Underride Truck Accidents

Teaneck, NJ, sees a steady flow of trucks passing through its roads. Semi-trucks are especially common on roads like Interstate 80, Interstate 95, the New Jersey Turnpike, and Route 4. Unfortunately, the more trucks that are on the road, the more likely accidents are to occur. However, these accidents do not happen by chance, and they are not truly “accidents.” They happen because someone was negligent.

One of the most catastrophic types of truck accidents is the underride accident. Truck underride accidents occur when a car slides under the trailer of a commercial truck, which typically crushes the car’s passenger compartment. These accidents result in serious, often fatal injuries.

If you’re looking for help with underride injuries suffered in a Teaneck truck accident, you’ve come to the right place. We can help you fight for the maximum money available from the trucking company and/or other parties for injuries you or a family member suffered in an underride collision.

Why Choose Our Teaneck Truck Accident Firm?

At Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C., we don’t back down. We have earned our reputation as an aggressive personal injury firm that fights for every dollar our clients are owed. We’ve spent more than 40 years helping New Jersey truck accident victims. We understand the tactics trucking companies and insurance companies use to try to obscure facts and avoid responsibility after accidents.

We have a successful track record of helping accident victims of all kinds. We have recovered over $1 billion in verdicts and settlements for more than 35,000 individuals and families. Unlike other firms, our 12 Certified Civil Trial Attorneys have actual courtroom experience. We’ll be ready to go to trial if that’s what’s necessary, and trucking companies that operate in the Teaneck and New York City metro area know it.

We’re happy to meet with you wherever it is most convenient for you, including online via Zoom or FaceTime. If English isn’t your first language, we have Spanish-speaking team members and can provide translators for Russian, Polish, Portuguese, and eight other languages.

An initial legal consultation with our New Jersey truck accident lawyers is always free, and we do not charge legal fees unless we win money for you. Contact us today to discuss your legal options for underride truck accident injuries.

What is an Underride Accident?

Underride accidents can occur in collisions between passenger vehicles and large commercial trucks when the height of the truck allows the smaller vehicle to slide under the body of the truck or its trailer. 

Truck underride accidents are most often associated with tractor-trailers (i.e., semi-trucks, semis, 18-wheelers, or “big rigs”), but they may also occur if a single-unit truck, such as a dump truck, is positioned high enough.

Truck underride accidents cause “passenger compartment intrusion” by the large truck into the passenger area of the smaller vehicle. In high-speed collisions, the upper portion of the passenger compartment may partially shear off.

Causes of Underride Truck Accidents

Most underride truck accidents occur when a passenger car hits a tractor-trailer from behind. While the first thought in rear-end collisions is that car drivers who hit trucks are at fault, this is not always the case. An investigation may find, for example, that the truck driver stopped suddenly, that the truck’s brake lights failed, that the truck did not have reflective warning tape or guards, or that the trucker was doing something negligent, like backing into traffic.

Other underride crashes occur at the:

• Side of the truck or trailer. These are often called sideswipe accidents, in which a truck changing lanes basically drives over the top of a passenger car. Truckers making wide left turns risk underride accidents if they are moving too slowly for oncoming vehicles. Sometimes in a jackknife accident, a semi’s out-of-control trailer sweeps over the top of a shorter vehicle.
• Front of the truck or tractor cab. This type of accident occurs when a truck hits the rear of a passenger vehicle or in a head-on collision between a car and a truck.

In multi-vehicle or “pileup” accidents, a vehicle can be pushed under or into the path of a truck or trailer.

Are There Ways to Prevent Underride Accidents?

Most trailers and semitrailers on New Jersey and NYC highways are required under federal trucking regulations to be equipped with a rear impact guard known as an “underride guard.” This is a metal bar that hangs from trailers to limit a passenger vehicle’s ability to slide under the protected areas of the trailer in the event of a crash.

Underride guards for trailers must meet Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) standards for ground clearance and distance from the trailer’s sides and rear, as well as for size, strength, and energy absorption that make it capable of withstanding the force of a crash.

