East St. Louis Truck Accidents

East St. Louis Lawyers for Truck Accident Victims

East St. Louis is a Rust Belt city in Illinois across the Mississippi River from the Gateway Arch. As of 2020, it had a population of 18,469—nearly 70% of its earlier population was lost between 1960-1970. The city is served by the I-55, I-64, I-70, and U.S. Route 40. I-55 enters the state in East St. Louis. The median household income in the city is $21,324, and around 31.8-35.1% of the population live below the poverty line. If you were injured in a truck crash, you should call the trustworthy East St. Louis truck accident attorneys of Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca to determine whether you have a claim. Our firm has more than 60 years of experience representing clients who have been injured that we can put to work for you in a personal injury lawsuit or SSDI or workers’ compensation claim.

Truck Accidents in East St. Louis

Due to the weight and size of commercial trucks, accidents in which they’re involved tend to be devastating. Injuries may be catastrophic, meaning that they cause permanent changes to an accident victim’s life; catastrophic injuries include amputations, paralysis, traumatic brain injuries, multiple fractures, internal organ damage, and crushing injuries. Some truck accidents result in fatalities.

When a truck accident is caused by a careless or reckless truck driver, the losses may be tremendous. You can recover a measure of those losses by bringing a lawsuit for damages. In most cases, our East St. Louis attorneys must pursue damages under a theory of negligence. This means we need to show that the truck driver owed you a duty to use reasonable care, the truck driver failed to abide by that duty, the failure to abide by the duty caused injuries, and you suffered actual damages.

A truck driver may be found negligent if he was speeding, tailgating, driving under the influence, driving while distracted, driving while fatigued or violated the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR), thereby causing your injuries. For example, if a truck driver failed to follow the hours of service rules specified in the FMCSR, and while fatigued rolled through a red light and T-boned your car, our lawyers could likely establish negligence.

Often a truck driver will raise a plaintiff’s comparative negligence as part of his defense. In Illinois, when comparative negligence is raised, the jury will assess the total damages, but also determine each party’s percentage of fault for the accident. A plaintiff’s damages will be reduced by an amount proportionate to his or her degree of fault.

Liability of Other Parties

Often truck accidents have multiple victims, all of whom are making claims against the truck driver’s insurance policy. It’s imperative to retain lawyers who fully investigate the causes of a truck accident, and who can bring in all parties responsible for the crash to bear their fair share of responsibility. In some cases, the truck driver is solely responsible, but often another party is also partly responsible. Potentially responsible parties include a trucking company, a third party loading company, a mechanic, the truck manufacturer, and other drivers.

Compensatory and Punitive Damages

When our lawyers are able to establish a defendant’s liability, we can recover compensatory damages. These are damages meant to put you back in the position you would have been in if you hadn’t been injured in the accident. They can include medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, mental distress, These damages may be recovered when liability is established in a wrongful death lawsuit, too.

Punitive damages may be appropriate when a defendant’s conduct is truly egregious. For example, if a defendant intentionally falsified logbooks to make it look like he complied with truck regulations when he was driving longer than is permissible, we may seek punitive damages.

Consult an East St. Louis Lawyer About Truck Accident Injuries

If you were injured or a loved one died as a result of a crash or collision, you need skillful legal representation. Call the experienced East St. Louis truck accident lawyers of Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca at 312-724-5846 or complete our online form for a free consultation.