One minute you're driving home on I-70. The next, an 80,000-pound semi-truck slams into your vehicle. Now you're facing mounting medical bills, lost wages, and a painful recovery that might last months or even years. Meanwhile, the trucking company's insurance adjusters are already working to minimize your claim.
This is not just another car accident case. Commercial truck crashes involve federal regulations, multiple liable parties, and corporate defense teams whose job is to pay you as little as possible. Our St. Louis truck accident trial lawyers understand what you're going through and have the resources, experience, and determination to fight for the full compensation you deserve.
We see large commercial vehicles throughout Missouri and Illinois, big rigs, tankers, flatbeds hauling agricultural or construction equipment, moving essential goods across the country. The transportation industry is vital to the economy. But each truck operator has a considerable responsibility to maintain road safety, and when that responsibility breaks down, the cases that follow are not standard auto cases.
In a standard car accident, you're typically dealing with just the at-fault driver and their insurance company. Commercial vehicle collisions often involve numerous responsible parties:
Commercial trucks must comply with Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations that govern everything from operator qualification and training to hours-of-service limits and maintenance requirements. Understanding these regulations is essential to proving negligence, and most plaintiff firms do not have the depth of experience to identify and exploit FMCSA violations effectively.
Most semis and other large trucks carry insurance policies with much higher limits than passenger vehicles. More compensation is potentially available, but it also means the insurance company will fight harder to protect its bottom line.
Truck accident cases involve specialized evidence that does not exist in car crashes, driver logs, vehicle black box data, maintenance records, drug testing results. This evidence can disappear quickly if not properly preserved by an experienced legal team.
We have successfully represented clients injured in crashes caused by:
Despite hours-of-service regulations, many operators face pressure to meet tight deadlines, leading them to drive while dangerously tired. Fatigue impairs reaction time and decision-making to a degree similar to drug or alcohol intoxication.
Operating a commercial truck requires specialized skills and training. Some companies put undertrained drivers on the road to cut costs or address employee shortages.
Professional truck operators sometimes use their phones, adjust GPS systems, or engage in other distracting activities behind the wheel, taking their attention off the road at critical moments.
If a transportation company fails to properly maintain brake systems, tires, coupling devices, and other vital components, this negligence often results in catastrophic mechanical failures.
When cargo isn't properly secured, or a truck is overloaded, the vehicle becomes unstable, causing jackknifing or rollovers during routine driving maneuvers.
Most passenger cars and SUVs weigh between 4,000 and 5,000 pounds. Even unloaded, the average 18-wheeler weighs approximately 35,000 pounds. Add the force of impact and other factors, and a collision with a large truck frequently results in catastrophic injuries:
Many people who suffer TBIs experience permanent cognitive impairment and require extensive rehabilitation and long-term care.
Injuries to the spinal cord can result in partial or complete paralysis, changing your life forever and requiring lifelong medical care and home modifications. Learn more about brain and spine cases.
The tremendous force in truck accidents compromises limbs and internal organs, sometimes necessitating amputation or causing permanent internal damage.
When large trucks carrying flammable materials catch fire or explode, victims often sustain severe burns requiring multiple surgeries and causing permanent scarring and disfigurement.
Many truck accidents in St. Louis also result in wrongful death, leaving families to cope with considerable emotional and financial losses. See our wrongful death practice.
When you choose us to handle your truck accident case, we immediately begin building a compelling case designed to win at trial, even if it ultimately settles.
We promptly send spoliation letters to prevent the destruction of critical evidence and work with accident reconstruction experts to document the crash scene. The first 48 hours often determine what evidence will exist by the time the case is tried.
We identify all potentially liable parties and collect the specialized evidence trucking cases require, Electronic Logging Device (ELD) data, truck black box information, driver qualification files, maintenance and inspection records, drug and alcohol testing results, dispatch records and communications, freight bills and weight tickets, and video footage from dashcams or nearby security cameras.
We collaborate with accident reconstructionists, medical experts, life care planners, economists, and others who strengthen the case and clearly demonstrate the full extent of your losses.
We carefully assess all current and future damages, medical expenses (including emergency care, surgeries, rehabilitation, and long-term care needs), lost income and diminished earning capacity, property damage, pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, disfigurement and disability.
Unlike firms that settle quickly for less, we're trial-tested and proven, with a record of success going against major trucking companies and their insurers. This approach gives us leverage in negotiations and ensures we're ready if the insurance company refuses to offer fair compensation.
The lawyer you choose matters.
By handling fewer cases, we give each client personalized attention and the resources their case deserves.
Our attorneys have successfully tried numerous truck accident cases, giving us insight into what works with Missouri and Illinois juries.
We cover all expenses related to your case, investigation, expert witnesses, court costs, so you don't pay anything out of pocket initially.
You pay no fees unless we win your case. Our interests are aligned with yours: full case value or nothing.
$20,000,000, Wrongful Death, Truck Crash
Zero-dollar pre-trial offer. Jury verdict in a trucking wrongful death case.
Read the Case →Don't face the trucking company and its insurance adjusters alone. The decisions you make in the days and weeks following a crash greatly impact your ability to recover fair compensation. We serve injury victims throughout Missouri and Illinois. English- and Spanish-speaking staff available.