Champaign Truck Accidents

Champaign Attorneys for Truck Accidents

With a population of 88,302 during the 2020 census, Champaign is the 10th most populous municipality in Illinois. The city is widely known as the home of the University of Illinois. However, it is also a hub for many different major companies, some of which engage the service of trucking companies in order to deliver goods. Major companies include the university, Target, State Farm, Amazon, I-57, I-74 and I-72 serve the city. If you were injured in a truck crash, call the seasoned Champaign truck accident attorneys of Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca.

Recover Damages After a Truck Accident

As a driver, you face the constant risk of being involved in a collision with a larger, heavier commercial vehicle like a truck, semi-truck, tractor-trailer or 18 wheeler. You can sue any responsible party for the losses you suffer due to their negligence or misconduct. In many cases, there are several victims, all claiming against the truck driver’s insurance policy. It is important to choose a lawyer to represent you who carefully examines the situation to determine liability. When a case is complex or involves multiple vehicles, we may need to retain an accident reconstruction specialist to determine which parties were at fault for the accident and the extent of their liability.

Proving Liability

In most cases, our lawyers need to establish the negligence of the truck driver and other parties to recover damages on behalf of our clients. This means we’ll need to demonstrate that the defendant truck driver owed you a duty of reasonable care, breached this duty, and thereby caused your injuries and damages.

Parties other than a truck driver who may be responsible for damages under various legal theories include:

• the trucking company,
• third party loader,
• mechanic,
• other drivers,
• and the truck manufacturer.

If, for example, there was a defect in the brakes, such that the truck driver lost control of the vehicle and hit other vehicles, it would probably be appropriate to sue the manufacturer in a product liability lawsuit. Similarly, if we discovered that the third party loading company was responsible for the weight in the truck being unevenly distributed and this was a factor in the accident, it would be appropriate for us to bring the loading company into the lawsuit as a defendant to shoulder some of the damages.

Comparative Negligence

It’s not uncommon for trucking defendants to argue that an accident victim with the least amount of power in the situation was comparatively negligent and therefore is not entitled to the full spectrum of his or her damages. Under the doctrine of comparative negligence, your damages can be reduced by an amount equal to your degree of fault, and you are barred from recovering anything if the jury finds you are 50% or more at fault for the accident. For example, if your damages amount to $500,000, but you are found 51% at fault for the accident, you could be prevented from recovering any damages. If, on the other hand, the jury found you 25% at fault, you could recover $375,000 from defendants found to be at fault.

Our lawyers can work with you to make sure your case is taken seriously by the defendant’s insurers and attorneys. You should not talk to the other party’s insurer before giving an attorney a call; sometimes insurers try to obtain admissions from accident victims and use those admissions to damage their case.

Call Seasoned Champaign Trial Lawyers

Truck accident lawsuits can be difficult due to the many federal regulations that govern the trucking industry and the powerful insurance companies and lawyers hired by large trucking companies. It is important to hire a lawyer who understands and has the resources to go toe-to-toe with these companies. After getting injured in a truck accident, be sure to preserve anything that could be evidence: documentation, debris, and photographs of the accident. Call the effective lawyers of Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca as soon as possible for a free consultation at 312-724-5846 or contact us via our online form. We fight for best results for our clients, using insights gained over more than 60 years of experience advocating for accident victims. We also handle SSDI and disability claims.