Wilkes-Barre Truck Accident Lawyer

Personal Injury Lawyers / Wilkes-Barre Personal Injury Lawyer / Wilkes-Barre Truck Accident Lawyer

Hurt in a truck crash in Wilkes-Barre?
Call Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys Now.

A truck accident can result in catastrophic injuries, resulting in expensive medical bills, lost time at work, and extensive property damage. You may be dealing with the repercussions of the crash for the rest of your life and you need to be properly compensated for your injuries. What you need is a Wilkes Barre truck accident lawyer with extensive experience with this specific type of case.

For more than 60 years, truck accident victims and their families in Wilkes-Barre have turned to Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys for help. Our personal injury law firm is unique because we developed a special focus on commercial truck crash cases. Other lawyers around the United States frequently look to our injury lawyers as the industry experts in this practice area.

Contact the truck accident lawyers at Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys for a FREE consultation. Chat live, fill out our contact form, or call us today.

How Can a Trucking Accident Attorney Help Injury Victims?

Truck accident deaths are, sadly, not uncommon. According to the most recent data from the Institute for Safer Trucking, 4,965 people had died in large truck crashes and over 100,000 people suffered an injury in the United States. Of those who had died in large truck crashes, 68 percent were occupants of cars or other passenger vehicles. The number of people who had died in big rig crashes is 31% higher than it was 10 years ago.

Anyone who has been on the roads in Wilkes-Barre, Kingston, Pittston, and the surrounding areas knows all about large commercial trucks. Thanks to the heavy traffic on Interstates 81, 80, the Turnpike, and Route 309, truck accidents occur regularly in our region. When these accidents occur, the results are often devastating. Due to the massive size of an 18 wheeler, even a “minor” crash can cause major damage.

An injury can take months or even years to recover from. While you’re recovering, the trucking company is gathering evidence to protect itself and its employee from any claims that you submit. The truck company has already built a case to prove that you were responsible or partially responsible for the crash. The quicker you obtain an attorney with experience in trucking accidents, the better.

A truck crash attorney from Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys can start the investigation right away. Our team will go straight to the accident scene to collect valuable evidence. We work with investigators and expert witnesses to preserve evidence, obtain records, and identify any regulatory violations that contributed to your accident.

As the victim, you may be able to pursue legal action for your suffering and financial losses. Unfortunately, without the right Wilkes-Barre truck accident attorney by your side, you’re unlikely to get the full amount of compensation that you deserve.

Why Hiring an Experienced Law Firm Matters

Trucking cases present unique challenges. They often involve multiple responsible parties and require swift and thorough investigation. The trucking company will dispatch its team of lawyers and investigators to the scene immediately after the crash to collect evidence to show that you are the one responsible, not their driver. You need someone on your side to do the same.

An experienced Wilkes-Barre truck accident attorney familiar with both state and federal trucking laws, CDL (commercial driver’s license) rules, and commercial truck insurance company tactics can help you recover compensation for your medical bills, rehabilitation, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages. Our lawyers will handle everything so you can focus on healing.

What Compensation Can I Receive?

The compensation you can receive following a truck accident falls into two categories: economic and non-economic damages.

Economic damages will compensate you for any financial losses you may have incurred. This includes current and future medical expenses; lost wages; loss of earning capacity; and property damages. If you lost a loved one, you may also receive compensation for funeral expenses.

Non-economic damages provide compensation for any non-financial losses. These types of losses are subjective and can include: pain and suffering; mental anguish; loss of consortium; and loss of enjoyment in life.

In rare cases, punitive damages may be available to the injury victim. Punitive damages are awarded when the defendant’s actions are deemed malicious or reckless. It is used as a punishment to deter this behavior from occurring again in the future.

How is a Truck Accident Different From a Car Accident?

Besides the fact that a truck can outweigh an average passenger vehicle by more than 25 times, there are multiple differences between getting into an accident with another car and getting into an accident with a tractor trailer.

More Parties Can Be Held Liable

In a car crash in Wilkes-Barre, chances are there are only two parties involved – you and the other driver. But this is rarely the case in a trucking accident. Not only can the truck driver be held responsible but also:

• The trucking company that employed the driver and may own the truck
• The truck manufacturer for any faulty parts or mechanical failure
• Third-party brokers that had connected the driver and their trucks to haul their cargo

Truck Drivers Follow Stricter Regulations
There are specific federal regulations that truckers need to follow. These regulations include how long they are allowed on the road. But unfortunately, many trucking companies push drivers to beat their deadlines so the next delivery can be taken care of. This causes truck drivers to drive for longer periods of time, ignoring the rules that were put in place to protect us from harm.

