Injured in a Truck Accident in Des Moines?

If you can move without risking further injury, get yourself and any passengers away from traffic and the truck. Semi-trucks on I-80 and I-35 travel at highway speeds, and secondary collisions are a real danger — especially near the I-80/I-35 merge zone south of downtown Des Moines where commuter and commercial traffic share multiple lanes of fast-moving traffic.

Call 911 immediately. In Polk County, your call will be routed to the Des Moines Police Department or Polk County Sheriff’s Office depending on your location. For crashes on the interstate, Iowa State Patrol typically responds. Tell the dispatcher that a commercial truck is involved — this often results in additional units and may trigger a commercial vehicle inspection at the scene.

Iowa law requires you to report any accident involving injury, death, or property damage exceeding $1,500 (Iowa Code § 321.266). With a truck crash, you will almost always meet that threshold. Do not leave the scene, even if you feel fine. Adrenaline can mask serious injuries for hours.

Truck accident cases are more complex than typical car crashes because multiple parties may share liability — the driver, the trucking company, the cargo loader, or a maintenance contractor. The evidence you collect now can be critical later.

Take photos and video of the truck (including its DOT number and company name on the cab or trailer), the damage to all vehicles, skid marks, debris, road conditions, traffic signals, and the surrounding area. Get the truck driver’s name, commercial driver’s license (CDL) number, employer information, and insurance details. If there are witnesses, ask for their names and phone numbers.

Pay special attention to the truck’s license plates — commercial trucks often carry plates from multiple states. Write down or photograph the USDOT number and MC number displayed on the truck. These numbers allow investigators to pull the carrier’s safety record, inspection history, and insurance information from federal databases.

The force in a truck crash is hard to overstate. A fully loaded semi weighs up to 80,000 pounds — roughly 20 to 30 times more than your car. Even at 35 mph, that kind of weight can cause traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, internal bleeding, and organ damage that may not show symptoms right away.

Go to the nearest emergency room. In Des Moines, UnityPoint Health — Iowa Methodist Medical Center is the only Level I Adult Trauma Center in Central Iowa, located at 1200 Pleasant Street. MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center (1111 6th Avenue) is a Level II Trauma Center. For life-threatening injuries, request transport to Iowa Methodist — it’s the highest-level trauma facility in the region.

Tell the medical team you were in a truck accident. Ask them to document all injuries, imaging, and treatment in detail. This medical record is one of the most important pieces of evidence if you pursue a claim. Follow up with your primary care doctor within a few days, even if you were released from the ER.

File an official crash report. If law enforcement responds to the scene — which they almost always will for a truck crash — they will file a report. You can request a copy of the crash report through CrashDocs.org, which is Iowa’s online crash report system. Reports are typically available five to seven business days after the accident. For interstate crashes, the Iowa State Patrol files the report.

You should also report the accident to your own auto insurance company within a reasonable timeframe. Stick to the basic facts: date, time, location, and that a commercial truck was involved. Do not speculate about fault, do not downplay your injuries, and do not give a recorded statement to the trucking company’s insurer without first understanding your rights.

If the crash involved a hazardous materials spill, environmental contamination, or a fatality, federal investigators from the FMCSA or NTSB may also open an investigation. Cooperate with law enforcement, but know that you are not obligated to speak with the trucking company’s private investigators or insurance adjusters.

This is where truck accident cases differ most from car accidents. Commercial trucks are heavily regulated, and they generate a long trail of records that can prove negligence — but some of this evidence can be destroyed or overwritten within days if nobody steps in to preserve it.

Key evidence in truck cases includes the truck’s electronic logging device (ELD) data, which records driving hours and rest breaks under federal Hours of Service regulations. Drivers are limited to 11 hours of driving within a 14-hour window, with a mandatory 30-minute break after 8 hours (49 CFR § 395.3). ELD data can show whether the driver was fatigued or in violation. Many trucks also have event data recorders (“black boxes”) that capture speed, braking, and steering inputs in the seconds before a crash.

Other critical evidence includes the driver’s logbooks and trip records, the carrier’s safety rating and inspection history (searchable on the FMCSA’s SAFER database), and maintenance and repair logs for the truck itself. Cargo loading records and weight tickets matter too — an overloaded or improperly balanced trailer handles differently and stops slower. The driver’s CDL status, drug and alcohol testing results, and any dashcam or GPS data can also be relevant.

Trucking companies are legally required to preserve this evidence once they know about a potential claim. But in practice, ELD data can loop over itself, dashcam footage gets recorded over, and maintenance logs get filed away. A formal preservation letter — sent early — can make the difference between a strong case and a weak one.

Iowa is an at-fault state, meaning the person or company responsible for causing the accident is liable for damages. In truck cases, liability can extend beyond the driver to the trucking company (for negligent hiring, training, or supervision), the cargo loading company (for improperly secured loads), the truck manufacturer (for defective parts), or a maintenance provider (for faulty repairs).

Iowa follows a modified comparative negligence rule under Iowa Code § 668.3. If you’re found partially at fault, your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault. However, if you’re found 51% or more at fault, you recover nothing. The trucking company’s legal team will look for every possible way to shift blame onto you — which is why preserving evidence and documenting everything matters so much.

The statute of limitations for personal injury claims in Iowa is two years from the date of the accident (Iowa Code § 614.1(2)). That is shorter than many neighboring states. Missing this deadline means losing your right to file a claim entirely, regardless of how strong your case may be.

The trucking company’s insurer will likely contact you quickly — sometimes within hours of the crash. They may sound sympathetic. They may offer a quick settlement. Their goal is to minimize what they pay, and anything you say can be used to reduce your claim.

Do not give a recorded statement to the trucking company’s insurance adjuster. Do not sign a medical authorization that gives them access to your full medical history. Do not accept an early settlement offer without understanding the full extent of your injuries — some truck accident injuries require months or years of treatment, and early settlements rarely account for long-term costs. Commercial trucks carry much larger insurance policies than passenger vehicles — federal law requires a minimum of $750,000 in liability coverage for most commercial trucks, and many carriers carry $1 million or more.

Work with your own insurance company as needed, but keep communications with the trucking company’s insurer brief and factual. You have no legal obligation to provide them with a detailed statement.

Truck accident cases are harder to handle alone than typical car crashes. You’re not just dealing with one other driver — you may be up against a trucking corporation, their insurer, and a federal regulatory framework that most people have never heard of. Most personal injury attorneys in Des Moines offer free initial consultations and work on contingency — meaning you pay nothing unless they recover compensation for you.

An attorney experienced in truck accident litigation can send a spoliation letter to preserve critical evidence before it’s destroyed. They can investigate the trucking company’s safety record, identify all potentially liable parties, handle communication with insurers, and pursue full compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and long-term care needs.

You don’t have to decide today. But trucking evidence has a shelf life, and the other side’s legal team is already working. A free consultation costs you nothing and can help you understand what you’re dealing with.