Philadelphia Truck Accident Lawyer

Dealing with the aftermath of an accident with a truck in Philadelphia can be frustrating, stressful, and devastating. Faced with medical expenses, pain and suffering, and lost wages, the road to recovery may seem long and hard for both you and your family. You need an experienced Philadelphia truck accident lawyer to help you receive the maximum amount of accident compensation for your losses so you and your family can start the healing process.

Trucking accidents are usually more challenging to navigate on your own. Multiple parties may be responsible for your truck accident injuries, and the insurance company will try to prevent you from receiving a fair settlement offer. Our lawyers at Munley Law are here to help if you are involved in a commercial truck accident.

What a Philadelphia Truck Accident Lawyers Can Do For You

A truck accident lawyer in Philadelphia is a personal injury attorney who specializes in helping injury victims following truck collisions with a large truck, such as an 18-wheeler, tractor-trailer, or semi. Philadelphia lawyers have the experience and knowledge to obtain compensation for your injuries. They will handle all aspects of your injury cases while you focus on your recovery.

A Philadelphia truck accident attorney can help your case in the following ways:

• Identify liable parties: Truck accidents often involve several parties beyond the truck drivers, such as the trucking company, the cargo loader, or the maintenance provider. Using the information gathered after the truck accident, your accident lawyer will be able to determine who is responsible for your injuries.
• Collect evidence: Evidence after a truck accident can be challenging to collect. As soon as the truck accident occurs, the trucking company will have a response team at the scene within a few hours, and evidence can quickly disappear. Philadelphia lawyers will know what evidence is needed to build a substantial truck accident claim and how to collect that evidence. They will gather police reports, photos, witness statements, maintenance records, driver logs, and data from the event data recorder, better known as the black box.
• Consult with professionals: Experienced witnesses
• can play a vital part in your injury claim. They will analyze the cause of the accident and quantify your damages. Our lawyers will speak with reconstruction and medical professionals to understand what happened before and during the truck crash.
• Negotiate with the insurance companies: Truck accident claims can be more complex than any other motor vehicle accident because there may be more than one party involved. You will need your Philadelphia lawyers to speak with your insurance company and the negligent parties’ insurance companies, the driver’s employer, the vehicle owner, and the tractor-trailer owner.
• Appear in court: Negotiations can often fail, and your Philadelphia lawyer must prepare and file a truck accident lawsuit. You will need an experienced truck accident lawyer with a solid track record representing truck accident victims in court.

Damages Available in a Philly Truck Accident Claims

Due to the unique nature of every accident case, crashes with big trucks can be complicated. Like commercial vehicle accidents, many parties can be at fault in an accidents. You might be owed a range of damages depending on the circumstances of the accident.

Some truck accident cases are straightforward; others can be more complicated to win. Our experienced truck accident attorneys can help you get compensation. Damages owed to truck accident injury victims often include:

• Medical expenses such as doctor bills, surgeries, assisted medical devices, and lab results
• Loss of income, both present and future
• Lessened quality of life
• Pain and suffering
• Funeral costs for family and loved ones

In very rare cases, punitive damages may be awarded to accident victims. These damages punish the other party for reckless or negligent behavior.

It can be challenging to figure out how much you may receive following an accident with a truck. All truck crashes are different, so what one injury victim receives is not the same for another. However, during your first accident consultation, our Philadelphia lawyers will sit down with you and go through all your expenses following the accident. We can then come up with a rough estimate of how much your accident claim is worth.

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Liability in a Philadelphia Truck Accident Case

Although the fault may lie with the driver involved, many potential defendants may be in a truck accident case. For example, after a truck accident on I-95, it was discovered the driver had fallen asleep at the wheel. The driver admitted they had been on the road for 20 hours straight to meet the deadline. Suppose it’s determined that the truck company had forced the driver to ignore the Federal Motor Carrier Administration’s hours of service regulations. In that case, the company may be responsible for the truck accident.

Experienced Philadelphia lawyers may look at the following parties to hold them accountable for your injuries:

• The truck driver,
• Owner of the truck or tractor-trailer,
• The person or company that leased the semi-truck or tractor-trailer to the driver,
• Manufacturer of the vehicles, tires, or other parts that may have contributed to the cause or severity of the accident, and;
• Shipper or loader of the truck’s cargo (in cases involving improper loading).

