Why Choose Us for Your Truck Accident Case?
Midwest Injury Lawyers is one of Chicago’s leading personal injury law firms. Our team of dedicated lawyers provides assertive and effective representation to Chicago residents and their families injured in accidents caused by the negligence of another person or party.
Through the years, we have recovered tens of millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements for our clients to help them recover from their accident-related losses. You can trust our truck accident lawyers with your claim. We will go head-to-head with the insurance company and fight for the compensation you need and deserve. If the insurance company refuses to make you a fair offer, we are fully prepared to file your truck accident case in civil court and represent you before a judge and jury.
Contact our Chicago truck accident attorneys today and see why our peers rank us among the top 5% of personal injury lawyers in the country. Read our client testimonials and see what our past clients have to say. We won’t stop fighting until we get you justice.
Who May Be Liable in a Chicago Truck Accident?:
To receive fair compensation for your injuries, you must determine who is liable or legally responsible for causing them. An experienced lawyer can investigate your accident to determine who should be accountable. To receive fair compensation for your injuries, you must determine who is liable or legally responsible for causing them. An experienced lawyer can investigate your accident to determine who should be accountable. Truck accidents can be complicated as there can be one of the many or several parties who were negligent in causing your accident.
In some cases, more than one party may be held liable. As your commercial truck accident attorney, we will seek compensation from all liable parties, further maximizing your compensation.
The following parties entirely or partially may be held liable in semi-truck crashes:
The truck driver
The driver of the truck may be held liable if their actions, such as negligence, recklessness, or violation of traffic laws, contributed to the accident. They may also be held liable for violating state and federal regulations.
Other drivers
In some cases, the actions of other drivers on the road may contribute to a truck accident. Drivers of other vehicles involved may be held responsible for their role in causing the collision.
The trucking company
The company that owns the truck and employs the driver may be held liable for various reasons, including negligent hiring, inadequate training, failure to maintain the truck properly, or violations of safety regulations.
The cargo loader
Improper loading of cargo can lead to accidents. If a third-party company or individual loaded the cargo improperly, they might be held liable. Improperly balanced or secured loads can cause trailers to tip over or crews might load flammable materials without the proper safety precautions.
The maintenance provider
If the accident resulted from poor maintenance or negligent repairs, the entities responsible for the truck's maintenance and repairs may be held liable.
The truck or parts manufacturer
If a defect in the truck or its components, such as faulty brakes or tires, contributed to the accident, the manufacturer of the truck or the defective part may be held liable through a product liability claim.
Local municipalities
Truck accidents can also happen due to poor road maintenance or light or sign malfunctions. In these cases, it’s typically the entity responsible for the road that is liable.
How Our Experienced Truck Accident Attorney Identifies Liable Parties
Our Chicago truck accident attorney will research and piece together all the critical facts of the accident to determine who we can hold liable. Our investigation may include:
- Scene Inspection: Attorneys often visit the accident scene to examine the conditions firsthand. They may document the layout, road signs, traffic signals, and any other relevant features.
- Collecting Evidence: This includes police reports, witness statements, and photographs of the accident scene. Surveillance footage, if available, can provide valuable information. Attorneys may also collect data from the vehicles involved, such as black box information, maintenance records, and inspection reports.
- Reviewing Police Reports: These reports typically contain information about the involved parties, witness statements, and the officer’s assessment of the accident.
- Interviewing Witnesses: Witness testimony can help establish the sequence of events and identify any negligent actions.
- Examining Medical Records: If there are injuries involved, attorneys review medical records to understand the extent and nature of the injuries. This information helps establish a connection between the accident and the resulting harm.
- Expert Analysis: Attorneys may consult with accident reconstruction experts to analyze the crash and determine factors such as speed, force of impact, and other technical details. Engineers or other specialists may be brought in to assess vehicle defects, if applicable.
- Reviewing Compliance with Regulations: Attorneys may check whether the trucking company and driver complied with federal and state regulations. This includes reviewing driver logs, maintenance records, and adherence to safety standards.
Common Causes of Truck Accidents
Our compassionate Chicago truck accident attorneys can’t change the past. However, if you or a family member were involved in a truck accident, we can advocate for you as you seek compensation. Our goal is to obtain the financial recovery you deserve to help you move forward after your injuries.
Many different factors can cause truck accidents. Some are the same factors that apply to other motor vehicle accidents. Some are unique to the truck driving industry.
Speeding
Truck drivers can get to their destination quicker by speeding. While this makes sense logically and for profitability, it puts many lives in severe danger. Speeding is especially concerning for big rigs. As larger and heavier vehicles, trucks need more time and distance to stop.
Fatigue/Drowsy Driving
It’s normal for truck drivers to drive long distances over numerous hours, getting little rest along the way. Understandably, truck drivers face a lot of pressure to deliver the load within a short window of time. Many sleep as little as possible and press on to get the job done. The sleep they do get often isn’t quality sleep.
Their fatigue can cause them to lose concentration and coordination behind the wheel. Some even end up falling asleep while driving. Even though federal laws address how often they must have rest periods and how long they should be, it’s easy for them to ignore the laws.
Distracted Driving
Driving for many hours over long distances often causes drivers to become bored. Naturally, they search for something to keep them occupied, but it leads to distracted driving.
To kill the boredom, they might:
- Read or reply to text messages
- Make phone calls
- Visit social media sites
- Change the car radio station
- Program their GPS
- Eat
Distracted driving is really performing any action behind the wheel other than driving. When truckers divert their attention away from driving and the road, even for a fraction of a second, it significantly increases the chance of an accident.
