Chicago Truck Accident Lawyer

Being seriously injured in an accident with a big rig or semi-truck can completely upend your life. If you have gone through a truck accident in Chicago, you deserve to be compensated for medical expenses, lost wages, and other damages. Unfortunately, third parties like insurance companies may delay or deny compensation, thereby preventing you from receiving the support you need.

If you are going through a challenging time after a truck accident in Chicago, put Power Rogers, LLP on your side. Our lawyers understand the nuances of these cases and are prepared to offer advanced, strategic advocacy for truck accident claims involving serious personal injuries and wrongful deaths. They have achieved record-setting results on behalf of clients, including holding the record for the largest personal injury award to a single family in Illinois.

Truck Accident Lawyer Near Me

If you’ve been injured in a truck accident in the greater Chicago area, the attorneys at Power Rogers can help. Located inside Three First National Plaza approximately three blocks west of Millenium Park, we can be accessed by the CTA Blue Line at Washington Street. Our office is located in the heart of the Chicago financial district and the Chicago Loop neighborhood near City Hall. Contact us for more information on visiting our office.

What Should You Do If You’re Involved In A Truck Accident?

Immediately after a truck accident, you must call for help. If you are unable to dial 911, ask someone nearby to do it for you.

Once you’ve received medical treatment from responding paramedics, take photos of the crash site. Document everything and pay special attention to damaged roads or lane dividers, vehicles, and any other nearby hazards or debris that may have contributed to your crash.

Next, take down the other driver’s information and, if they are a commercial driver, the information of their employer. Also, collect contact information from any bystanders or other injured parties along with brief accounts of what they saw – they could be used as witnesses.

You should also write down the names and badge numbers of the responding officers and obtain a copy of the accident report.

Once you’ve taken care of everything at the scene of the crash, schedule an appointment with your doctor for a more thorough medical examination and reach out to one of our truck accident attorneys to learn more about your legal options.

Why Do You Need A Truck Accident Lawyer?

When an 18-wheeler accident occurs, several parties get involved, including the driver’s trucking company and its insurance company. The trucking company, insurance adjuster, and their legal counsel are likely to do everything in their power to protect their own interests, not yours. They are on the scene quickly to collect whatever evidence they can, including anything that might show or exaggerate your contribution to the accident.

After an accident, you may be left with injuries that require hospital time and extensive rehabilitation. You may also find yourself caring for loved ones who may also have been injured in the accident. Attempting to handle these challenges while navigating the claims process can be difficult. Claims guidelines, the statute of limitations on filing claims and responding to requests, and knowing how to handle communication between different parties and their insurers can be overwhelming for someone without experience in these matters. Insurance carriers may even exploit a person’s lack of knowledge surrounding these issues.

However, an attorney who is well-versed in this area of law will know how to fight back. Our truck accident attorneys at Power Rogers have the knowledge and experience to protect your rights and fight for the level of financial compensation you deserve. You can trust that our team will do everything in its power to help secure the financial compensation you deserve after a truck accident.

How Do You File A Lawsuit For A Truck Accident?

In order to receive fair compensation for your injuries and losses after a truck accident, it may be necessary to file a personal injury lawsuit. Even if your case ends up settling outside of court (which is most likely), the pressure of legal action often helps increase the amount of compensation offered by the liable party.

If you or someone you love was injured in an accident, take the following steps:

1. Find out if you have legal standing to sue. The best way to do this is by contacting a truck accident lawyer in Chicago.
2. Find out whom to sue. Civil lawsuits are filed by one party, a plaintiff, against one or more parties, the defendant(s). Plaintiffs sue those they believe to be responsible for their injuries or losses.
3. Determine the jurisdiction (which state and court) in which your case should be filed.
4. Determine the venue in which your action should be filed. Typically, the venue is the location where the defendant(s) conduct business or where the dispute arose. However, there are exceptions, so please check with a lawyer to work out the venue.
5. File the complaint in the appropriate court.

The important thing to remember is that you do not have to do this alone. With one of our experienced truck accident attorneys as your legal counsel, you can rest assured that they will take care of the technicalities for you.

Understanding the Trucking Industry

The trucking industry plays a critical role in transportation but also presents unique risks to public safety. At Power Rogers, we understand the nuances of trucking regulations and the importance of adhering to safety standards. This knowledge allows us to investigate and litigate truck accident cases effectively.

Regulations Governing the Trucking Industry

The trucking industry is regulated by the United States Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Key regulations include:

• Hours of Service: Drivers are limited to a maximum of 11 hours of driving after 10 consecutive hours off duty. They may not exceed 14 consecutive hours of work or 60-70 hours in 7-8 consecutive days. These rules aim to prevent accidents caused by fatigue.
• Licensing Requirements: Truck drivers must hold a valid commercial driver’s license (CDL). Employers are responsible for verifying that their drivers meet training and licensing requirements. Failure to ensure proper qualifications can lead to liability for accidents.
• Cargo Loading: Proper training is essential for cargo loaders to prevent overloaded trailers or unsecured cargo, which can cause catastrophic accidents.

