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Trucking and tractor-trailer crashes are on the rise in the Garden State, as the experienced Hackensack truck accident lawyers at O’Cathain Law Group Personal Injury Law Department are familiar with. In 2022, New Jersey had its highest traffic deaths in 15 years. All those trucks driving on our interstate highways like the Turnpike, Route 80, Route 280, Route 78, Route 278, and Route 287. So many of those drivers are exhausted, and then they drive into our crowded roads at a high speed.
If you, a family member, or a close friend were injured in an accident in which a truck or tractor trailer caused a crash and caused severe injury or a fatality, a seasoned personal injury attorney is a must-have. Those trucks have large commercial insurance companies that have their people on hand from the moment they know about the crash who are working to deny you full and fair compensation.
You must have an attorney who has litigated these cases and the results to show it. Donny O’Cathain heads the OLG Personal Injury Law Department, and his results speak for themself– you can see them on our Verdicts & Settlements page.
For fractures or life-threatening injuries, the victims are usually transported by ambulance to a hospital with a trauma center. Other crash victims usually go home to see if they will feel better. Some crash victims don’t feel pain at the time of impact but start to feel strains in their spine or other body parts over the next few days.
For those crash victims in the hospital, your treatment will be decided by the doctors there. However, you will need help after discharge with who to follow up with and how to pay for it. A certified civil trial lawyer such as Donny will be able to help with that, and he’ll be assisted by your new dedicated personal injury law team, which includes paralegals who speak both English and Spanish.
For crash victims who went home after the crash and who have pain that doesn’t go away, it is a good idea to contact a Hackensack truck accident attorney who can help set you up with doctors who have experience treating truck crash injuries. Those injuries often involve post-concussion syndrome, damage to the discs in the neck and back, or tears to the shoulder and knees. It is important to get to doctors who have experience treating those injuries and have an office that can deal with getting paid from the insurance in truck crash cases.
If the crash happened on an interstate highway, the New Jersey State Police probably made the police report. You can access the report here: https://www.njportal.com/NJSP/CrashReports/Search/SelectReportsRequest.
The report will help you and your lawyer identify the truck driver, the truck owner, the truck driver’s employer, and the truck’s insurance. These are all issues that your truck accident lawyer in Hackensack needs to know to start the investigation. You also want to tell your lawyer about any other witnesses or anything else that can help explain the crash e.g., videos and photos. This will help your lawyer maximize your recovery.
However, if you need assistance with the police report, your dedicated personal injury law paralegal can also get it for you.
Several roadway actions by motorists and weather events can lead to wrecks involving commercial truck drivers. These include:
This mostly happens because truckers adjust GPS devices, text while driving, eat while operating their large rigs, or attempt to pick up something from the floor while driving. Also, animated conversations in the truck cab or looking for the next exit can divert their attention from the road.
Driving under the influence of alcohol, opioids, or controlled substances is illegal. The maximum blood alcohol content limit (BAC) for commercial truck drivers in New Jersey is 0.04%. That is half of the official 0.08% limit for other motorists in the state.
Truckers who drive in an impaired state are more likely to react more slowly in the event of an emergency stop, misjudge maneuvers, make irrational or poor decisions behind the wheel, and generally endanger other road users.
The Department of Transportation (DOT) has mandatory hours of service requirements that commercial motor vehicle operators must adhere to. This is to ensure that truckers have adequate rest in between their trips.
Failure to follow these rules often leads truckers to be more likely to microsleep behind the wheel, have slower reaction times, and exhibit poor judgment on the road. All these can lead to severe 18-wheeler collisions and catastrophic injuries for victims.
While most tractor-trailer operators are reasonable behind the wheel, keeping their speeds well below posted limits, some can be reckless in their travel speeds. Sometimes, these excessive speeding incidents are due to unreasonable deadline pressures from the trucking company or its employer.
However, trucks require longer stopping distances. So, failure to control speed often means that if sudden braking is needed, they will not have enough time or distance to stop, leading to crashes.
Other common causes include improper cargo loading, which can lead to rollovers; adverse weather events such as sleet or black ice; a lack of truck maintenance routines; and defective parts.
An experienced Hackensack truck accident attorney can investigate the cause of the crash, build their case, file an injury claim, and help hurt victims recover adequate compensation.
There is a wide range of damages that an injured victim can pursue after a truck accident. These include:
These and other related damages can be compensated for by the liable trucker or other parties. Where there is clear evidence of the driver carrying out gross misconduct or engaging in intentional harm on the roadway, the courts may also award the claimant additional punitive damages.
All injury claims must be filed within two years in New Jersey. Failure to file within that timeframe can result in dismissal of the claim if the plaintiff files afterward. A seasoned Hackensack truck accident attorney can explain the process and help an injured petitioner with filing their legal action.
If you lost a loved one in the crash – a spouse, a parent, a child – you are devastated and probably finding it very hard to read this. But you are here, and that is good. The loss that you and your family are suffering is something that the law understands and something that a certified attorney can explain to you. You and your family have rights and you should speak to a Hackensack truck accident attorney to know your options. A lawsuit might help you set up the financial future that was cruelly taken away from you, and your lawsuit might save another family from another negligent truck crash.
There are many lawyers in New Jersey who advertise for your case. You want a lawyer who is certified, who isn’t afraid to ask for a lot of money, and who knows how to bring a case to trial in front of a jury. That is, the lawyer is in the best position to get you full and fair compensation – whether negotiating a settlement or trying the case in court with a judge and jury.
A truck or tractor-trailer crash may be the worst thing that’s ever happened in your life. O’Cathain Law Group’s motto is Move Forward, and your dedicated personal injury law team will help you do so.
Were you injured in a trucking or tractor-trailer crash? Did you tragically lose someone you love? Call, fill out the intake form, or email a dedicated Personal Injury paralegal to speak with a Hackensack truck accident lawyer at O’Cathain Law Group Personal Injury Law Department for free.