. His medical expenses total $31,196.20, with a wage loss of $27,500, making the total economic damages $58,696.20. The defendant’s last settlement offer is $185,000. After two days of trial and deliberation, the jury awarded the technician $700,000.
- 2023, California: $869,726 Verdict: The plaintiff is stopped at a red light when she is rear-ended by the defendant’s tow truck. The plaintiff suffers significant injuries, including a left paracentral/neural foraminal focal disc herniation at the C5-C6 level, disc bulge at C6-C7, disc bulge indenting the ventral thecal sac, traumatic brain injury, left foot fracture, intervertebral disc disorder with myelopathy in the lumbar region, and blurred vision.
- 2023, Florida: $850,000 Verdict: The plaintiff claims to suffer permanent spinal injuries, requiring interventional/invasive pain management, radiofrequency ablation surgery and implantation of a spinal cord stimulator, after the vehicle she is driving westbound on an expressway, slowing for police activity in the area, is rear-ended by a tow truck.
- 2022, Washington: $110,388 Verdict: The plaintiff is driving northbound through an intersection when the defendant, driving a tow truck, comes westbound, fails to yield and strikes the plaintiff on the passenger side. The plaintiff allegedly suffers a musculoskeletal strain, feet and ankle swelling and bladder incontinence, depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
- 2014, Illinois: $11,600, Verdict: The plaintiff stops at an intersection and is rear-ended by a tow truck. Her injuries are minor and consist mainly of soft tissue damage. She sues the tow truck company alleging negligence, and the jury awards her $11,600.
- 2014, New York: $340,000, Verdict: The plaintiff was driving in NYC when a tow truck struck the right rear portion of his SUV. As a result of the crash, the plaintiff suffers back, neck, and shoulder injuries. He sues the tow truck driver, alleging that he ran a stop sign. The defense argues that the injuries came from a preexisting condition. The jury awards the plaintiff $340,000.
- 2002, Maryland: $85,000, Verdict: A 16-year-old driver is driving across an intersection when a tow truck turns out in front on him. The two collide, and the driver suffers facial lacerations. The tow truck driver claims that the other driver was speeding, making him responsible for the accident. Regardless, the driver sues and the jury awards him $85,000.
Hiring a Lawyer for Your Case
If you have been injured by a tow truck or other motor vehicle though no fault of your own, call Miller & Zois today at 800-553-8082. You can also get a free online consultation online.