A truck accident can result in serious and life-changing injuries for a victim in a smaller vehicle. If you were hurt in a collision involving a truck in Joliet, Illinois, you may be dealing with severe injuries to your head, neck, and back that cause chronic pain, and that make it impossible to work and care for your loved ones. You may also have suffered broken bones, lost limbs, or even paralysis. You may have had to endure one or more surgeries, and you may need to undergo physical and occupational therapy several times a week to relearn how to perform basic tasks.
The medical bills and lost income may be taking a toll on your family. You may be struggling to pay your rent or mortgage and to put food on the table, and you may be concerned about how the accident will affect your family’s long-term financial security. You may be struggling to adapt to your new normal and worried that the life you once enjoyed is gone forever. You may think that your dreams of sending your children to college and retiring comfortably will never come true. These sudden and devastating changes may be impacting your relationships with your spouse and children.
If you were hurt in a Joliet truck accident that was not your fault, you should not be forced to bear these burdens alone. A Joliet truck accident lawyer from Pintas & Mullins Law Firm may be able to help you pursue financial compensation for your injuries. Call our office at (800) 794-0444 to discuss your case and learn how we may be able to assist you.
Reasons to Work with a Joliet Truck Accident Lawyer
Pintas & Mullins Law Firm handles personal injury cases that involve car accidents, including accidents with trucks. Since our firm operates on a contingency-fee basis, you will not have to pay us unless we succeed in recovering financial compensation for your injuries.
Truck accidents can occur for a variety of reasons, and the cause of a collision is not always immediately apparent. Often, multiple factors are at play. Our team may conduct a thorough investigation to get to the bottom of what happened and why. We may review the accident report, speak to witnesses, and look at other forms of evidence, such as surveillance video and cellphone records, to help us determine what led to the crash and who was responsible.
We may find that the truck driver was liable for the collision. Actions such as speeding, talking on a cellphone or texting, running a red light, and making an illegal lane change may have caused the accident. Our investigation may uncover evidence that the driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash. If a truck driver was under the influence and caused an accident that resulted in personal injury or death, the vehicle operator’s CDL driving privileges may be suspended and disqualified.
State and Federal Regulations of Trucks
Accidents involving a truck and a car often result in catastrophic injuries to passengers in the smaller vehicle because the size and weight of a truck are so much greater. A truck can be more difficult to stop than a car, especially if the road is slippery or if the truck driver needs to make a quick lane change. If a truck is too heavy, the driver may have trouble controlling it, and the vehicle may jack-knife or roll over.
To reduce the risk of serious accidents, laws in Illinois and other jurisdictions place weight restrictions on trucks, under Illinois Statutes Chapter 625, Vehicles §-201. Nonetheless, trucking companies sometimes exceed those limits, which can put the other drivers and passengers at risk.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) sets guidelines for truck drivers and trucking companies that are intended to keep the public safe. For example, trucking companies must only employ drivers who meet eligibility and training requirements, and trucks must be regularly inspected, maintained, and repaired. When our team reviews internal documents, we may find that the trucking company did not meet its obligations.
Driver fatigue is a leading cause of truck accidents. Trucking companies often impose tight schedules that leave little or no time to account for delays due to weather, construction, or road closures. Drivers may feel compelled to travel through the night with little or no sleep, which can endanger drivers and passengers in other vehicles.
The FMCSA has imposed regulations that limit the number of hours truck drivers may work without taking a break, but many drivers do not adhere to them because they feel pressured to stick to their schedules.
For a free legal consultation with a Truck Accidents Lawyer serving Joliet, call (800) 794-0444
Get Legal Help From a Joliet Truck Accident Lawyer
The team at Pintas & Mullins Law Firm may investigate to figure out who was liable for the truck accident that caused your injuries and recommend a course of action to help you seek justice. Our investigation may uncover evidence that the driver was responsible, or we may find that the trucking company that employed the driver was partially or entirely liable for the accident.
We may work to negotiate a financial settlement with the trucking company’s insurer, or we may decide to file a personal injury lawsuit and take a case to court to pursue fair financial compensation for a client.
You do not have a lot of time to act to seek justice. In Illinois, the statute of limitations to file a personal injury lawsuit is two years under 735 Illinois Compiled Statutes §5/13-202. If you were injured in a truck accident, the sooner you contact Pintas & Mullins Law Firm, the sooner our team may be able to begin investigating the cause of the collision and developing a legal strategy. Contact our office at (800) 794-0444 to speak about what you have experienced and how we may be able to help you.
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