Substance Use
Many truckers use alcohol and other drugs while working. Some use or buy substances while they are in town, and others bring them along for the trip. Either way, it’s illegal and puts all motorists at risk. Even some prescription drugs can lead to impaired driving.
Lack of Proper Training
Truck drivers can’t operate large commercial vehicles on public roadways until they have met minimum training requirements. They must have a specific number of behind-the-wheel practice hours as the law requires. However, many truck drivers don’t get the training they need to drive safely. Trucking companies frequently ignore this fact to get more drivers on the road.
Poor Truck Maintenance
Truck drivers and companies must legally ensure their vehicles are in top condition before getting on the road. Since this takes additional time and can cost money, many truckers or companies instead focus on getting their deliveries done. They ignore their responsibility to maintain their truck, increasing the risk that an accident will happen.
Sometimes, multiple factors lead to semi-truck accidents. All of these causes are rooted in negligence. Truck drivers owe a duty of care to others they share the road with. They should drive the speed limit, slowing down when road or weather conditions aren’t ideal. They should maintain their trucks and be sure they are safe to drive. They should devote all of their attention to the serious task of driving. When they make bad decisions, no matter the reason, they should be held accountable for the damages they cause. You can trust a dedicated Chicago truck accident lawyer from our firm to do just that.
Our Lawyers Don't Fall for Insurance Company Tactics
If you suffered severe injuries or lost a loved one in a large commercial truck crash. In that case, you need the experienced Chicago truck accident attorneys at Midwest Injury Lawyers. The trucking company or its insurance company will likely attempt to get you to accept a settlement offer that is much less than the fair value of your accident injury claim.
After you sign their settlement agreement and accept their check, you may be waiving your right to seek more compensation if your injuries require more medical treatment or you are out of work longer than you had anticipated.
Let our dedicated legal team at Midwest Injury Lawyers handle your truck accident case for you. We meticulously investigate truck collisions. These cases can be complex, so we often work with private investigators, mechanical experts, an industry expert qualified to download data from a commercial truck’s black box, and an accident reconstructionist.
Even though most cases are settled outside of court, we thoroughly and carefully prepare each truck crash case as if it is going to trial
What Damages are Available in Truck Accident Claims?
Damages are losses you suffered due to your accident and the compensation you may seek for the related medical costs and other losses. Most large truck accident victims may seek financial compensation for the following damages:
Medical Expenses
Medical bills related to your truck accident injuries, both current and future, which may include:
- Doctor’s visits
- Emergency care
- Hospitalization
- Surgery
- Rehabilitative therapy, such as physical therapy
- Prescription medication
- Medical and assistive devices
- Home health aides to assist
- Retrofitting your home, such as the necessary construction of a wheelchair ramp
Property Damage
You have a right to seek compensation for whatever property was damaged or lost in the accident. This can be your vehicle, your wedding ring, a bicycle, or anything else of value that was damaged, destroyed, or lost.
Lost Income
You can seek compensation for past and future income lost from work. You can lose this income due to the crash itself or the time you need to recover and heal or attend related medical appointments.
Loss of Future Earnings
Sometimes injuries sustained in a large truck accident are severe enough that you can’t return to work at all or can’t work in your previous work industry. In that case, you can ask for compensation for your expected lifetime earnings. Our Chicago truck accident lawyers can use economic experts if necessary to help determine how much you deserve.
Pain and Suffering
Since truck accidents can cause severe and catastrophic injuries, you deserve recovery for your pain, suffering, mental anguish, and the loss of enjoyment of life if you cannot do things you once enjoyed.
Loss of Consortium
You can also pursue damages on behalf of your spouse if the truck crash impacted your marriage or rendered you unable to maintain intimate relationships. This is called loss of consortium.
You may also be entitled to additional types of damages. When you review your case with our knowledgeable Chicago truck accident lawyers, they can help ensure that you seek compensation for all reasonable expenses and losses.
Chicago Truck Accident FAQs
Personal injury cases, including accidents involving semi trucks, have filing deadlines known as the statute of limitations. Under the statute, injured individuals only have a specified amount of time to file a claim after the crash. Once the window expires, they generally cannot seek legal action.
Illinois has a two-year statute of limitations that applies to all personal injury cases, including commercial truck accidents. After an accident, contact a Chicago truck accident lawyer as soon as possible. Waiting too long can disqualify you from receiving the compensation you otherwise may have been entitled to receive.
To establish fault in a commercial truck accident, your attorney will investigate the accident scene, take eyewitness testimonies, and examine police accident reports, among other things. They will also investigate the driver and the company they work for and obtain black box data from the truck.
Factors in establishing fault might include:
- The condition of the truck and whether it had proper maintenance
- How the truck driver was hired and trained
- How many hours the truck driver was working, and if they took adequate breaks
Midwest Injury Lawyers: Your Trusted Chicago Truck Accident Lawyer
A truck accident injury was not part of your plan, but consulting a trusted Chicago truck accident lawyer should be. At Midwest Injury Lawyers, our attorneys will stand up for your rights as a victim and secure the best possible outcome for you. Reach out to our personal injury lawyers today.
If you or someone you love recently suffered injuries in a Chicago truck accident, you may have many questions and uncertainties. Our truck accident attorneys can answer your questions and protect your interests. Contact us by phone at (312) 786-5881 or online and start your case today with a free consultation with one of our reputable attorneys.
Client Testimonial
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Midwest Injury Lawyers – Chicago Office
155 N Upper Wacker Drive, Suite 4250
Chicago, IL 60606
P: (312) 786-5881
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.