Most trailers and semitrailers manufactured after January 26, 1998, with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 10,000 pounds or more are required to have a rear underride guard.

There are no federal requirements or state requirements in New Jersey or New York for underride guards on the sides of trailers.

Federal regulations also require trucks to be equipped with multiple caution lights, reflective devices, and reflective tape to increase visibility of the truck’s cab and trailer. Drivers are to position reflective hazard signage so motorists are more likely to see a truck that has parked along the side of the road.

Underride Accident Aftermath and Common Injuries

Underride truck accidents that result in passenger compartment intrusion are often fatal to occupants of the passenger vehicle. In other underride accidents, passenger vehicle occupants suffer such injuries as:

• Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
• Spinal cord injuries, including paralysis
• Neck injuries, such as whiplash
• Facial fractures and disfigurement
• Loss of limbs or appendages, i.e., traumatic or surgical amputations
• Internal organ injuries, including internal bleeding
• Deep lacerations and bleeding
• Broken bones
• Back injuries

Who is Responsible for an Underride Truck Accident?

Commercial truck accidents are not like passenger car accidents. Commercial trucks are subject to federal and state regulations, and multiple parties are involved in every large truck shipment.

The potentially liable parties in truck accident cases include:

• The truck driver – The driver is typically held responsible for an accident if they were guilty of a traffic violation or other negligence, such as distracted driving, fatigued driving, hours-of-service (HOS) violations (federal truck driving limitations and rest requirements), driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, speeding, etc.
• The trucking company – The company that employs a truck driver is liable for the driver’s illegal or negligent acts that result in injury. A trucking company is also responsible for the trucks it puts on the road and would be liable if improper maintenance led to the failure of a truck system or component — such as lighting, a tire, brakes — which contributed to the crash.
• Third-party vendors – Some trucking companies rely on contractors to inspect and maintain their vehicles. Such a third-party vendor may be held responsible for an accident if inadequate maintenance contributed to the crash. Similarly, sometimes a truck’s cargo is packed and/or loaded by a contractor or the cargo’s owner. If a truck accident was caused by a cargo shift or spill caused by improper loading and/or restraint of the cargo, the third party responsible for the cargo may have liability.
• The truck manufacturer – A truck’s manufacturer may be held responsible for a crash if the failure of truck systems or components due to design or manufacturing flaws contributed to the accident.
• Government agencies – If a defect in the design or condition of the road contributed to the crash, the agency responsible for the road could be held liable. A government agency’s third-party contractor responsible for road design, construction, or maintenance issues that contributed to a crash could also be liable. 

Money Damages Available for Truck Accident Victims

Your Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C. legal team can determine what party or parties are liable for the underride accident you or your loved one were in, calculate the full extent of your injuries and losses, and file one or more claims for you.

You may be entitled to compensation for your:

• Medical bills since the accident
• Future medical needs, such as deferred medical procedures, assistive devices, or ongoing care
• Lost income
• Lost earning capacity
• Pain and suffering
• Mental distress
• Loss of consortium

In a wrongful death claim, a surviving family member might seek compensation for:

• Reasonable funeral and burial expenses
• Medical costs related to the victim’s injury
• Loss of financial support based on what the victim might have earned over their lifetime
• Loss of health insurance and other benefits
• Loss of companionship
• Loss of consortium
• Loss of parental guidance if the survivor is a child
• The value of the victim’s household services, including maintenance, repairs, and chores

A survivor may be able to seek compensation for emotional damages in a separate claim if they witnessed their loved one’s death and experienced extreme distress as a result. They might also seek compensation on behalf of the victim’s estate for any pain and suffering the victim experienced before their death because of the at-fault party’s negligence.

Contact Our New Jersey Truck Accident Attorneys for Help

The personal injury lawyers of Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C., have been helping victims of truck accidents in New Jersey and NYC for more than 40 years. Our team of attorneys has the experience, resources, and dedication necessary to investigate your case thoroughly, determine the compensation you are entitled to, and vigorously advocate for full payment on your behalf.

Contact us today for a free initial consultation about your case. If you retain us, you do not pay any attorney’s fees unless you receive a monetary settlement or verdict.