Erie
Truck Accident Lawyer

On This Page

1. What Our Truck Accident Lawyers Can Do for You
2. Our Truck Collision Attorneys Apply 40+ Years of Experience
3. Types of Damages You Can Recover After an Accident With a Truck
4. Truck Accident Causes That Allow You to Pursue Damages
5. Laws That Could Impact Your Truck Accident Lawsuit
6. Let an Erie Truck Accident Attorney Help With Your Next Steps

REVIEWED BY

C. William Kenny

August 08, 2022

Board certified by National Board of Trial Advocacy

It can happen in an instant—your life is going along as usual, and then suddenly, a truck accident turns your life upside down. Regardless of whether the crash was big or small, figuring out your next steps can feel overwhelming.

Berger and Green is here to help. If you were involved in a truck accident, you can get a free, no-risk evaluation of your case. Afterward, our truck accident lawyers can manage your case for you and pursue the compensation you deserve.

What Our Truck Accident Lawyers Can Do for You

In an accident involving two cars, the drivers are typically both the owners of the vehicles and the insurance policyholders. This is not the case with some commercial trucking accidents. When a truck collision occurs, many parties can come into play.

Some of the potential parties we can hold liable in your trucking accident include:

• Drivers
• Truck owners
• Cargo owners
• Truck maintainers
• Manufacturers

Your case can involve multiple parties who are liable. An early role we can play in your case is identifying each possible negligent party and then building a case to hold them accountable.

Legal action against a trucking company is often complex because the insurance company has a lot to lose if they are found liable for the truck crash. Likewise, multi-party accident cases can sometimes require untangling if the parties attempt to blame each other. For instance, the cargo owner might blame the trucking company and vice versa.

We can take these burdens off your shoulders, allowing you to focus on the process of healing. Our Erie personal injury attorneys do that by:

• Investigating and gathering evidence in your case, including medical records, eyewitness statements, and police reports
• Cataloging your losses to determine what your damages are worth
• Reviewing insurance policies that could provide additional injury compensation
• Negotiating with insurance companies on your behalf
• Pursuing legal action at trial if we are unable to reach an agreeable settlement
• Providing you with support from beginning to end

How Our Legal Services Help You

In addition to relieving legal and some financial burdens, we can assist you by gathering and corroborating evidence for your case. This can then bolster our argument for damages, making it much more convincing to an insurer, jury, or a judge and helping us acquire your due compensation.

Assessing your damages thoroughly and adequately can also help us obtain fair compensation. Lawyers are sometimes aware of lesser-known expenses that are eligible for inclusion in negotiations. Additionally, having a thorough accounting of your losses can prevent the insurer or even a judge from devaluing your damages, which would diminish your compensation.

You could attempt to gather evidence and assess your damages on your own, but you may find it difficult to interview witnesses and experts, interpret medical reports, and determine the value of intangible damages, like pain and suffering. Leave it all to our truck accident lawyers. Not only can we provide those legal services, but we can also explain everything in easy-to-understand terms. 

Our Truck Collision Attorneys Apply 40+ Years of Experience

Our personal injury firm has over four decades of experience with truck accidents and other personal injury cases. We apply that experience to our handling of your case, from dealing with a difficult insurance company and opposing lawyers to keeping track of paperwork and deadlines. Even if your case involves the loss of a family member, we can help.

Our accident lawyers have helped tens of thousands of people over the years, and we are committed to each of our clients. This commitment means we fight hard for a fair outcome, even if it means fighting for a client in court. You can expect your lawyer to fight hard in your case, too.

Plus, We Work for You on a Contingency Basis

We offer our services on a contingency basis, meaning we do not charge for our legal services unless we are successful with your case. This makes hiring an attorney very affordable, so don’t worry about paying any upfront costs or hidden fees. We can tell you more about how the contingency arrangement works during a free consultation.

Types of Damages You Can Recover After an Accident With a Truck

You could qualify to receive several types of damages as a result of your truck accident. They include:

• Medical bills, such as hospital stays, ambulance rides, medicine, surgeries, rehabilitation, mental health support, and out-of-pocket expenses
• The cost of medical equipment you need to recover from your injuries
• Changes to your home or car to accommodate wheelchairs or other mobility aids
• Property damage from the accident
• Lost income, including salaries, wages, or gigs
• Future loss of income if you are unable to return to work
• Lost benefits and opportunities from time away from work
• Pain and suffering, emotional distress, and reduced quality of life

In some cases, the court awards punitive damages if the defendant behaved with gross negligence. This is intended as a punishment to discourage negligent behavior from the defendant and other parties in the future.

