Most people barely notice the garbage truck rolling through their neighborhood before sunrise. It’s just part of the background noise of a South Florida morning. But when one of those trucks causes an accident, the injuries can be devastating.
Coastal Waste & Recycling is one of the dominant waste haulers in Broward County. The company holds the exclusive franchise contract for solid waste collection throughout the Broward Municipal Services District and handles residential curbside recycling for approximately 38,000 homes in Fort Lauderdale. This company operates contracts across unincorporated Broward, Pompano Beach, and other surrounding communities. Their trucks are on Fort Lauderdale streets every single day of the working week, starting early and running routes through residential neighborhoods, commercial corridors, and school zones alike.
When one of those trucks injures someone, the legal case that follows is more complicated than a standard car accident claim — and knowing how to build it properly makes the difference between a fair recovery and a frustrating dead end.
Rosen Injury Law has spent more than 20 years handling serious personal injury cases throughout Fort Lauderdale and Broward County, recovering over $125 million for our clients. If you or someone close to you was hurt in an accident involving a Coastal Waste & Recycling truck, we want to hear from you. Call (954) 787-1500 or visit our contact page and schedule a free consultation to discuss your claim.
Why These Cases Are More Complicated Than Typical Car Accident Cases
The moment a commercial vehicle is involved in an accident, the legal landscape shifts in ways that most people don’t anticipate. Garbage trucks, recycling trucks, and roll-off vehicles like those operated by Coastal Waste & Recycling are commercial motor vehicles subject to both Florida law and federal regulations administered by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).
Under Florida Statute § 316.302, commercial motor vehicles operating in Florida must comply with FMCSA safety standards. Those standards cover driver qualifications, hours-of-service limits, drug and alcohol testing, vehicle maintenance requirements, and load securement. When a commercial trucking company or its driver violates any of those regulations and an accident results, those violations become evidence of negligence.
There is also the question of who is legally responsible. In a commercial truck accident, liability rarely stops with the driver behind the wheel. Coastal Waste & Recycling, as the employer, may be liable for its employees’ negligent acts under the doctrine of respondeat superior.
But the analysis can go further. Was the truck adequately maintained? Did a mechanical failure — worn brake pads, a hydraulic system problem, compromised tires — contribute to the crash? Was the driver properly trained and supervised? Was there a history of safety complaints or prior incidents involving this driver or this truck? All of those questions can point toward additional layers of liability, and answering them requires access to records that companies don’t hand over voluntarily.
Leading Causes of Waste & Recycling Truck Accidents
Waste collection routes are physically demanding, repetitive, and conducted under time pressure. Drivers make dozens of stops per route, operating in tight residential streets, navigating parked cars and cyclists, working in all weather conditions, and doing it all before most residents have finished their morning coffee. That combination — fatigue, repetition, time pressure, and urban traffic — creates genuine risk.
Some of the most common causes of Coastal Waste & Recycling truck accidents we see in Fort Lauderdale and Broward County include:
Blind spot collisions are a persistent problem with large rear-loading and side-loading collection trucks. The size and design of these vehicles create significant visibility limitations, and cyclists, motorcyclists, and pedestrians are particularly vulnerable. A driver pulling away from a curb stop without adequately checking mirrors can strike someone in the roadway without ever seeing them.
Backing accidents are common with garbage trucks because the collection process routinely requires drivers to reverse into driveways, alleys, and loading areas. Pedestrians, cyclists, and children near the path of a reversing garbage truck face serious risk, and the backup alarm systems required on these vehicles are only useful if bystanders hear them in time.
Wide turns cause accidents when large trucks swing into adjacent lanes during right or left turns at intersections.
Mechanical failures, including brake problems, hydraulic malfunctions, and tire blowouts, can cause a garbage truck to lose control in ways that a properly maintained vehicle would not. FMCSA regulations require commercial vehicles to undergo regular inspection and maintenance, and records documenting that maintenance — or the lack of it — are among the first things we pursue in these cases.
Driver fatigue contributes to waste and recycling truck accidents. FMCSA hours-of-service regulations under 49 CFR Part 395 exist precisely because fatigued commercial drivers are dangerous.
Distracted driving, including the use of onboard route management systems, tablets, or phones while operating the vehicle, is a growing problem across the commercial trucking industry, and waste hauling is no exception.
Liability in Waste & Recycling Truck Accidents
Building a successful claim after a Coastal Waste & Recycling truck accident typically means looking beyond the driver and investigating the company itself. As a large, privately held hauler operating under municipal franchise contracts in Broward County, Coastal Waste & Recycling has institutional obligations that go well beyond simply putting a driver behind the wheel each morning.
The company is responsible for hiring qualified drivers with clean records and appropriate CDL credentials. It is responsible for conducting pre-employment and random drug and alcohol testing under 49 CFR Part 382.
It is also responsible for maintaining its fleet to meet federal safety standards and properly documenting that maintenance. And it is responsible for ensuring its drivers are adequately trained and supervised, and are not pushed to operate under conditions that compromise public safety.
When any of those obligations are not met, the company — not just the individual driver — can be held liable. That distinction matters enormously in terms of the insurance coverage available and the ultimate value of your claim. Commercial vehicles are required to carry substantially higher liability insurance minimums than personal vehicles, and pursuing the company rather than the driver alone puts that coverage within reach.
Contact Rosen Injury Law Today
Going up against a commercial hauler operating under county franchise contracts without experienced legal representation is not a fight that favors the injured victim. Our Fort Lauderdale truck accident lawyers level the playing field.
Rosen Injury Law has more than two decades of experience handling serious injury cases in Fort Lauderdale and throughout Broward County. We’ve recovered over $125 million for our clients, and we handle every case on contingency — no fee unless we win.
If you were hurt in an accident involving a Coastal Waste & Recycling truck anywhere in Fort Lauderdale or Broward County, visit our contact page or call us at (954) 787-1500 for a free consultation. Tell us what happened. We know this territory, and we know how to fight for you.