Truck / 18-Wheeler Accident Attorney in San Francisco, California

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San Francisco Data

Truck / 18-Wheeler Accident Statistics in San Francisco

680+

Annual Large Truck Crashes (SF Co.)

8

Fatal Truck Crashes (2024)

2.5M+ TEUs annually

Port of Oakland Drayage

$2.8M+

Avg Serious Truck Injury Settlement

Local Courts

Courts in San Francisco, California

San Francisco County Superior Court

400 McAllister St, San Francisco, CA 94102

U.S. District Court — Northern District of California (San Francisco Division)

450 Golden Gate Ave, San Francisco, CA 94102

Medical Facilities

Hospitals & Trauma Centers in San Francisco

Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital — Level I Trauma

1001 Potrero Ave, San Francisco, CA 94110

UCSF Medical Center — Level I Trauma

505 Parnassus Ave, San Francisco, CA 94143

Liability Overview

Liability Considerations in San Francisco

Urban Truck Restrictions and Liability in San Francisco

San Francisco imposes extensive truck route restrictions, prohibiting large commercial vehicles from non-designated streets. Trucks operating on prohibited streets are in violation of SF Municipal Code and California Vehicle Code — violations that establish negligence per se in accident cases. The city's hills, narrow streets, and high pedestrian and cyclist density make truck accidents disproportionately serious when they occur.

San Francisco County juries are among the most plaintiff-favorable in California for commercial vehicle cases. California's pure comparative fault means recovery is available regardless of plaintiff fault percentage. The city's high vehicle and pedestrian density means that most truck accidents occur at low speeds — but the size differential still produces serious injuries to cyclists and pedestrians that generate substantial claims.

The Team

Your Legal Team

JK

Jennifer Kowalski

Partner

Los Angeles, CA

18+ Years Experience
Commercial vehicle litigationCatastrophic injury casesMulti-defendant trucking casesElectronic evidence and ELD analysis

Jennifer Kowalski is one of California's premier truck accident attorneys, focusing on catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases involving commercial carriers on California's dense freeway network. Over 18 years, she has developed deep expertise in the electronic evidence that defines modern truck litigation — ELD records, GPS tracking data, EDR analysis, and dashcam footage — and has pioneered spoliation strategies that have resulted in adverse inference sanctions against multiple major carriers. Jennifer has recovered over $180 million for truck accident victims and is a frequent lecturer on commercial vehicle litigation at the Consumer Attorneys of California annual conference.

Education

  • J.D., USC Gould School of Law (2008)
  • B.A., Economics, UCLA (2005)