When these regulations are violated, it increases the risk of accidents and injuries. Our experienced attorneys know what to look for when investigating trucking accidents, ensuring that responsible parties are held accountable.

How Long Do You Have To File A Truck Accident Lawsuit?

In every personal injury case, including truck accidents, you only have a limited period of time to file a lawsuit. The deadline – called the statute of limitations – varies, depending on the type of case.

The statute of limitations for truck accidents in Illinois is generally two years. The clock starts running from the date of the accident. In wrongful death claims resulting from a truck accident, the clock starts running from the date of death, which means a longer time to file.

There are some exceptions to the two-year statute of limitations, and the statute of limitations needs to be analyzed in full by your attorney. Some common exceptions include:

• When the victim is a minor: The clock won’t start running until they turn 18.
• When you’re suing a government entity: If one of the defendants is a government entity, you will only have one year to file the lawsuit.
  You should talk to a lawyer if you think one of these exceptions might apply.

Two years may seem like a long time, but it takes time to build a truck accident case. A sloppy or rushed lawsuit could end up getting dismissed. It’s important to leave ample time for your lawyer to do all the legwork leading up to filing the lawsuit, including identifying the right parties to sue.

What Happens If You Miss The Deadline?

Unfortunately, missing the deadline will almost certainly cost you your right to file a lawsuit. You don’t want to end up giving up valuable compensation by waiting too long to talk to an attorney. There is no time that is “too soon” to contact a truck accident injury lawyer. The sooner you involve a truck lawyer, the sooner they will be able to help you file your claim timely and properly.

Who Is At Fault In Semi-Truck Accidents?

Fault in a semi-truck accident isn’t always easy to determine. The truck driver may be at fault, but so may be the truck driver’s employer, the entity responsible for the truck’s maintenance, the manufacturer of a truck part, or even the local government for improper road maintenance. A Chicago truck accident lawyer can establish fault by using accident reconstruction, expert witnesses, and other forms of evidence.

Illinois Modified Comparative Negligence

Establishing liability is an important factor that will need to be proven to process your claim. Whether your negligence (if applicable) played any role in causing or contributing to the crash must be addressed to determine the claim amount to which you may be entitled.

Truck accident injury claims in Illinois operate on a modified doctrine of “comparative negligence,” which means:

• A victim found less than 50% at fault for their accident can still recover from the majority at-fault party
• A victim found more than 50% at fault is barred from recovering financial compensation

The comparative negligence rule means that even if you are found to be partially negligent in a truck wreck, you may still be entitled to recover damages.

Fault And Liability: The Basics

Civil injury claims require personal injury victims to establish a few essential elements. Aside from demonstrating the existence of a “legal duty” owed by the defendant to the plaintiff and proving that the injury resulted from negligent or wrongful acts that breach that duty, claimants also need to prove who’s “more likely than not” (the burden of proof, in civil cases) at fault for the wreck and financially liable for damages.

That may seem simple enough in theory, but proving fault and liability is an undertaking that often requires extensive resources, insight, and meticulous investigation. Many factors can help establish negligence in a truck accident case. These include:

• Police reports. Proper interpretation of police reports by a trained eye can help determine who is at fault.
• Black box data. A truck’s black box contains relevant data regarding the truck’s performance before the accident, such as speed and braking. Black box data can also be used to capture driver fatigue (if the truck was veering into other lanes, etc).
• Eyewitness testimony. Other drivers on the roads, people in buildings near the accident, and people on the street may have witnessed the accident – they can all help provide a detailed description of what they saw from their vantage point.
• Accident reconstruction experts. Experts in the field of accident investigation can be a tremendous help in determining fault in truck accident lawsuits.
• Surveillance footage and any available video evidence. Closed circuit cameras and traffic cams may be available to provide video evidence of the actual accident.

Establishing fault is a process that may look different depending on the facts of a case, such as:

• Who the victims were in relation to the commercial truck (i.e., a driver of another vehicle, pedestrian, bicyclist, etc.)
• Whether other vehicles were involved (pileups and multi-vehicle wrecks)
• Severity of injuries/damages suffered by victims or losses suffered by families

Potentially Liable Parties

Truck accident victims who aren’t barred from recovering compensation under rules of comparative negligence must still determine who they can hold at fault for the accident. This will depend on what occurred and who failed to uphold their legal obligations.

In many trucking cases, investigations focus on common accident causes associated with:

• Truckers: Trucking companies are typically responsible for wrecks caused by their truckers, and they’re ultimately responsible for the conduct of employees.
• Trucking companies: In addition to vicarious liability for driver negligence, trucking operators can be held at fault for negligent acts of their own.

