How Midwest Injury Lawyers Will Fight for You
Accidents with commercial trucks are traumatic. If a truck driver’s negligence caused your injuries, you’re likely facing an uphill battle to recover both your physical health and the compensation you deserve.
Let Midwest Injury Lawyers represent you and bring the fight to the insurance company and their high-powered legal team.
We believe you deserve highly skilled legal assistance when you’re healing from a catastrophic collision with a commercial truck. Our truck accident attorneys have years of experience fighting and winning cases like yours, and we’ve secured tens of millions of dollars in compensation for our clients. We’re proud of our results and always strive to do everything possible to serve accident victims.
When you trust Midwest Injury Lawyers with your case, we promise to:
- Always put yourself first and prioritize your needs
- Work efficiently and effectively to research, build, negotiate, and resolve your case
- Serve you with all the knowledge, skill, and experience at our disposal
- Never collect a fee unless we secure compensation for you
We deal with the complex, time-consuming, expensive, and stressful legal process of a truck accident claim for you. Our approach puts clients at ease.
You should feel like you can trust your truck accident lawyers to always operate in your best interest and bring all their resources to your case, and when you retain our team, we believe this will be your experience.
At Midwest Injury Lawyers, we believe no one should have to handle the effects of a truck accident on their own. Let us handle this important fight for you.
You deserve peace of mind, and when you trust our truck accident attorneys to take the lead on your case, you can rest easy knowing it’s in capable hands.
What Compensation Can You Receive in a Joliet Truck Accident Case?
Truck accidents often have catastrophic consequences and require significant sums of money to treat the injuries and other results of the crash.
The truck accident attorneys at Midwest Injury Lawyers fight for full compensation on behalf of injured parties, seeking the following damages based on the specific details of the case:
- Economic Damages – This compensation covers expenses with clear monetary values. Examples include short- and long-term medical costs, lost income, loss of livelihood or future earning capacity, property damage, and more.
- Non-Economic Damages – This compensation attempts to cover the other losses associated with the accident, which are intangible and more challenging to quantify. These include loss of quality of life, loss of companionship, and physical and emotional pain and suffering.
How much compensation we seek will depend on the unique attributes of your case. The extent of your injuries and your likelihood of recovering from them will factor into our calculations and affect how much money you’re likely to receive.
Joliet Truck Accident Statistics
With a population of over 150,000 as of the 2020 census, Joliet is the third-largest city in Illinois. It’s also a central transportation hub, with Interstates 55 and 80, U.S. Highways 6, 30, 52, and 66, and numerous other major roads helping to move people and goods throughout Illinois and all over the Midwest.
As a result of this infrastructure and the city’s proximity to Chicago, the traffic in and around Joliet includes countless commercial trucks.
Unfortunately, when commercial trucks get into accidents with passenger vehicles, the consequences can be catastrophic. In a recent five-year period, there were 659 fatal semi-truck accidents in Illinois.
Nationwide data from a recent year indicates there were 5,700 large trucks involved in fatal accidents and another 60,375 involved in accidents that caused injuries. In four percent of cases, truck part malfunctions caused or contributed to the collisions, with brakes and tires being the vehicle components most likely to malfunction.
Common Types of Truck Accidents
Truck accidents involving commercial vehicles like tractor-trailers, flatbed trucks, construction vehicles, utility company trucks, delivery trucks, and more can cause catastrophic effects for those in passenger vehicles.
Some of the most common types of truck accidents include:
- Underride Accidents – These accidents occur when a truck brakes suddenly and a smaller vehicle behind it gets trapped under the trailer.
- Override Accidents – In these accidents, the front of the truck collides with and crushes the rear end of the vehicle in front of it.
- T-Bone Accidents – T-bone accidents occur when a driver runs a light or stop sign and collides with another vehicle that has the right of way. When a truck collides with a passenger vehicle, the effects can be deadly.
- Blind Spot Accidents – Blind spot accidents occur when a truck driver fails to check their blind spot and sideswipes or runs another vehicle off the road.
- Rear-End Collisions – Even at low speeds, such as in stop-and-go traffic, a truck that rear-ends a passenger vehicle can do significant damage.
- Head-On Collisions – Head-on collisions may occur due to truck driver fatigue, impairment, or distraction and can be especially catastrophic. They can also happen when typical traffic patterns are temporarily changed, resulting in driver confusion.
Truck tire blowouts and jackknifing incidents can also lead to severe accidents. When a truck driver’s negligence leads to a collision that injures you and damages or totals your vehicle, you may be able to seek compensation through a personal injury lawsuit.
Most Common Truck Accident Injuries
Truck accidents often result in severe injuries to those in passenger vehicles. This is largely due to the sheer size of commercial trucks and the force they inflict on smaller vehicles in a collision. Between the force of impact and the amount of damage a truck can do, injuries sustained in truck accidents can have catastrophic effects, including death.
