Have you been hurt in a crash involving a large commercial truck in or near St. Clair County, Illinois? If so, you may be struggling to pay for unplanned medical expenses and property damage, especially if you’re unable to work and earn an income because of your injuries. You may even be facing long-term impairments that could affect the long-term quality of your life.
You should not have to pay the price if someone else is to blame for your injuries. Instead, you can demand compensation for the harm they’ve caused you, providing you with the financial security you need to live the fullest life possible. Let Belleville truck accident attorneys help you pursue it.
Discuss your case with an experienced truck accident lawyer with law firm, Bartholomew, Shevlin & Flack, LLP, located in Belleville IL. We’ll explain whether you have a legal basis to file a truck accident claim and provide aggressive representation if you hire us. Call or contact us online today for a free case review.
According to data from the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), in 2022, St. Clair County saw:
Such data indicate collisions involving commercial trucks and similar large commercial vehicles aren’t uncommon in the region. Even more concerning, data from the National Safety Council (NSC) suggests truck crashes may be on the rise throughout the country.
Those are just a few examples. Determining how a truck wreck occurred is important for an injured party. If the crash was caused by legal fault on the part of the semi truck driver or another party, you may be eligible for financial compensation.
If you are involved in an accident with a truck follow these steps. Seek medical attention immediately, even if you believe you are not injured. It is vital to receive medical help quickly as it could harm your chances of receiving compensation if you fail to do so. Courts will see the failure to receive medical assistance and can dismiss your claim entirely.
After receiving medical attention, if able, gather as much evidence as possible at the accident scene. Police officers at the scene will have to file a police report and the report will likely contain crucial evidence. Proving the truck drivers negligence is key in motor vehicle accident cases and ensuring you have key evidence will save time and stress later.
Finally, in most cases, you will need to speak with the trucking company’s insurance company as soon as possible. Hiring experienced truck accident lawyers can be vital as they can assist you as a buffer between you and the trucking company’s insurance company. The trucking industry has powerful insurers and lawyers. At this stage, report the accident to your insurance company and then contact an attorney to act as your buffer.
St Clair County, Illinois, truck accident lawyers can help you seek compensation for many types of harm you suffered as a result of the truck crash. The legal term for this harm is losses, which come in two categories: economic and non-economic.
An economic loss is a loss that has a dollar value attached to it. Medical bills and lost wages are common examples of economic losses.
Economic losses may also include future losses you haven’t technically incurred yet. For example, truck wrecks may cause serious injuries that leave you in need of lifelong medical care. Thus, your economic losses may include the medical bills from future medical treatment.
Not all losses resulting from a truck crash have objective dollar values, though. Consider the example of pain and suffering. You will likely experience physical, mental, and emotional pain as you recover from your injuries. You deserve compensation for your pain, even if it doesn’t have a clear dollar value.
If your truck accident case goes to trial, you could also secure punitive damages. Juries may award punitive damages when defendants have engaged in serious negligence or misconduct. These damages don’t compensate you for any particular losses. Rather, their purpose is to punish a defendant who has been highly negligent. Ideally, when a jury awards punitive damages, they’re deterring a negligent party from causing similar harm in the future.
Under Illinois law, the statute of limitations for filing a truck crash lawsuit is two years. You have two years from the date of the wreck to take legal action. Failure to file a claim or lawsuit within this timeframe will result in loss of your rights to compensation. Avoid this by meeting with a St. Clair County, Illinois, Belleville truck accident lawyer immediately.
Pursuing compensation starts with filing a claim with the insurer of the party who injured you.
It’s not always immediately apparent who caused a wreck. Identifying the liable parties requires conducting a thorough investigation into the truck crash. Here are the possible liable parties:
About a third of those working in the trucking industry are self-employed, meaning that individual truckers may be liable when they cause wrecks. However, truckers are more often representatives of their employers, who assume liability for their employees. Thus, if a trucker causes a wreck, their employer may be liable. A trucking company might also be directly liable for its own negligence in hiring, training, and monitoring its truck drivers.
Truck wrecks may occur because of vehicle defects. When this happens, liable parties may include designers or manufacturers who put those unsafe products on the market.
Trucking companies may be liable if a wreck occurred due to its lack of proper commercial vehicle maintenance. However, the trucking company may rely on an outside company to maintain its fleet, in which case that company might be liable. Assigning liability in these circumstances can be complex without an understanding of the applicable legal processes.
Various government agencies have a responsibility to maintain safe roads in St. Clair County and the surrounding areas. Sometimes, crashes occur because they fail to do so. In rare cases, such government agencies may be liable.