If you were injured in a trucking accident due to someone’s negligence, taking stock of these losses can feel overwhelming, especially while you’re still in the midst of recovery. When you’re physically injured and emotionally traumatized, you don’t have the energy to figure out what compensation you deserve. Our law firm can handle cataloging all the expenses and personal losses associated with your crash. 

Wrongful Death Damages After a Truck Accident

The significant difference in size between trucks and passenger vehicles makes truck collisions more likely to cause serious injury or even death. Indeed, most fatalities in crashes involving heavy trucks are passenger vehicle occupants, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). 

A deadly accident can devastate a family. If your loved one suffered a fatal collision, you might have damages you cannot comprehend or calculate.

An Erie fatal truck accident attorney from our firm can help you determine these damages and then attribute monetary values to them. Your family’s damages may include the following:

• Mental anguish
• Pain and suffering
• A reduced income
• Funeral costs and related expenses
• Your loss of spousal support
• Your children’s loss of parental support

Truck Accident Causes That Allow You to Pursue Damages

The trucking industry is integral to the transportation of goods in the United States. A single truck driver can travel thousands of miles per year. With so much time behind the wheel, though, there is an increased likelihood of human error and negligence.

Here are the common causes of trucking accidents:

• Driver fatigue: Many drivers are faced with heavy, unrealistic schedules, which can cause them to drive beyond the time the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) allows without adequate rest.
• Drugs and alcohol: Driving under the influence of alcohol or a drug can slow reaction speed and impair the driver in other ways.
• Distracted driving: Most often associated with cell phone use, distraction can also involve eating, grooming, operating the radio, or consulting a GPS, which can take a truck driver’s eyes off the road long enough to cause a crash.
• Inadequate training: Training regulations are required, but unfortunately, some drivers get on the road before they are ready.
• Driver error: Truckers are responsible for such heavy machinery and loads, a mistake can happen at any time, especially if a trucker is tired or distracted.
• Defective equipment: If a part of the truck has been manufactured or installed improperly, the truck can malfunction and cause an accident.
• Improper maintenance: Maintenance is essential in keeping the truck running efficiently and accurately. Improper maintenance can lead to an accident.
• Improperly weighted or secured loads: The load a truck carries comes in all shapes and sizes. A shift in the cargo or the cargo being too heavy could cause the truck to drive abnormally.

Other Roadway Negligence

In addition to the above behaviors, truck drivers are sometimes guilty of the same roadway behaviors that can cause accidents with passenger vehicles, like speeding or tailgating. However, these behaviors can prove more dangerous with a large commercial vehicle, since trucks need more time and space to stop than other vehicles.

If you were injured in a truck accident, drivers are held to the standard of care as outlined in as outlined by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). This standard is often higher than the standard the operator of a regular passenger vehicle would be held.  

Laws That Could Impact Your Truck Accident Lawsuit

Pa. C.S.A. § 5524 imposes a statute of limitations on automobile accident lawsuits, whether a truck was involved or not. The deadline is typically two years from the date of the accident. If you do not file your lawsuit within two years of the incident, you will most likely lose the right to pursue damages.

Exceptions in Fatal Accidents

If you lost someone to a fatal motor vehicle accident, two claims potentially arise—a wrongful death claim and a survival action.

• A wrongful death claim is a claim brought on behalf of the deceased’s family for losses associated with the death of a loved one. This includes the funeral, burial and cremation, and loss of guidance or support.
• A survival action is for the deceased’s damages. This includes any remaining medical bills as well as acknowledgment of the suffering a loved one went through in the accident and until their death.

Because a wrongful death claim is for expenses associated with a loved one’s death, the statute of limitations begins to run at the time of the death. For any survival action, the statute of limitations begins to run at the time of the accident as that is when the decedent’s injury began to occur.

Other Circumstances Can Affect Your Case

Pennsylvania’s fault laws can impact your legal action, with some circumstances limiting who can pursue damages depending on their role in the accident.

Cases involving minors can also affect the deadline for filing a lawsuit.

Do not leave your case up to chance. Get information now about how long you have to file, any laws that could affect your case, and what types of claims and suits you can pursue.

Let an Erie Truck Accident Attorney Help With Your Next Steps

Contact our legal team at Berger and Green. After your free consultation and evaluation with a member of our team, your Erie truck accident lawyer can start working on your case, aiming for maximum compensation.

 During your consultation, we will review your case with you and advise you on how to proceed. Contact us today and put our 40+ years of experience to work for your truck accident case.