Trucking in Chicago is big business for lots of people, from factories and plants depending on big trucks to move their work to distributors or wholesalers, etc.; to construction contractors needing that concrete mixer or dump truck to deliver on time; or e-commerce powerhouses like Amazon and Wal-Mart who need their delivery drivers to get orders to their customers smoothly (and often with same-day delivery). For more on the risks associated with these enterprises, read our earlier discussions in: Amazon Delivery Vehicle Accidents in Illinois: Chicagoland Amazon Truck Crashes and Semi-Truck Crashes in Chicago: Most Dangerous Routes, Riskiest Rigs.
The risk of a truck crash here in Chicago or the greater Chicago metropolis is much higher than it is in other parts of the country because of our huge amount of truck traffic. For those who are involved in a Chicago truck crash, from truckers, rig occupants, other vehicle drivers or passengers, to pedestrians, it is important to understand the distinction between a 1099 truck driver and a W2 trucker.
Chicago Truck Traffic: Commercial Drivers for All Sorts of Trucks
Driving commercial trucks is its own lucrative niche in the Chicagoland transportation industry. Scanning job sites like Indeed or ReadySetHire reveal all sorts of trucker jobs in the Chicago area. There are flatbed truck driving jobs; tanker truck jobs; driving reefers; dry vans; etc.
Pay is advertised by the week; or by the mile; or by a salary (like “from $200,000 a year” for an owner-operator trucker). For instance, a seasonal package delivery driver for the upcoming holiday season is wanted by UPS in Addison, Illinois for $23.00/hour and the company is “urgently hiring.”
For more on Chicago trucking, see: Big Trucks in Chicago: Dangers of 18-Wheeler Accidents in Chicagoland and Why Are There So Many Serious or Fatal Semi-Truck Accidents in Chicagoland?
Legal Relationships for the Truck Driver: 1099 or W2
Truckers have to pay income taxes just like the rest of us, and each filing year they will have to submit their return alongside income confirmation forms identified by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as “Form 1099 – NEC, Nonemployee Compensation” or “Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement.”
Truckers are offered work in two ways: as an employee for a company or as an independent contractor providing driving services to clientele. For more, read the IRS’ discussion in “Independent contractor (self-employed) or employee?” and read “1099 or W-2, What is Better for Truck Drivers?” written by Todd Veshkovski and published by TruckerDude on August 3, 2025.
1. Payment
It’s a big decision for any driver to make. If they drive as an independent contractor, then they will be a “1099 driver” and they will get a bigger check. However, they will need to keep track of all their expenses, and pay all those expenses. They will need to understand what they can deduct and what they cannot. It’s advantageous in these situations to have the help of an accountant who understands trucking. That big check will not reflect the net pay for that 1099 driver, it’s the gross revenue.
If they are hired by a company as a driver, then they get a paycheck just like all the other company employees. They are a “W2 driver.” These truck drivers will not deduct expenses; that is all part of the company tax return. The company gets all the deductions, too.
2. Benefits
Alongside pay, there is the distinction in benefits. Truckers who are independent contractors cover their own stuff. Truck drivers who are employees get the benefits and protections provided to all the employees. Think health insurance; retirement; paid time off.
Most importantly from the standpoint of advocates of truck crash victims and their loved ones is the distinction between 1099 truckers and W2 truck drivers when it comes to insurance. First of all, Chicagoland truckers who are employed by companies will be able to file for workers’ compensation benefits in the event of being hurt in a Chicago truck crash. Compare this with a 1099 trucker: they have to cover their own liability insurance coverage to protect them in the event of an accident.
And this insurance distinction continues for all other Chicago truck crash victims, too. For anyone who is hurt or killed in a trucking accident in the Chicagoland area, understanding the differences between a W2 trucker and a 1099 truck driver is extremely important.
Truck Crash Liability to Accident Victims: W2 or 1099?