You probably lack the resources and experience necessary to conduct such an investigation yourself. Fortunately, you don’t have to. Investigating a truck crash to identify the liable parties is one of many tasks a semi truck accident lawyer can handle on your behalf.
In some cases, the person injured in a truck accident is also partially responsible. For example, let’s say that Bill was driving a bit too fast when he was hit by a truck driver who failed to signal her intentions before merging into his lane. Bill is therefore at least partially at fault for the resulting accident.
Under these circumstances, Illinois follows a modified comparative negligence rule. This law means a defendant is not responsible for the portion of an accident that is not their fault. In the above example, the truck driver (or their employer) is only on the hook for the percentage of fault the court assigns them.
Here’s how the comparative negligence rule works in practice. A jury reviews the evidence presented at trial and finds that Bill was 20 percent at fault because he was speeding. The jurors assess the truck driver with the other 80 percent of fault, and also award Bill $500,000 in compensation. However, that award is reduced by 20 percent in accordance with Bill’s share of fault, leaving him with $400,000.
Additionally, Illinois law includes a 51 percent bar rule, meaning an accident victim who is 51 percent or more at fault for their injuries cannot recover compensation. So, if the shares of fault in the above example were reversed, Illinois state law would have prevented Bill from receiving compensation in his case.
Illinois’s comparative negligence law binds courts, not insurance companies. In other words, the rule only applies directly to cases that go to trial, rather than ones that end in out-of-court settlements. However, because insurance companies make their decisions based on what they think might happen in court, they will take the comparative negligence rule into account during settlement negotiations.
An insurer might also use the rule as an excuse to pay you less than what you might really be owed, arguing that you were partially to blame for the truck accident and that the share of fault it assesses you should be reflected in your payout. Don’t take a trucking carrier or insurance company at their word. Instead, consult an experienced truck accident lawyer for an honest assessment of your rights.
While comparative negligence comes into play under a wide range of circumstances, it is particularly common in scenarios like the following:
A skilled truck accident attorney can fight to maximize your compensation by minimizing your percentage of fault. They can do this by:
Truck accident cases can be complicated due to federal and state laws that regulate how commercial trucks must be operated, maintained, and monitored. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) sets nationwide standards, while Illinois enforces its own laws on state roads.
Understanding how these laws impact truck accident claims can be critical for proving negligence and maximizing compensation.
The FMCSA establishes a framework of safety laws that govern the trucking industry. These laws cover driver qualifications, vehicle maintenance, cargo loading, and recordkeeping. They aim to reduce accidents caused by driver fatigue, negligent company practices, overloaded vehicles, or poorly maintained vehicles.
In Illinois, state-specific trucking laws coincide with FMCSA regulations. That means a truck driver or company may be liable for an accident if violations of either Illinois law or FMCSA laws contributed to the crash.
Some of the most essential trucking rules to understand in truck accident cases include:
Don’t worry about the cost of hiring truck accident attorneys. Bartholomew, Shevlin & Flack, LLP, won’t charge upfront fees for our legal services.
Instead, our fee is a percentage of the compensation we recover for you. This arrangement ensures you don’t have to take an unreasonable financial risk when hiring us. You will only pay for our services if you receive payment yourself. Additionally, because our payment is a percentage of what you receive, we have a strong incentive to fight for as much compensation as we can.
Proving negligence in a truck accident can be complicated. Trucking companies and their insurers often argue that either the victim or unavoidable circumstances caused the crash. However, evidence of FMCSA or Illinois trucking law violations can strengthen your claim. Here are some examples:
Illinois courts often view these violations as strong evidence of negligence, which can strengthen your case. While investigating violations can complicate truck accident claims, a seasoned attorney can use their findings to your advantage.
Truck accident victims rarely have the knowledge or resources needed to uncover these violations on their own. A skilled attorney can help by:
Experienced Illinois truck accident lawyers may assist you by:
Don’t worry about the cost of hiring truck accident attorneys. Bartholomew, Shevlin & Flack, LLP, won’t charge upfront fees for our legal services.
Instead, our fee is a percentage of the compensation we recover for you. This arrangement ensures you don’t have to take an unreasonable financial risk when hiring us. You will only pay for our services if you receive payment yourself. Additionally, because our payment is a percentage of what you receive, we have a strong incentive to fight for as much compensation as we can.
Recovering after a truck accident can be a long and complex process. Fortunately, it’s not a process you have to complete on your own. A Belleville IL truck accident attorney with Bartholomew, Shevlin & Flack, LLP, can help. Contact our law firm today for a free consultation, and let us stand up for the justice and fair compensation you deserve.