New Jersey’s roadways are used by hundreds of thousands of trucks to supply the major east coast cities with the goods and products needed. Trucks traveling from Washington and Philadelphia travel north often through New York City to deliver their cargo to cities in Connecticut or further north into Boston Massachusetts. In particular, Interstate I95 is one of the most heavily traveled corridors in the United States. Many of the Interstate highways converge with New Jersey State Highways at the George Washington Bridge, or Lincoln and Holland Tunnels. Interstate 80, Interstate 280, 78 all converge with I95 and as does State Highways 4, 17, an Route 3.
Every day, commuters and drivers of passenger cars share New Jersey’s busy highways with large trucks such as tractor trailers, dump trucks, semis and other 18-wheelers. Truck traffic has increased significantly in many parts of New Jersey due to an increase in warehousing and just-in-time inventory practices. An increase in truck traffic has led to more accidents.
The number of people killed in crashes involving large trucks across the nation increased 8.7 percent in 2010 even as the overall number of motor vehicle accidents dropped, according to a recent federal report. If you or a loved one is the victim of a large truck accident, it’s important to speak with a knowledgeable lawyer about your legal rights.
The experienced truck accident attorneys at Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C., focus on assisting people seriously injured through the carelessness of others, including negligent truck drivers and trucking companies. Our law firm, based in Teaneck, New Jersey, is highly respected throughout New Jersey for the quality of the legal representation that our truck accident attorneys provide.
We are proud of our record of success in representing more than 20,000 accident victims in cases involving truck accidents, automobile accidents, motorcycle accidents, pedestrian accidents and other kinds of personal injury accidents.
For help with your car accident claim, contact our New Jersey or New York offices at (800) LAW-2000 for a free consultation.
What You Should Know About Truck Accidents
New Jersey’s location on the busy Interstate 95 and Route 80 highway corridors means that thousands of 18-wheelers travel through the state daily. Route 4, Route 17 and the New Jersey Turnpike see heavy truck traffic. Most tractor-trailers traveling east and north to New York pass through New Jersey.
Federal and state laws regulate the trucking industry and require that trucks be operated safely, that commercial truck drivers get adequate rest and that tractor trailers be properly maintained. But some trucking companies disregard the rules and put profits ahead of safety. When that happens, accidents follow.
Traffic accidents involving 18-wheelers, semis and tractor trailers in New Jersey resulted in 28 deaths in 2010 and hundreds of injuries. Nearly all of the accident victims were occupants of other vehicles that collided with big rigs.
Truck accidents occur for many different reasons. If the accident was the fault of the truck driver or was caused by a trucking company’s negligence, you may be entitled to compensation.
Truck Accident Information
Look through this website and you’ll find general information about a number of issues associated with large truck accidents including:
- Common Trucking Accidents—Truck accidents represent a disproportionate number of accidents on New Jersey highways. The most commonly cited contributing factors in 18-wheeler and semi crashes are brake problems, traveling too fast for conditions, prescription drug use, driver fatigue, speeding, tailgating, aggressive driving, faulty maintenance and trucking company negligence.
- Catastrophic Trucking Injuries —The effects of catastrophic injuries in a truck accident can be life altering, causing massive medical bills, inability to work and financial instability. Catastrophic injuries, which cause permanent damage, include spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, amputations, serious back and neck injuries and burn injuries.
- Truck Driver Negligence—Truck drivers may be found negligent if they are driving too fast for conditions, speeding, tailgating, driving while distracted, fatigued, falsifying driving logs or driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Drivers that fail to properly secure their loads to prevent load shifts may also be held responsible for that negligence.
- Who Is Liable—Multiple parties may be involved in a truck accident claim, including the truck driver, trucking company, freight shipper, trailer owner, truck parts manufacturer and their insurance companies. Determining who should be held responsible requires an experienced New Jersey truck accident lawyer. Few lawyers have ever handled trucking cases through trial. It takes a skilled truck accident lawyer to reconstruct all of the events, which may require accident reconstruction experts, truck maintenance and design experts, to prove the cause of the accident. Many times truck accident cases require investigators just to determine the extent of insurance coverage. It is not uncommon for trucks to be insured in excess of $25 million dollars. High insurance coverage maybe necessary if a truck collides with a bus, or train, of if a truck accident causes death, disability, paralysis or amputations.
- Wrongful Death Trucking Claims—New Jersey’s Wrongful Death Act allows family members to file claims for financial loss associated with the death of a loved one, including their expected financial contribution to the household over their lifetime, hospital bills and other bills incurred because of the truck accident. No amount of money can replace a lost loved one, but compensation can help secure your family’s financial future.
Decades of Experience Helping New Jersey Truck Accident Victims
Large truck accidents are more complicated to resolve than accidents involving two cars. Establishing liability after a truck accident requires a careful analysis of all the contributing factors. We work with traffic reconstruction experts to show how a serious accident occurred. Based on our experience, we know the importance of gathering and preserving all available evidence after a truck accident to ensure no trucking company records are destroyed.
The tractor-trailer accident attorneys at Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C., have handled many New Jersey and New York truck accidents. We bring three decades of experience to each truck accident we case handle. If we take your case, you can be confident that we will use all the resources of our law firm to develop a compelling case for compensation for you and your family. It’s important to seek legal guidance promptly after a truck accident.
Partner Marc C. Saperstein, a past president of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America-New Jersey Chapter, has the necessary experience of representing people and families harmed by truck accidents. He has to his credit helped these families achieve verdicts and settlements in the millions of dollars. He is a Governor of the National Association of Personal Injury Trucking Lawyers Association, and he regularly lectures to other lawyers about trial techniques and tactics. His cases involved driver fatigue, negligent hiring, poor maintenance, improper training, driver intoxication, negligent loading, wheel and tire roll offs, jack knife accidents, excessive speeding, and loading and unloading accidents.
Contact our New Jersey or New York offices at (800) LAW-2000 for a free consultation regarding your accident. We do not charge you any fees unless we obtain money on your behalf.