Chicago truck accidents will be covered by local ordinances; state laws; and federal regulations that define the legal duties of safety and care for all involved in the truck crash. When anyone is involved in a trucking accident in Chicagoland, the legal claims for all the injured will depend in many ways upon whether or not the trucker was (1) an employee (W2 driver) or (2) an independent contractor (1099 truck driver).
1. Vicarious Liability
If the truck crash involves a trucker who is an employee of a company, then the accident victims may be looking at the employer for legal recompense under the law of vicarious liability or respondeat superior. Here, if the accident victim can prove that the trucker was acting in the course and scope of employment at the time of the truck crash, then claims may be pursued for damages against the employer. See, Course and Scope of Employment: Industrial Accidents in Illinois and Indiana.
However, if the accident involves a 1099 truck driver, then the accident victim does not have such a swift road to justice in filing against the company. The victim’s advocates will need to investigate the facts (with help from accident reconstruction experts) to determine things like the amount of control exerted over the trucker at the time of the crash.
Things like schedules; routes; daily supervision; providing of machinery, equipment, repair, inspections, etc., will all help to prove company responsibility in a truck crash where a 1099 trucker was at the wheel. The language of the specific contractual documents between the truck driver and the company will also be important here.
2. Negligent Hiring or Supervision or Entrustment
In some trucking accidents, the accident victim’s advocates may discover a situation where the motor carrier has stepped across a legal line and violated specific legal duties of safety and care in the hiring, supervision, or entrustment of a large truck to a driver.
Things like driver qualification documents; past safety records and regulatory violations of the company; its history of hiring practices; past problems with driver supervision; etc. will all play a part in proving up these injury claims. See, Negligent Supervision by the Trucking Company and Semi-Truck Crash.
Damage Claims for Chicago Truck Crashes
Each truck accident in the Chicago area must be given its proper respect and individual consideration. No two crashes are identical. Special experts in trucking collisions are very important in a severe truck crash to use their education and expertise in finding all the underlying causes for the incident; often, there is more than one reason for the horrific tragedy. Read, Black Box Data in Semi-Truck Crashes: The Importance of EDR Evidence.
For those who are involved in a Chicagoland trucking accident where the trucker is an employee, the W2 trucker will have coverage under the employer’s commercial liability policy. If the truck crash involves a 1099 truck driver, then the victim must look to that driver’s individual liability policy.
Truckers hurt in a Chicago truck crash may have benefits available through the state’s workers’ compensation program if they are W2 truck drivers; otherwise, they must rely upon the provisions of their liability insurance policies.
In some situations, both these insurance policies may provide coverage for the accident victim’s damages. In some Chicago truck accidents, the accident investigation may reveal other third parties who are also legally liable for what happened. For instance, a flaw in a truck’s brake may bring legal responsibility to the door of the brake manufacturer or the repair and maintenance company responsible for fleet upkeep.
See, Truck Driver Hurt on the Job: Trucker Injuries in Chicago Semi-Truck Crash; Semi-Truck Crashes: Who Can Be Held Legally Responsible for Commercial Trucking Accidents in Indiana and Illinois? Semi Truck Crash Liability: Third Party Liability in Indiana Truck Accidents; and Five Key Differences Between Workers’ Compensation and Civil Claims After Work Accident.
For more on Chicago truck crash injury claims, read:
- Evidence in Serious or Fatal Semi-Truck Crashes or Car Accidents: What is Crush Analysis?
- Tire Blowouts and Semi-Truck Crashes in Chicagoland
- Semi-Truck Crashes in Chicago: When are Trucking Companies Liable for Big Rig Accidents?
- Higher Risk of Serious or Deadly Truck Crash with Teen Truckers.
Truck accidents are often serious collisions where people suffer catastrophic injuries or death in the truck crash. Chicago truck traffic poses a great danger to everyone on local truck routes and other roadways used by commercial vehicles, and damage claims will differ depending upon many things, including the type of trucking employment involved. Please be careful out there!
