Wisconsin Truck Accident Lawyers

At Gruber Law Offices, we have injury attorneys that handle Wisconsin truck accidents. If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident involving a personal truck, commercial truck, or tractor-trailer, contact our firm now for a free case evaluation.

Personal Injury Attorneys Based in Milwaukee

Some of the most tragic accidents on the road, whether outside Milwaukee or en route to Eau Claire, occur in crashes involving commercial trucks, also known as semi-trucks, tractor-trailers, 18-wheelers and big rigs. A truck accident can be a very traumatic and life-changing experience. The sheer size and weight of these long-haul transfer trucks make any collision extremely dangerous and much more deadly compared to a car accident. Unfortunately, thousands of people are seriously injured or killed in trucking accidents each year.

When serious accidents involving trucks do occur, truck drivers are rarely injured or killed. Occupants of passenger vehicles, however, are not so lucky. According to data from the National Safety Council, in 2018, 112,000 large trucks were involved in crashes in the US, resulting in 4,951 deaths and 150,000 injuries. Of those large-truck crashes, 4,066 of those killed and 74 percent of those injured were either occupants in passenger vehicles or not riding in a vehicle at all – pedestrians or bicyclists. Since 2009, the number of deaths from large truck accidents has increased 51 percent. Just under 18 percent of those who died in tractor-trailer accidents in 2018 were truckers or other occupants of the truck. 26 percent of those injured in tractor-trailer accidents in 2018 were truckers or other occupants of the truck.

Were You Injured In A Truck Accident?

There are numerous factors that play into truck accidents, including several considerations that are unique to truck crashes. It’s not uncommon for the truck driver and/or the company that employs the trucker (the “carrier”) to be responsible for the accident that hurt you or a loved one of yours. Other parties may be liable as well. If so, you may be eligible for compensation to cover your losses, such as for medical expenses, property damage, lost income, pain and suffering.

The experienced and aggressive truck accident lawyers of the Gruber Law Offices, LLC can help you get the compensation you deserve if you’ve been injured in a crash involving a commercial truck. We can investigate your accident, calculate the recoverable costs to you and fight the carrier and their insurance company to ensure justice for you. Contact us now for a free case evaluation.

How To Work With Gruber Law Offices From Your Own Home

The health and safety of our clients and our community is our top priority at Gruber Law Offices. If you have been injured, we can help. While our main office is in Milwaukee, it doesn’t matter where in the state you live. You won’t have to leave the comfort of your own home or meeting us in person!

What Separates Gruber Law Offices From Other Personal Injury Lawyers

We go above and beyond

Our truck accident lawyers will come to you!

Family owned, award-winning national reputation

No fees unless you win!

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What about Trucking Telematics?

Telematics generally refers to a technological system that collects particular data or information. It is becoming more and more common and applicable in the trucking industry. Specifically, telematics are most often used by larger and more sophisticated truck companies and motor carriers, when trucking or logistics companies employ multiple truck drivers. Telematics can track data such as: speed, location, GPA data, harsh braking events, harsh turns (cornering), and phone usage/distracted driving, among other things. Telematics can also track vehicle diagnostic information like engine health, tire pressure, oil temperature, and other vehicle system information.
Frequently, trucking company use telematics to track important information about their fleets and their drivers. If used properly, this can be useful information and provide valuable data to the trucking company. It can help analyze driver safety and actions. It can also potentially help keep the motoring public safer.

Why does this matter in a truck crash claim or lawsuit?

This data can truly help us in “proving our case.” Often, telematics data can be used as very important evidence in a truck accident. The insurance companies and trucking companies also look at this data in evaluating liability. Importantly, this data is generally very accurate and highly relevant. It can also show long-term trends in how a company managers unsafe driving history, both of the day of the crash as well as historically. Telematics can also work in tandem with drivers logs to analyze potential Hours of Service violations, maintenance issues and many other important factors. In certain circumstances, it can help prove the trucking company knew or should have that a specific driver or vehicle was unsafe and then failed to take the reasonable precautions to address it.

This data can turn into very important evidence in a serious truck crash.
Our firm has a strong emphasis on serious truck crashes. We know trucking law, and we know what it takes to win.

Causes of Wisconsin Truck Accidents

Accident statistics for Wisconsin from 2019 show 8,134 large truck accidents, a small percentage of all highway crashes but an average of more than 22 every day of the year here in Wisconsin. Of those truck accidents, 72 people died and 1,986 were injured.

The causes cited in Wisconsin truck crashes, in order of frequency, were:

Inattentive driving
Failure to control
Failure to yield right of way
Speed too fast for conditions
Improper turn
Following too closely

Improper overtake (passing)
Disregarded traffic control
Driver condition
Driving left of center
Exceeded speed limit
Unsafe backing

Some of the causes cited for Wisconsin truck accidents are typical driver errors, such as losing control of the vehicle, crossing the centerline or exceeding a safe speed for conditions. When these commonplace errors occur in a truck accident, they can result in rollovers or other dangerous situations. Other causes of truck accidents, however, aren't due to common driver error and instead indicate reckless behavior, such as:

Distracted driving. A widespread problem on our roads, a glut of distracted driving has resulted in regulations adopted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) that prohibit commercial truck drivers from using cell phone and similar devices while behind the wheel of a tractor-trailer. While truckers know the danger created by distracted driving, yet it remains a leading cause of truck accidents.

