Bronx 18-Wheeler Accident Lawyer

Bronx 18-Wheeler Truck Accident Attorneys

Trucking companies can cause devastating crashes through their negligence. But after a crash, they and their insurers will probably fight hard against any claim settlements. 

For over 32 years, Oresky & Associates, PLLC has been fighting against powerful companies that take advantage of the vulnerable. Over that time, we’ve accumulated  over $500 million in compensation recovered by our attorneys.

When you face the physical and financial devastation of a truck crash, we move quickly and aggressively to champion your rights and hold the at-fault company responsible. Contact us for a free consultation to learn how we fight for you.

Common Types of 18-Wheeler Accidents

Large trucks weigh up to 40 tons when fully loaded. Special permits can allow trucking companies to carry even larger oversized or overweight loads. These loads make trucks difficult to control and maneuver. As a result, 18-wheelers can cause many types of collisions:

• Rollovers
• Rear-end collisions
• Sideswipe crashes
• Side-impact collisions
• Underride accidents

Rollovers happen when a trailer or truck-trailer combination tips over. It may partially or fully roll, depending on the terrain. The truck may crush nearby vehicles or cause a crash by dumping its load on the road.

Rear-end crashes happen when trucks slam into the backs of other vehicles. Braking is often an issue with heavy trucks, increasing the risk of these accidents.

Semitrucks have large blind spots. Drivers can lose track of the cars around them and sideswipe them while maneuvering.

Side-impact crashes commonly happen at intersections. Again, trucks do not stop, accelerate, or maneuver easily, increasing the risk of intersection collisions.

Underride (or underrun) accidents happen when a vehicle goes under the rear or side of an 18-wheeler. These devastating crashes often collapse or shear off the vehicle’s roof.

What Are the Causes of Truck Accidents?

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is the primary agency responsible for regulating interstate trucking companies. The agency tracks and reports truck crashes. 

The FMCSA’s large truck accident analysis reveals that large trucks and their operators are the primary cause of slightly more than half of collisions between trucks and smaller automobiles. 

Specifically, an issue with the truck or truck driver was identified in 55.3% of collisions between automobiles and trucks. The report found smaller vehicles and their drivers to blame for 44.7% of collisions.

The causes of crashes fall into three broad categories:

• Driver errors
• Environmental conditions
• Unsafe equipment

Examples of driver errors include a few problems rampant in the trucking industry. Driver fatigue can set in at the end of a shift, leading to crashes. Speeding can also pose a problem when a driver rushes to meet a delivery deadline.

Environmental conditions include wet or icy roads, heavy winds, or poor visibility. Since heavy trucks are difficult to control, these conditions can easily cause a crash.

Unsafe equipment can include problems with the vehicle or trailer. It can also cover problems with the load, such as broken ties that allow the load to shift.

How Can Oresky & Associates Help 18-Wheeler Truck Accident Victims?

Since truck accidents have such varied causes, you need a thorough investigation to determine what happened and who shares legal responsibility. 

For example, a truck part manufacturer might have supplied defective brakes to the trucking company. Conversely, you might find the trucking company skipped drug and alcohol tests for its drivers, leading to an intoxicated driving crash.

Once our truck accident lawyers determine what happened, we can pursue your claim against the at-fault party and their insurer. Specifically, we will:

• Gather evidence about the accident
• Our investigators will interview important witnesses
• Prepare necessary claims documents and file them with the insurance company
• File a lawsuit and vigorouslyvigoroursly pursue discovery
• Negotiate with an insurance adjuster to resolve the claim with a settlement
• If the insurer does not offer a resolution, bring the case to trial.

These steps might seem straightforward. But remember that many trucking companies are multimillion-dollar businesses with plenty of resources to spend defending their actions. The trucking company’s insurers and sureties also have a financial incentive to delay and deny, hoping to frustrate you into a low settlement.

We stand steadfast against those parties. We battle aggressively and will not shy away from a lawsuit to hold trucking companies accountable for their wrongful or negligent acts.

Contact Bronx Truck Accident Attorney for a Free Consultation

Standing up to trucking companies and their insurers is intimidating. Contact us to discuss our strategy for pushing these companies to pay you just compensation for your injuries.

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What Are the Most Dangerous Roads in the Bronx? 

Road design can play a role in causing truck accidents. When policymakers set speed limits too high, truck drivers risk losing control of their vehicles. Unbanked turns can cause trucks to roll over. Narrow lanes can lead to sideswipe crashes.

