Montclair Truck Accident Lawyers
Helping Injured Victims Recover Compensation
Collisions between tractor-trailers and passenger vehicles often result in severe or even fatal injuries. If this describes your situation, you should speak with a Montclair personal injury lawyer immediately to determine if you’re entitled to compensation after the crash. Holding the at-fault parties accountable for the accident will ensure you have access to the money you need to afford your medical bills, lost wages, and other expenses resulting from the truck accident.
That’s why the caring attorneys at Birkhold & Maider, LLC, are committed to assisting injured accident victims through the legal process of collecting compensation. When you hire our team for legal representation, an experienced personal injury attorney will skillfully lead you through every step of your Montclair, NJ, truck accident case. We understand how confusing the process of requesting your rightful compensation can be, especially while you’re still in pain from the crash, so we urge you to let us assist you from start to finish. Call our Montclair personal injury law firm today to schedule a free initial consultation with our compassionate attorneys.
What Are the Most Serious Types of Tractor-Trailer Accidents in New Jersey?
Tractor-trailer accidents can occur in various ways, some of which are similar to the average car accident. However, some types of truck accidents are unique to tractor-trailers since they’re much longer, taller, and heavier than passenger vehicles. In addition, they’re often loaded with heavy cargo and operated by drowsy or improperly trained drivers.
Some of the most common kinds of tractor-trailer accidents include:
- Jackknife accidents: These occur when the truck driver brakes too fast or is driving on slippery roads, causing the trailer to swing to the side and form a 90-degree angle with the truck cab
- Rollover accidents: This describes a crash in which a truck overturns, often due to excessive speed, sharp turns, or uneven cargo loads
- Rear-end collisions: These occur when a tractor-trailer crashes into the back of another vehicle or is struck from behind by a car, usually due to someone speeding or tailgating
- Head-on crashes: This type of serious accident occurs when a truck strikes another vehicle coming from the opposite direction, causing the front ends of both cars to collide with enough force to cause permanent or fatal injuries
- Underride accidents: This describes a situation where a smaller vehicle becomes trapped under a trailer after the truck has stopped suddenly, especially if it’s not properly equipped with underride guards to prevent this dangerous result
- Wide-turn crashes: This can occur when a semi-truck swings wide when making a turn, ending up on the curb or in a lane of oncoming traffic and striking vehicles there
- Blind spot accidents: Truck drivers cannot see passenger vehicles driving in their rather large blind spots along the sides of their trucks, so accidents may occur when they switch lanes before double-checking for vehicles
- T-bone collisions: This type of auto accident can occur when a truck or car collides with the side of a vehicle at an intersection, often due to the at-fault driver failing to yield the right of way
- Lost load accidents: When someone fails to load and secure cargo on a tractor-trailer properly, it can fall onto the road, causing other drivers to hit it and potentially lose control of their car
If you were involved in any of these or other types of truck accidents, it’s time to contact a personal injury attorney to determine who is at fault so you can get help paying for your medical expenses, car repairs, and other bills you’re facing as a truck accident victim. Call our Montclair, NJ, law firm today to schedule a time to talk to an experienced lawyer.
What Are the Most Common Truck Accident Injuries?
Truck accidents are known for causing more serious injuries than the average car accident, since commercial trucks are so much larger than the average car on the road. If you or your family member suffered severe or deadly injuries in a New Jersey truck accident, you’re not alone, and it’s essential to reach out to a Montclair personal injury attorney for help getting fair compensation.
Some of the most common injuries for truck accident victims to suffer include:
- Neck and back injuries, such as whiplash and spinal cord injuries
- Bone fractures, especially in the hips, ribs, arms, and legs
- Head injuries, such as concussions, skull fractures, and traumatic brain injuries
- Lacerations, abrasions, and bruises
- Damage to vital organs, such as the liver, lungs, and kidneys
- Burns, usually due to a vehicle fire or chemical spill involving the truck’s cargo
- Soft tissue injuries, such as strains and sprains affecting the muscles, joints, and tendons
- Emotional trauma, including PTSD, depression, and anxiety
If you suffer injuries as severe as these, you’ll likely need help paying for the required medical care. After all, most accident victims must take time off work to physically and emotionally heal, and paying for your medical expenses can be difficult after weeks or months of lost wages. If you wish to seek financial compensation from the at-fault party after your crash, call us to talk to a Montclair personal injury lawyer about your truck accident case.
