Trucking Accidents
SMB’s experienced team of trucking accident lawyers has successfully handled many cases involving the large trucks known as semis, tractor-trailers, big rigs and 18-wheelers.
Accidents involving trucks are a major public safety issue on America’s roads. Federal government and insurance industry statistics estimate that each year large trucks cause:
- 350,000 accidents resulting in property damage;
- 90,000 accidents resulting in 140,000 injuries; and
- 4,000 accidents resulting in over 5,000 fatalities.
When large trucks collide with passenger cars, the car occupants suffer the vast majority of the injuries and fatalities. The reasons are obvious—tractor-trailers weigh 20-30 times more than cars and their height and ground clearance makes them even more dangerous.
Truck drivers themselves can also be injured in accidents for reasons unrelated to their conduct.
SMB has litigated truck cases involving all of the common causes of these accidents, including:
- Driver error, substance abuse, fatigue, and distraction
- Truck design defects and malfunctions of major components such as brakes and tires
- Carrier violations of industry regulations, including overloading trucks, breaching hourly limits on driver work, and failing to properly maintain vehicles
- Poorly designed, constructed, and maintained roads
Unmatched Results
SMB’s truck accident lawyers have secured numerous multimillion verdicts and settlements for clients in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, including:
- $26,550,000$26.550 million is being provided to former landscape service worker David Williams, 32, because those responsible for maintaining his company truck ...Read Story
- $160,000,000U-Haul Co. of Pennsylvania will pay a record $160 million in a settlement after a Feltonville food truck exploded nearly four years ago, killing a ...Read Story
- $13,000,000SMB obtained a $13 million settlement from a national trucking company for a 56-year-old mother and 22-year-old son who were struck by a ...Read Story
- $8,000,000The 31-year-old plaintiff filed this negligence action against the driver of an 80,000-pound concrete truck as well as the driver's employer after ...Read Story
- $2,000,000Four trucking industry defendants have agreed to a $2 million settlement in a case stemming from an April 2004 accident in central Pennsylvania that ...Read Story
- $2,000,000Lawyers for a truck driver who suffered a fractured left arm and nerve damage announced that they reached a $2 million settlement with the ...Read Story
Unmatched Knowledge
SMB’s skilled lawyers understand the complex mechanical and physical factors that contribute to truck accidents. Their thorough investigations include:
- Comprehensive depositions of all drivers, carrier personnel, passengers, and witnesses;
- In-depth analyses to determine the relative roles played by driver error, carrier practices, and defective vehicles; and
- Biomechanics review: what happened to an injured driver or passenger during the crash sequence, and what does that say about how the accident happened?
SMB also uses independent accident reconstruction experts to recreate how an accident occurred through the use of advanced three-dimensional animations and graphics—a powerful trial tool.
SMB pursues all potential defendants that may be liable in truck accident cases: truck drivers, carriers, vehicle part manufacturers, establishments that sell liquor, and state and local governments that design and maintain roads.
If you or a family member has been injured or killed as a result of a truck accident, SMB is committed to obtaining all of the compensation you need and deserve.