There can be many other potentially liable parties to look at, including:

• Other negligent motorists
• Third parties (contractors, distributors, vehicle maintenance crews, etc.)
• Automakers/auto part manufacturers
• Public entities (poor roads, city vehicles, etc.)
• Taxis/rideshare services with insurance policies covering passengers

Evaluating where fault and liability exist, especially in cases involving multiple parties, can be immensely difficult and fact-specific. As such, it’s important that victims work with an experienced truck accident attorney in Chicago as they conduct the meticulous investigations that these claims.

How Much Is Your Truck Accident Case Worth?

Because trucking wrecks often result in catastrophic injuries and fatalities, they can result in substantial losses for victims and their families. However, there’s simply no way to make an accurate prediction about the value of any one claim, particularly early on and especially without any individualized assessment. That’s due to many unique factors at play in truck accident cases, including those below.

Severity Of Injuries

Victims who suffer cuts and bruises may have real losses (ER assessments, stitches or physical therapy, missed work wages, etc.), but they pale in comparison to the damages brought about by severe and catastrophic injuries like lost limbs or permanent brain injuries. Injuries that require extensive surgeries, therapies, and months to years of recovery include:

• Spinal injuries
• Traumatic brain injuries (TBI)
• Fractures or loss of limbs
• Paralysis
• Burns

These types of injuries can lead to severe and permanent physical disabilities and neurological issues that impact a person’s ability to continue working and living independently.

Future Losses

In some cases, especially those involving severe injuries or death, plaintiffs may continue to face losses caused by their accidents in the future, if not for the rest of their lives. Future losses include:

• continued medical care
• disability benefits
• loss of earning potential benefits

Our Chicago truck accident attorneys commonly work with medical experts to provide testimony and insight regarding the prognoses, recovery time, scope of injury or impairment, and expected needs of the victims, and they can take steps to carefully calculate other future projected losses.

Insurance Coverage

In a perfect world, accident victims would be fully and fairly compensated. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. Not only must victims prove fault and liability when bringing claims against a defendant, but they must also ensure that there’s sufficient insurance coverage available. This can be a problem when at-fault parties are underinsured or victims have extensive damages that exceed available policy limits.

Experienced truck accident attorneys should be able to help their clients explore any and all viable avenues for recovering the full amount of compensation they need – whether it’s through trucking operators with larger commercial policies, multiple/third-party defendants that contributed to a crash, their own uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) insurance (if they have this additional coverage) or other available options.

Other Case-Specific Factors

Numerous other case-specific factors can influence the overall value of a claim. These include:

• Age, income, remaining working years, and other financial matters unique to the victim
• Arguments from defendants about the severity of injuries and their impact on victims/future expected associated costs
• The degree to which a victim is at fault (if at all) for their accident
• The scope of a victim’s physical pain and suffering
• The nature and extent of emotional suffering endured by a victim and their family

Whether the defendant’s conduct was “egregious” or so inexcusably wrongful that it warrants punitive damages.

Compensation You Can Recover After a Truck Accident

Chicago truck accident victims may be able to recover both economic and non-economic damages:

• Economic Damages: Economic damages are quantifiable losses. Medical bills, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, vehicular damage, and out-of-pocket expenses are all types of economic damages.
• Non-Economic Damages: Non-economic damages are non-monetary losses that include loss of consortium, pain and suffering, depression, mental anguish, scarring and disfigurement, and loss of enjoyment of life.

Both types of damages may be owed to a victim of a truck accident, and a qualified truck accident attorney can help determine what compensation is available and how much is owed. Separately, if you have lost a family member due to a truck accident, our wrongful death attorneys can help file a lawsuit.

Truck Accident Lawyer: FAQs

Can I Still Recover Compensation If I Was Partially At Fault For the Accident?

Yes. If you were found to be less than 50% at fault, you may still be entitled to recover compensation in Chicago. A truck accident lawyer can help establish liability so you maximize compensation.

How Long Does It Take To Resolve a Truck Accident Lawsuit?

Every truck accident case is different. Some cases may settle within months, while others take a year or more. The complexity of the case, the number of parties involved, and the severity of injuries may play a role in how quickly a case can be settled. If litigation is required, court schedules will also factor into the total time frame.

What Are the Most Common Causes of Truck Accidents?

Some of the most common causes of truck accidents include:

• Driver fatigue. Fatigue often occurs when hours of service regulations are violated. These regulations require truck drivers to rest and work for certain periods.
• Distracted driving. Distracted driving is the most common cause of accidents. Many states have differing laws about the use of cell phones or other devices while driving.
• Drunk or impaired driving. Drivers may be asked to submit a blood test after an accident to ensure they were not under the influence at the time of an accident.
• Poor maintenance. The owner of the truck has a responsibility to maintain it in good working condition to avoid the possibility of accidents related to neglectful care, such as those resulting from brake failure or tire blowouts. Tire blowouts can contribute to vehicle collisions with pedestrians. A pedestrian accident attorney can help navigate these cases.
• Improperly loaded cargo. Cargo loaded incorrectly can cause the truck to tip or lose control. If an accident occurs due to improperly loaded cargo, another party (the party that loaded the truck) may be implicated.