According to Vision Zero NYC, the following roads in the Bronx have frequent vehicle collisions:

• Audubon Avenue
• St. Nicholas Avenue
• Cross Bronx Expressway
• Jerome Avenue
• Southern Boulevard
• Tremont Avenue
• Webster Avenue
• 170th Street

Common 18-Wheeler Accident Injuries 

Injuries from truck crashes take the same forms as those from other types of automobile collisions. However, since the crash energy increases with the weight of the vehicles involved, truck crash injuries are often more severe than typical auto accident injuries.

Additionally, certain types of crashes and their resulting injuries happen more frequently with heavy trucks than automobiles. For example, underride crashes are almost exclusive to semitrucks. These collisions produce unusual injuries such as decapitations.

Injuries from truck crashes can include the following:

• Brain injuries
• Spinal cord injuries
• Crushing injuries
• Broken bones
• Soft tissue injuries, including whiplash

Brain injuries result from head trauma. The impact from a heavy truck striking your vehicle can drive your head into your side window, steering wheel, or headrest. The impact may even collapse your passenger compartment, driving the roof or door post into your head.

This impact causes your brain to shift. If it shifts violently enough, the tissues may tear, causing a diffuse axonal injury. Your brain may strike the inside of your skull, producing a bruise called a cerebral contusion. Severe brain injuries may lead to permanent brain damage, coma, or death.

Furthermore, your brain can suffer an injury even without blunt trauma. The whipping forces from a sudden stop can rattle your brain inside your skull even if your head never hits anything. The resulting mild traumatic brain injury, or concussion, is characterized by confusion, clumsiness, and amnesia.

Spinal cord injuries happen when the spinal cord gets severed or compressed. This injury causes partial or total paralysis and loss of sensation.

Crushing injuries happen when a force compresses a large area of your body. The cells rupture, causing massive tissue death.

Who Can Be Held Liable for a Truck Accident?

Trucking companies will frequently bear the liability for truck accidents. First, as owners of the vehicle they are legally responsible for accidents that occur when driven by individuals with permission to operate. 

Second, employers are liable for the negligent acts employees commit while at work. Thus, even if a trucking company did not instruct or train its drivers to act negligently, it may still be liable for the crashes the employees cause.

Third, trucking companies are liable for their own negligent acts. A trucking company might cause crashes through its negligence in:

• Screening candidates and hiring drivers
• Conducting drug and alcohol tests
• Maintaining and repairing trucks
• Loading trailers
• Setting schedules

Generally, an employed driver has no control over these responsibilities. When a crash results from company negligence, the employer bears the liability.

The FMCSA requires trucking companies to carry at least $750,000 in financial security. Trucking companies usually use a combination of insurance policies and surety bonds to meet this requirement. 

What Damages Are Available for My Accident?

The damages you can recover come in two forms. Economic losses represent the financial impact of your injuries. The following costs qualify as economic losses for which you can recover compensation:

• Past and future medical bills
• Past wage losses
• Future diminished wages
• Reasonable and necessary costs paid out of pocket

Your lawyer will document these losses by gathering your financial records. Receipts, bank statements, and bills will demonstrate your costs and how they relate to your injuries.

Non-economic losses represent the change in your life due to your injuries. These losses are intangible, such as the social stigma you may feel after suffering third-degree facial burns in a truck crash. Examples of non-economic losses include the following:

• Physical pain and discomfort
• Mental suffering and anguish
• Dismemberment, if you lost a limb
• Disfigurement, if you suffered permanent changes to your appearance
• Disability, if you cannot perform the same tasks after your injuries as before

You cannot document the costs for these losses because they have no price tags. Instead, your Bronx 18-wheeler accident lawyer will use your testimony and other evidence to show how your injuries have affected you.

What Should I Do Immediately After an 18-Wheeler Accident?

An 18-wheeler accident can traumatize you physically and mentally. However, the actions you take after your crash can affect the course of your injury claim. Specifically, you should consider taking the following steps:

• Stop at the accident scene
• Exchange insurance information with the truck driver
• Report the crash to the police
• Cooperate with the accident investigation
• Request emergency treatment or an ambulance, if necessary
• Document the crash scene with photos and video, if possible
• Promptly seek appropriate medical attention
• Follow your doctor’s orders, including restrictions on your activities
• Track your bills and expenses
• Contact a Bronx 18-wheeler accident attorney to discuss your claim

Your goal should be to document what happened as thoroughly as possible. For example, visiting a doctor promptly after a crash will create a medical record of your injuries. Your doctor’s recommendations on work restrictions will help you prove your income losses. These records are indispensable in an injury claim.

Consider contacting a truck accident attorney early in the process. We are your ardent guide through the challenges and potential pitfalls that can jeopardize your claim. At the same time, we are your trusted advisors, fighting by your side to protect your rights.