Winnebago County Lawyer for Truck Crash Victims

Winnebago County is the seventh most populated county in Illinois. Covering 519 square miles, it is at the center of the Rockford Metropolitan Statistical Area. Major highways in the county include I-39, I-90, U.S. Highway 20, U.S. Highway 51, Illinois Route 2, Illinois Route 70, Illinois Route 75, Illinois Route 173, and Illinois Route 251. If you were involved in a truck accident and injured, or a loved one was killed in a crash, you should call a team of seasoned Winnebago County truck accident attorneys. At Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca, we have more than 60 years of experience representing accident victims and fighting for them to receive fair compensation.

Recovering Damages for a Truck Accident

Drivers of semi-trucks and other large trucks often haul thousands of pounds of cargo over long distances. Operating a commercial truck is physically strenuous work. Sometimes drivers experience mechanical failures that need to be addressed. But at all times, there are numerous rules they have to follow, not only the usual traffic rules, such as the requirement that they follow traffic signs and signals and obey the speed limit, but also regulations promulgated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). These are regulations that apply to interstate truck drivers and trucking companies in interstate commerce. They were adopted by the state of Illinois and so apply to all truck drivers in Winnebago County and around the state.

Common causes of truck crashes have included the truck driver veering out of the lane they were in or off the road, the truck driver traveling too fast for road and weather conditions, shifting cargo, and following too closely, such that the result was a rear-ending. In order to hold a truck driver responsible for a crash, we’ll need to prove: (1) the truck driver owed a duty to use reasonable care, (2) departure from the duty to use reasonable care, (3) actual and proximate causation, and (4) actual damages. In some cases, the departure from the duty to use reasonable care involves a violation of traffic rules and regulations, such as when a truck driver speeds, weaves, tailgates other vehicles, fails to stop at stop signs or stop lights, fails to yield, or operates the truck while distracted.

However, here are also cases in which a truck driver departs from the duty to use reasonable care by violating FMCSA regulations. For example, if a truck driver fails to inspect the cargo before heading out onto I-251, and as a result doesn’t notice that cargo has dangerously shifted and the truck crashes, the driver could be found negligent. For another example, if a truck driver speeds on U.S. Highway 20, and rear-ends your car causing a chain reaction accident involving multiple cars and many injuries, it’s likely the jury would find a breach of the duty to use reasonable care.

Attorneys to Prove Liability in a Truck Collision Case

After a truck crash, it is vital to retain a lawyer who has experience in these complex lawsuits and understands which accident reconstruction experts are credible when they provide testimony. We may need to investigate the causes of a truck accident extensively. Besides the truck driver, we will look into whether the trucking company, truck manufacturer, road owner, mechanic, third party loading company or another driver contributed to causing the truck accident.

Often trucks contain a black box that records a wide range of data about how the truck was operated, such as the speed at which it was going at the time of the accident, and how long it was operated. In some cases, black box evidence can be used to discredit a truck driver’s false account of how events unfolded before the accident.

Consult a Winnebago County Truck Accident Lawyer

You shouldn’t have to go through the aftermath of a truck accident alone. Often insurers for the truck driver, the trucking company, and other potential parties have significantly more resources than accident victims, and you deserve an equally skillful legal team on your side. If you were injured in a crash, call the experienced Winnebago County truck accident attorneys of Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca to figure out your legal options. Call us at 312-724-5846 or fill out our online form.