Which Parties Could Be Liable for Your Montclair, NJ, Truck Accident?
Personal injury cases involving truck accidents tend to be even more complicated than car accident cases because there is usually more than one liable party. This means you’ll have to communicate with and present physical evidence to two or more insurance companies, which can be exhausting and confusing when you’re still in pain from your auto accident. That’s why you need a great lawyer to assist you with this process as you pursue compensation.
In such personal injury cases, the truck driver is often one of the liable parties, especially if there is evidence he or she caused the accident by speeding, driving while tired, or driving recklessly. However, other parties may also be liable for the car accident, including the trucking company that employs the truck driver. This is particularly likely if the driver’s employer pushes them to speed, ignores traffic signals, or keeps driving for long periods without sleeping so they can meet a deadline.
Additional parties could also be partly responsible for your crash since trucking companies usually rely on a team of individuals to ensure the trucks are ready to travel across the state or country. When one or more of these parties are negligent in completing this task, they could be named in a personal injury case to get the victim the full compensation.
For example, if the car accident was caused by cargo spilling out of the truck, the person who improperly loaded the cargo could be liable. If faulty brakes led to the car accident, the brake manufacturer could be held responsible, as could the mechanic who was supposed to inspect and repair the brakes. Additionally, if the investigation reveals that potholes or other issues with the road caused your car accident, the government agency that failed to maintain or repair the roads could be named in your personal injury case.
When you hire a trusted personal injury lawyer to examine the circumstances of your accident, you’ll learn what caused it, who should be held responsible, and what financial compensation you’ll recover. Our Essex County attorneys know how to thoroughly complete every step of the investigation, including looking for evidence at the accident scene, hiring accident reconstruction specialists, and reading police reports to gain an understanding of what led to the crash.
Whether it turns out it was caused by driver fatigue, inclement weather conditions, or other unsafe conditions that put you and other parties in danger, you can trust our team to seek the economic and non-economic damages you rightfully deserve. Call today for a free case review with caring attorneys.
What Financial Damages Can You Collect as an Injured Victim?
When smaller vehicles collide with large trucks, the consequences usually include severe injuries and extensive property damage. If you’re worried about how you’ll afford medical care and car repairs while taking time away from work, schedule a free consultation with our Essex County attorneys for peace of mind. We have a proven track record of fighting to get our clients the full compensation they deserve from multiple parties, so you can trust that we are committed to pursuing damages from multiple insurance companies without hesitation.
Some of the economic and non-economic damages you can typically expect include:
- Medical bills from the care you needed immediately following the crash
- Future medical expenses for ongoing care, surgeries, physical therapy, and more
- Property damage, allowing you to afford to repair or replace your car
- Lost income if you had to take time off work to heal
- Loss of future earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Mental anguish
If you lost a loved one in your car accident, our Essex County attorneys can bring a wrongful death claim against the insurance companies involved in the crash. Either way, we’ll work hard to get you the compensation you need to recover from your Montclair, NJ, truck accident. Call us for a free case evaluation.
How Can Our Montclair Truck Accident Lawyers Assist with Your Case?
When you hire Birkhold & Maider, LLC, to recover your rightful compensation, you’ll have a dedicated Essex County lawyer working on your behalf to negotiate with the insurance companies liable for your losses. You can count on our team to guide you through the entire process, from determining fault and proving negligence to requesting the maximum compensation from the insurance companies.
During your free case evaluation with a skilled lawyer, we’ll discuss the details of your accident before deciding on the best course of action for your case based on our extensive experience in the legal field. If you’re ready to speak with a Montclair personal injury lawyer who will make you their top priority, call 973-319-7795 for a free case evaluation.