Aggressive driving. Such behavior as failing to yield right of way, improper turning, following too closely (tailgating), improper passing, improper backing, running red lights and stop signs, and speeding are recklessness. In Wisconsin, the DOT recognizes operating a vehicle in a way that endangers or is likely to endanger people or property as aggressive driving.

Driver condition. In the trucking industry, time is money. Truck drivers typically are required to work long hours, which can cause sleep deprivation and fatigued / drowsy driving if a driver stays behind the wheel. Despite FMCSA regulations governing how long a trucker may drive without rest, called Hours of Service regulations, surveys by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety show that truckers violate regulations and “often” or “sometimes” omit hours behind the wheel from logbooks. Sometimes, pressure from supervisors keeps a trucker on the road too long.

Fortunately, “driver condition” rarely means under the influence of alcohol or drugs in a truck accident. Though drugged and drunk driving do occur and lead to accidents, random testing of truckers has drastically reduced the amount of impaired truck driving.

In addition to these reasons, Wisconsin DOT statistics also show hundreds of truck accidents caused by the failure of a truck part or system, whether that failure happened in the tires, brakes, steering systems, lighting, suspension systems or others. In such cases, it may be that the trucking company (carrier) or the manufacturer could be held liable for the accident and the losses innocent people suffer as a result.

Sometimes it is shifting cargo or a cargo spill can cause a truck driver to lose control and crash their vehicle. If a truck was improperly loaded and that led to a crash, the focus of a truck accident claim could shift to the carrier and its training and/or supervision of workers responsible for loading trucks.

Jordan*

Actual Client

Gruber Law Offices knew exactly what to do in every scenario and made sure I knew what was going on. They made it a lot easier, there is no way I could have handled it on my own.

Why You Should File a Personal Injury Claim if You are Injured in a Truck Accident

Truck accidents tend to be catastrophic and complex events. Negligence on the part of the driver, the carrier, one or more manufacturers or the trucking company’s policies and procedures, or multiple parties may have led to the accident. In addition, truckers’ and carriers’ behavior, as well as the tractor-trailers and their cargo are regulated by voluminous regulations of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) as well as other federal and state agencies. Violations may indicate liability in a crash.

In addition to the complexity of a truck accident, there is a lot of money at stake when a large commercial truck crashes and people are hurt or killed. In many cases, this causes the trucking company to spring into action to limit the financial damage. If you have been injured in truck accident, you may hear from lawyers representing the carrier or its insurance company very soon afterward. You may be offered a quick settlement that seems like a great deal of money after a truck accident.

But you should not accept a check or sign anything after a significant truck accident without first speaking to an experienced truck accident attorney. You could be giving up compensation you deserve. Sorting out what happened in a commercial truck accident and who is at fault is often a complicated matter, for the reasons we have outlined above. At the same time, it takes time in many cases to understand the full extent of the crash victim’s injuries and other losses.

A thorough investigation is necessary to determine what happened and why in most truck accidents. If you have been seriously injured, you will require the information uncovered to structure a proper legal claim.

Among the information to be reviewed after a commercial truck accident is:

Evidence collected at the crash scene
Police reports
Witness statements
Information about the condition of the truck and other vehicle(s) in the wreck.
Data from the truck’s and potentially the car’s “black box” event data recorder.
The trucker’s activity logs, which by law must show his or her time behind the wheel and at rest
Other trucking company records, such as truck use and maintenance records, cargo reports, statements from company employees, policy and procedure manuals, etc.

In many cases, a court order is required to make a carrier turn over records and release the wrecked truck for examination. Sometimes accident reconstruction specialists are called in to conduct a forensic analysis and interpretation of data collected after a wreck.

To ensure that all of the appropriate and necessary work is completed in your truck accident case, you should consult an experienced Milwaukee truck accident attorney.

Most laymen simply aren’t trained to understand the ins and outs of truck accidents like a Milwaukee truck accident lawyer who has handled many truck accident cases in Wisconsin is. At Gruber Law Offices, one call does it all. We work diligently to develop solid cases against any party that should be held liable in a truck accident, and then move aggressively to maximize the compensation that our clients recover.

Contact Our Wisconsin Truck Accident Lawyers

If you or a family member has been injured in a truck accident in Wisconsin, call the personal injury lawyers at Gruber Law Offices, LLC today. We can help you obtain compensation you need for dealing with losses due to such injuries as fractures, paralysis, loss of limb, burns, brain injuries, or a wrongful death. Our experienced and aggressive truck accident lawyers conduct though investigations and negotiate aggressively for settlements based on solid evidence. We don’t charge a legal fee unless we win. To learn more about your claim, visit our Truck Accidents FAQ page.

We can meet you at a place that is convenient for you, such as your home, hospital room, place of work, or our conveniently located downtown Milwaukee office. Speak with one of our attorneys right now by calling 414-276-6666 for a free initial consultation. “ONE CALL … THAT’S ALL!”

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