Proving these accident cases can be difficult because trucking, hauling, and leasing companies will deny responsibility for most accidents. The insurance companies will try to pass the blame to avoid compensating the accident victim. To help you navigate building your personal injury case, you’ll need our experienced Philadelphia truck accident lawyers by your side

How Do Trucking Company Deny Fault for a Trucking Accidents in Philadelphia?

To avoid liability for accidents, some trucking companies attempt to distance themselves from the driver, the vehicle, and the equipment. For instance, the driver might get permits to operate the truck but then lease the equipment from the owner. The trucking company would then hire the drivers as independent contractors from the truck owner instead of hiring them as employees. If an accident occurred, the trucking company could claim that the driver was not an actual employee and that the company was not responsible for the accident. However, under current federal law, that practice is now illegal. Any company that owns a truck permit is responsible – regardless of whether the driver is an employee or an independent contractor.

Trucking companies can also be held responsible for negligence in a car accident with a truck (or any other kind of truck crash), including failure to:

• Maintain the truck and parts.
• Provide proper training to drivers.
• Hire safe drivers.
• Conduct background checks.
• Properly monitor driver safety.
• Check log books and require accurate entries.
• Enforce limited driving hours.

Our team of highly skilled Philadelphia truck accident lawyers focus on helping people who have been injured in accidents. Trucking companies might use tricky tactics to avoid paying you what you deserve, but we have much experience dealing with these situations. We will work hard to prepare your case and ensure you get the best possible outcome. You can trust us to do everything we can to get you the justice you deserve.

What Causes Large Trucking Accidents in Philadelphia?

Some of the most dangerous and congested highways in Pennsylvania, such as the Delaware Expressway (I-95), the Schuylkill (I-76), and the Blue Route (I-476), run right through the middle of Philadelphia. Large trucks barrel down these roads daily to reach the suburban areas surrounding Philly and hop the Northeast Extension or cross into New Jersey. According to a recent article from the Philadelphia Inquirer, truck drivers are constantly frustrated driving through Philly because of the high congestion level on our streets. And with frustration, traffic, and tight deadlines, truck accidents in Philadelphia are bound to occur.

When you get into an accident with a truck, finding the cause of the accident is essential to your case. Experienced Philadelphia truck accident lawyers can help you navigate the challenges of finding the cause of your accident. Common causes of trucking accidents include:

Ignoring the Hours of Service Regulations

If a driver is tired, it can result in reckless behavior. This includes failure to keep in the proper lane, failing to stop for traffic, or suddenly running off the road. Many equate drowsy driving to driving under the influence. In both instances, the reaction time is decreased, making it difficult to stop suddenly if an emergency arises.

In June 2020, the FMCSA instituted new provisions to the hours of service regulations to help curb truckers’ long hours and fatigue. Truck drivers must take a 30-minute break after 8 hours of driving time. In addition, drivers must spend at least 7 hours of their 10-hour off-duty requirement in the sleeper berth. Although these laws have helped reduce the number of accidents, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board still credits driver fatigue as a likely factor in 20 to 40 percent of truck crashes.

Intoxicated Truck Drivers

According to the latest accident statistics from PennDOT, the number of alcohol-related fatalities was 308, making up roughly 26% of total traffic fatalities in 2023.

Drinking and driving is illegal for everyone, especially for commercial truck drivers though. If a trucker is under the influence of either drugs or alcohol at the time of the accident, not only will they face criminal charges but risk losing their commercial driver’s license (CDL) as a direct result of the accident.

Driver Error

When semi-trucks travel at rates exceeding 55 mph, they are speeding, and the likelihood of a jackknife or rollover accident significantly increases. Other ways accidents happen due to driver error include maneuvers like wide turns, inability to stop after following too closely, cars in their blind spots, texting and driving, and more.