The Insurance Policy is Larger
Commercial trucks have insurance policies that are often 50 times larger than an average car insurance policy. With a multi-million dollar policy at stake, insurance carriers will do whatever they can to prevent paying out the claim after a truck accident. Tactics include offering a settlement that is way below how much your claim is truly worth.

The Type of Injury is Catastrophic
The bigger the vehicle, the more likely the injuries you’ve sustained will be life-threatening. Chances are you will be facing years of medical treatments including surgeries, physical therapy, rehabilitation, and long-term care. You will need compensation to pay for these bills and continue with your life.

How Much Does It Cost to Hire an Attorney?

At Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys, we believe that cost should never stand in the way of justice. Therefore, we do not charge a fee for our services until the case has been settled or reached a verdict. As our client, you will not pay any upfront or out-of-pocket fees until your truck accident lawyer has finished the investigation and reached a settlement. Once the accident case has been resolved, we will take a small percentage of your reward. If we are unsuccessful, then you do not owe us a fee.

What Should You Do Following a Trucking Accident to Protect Your Claim?

The first step is to make sure everyone is ok. Call 911 right away and get to safety, if you can.

Next, start gathering evidence. That means:

• Gather contact information from any witnesses
• Take photos and video of the scene and of your vehicle
• Get the truck driver’s contact information and the name of his employer

When emergency services arrive, give a brief state to the police. Stick with the facts and do not offer an opinion on what happened. Do not admit fault.

Then, go to the hospital to get checked, even if you don’t think you’re injured. Many times injuries do not show up until hours or even days after the accident.

Your last step is to contact our Wilkes-Barre truck accident law firm right away to begin the claims process.

How is Negligence Established in Truck Accidents?

In order to establish negligence, the following elements must be met:

• Duty of Care: The truck driver had a duty to keep the other drivers on the road safe from harm. A trucker who is following the FMCA regulations and taking rest breaks is following the duty of care.
• Breach of Duty: The truck driver was negligent, causing a breach in their duty of care. A driver who had been drinking, for example, gets behind the wheel to drop off their cargo.
• Causation: Due to the trucker’s negligent actions, an injury occurred. Using the scenario above, an accident occurs after the truck driver falls asleep. The other driver is diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury.
• Damages: The injury resulted in damages for the victim. The injured driver in the above scenario is now facing long-term financial debt as they cannot return to work because of the injury.

Trying to establish negligence cannot be done on your own. What you need is an experienced truck accident attorney in Wilkes-Barre to guide you through the process and make sure you get the compensation that you deserve.

Why Choose Munley Law?

Truck accidents in PA can be extremely complex. It takes tons of resources and knowledge to try these cases. Not only does a truck accident lawyer need to have the resources available to handle large trucking cases, but they need to have the experience. Although the Wyoming Valley is home to some of the busiest highways in Pennsylvania, not many attorneys in Luzerne County have experience dealing with these types of cases.

Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys has and will continue to take on these big trucking companies when their drivers injure other truckers and motorists. When it comes to trucking accidents in Wilkes-Barre, our law firm stands apart from other personal injury lawyers:

• Experience – We have more than 60 years of experience in truck injury cases. Our law firm started representing injured victims in truck accident cases and working against trucking companies decades ago, and we have gone up against the major trucking companies and their lawyers.  When it comes to truck crash cases, experience counts.
• Credentials – We are continually selected as the Best Lawyers in America, Super Lawyers, and have top-tier rankings nationally. Our attorneys are routinely asked to speak at trucking law seminars and we are the only firm in the country to have two of our lawyers lead the American Association for Justice’s prestigious Trucking Litigation group.
• Results – We have some of the largest settlements and verdicts in the country for truck wreck cases. We will fight for the maximum settlement, and go to trial for you if necessary.
• Resources – Our team utilizes the latest technology in preparing your case and in the courtroom. We work with leading industry investigators and engineers in order to put forth a winning case for you.

Our semi-truck accident attorneys understand that after such a catastrophic accident, you need the time to heal and not worry about what comes next. If you have severe injuries from a truck wreck, Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys will send our Luzerne County truck accident lawyer to speak with you about your accident – whether it’s at our Plains office off of Route 315, to Gesigner Wyoming Valley where your loved one may be recuperating, or even come to your home anywhere in the Wyoming Valley. Our top priority is to help and protect our clients. We will be tough fighters on your behalf.

Although our truck accident law firm is local, our reputation is national. Our record of success speaks for itself. If you think you may have a case, or if you have questions about an accident, call our Wilkes-Barre truck accident lawyers today for a FREE case evaluation.

Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys

1170 PA-315
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702
(570) 399-0406