Contact us for a free consultation if you or your loved one was injured or killed in an accident involving a Truck or 18-Wheeler. We force the trucking companies to take responsibility and prove that their drivers were at fault. Call us today at 847-520-4810.
Illinois Trucking Accident Attorneys
If you or a loved one were injured in a truck or 18-wheeler accident, our Truck Accident Lawyers will hold the trucking company accountable and make sure that you and your family receive the compensation you deserve.
When we're hired in a truck or 18-wheeler accident case, our Truck Accident Lawyers immediately obtain the truck driver's logbook and the truck's black box and ECM records and send an accident reconstruction team to inspect the scene and the vehicles involved in the crash.
This evidence not only allows our Truck Accident Lawyers to determine whether the trucking company or its driver violated federal safety regulations and state transportation laws, but it also provides us with physical evidence that establishes how fast the truck was traveling at impact, if and when it braked, and whether the driver was fatigued or distracted at the time of impact.
We then consult with both our client's treating doctors and our medical experts to determine the nature and severity of our client's injuries, the doctors and specialists who are most qualified to treat them, and the cost and frequency of medical care that our clients will require in the future.
After obtaining evidence proving how the crash occurred and the effect that the crash had—and will continue to have—on our client's health and future earning potential, we work with our experts and engineers to determine what the truck driver could and should have done to avoid the crash, and the total amount of compensation required to ensure that our clients are able to care and provide for themselves and their families for the rest of their lives.
If the trucking company refuses to offer a settlement that fully compensates our clients and their families for their injuries and losses, we take the case to trial.
Common Causes of Truck and 18-Wheeler Accidents
While there are typically a number of factors involved in causing or contributing to a truck or 18-wheeler crash, some of the most common include:
- Driver Fatigue
- Hours of Service Violations
- Hiring Inexperienced and Unqualified Drivers
- Failing to Provide Proper Training
- Failing to Perform Legally Required Pre and Post-Trip Vehicle Inspections
- Requiring Drivers to Drive in Excess of the Maximum Hours Permitted by Law
- Speeding, Unsafe Lane Changes, Failure to Reduce Speed, Failure to Yield and Similar Traffic Violations
- Violations of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations
- Drug Use and/or Intoxication
Truck Drivers and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations
Unlike in ordinary car wrecks, truck accident attorneys have to thoroughly understand the hundreds of state and federal safety regulations that trucking companies and their drivers are required to follow in order to operate commercial vehicles on public roads and highways across the United States.
Many of these rules are found in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations- laws created by the United States Department of Transportation that govern every trucking company and truck driver in the United States.
The FMCSRs dictate everything from the type of training a truck driver is required to receive and the maintenance that must be performed on the truck and trailer before and after each trip, to the number of hours a driver can spend behind the wheel or “on-duty” before the driver is considered fatigued and disqualified from driving.
Truck Accident Lawyers at Stavros Law Offices know exactly what evidence to look for, where to find it, and—most importantly—how to use it to hold trucking companies and their drivers accountable for seriously injuring or killing other drivers or passengers in a crash. Call us today for a Free Consultation at 847-520-4810.