A fully loaded semi can weigh 80,000 pounds. Your car weighs maybe 4,000. When those two collide on I-55 or I-20 here in Jackson, the physics are brutal, and the medical bills reflect it.
So it’s a nasty surprise when you find out the trucking company’s insurance won’t come close to covering what you’re owed. Unfortunately, this happens more often than most people realize.
At Giddens Law Firm, our Jackson truck accident lawyers have handled hundreds of truck accident cases throughout Mississippi. We’ve seen the damage these crashes often cause to Jackson families. And when the trucking company’s insurance coverage falls short, it can be devastating for our client. Fortunately, there are avenues we can pursue to help you with your losses.
Here’s what you need to know if you’re facing this situation.
How Do Trucking Companies End Up Underinsured?
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration requires interstate trucking companies to carry at least $750,000 in liability coverage. Carriers hauling hazardous materials must have $5 million in liability insurance. These numbers sound substantial until you look at what serious truck accidents actually cost.
Consider what goes into a serious truck accident claim: emergency room treatment, surgeries, extended hospital stays, rehabilitation, ongoing therapy, prescription medications, lost wages during recovery, reduced future earning capacity if you can’t return to your previous work, and pain and suffering. When you add these up for a lifelong catastrophic injury, $750,000 disappears fast. And if multiple people were hurt in the same crash, everyone is competing for that same limited pool of money.
Some carriers, in particular smaller operations and owner-operators, carry only the legal minimum because that’s what they can afford. Others have coverage gaps that exclude certain types of accidents or cargo. And when a truck is leased, or the driver is an independent contractor, figuring out whose insurance applies and how much is available can get complicated quickly.
The problem has gotten worse in recent years. Insurance costs for trucking companies have climbed significantly, and some carriers have responded by reducing coverage or increasing deductibles. A few have even switched to offshore insurers with questionable ability to pay claims.
How Your Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage Fills In the Gap
This is where your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM) becomes critical. If you have this coverage on your own auto policy, it can pay the difference between what the trucking company’s insurance covers and your actual damages.
Here’s how it works in practice: Say your damages total $1.2 million. The trucking company’s policy maxes out at $750,000. If you have $500,000 in UM/UIM coverage, you can file a claim with your own insurer for up to $500,000 to help close that gap.
Mississippi law requires insurers to offer UM/UIM coverage to every policyholder in an amount equal to your liability limits. You can decline it or choose lower limits, but you have to do so in writing. If you never signed a written rejection, you may have UM/UIM coverage matching your liability limits even if you don’t remember selecting it.
Stacking Multiple Policies
Here is why it’s important to have UM/UIM coverage. Mississippi allows “stacking” in certain circumstances, which means you may be able to combine UM/UIM coverage from multiple vehicles on your policy or from multiple policies in your household.
For example, if you have two cars on your policy with $100,000 in UM/UIM coverage each, you might have access to $200,000 total.
The rules around stacking are technical, and insurance companies frequently dispute whether stacking applies. But it’s worth investigating, especially in high-damage cases.
How to File a UM/UIM Claim After a Truck Accident in Jackson, MS
If you need to file a UM/UIM claim, here’s what you should expect:
Document Everything
Keep every medical bill, receipt, pay stub showing missed work, and record of any expense related to your injuries. Photograph your injuries as they heal. Keep a journal of your pain levels and how the injury affects your daily life. This is all
Notify Your Insurance Company
Tell your insurance company you’re pursuing a UM/UIM claim because the at-fault party’s coverage is insufficient. Do this in writing. Your policy likely has a time limit for reporting claims.
Don’t Trust Your Insurer
This is the part that catches people off guard. You’ve paid premiums to this company for years. But when you file a UM/UIM claim, your insurer essentially steps into the shoes of the underinsured driver. They’ll look for ways to minimize your payout—disputing the severity of your injuries, questioning whether treatment was necessary, arguing your lost wages are inflated. Treat them like an opposing party, because functionally, they are. In fact, it would be in your best interest to contact a truck accident attorney to protect your rights and make sure you receive the compensation you deserve.
When Your Insurer Acts in Bad Faith
Mississippi law (Mississippi Code § 83-11-1) requires insurance companies to handle claims fairly and in good faith. If your insurer unreasonably delays your claim, denies it without proper investigation, or refuses to pay what’s clearly owed, you may have a bad faith claim against them.
Bad faith claims can result in damages beyond your original policy limits, including penalties and attorneys’ fees. The threat of a bad faith lawsuit sometimes motivates insurers to handle claims more reasonably. But these cases are fact-specific and require proof that the insurer’s conduct crossed the line from aggressive negotiation into genuinely improper behavior.
Other Places to Look for Compensation
Before concluding that you’re stuck with inadequate coverage, a thorough investigation may reveal additional sources of recovery:
- Multiple insurance policies. Trucking operations often involve numerous parties, including the driver’s employer, the truck owner, the broker who arranged the load, and the shipper. Each may have separate insurance. Identifying all potentially responsible parties and their coverage takes work, but it can dramatically increase available compensation.
- Defective equipment. If a brake failure, tire blowout, or other mechanical defect contributed to the accident, the manufacturer or maintenance provider may be liable. Product liability claims operate separately from auto insurance and can provide additional recovery.
- Personal assets. Some owner-operators have significant personal assets. If the driver was acting outside the scope of employment or the corporate structure doesn’t provide protection, personal assets might be available to satisfy a judgment.
Time Limits You Need to Know
Mississippi gives you three years from the date of an accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. That might sound like plenty of time, but truck accident cases take longer to investigate and build than typical car accidents. Evidence needs to be preserved before it disappears, witnesses need to be located and interviewed, the trucking company’s safety record needs to be examined, and all potential insurance coverage needs to be identified.
Your UM/UIM policy may also have its own notice and filing requirements. Missing these deadlines can forfeit your right to recovery entirely.
Getting Help With Your Truck Accident Claim in Jackson
Discovering that a trucking company doesn’t have enough insurance to cover your injuries is frustrating and scary. You did nothing wrong, you’re dealing with serious injuries, and now you’re being told there might not be enough money to pay your bills.
But inadequate coverage from the trucking company doesn’t mean you’re out of options. Your own UM/UIM coverage, other responsible parties, and additional insurance policies may provide paths to fair compensation.
At Giddens Law Firm, truck accidents are all we do. We’ve recovered millions for Jackson-area families who trucking companies have underinsured over the past 30 years. We know which insurers fight every claim and which ones deal fairly. We see the trucking companies that cut corners on coverage and the corporate structures they use to shield assets.
If you’ve been hurt in a truck accident in Jackson or anywhere in Mississippi, contact us for a free consultation. We’ll review your case, identify every available source of compensation, and give you an honest assessment of what your claim is worth.