Substandard Inspection

Of more than 2 million roadside inspections, 23.2 percent of the trucks were found to have serious violations, according to FMCSA. Truck companies may try to save some money by not regularly servicing commercial trucks in their fleet. Therefore, defective and unsafe trucks continue to be a leading cause of truck and car accidents on the nation’s highways.

What Are Common Injuries Truck Accident Victims in Philadelphia Face?

When you are in an accident with a big rig, your accident injuries could be catastrophic due to the size and nature of a semi-truck accident and the impact. This means your injuries can range from minor injuries or spinal cord injuries to lifelong trauma that will impact you for the rest of your life. Philadelphia truck accident lawyers at Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys can help you navigate your accident case and recover from these with compensation from the parties at fault.

The accident injuries seen most often in a truck crash include:

• Internal injuries: These are dangerous because you often cannot see these injuries without medical intervention. It’s imperative, no matter how you are feeling, that you seek medical attention after a serious tractor-trailer accident. Internal injuries could take days, if not weeks, to appear, so the sooner you get checked out by a medical professional, the better.
• Back injuries: These are especially common in all kinds of car accidents. However, truck accidents come with extra force, making back injuries more serious.
• Paralysis: The sudden impact from an accident, which again is a more significant impact, can cause permanent accident injuries like paralysis.
• Wrongful death: An accident is severe and can lead to fatalities. These fatalities more often occur in the driver of the passenger vehicle, not the truck driver. Ensuring the family is taken care of when someone passes is critically essential.

Contact our truck accident attorneys in Philadelphia now.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Philadelphia Truck Accidents

Is the Truck Company Liable If a Speeding Truck Driver Injured Me?

Potentially, yes. If the driver who hit you was employed by one of the trucking companies, then the trucking company could be liable for your accident injuries. This is true for commercial drivers, not only for speeding but also for other common driving mistakes that lead to an accident, such as:

• Braking too suddenly or too late
• Failing to maintain control
• Falling asleep behind the wheel
• Following too closely
• Merging without looking
• Talking or texting behind the wheel

What Are Some Other Common Factors in Commercial Truck Accidents?

Along with truck driver negligence, there are several other common factors in commercial trucking accidents. Many of these have to do with maintenance and loading issues, including:

• Brake, engine, and transmission failures
• Failure to conduct routine maintenance
• Faulty brake jobs and other negligent repairs
• Unpressurized liquid cargo
• Unsecured and unbalanced cargo loads

How Can I Prove That the Truck Driver’s Negligence Caused My Accident?

In a trucking accident case, the following conditions need to be met to prove who is at fault for the accident:

• The truck driver or trucking company is responsible for keeping you safe from harm.
• The at-fault parties failed to keep you safe, causing a truck accident.
• The truck crash resulted in an injury.
• The injured party now has expenses, such as medical bills or lost wages, because of the accident.

Our Philadelphia tractor trailer accident lawyers have years of experience gathering necessary evidence and building strong cases.

How Much Does Hiring a Truck Accident Attorney in Philadelphia Cost?

Our accident attorneys work on a contingency fee basis. You do not have to pay a fee once you hire our personal injury law firm. Once your trucking accident case is settled or a verdict is reached, we will take a percentage of your recovery for our fee. This arrangement gives the injured victim a chance to recover from the truck accident while still having the opportunity to receive exceptional legal representation for their truck accident claim.

Is There a Statute of Limitations on Truck Accidents in Philadelphia?

Yes. Like the rest of Pennsylvania, a two-year limit exists for filing a personal injury claim. If you fail to file the claim during the period, you may be unable to collect compensation for your injuries. That’s why speaking with our experienced truck accident lawyer today is essential to start the claim process immediately.

Hire a Philadelphia Truck Accident Lawyer From Munley Law Today

There are no easy answers to providing a productive and safe environment for everyone who shares the road. But the decision to hire a Philadelphia semi truck accident attorneys to represent you should be an easy one. You need the experienced truck accident attorney of Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys to protect your rights. Trucking companies, big and small, will have their investigators and attorneys fighting for them. So make sure you have someone fighting for you.

All trucking accident cases begin with a free consultation with truck wreck attorneys; you do not pay anything unless we win. 

Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys

1617 John F Kennedy Blvd
Suite 1690,
Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 515-7747