Often, a crash involves two or more of these factors. You will need a semi-truck accident lawyer who has handled many of these cases before. Our team members know how to gather and preserve evidence at the crash site. They also frequently hire experts, such as forensic crash analysts, to examine the scenes. This way, our attorneys can determine the cause of the accident and which party is most at fault.

What If the Truck Driver’s Insurance Isn’t Enough to Cover My Damages?

Illinois state rules require drivers to carry a minimum amount of liability insurance and uninsured motorist coverage. If there is not enough insurance coverage for your damages, there are other potential sources for compensation, such as:

• The trucking company’s insurance policy
• Third-party defendants (e.g., maintenance companies, vehicle manufacturers)
• Your own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, if applicable

Do Truck Accident Cases Usually Settle Out of Court?

Most truck accident cases settle before going to trial. However, if a fair settlement cannot be reached through negotiations between your attorney and the insurance carrier’s attorney, your attorney may recommend going to trial to secure full compensation for your injuries.

How Is a Truck Accident Lawsuit Different From a Regular Car Accident Lawsuit?

Truck accident lawsuits are often more complex due to factors like:

• Federal regulations. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) rules govern the trucking industry and add an additional layer of legality to a case that involves a truck.
• Multiple liable parties. The number of parties that may be involved in a truck accident is typically more than in a car accident. Trucking companies, drivers, parts manufacturers, and subcontractors all have a role in the safe operation of the truck.
• Higher stakes. The injuries and damages associated with a truck accident can be catastrophic because of the size and force with which a truck moves.
• Commercial insurance policies. These policies usually have higher coverage limits than personal auto insurance policies, which means that insurance companies may fight even harder to minimize or avoid a payout.

How Common Are Truck Accidents in Chicago?

The Illinois Department of Transportation gathers information about commercial truck accidents in our state. According to its data, more than 100 fatal accidents involving semi-trucks have occurred in Illinois in 2024. Unfortunately, the streets and highways of Illinois have seen a worrying uptick in large truck accidents over the past few years. The statistics from 2020 to 2023 paint a stark picture of the risks these vehicles pose to roadway safety. Illinois was among the top five states with the highest number of truck accidents in 2022. In 2023, Illinois had 12,267 truck accidents, accounting for 3.8% of all vehicular crashes in the state. Here are some statistics of note:

• 106 of these Illinois truck accidents resulted in fatalities, and 2,075 involved injuries, underscoring the devastating impact of truck accidents on both individual families and whole communities.
• In Illinois, truck accidents predominantly occur on highways and urban roads, with Cook and DuPage counties recording high numbers of such incidents.
• Truck accidents frequently happen during evening rush hours, between 4:00 p.m. and 7:59 p.m., and are most common on Fridays, the end of the workweek (heavy traffic).
• Chicago’s I-290, especially between Mannheim Road and Cicero Avenue, is a hotspot for truck accidents, with about 2,000 crashes annually.
• City roads and state U.S. routes also see significant truck collisions, with recent figures showing 193 and 146 crashes, respectively. These statistics highlight the need for increased safety measures on these high-risk roads.

The increasing trend of truck accidents in Illinois and nationwide is a call to action for stricter safety regulations, better driver training, and more responsible trucking practices. Our firm stands ready to advocate for injured victims and work toward a safer future for all road users.

How Can a Truck Accident Attorney At Power Rogers Help Me?

It can be difficult to understand who can help you in the wake of destruction caused by a car accident. If you are dealing with your injuries or caring for a loved one with injuries, you may find it burdensome to deal with mounting healthcare bills, property damage, mental anguish, and adjusting to a new way of life.

A compassionate attorney with experience in Chicago truck accident cases can help alleviate the burden. From your initial consultation to a trial (if necessary), a hardworking attorney is an invaluable asset, providing resources and guidance when you need it most. The team at Power Rogers aims to help you fight big insurance companies and trucking companies to get the compensation you deserve.

Were You In a Truck Wreck? Don’t Wait To Contact Our Chicago Truck Accident Lawyers

If you’ve been injured in an accident with a semi-truck, big rig, or tractor-trailer in Illinois, you need experienced representation. Call Power Rogers today or submit an online contact form to arrange your free consultation. Our attorneys have worked with countless people who were seriously injured in truck crashes, and they understand the best way to prepare for and execute an effective strategy that will put you in the most favorable position possible.