Do not try to negotiate with the company on your own! Trucking companies are ruthless when it comes to tricking victims into ruining their own case. They will try and minimize your claims, distort the facts, and will outright lie to your face. Never accept their terms, and do not bargain! You are only serving to diminish the value of your case by speaking with them.

• Speeding: When a truck driver speeds in order to meet a deadline, he or she is acting recklessly. Attempting to move an ~80,000 pound road monster faster then the speed limit is never a good idea. It is very hard to stop when you have that much weight and mass behind you.

• Heavy Payloads: When a trucker is carrying an unusually heavy load, then it is that much harder to stop the vehicle. Heavy loads can also compromise the balance of the truck. Furthermore, when the loaded-down truck does hit another car, the damage is far more severe.

• Lack of Maintenance: Maintaining a heavy truck is a necessity if one hopes to avoid mechanical failure. If a truck is not properly maintained, even the safest driver in the world is at a much greater risk of causing an accident. All it takes for one horrific accident to happen is for a single element (such as the brakes or the suspension system) to fail.

• Lack of Sleep: Truckers are only human, and when they are overworked or sleep-deprived they make mistakes. It’s important to realize that many experienced truckers are paid for each mile they travel, thus they want to push their bodies to the limit to earn a better paycheck. When they sleep, they lose out. Therefore, many truck drivers actually push themselves too far and end up falling asleep on the job (very dangerous when driving a 40-ton vehicle)! The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) already allows truckers to drive as much as 11 hours at a time, and some truckers are now lying about their schedules and falsifying hours-of-service records in order to appease their bosses or increase their pay.

• Highway Hypnosis: This condition refers to a sort of trance-like state that occurs after a driver goes thousands of miles watching the same monotonous road scenery. Eventually a driver can zone out and fail to register minor visual details that defensive drivers must catch to avoid a collision.

• Blind Spots: One of the first thing new drivers learn when taking a driving test is to avoid the truck driver’s blind spot. Most mirror systems on trucks do not allow the trucker a full view of the area behind them. Loud engine noise also tends to drown out any honks from concerned motorists. This makes it very easy for them to accidentally sideswipe another motorist.

• Carelessness or Recklessness: Last, but not least, some truckers just have a negligent attitude and think that every other motorist should yield to them because of their massive size. Not everyone can — and the results can be deadly.

Semi-trailer or 18-wheeler accidents cause serious injuries due to the simple fact that trucks are much more massive than the other vehicles on the road. This, combined with a greater stopping distance, causes much greater force upon impact. The typical injuries we see include broken bones, spinal cord injuries including paralysis, brain damage, and oftentimes-wrongful death.

Our team of experienced attorneys will work to win monetary compensation for your past, present, and future physical injuries that come from truck accidents. If you’ve been hit and injured by an eighteen-wheeler and you’re wondering- “What do you do now?” you’ve got rights and we’ve got answers- that pay.

You’re entitled to monetary compensation for the following:

• Medical expenses
• Pain and suffering
• Property damages
• Lost wages

In the disastrous event a family member loses their life, the remaining relatives can sue through a wrongful death lawsuit for medical expenses, lost wages, funeral costs, etc.