Some of the common injuries people may experience in truck collisions include:
- Head and Neck Injuries – Concussion, whiplash, and traumatic brain injuries are common effects of truck accidents. While some of these injuries may be mild, severe brain injuries often have lifelong consequences.
- Spinal Cord Injuries – Spinal injuries range in severity and long-term effects depending on the location of the injury along the spine. The most serious injuries result in paralysis, loss of bodily functions, respiratory issues, and more.
- Orthopedic Injuries – Injuries to the limbs and other bones are very common in accidents involving commercial trucks. These range from broken bones to crushing injuries that cause such severe damage that the only option is amputation.
- Internal Injuries – Truck accidents can result in such internal injuries as organ damage, internal bleeding, and more. These injuries may not be immediately apparent, which is why it’s so important to seek medical treatment as soon as possible.
- Burns – Burn injuries are a particular risk of truck accidents due to the possibility of fuel leaks, chemical leaks, and exposure to hazardous cargo paired with the risk of fire and explosion. The treatment and recovery process for burn injuries is complex and arduous.
Your truck accident injuries likely require significant medical treatment. Follow your doctor’s treatment plan to improve your prospects for physical recovery and strengthen your personal injury case.
How the Insurance Companies Affect Your Truck Accident Claim
Insurance companies don’t have an incentive to pay the money accident victims deserve. They’re out to make a profit, and they’re counting on victims like you being so desperately in need of money that you’ll accept the first amount they offer.
Unfortunately, if you do so, you won’t be able to pursue additional compensation for your truck accident injuries when the scope of their effects is more fully known.
This is why you should trust a truck accident attorney to handle your case. Your attorney will review the insurance company’s settlement offer and likely ask for more money.
If the insurance company won’t offer a reasonable settlement amount, your attorney will file a lawsuit. The threat of going to court prompts some companies to settle, but if not, your attorney is always prepared to argue your case in court.
Whatever the outcome, your attorney will always seek the amount of compensation that reflects the extent of your injuries, your long-term prospects for recovery, and the amount you’ve spent on medical treatment related to your accident.
What Should I Do After a Truck Accident?
If you suffered injuries in a truck accident, you likely have a lot of questions about what to do and what comes next. A skilled truck accident lawyer can answer your questions and provide the guidance you need as you pursue justice. Here are some of the most common questions our clients ask.
What Are the Most Important Things I Can Do After a Truck Accident?
As soon as possible, you should meet with a truck accident attorney to discuss your case. Provide any evidence you have in your possession, including medical records, insurance communications, photographs from the accident scene, and more. Remain focused on your physical recovery by attending all medical appointments and following your treatment plan.
When Is the Deadline to File a Truck Accident Lawsuit?
In Illinois, you have two years from the accident date to file a lawsuit against the driver who hit you, the company they work for, and any other liable parties.
One reason to seek out an attorney right away is because these cases take time to put together. Get started as soon as you can to ensure a timely filing.
My Case Is Going to Trial — What Happens Now?
The attorneys at Midwest Injury Lawyers are always prepared to go to trial. We gather evidence and build your case with this possibility in mind to ensure we’re putting together the strongest possible case on your behalf. When your case goes to trial, the judge or jury will decide whether you get compensation and how much.
When Will I Receive Compensation?
The timeline of your case depends on countless factors, including the available evidence, the complexity of the accident, the cooperation of the insurance company, and the time spent in negotiations or at trial.
We’re committed to keeping you informed every step of the way and work hard to keep the process efficient. If your case settles quickly, you could get money within a few months. If you go to trial, it could take more than a year.
How Do I Find an Experienced Truck Accident Lawyer?
Interview several. When you meet with a truck accident attorney, focus on how well they listen to your concerns and how clearly they answer your questions. You want an attorney you can trust to pay attention to the details and take the fight to the insurance company and whose personality meshes well with your own.
Reach Out to a Joliet Truck Accident Attorney Today
Following a collision with a commercial truck, you need a qualified, experienced truck accident lawyer to help you explore your legal options. If the truck driver was at fault, they may owe you compensation for your injuries, lost income, property damage, and more.
At Midwest Injury Lawyers, our truck accident lawyers have fought on behalf of injury victims for years, and we’ve recovered tens of millions of dollars in compensation for our clients. Contact us today at (815) 714-6131 to discuss your case in a free consultation and learn more about how we can help you.
Joliet Office
210 N Hammes Ave
Unit 205 C
Joliet, IL 60435
(815) 714-6131
A Word from our Work Injury Attorney
Receiving maximum compensation for workplace injuries requires knowledge of workers’ compensation law, as well as the ability to identify any negligent third parties who may share some responsibility for causing an injury. It is crucial to get advice from an attorney who understands how to obtain quick and sufficient compensation for a workplace injury.
– Chester L. Cameron
Request a Free Consultation
Tell our experienced team about your accident and/or injuries. One of our personal injury attorneys will contact you to schedule a free case evaluation. Remember: you won’t pay for anything unless we secure a compensation on your behalf.
Call (312) 786-5881 or send us a message online to get started.