Truck Accident Lawyers in Delaware

Helping Clients Secure Compensation After Big Rig Collisions

Every year, Delaware drivers are involved in tens of thousands of motor vehicle accidents. In most cases, these result in nothing more than property damage. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. Looking at the latest data available, over 100 drivers in our state die in such accidents in a given year, and the economic loss of these collisions is more than $1.1 billion. While any vehicular collision has the capability of causing serious injury, statistics show that wrecks involving big rigs and tractor-trailer vehicles are particularly dangerous. If you or a loved one has been in such a collision, a truck accident lawyer in Delaware may be able to help.

Schwartz & Schwartz, Attorneys at Law, deal with all manner of personal injury cases. Unfortunately, we’ve far too often seen the detrimental and tragic consequences that a trucking accident can leave behind. Perhaps you suffered serious injuries, or maybe you’re dealing with intense emotional distress. In a worst-case scenario, a loved one may be incapacitated or even face wrongful death. Regardless of the specifics of your situation, the Delaware truck accident attorneys at Schwartz & Schwartz will provide a review to help you better understand your rights.

Request an initial consultation with our Delaware truck accident lawyers today.

How Dangerous Are Commercial Truck Accidents?

Most people can look at tractor-trailers — or even modern large pickups — and understand how a trucking accident can be so devastating. Fully-loaded big rigs can weigh up to 80,000 lbs under federal law, and new pickups weigh in excess of 4,000 lbs. Each of these is massive compared to the relatively paltry weight of a 3,000-lb sedan. This size differential easily explains why it’s rarely the truck drivers in these accidents who end up seriously injured. Sadly, it’s not just an assumption that wrecks involving commercial trucks are more destructive. Our auto accident lawyers can assure you that statistics back up this hypothesis.

For instance, a tractor-trailer accident is a relatively rare event in Delaware. In fact, less than 5% of all crashes in our state involve such large trucks. Even so, over 7% of all fatal collisions involved these trucks. This shows that there’s a disproportionate rate of deaths when there’s a truck driver involved, and in most cases, it’s individuals in passenger vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians who make up this statistic. If you or a loved one is injured in such a collision, it’s important to get your truck accident case started immediately. Time is of the essence when filing personal injury and wrongful death claims, so don’t hesitate to contact us today.

What to Do at the Accident Scene After a Truck Crash in Delaware

The steps you take immediately after a truck crash can significantly affect the strength of your personal injury claim. While your health is always the first priority, preserving evidence and protecting your legal rights at the accident scene puts you in a much stronger position when it comes time to recover compensation.

Seek medical attention right away. Even if you feel your injuries are minor, get evaluated as soon as possible. Some severe injuries like concussions, internal bleeding, and spinal cord damage may not produce immediate symptoms. A prompt medical evaluation creates documentation that directly links your injuries to the accident.

Document the scene thoroughly. Use your phone to photograph vehicle damage, skid marks, road conditions, traffic signals, debris, and any visible injuries. Capture the truck’s license plate, DOT number, and company name displayed on the vehicle. These details help your legal team identify the trucking company and other parties involved.

Collect insurance details and contact information. Get the truck driver’s name, insurance information, and employer details. If witnesses stopped at the scene, collect their names and phone numbers as well. Witness statements can be powerful evidence when liability is disputed.

Avoid discussing fault. Do not apologize or speculate about what caused the accident. Anything you say at the scene can be used against you by insurance companies later in the process.

Contact a Delaware truck accident attorney promptly. Trucking companies often send their own investigators to the accident scene within hours. Having skilled legal representation working on your behalf early ensures that critical evidence like the truck’s black box data, driver logs, and maintenance records is preserved before it can be altered or destroyed.

What Types of Injuries Come from Accidents With Semi-Trucks?

Nearly two-thirds of car accidents result in no injury. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case for collisions involving large trucks. When a big rig that can top out at 80,000 lbs collides with a 3,000-lbs passenger vehicle, it’s not surprising that many of these collisions inevitably result in serious injuries or even death. Regardless of the type of injuries you sustain, reaching out to Delaware truck accident lawyers may be in your best interest. Settlements and court awards in these collisions can be substantial. Of course, once you consider the severity of the most common injuries in such accidents, it becomes clear why significant financial restitution is often necessary:

• Broken bones
• Lacerations from the broken glass and metal
• Severe bruising
• Head trauma
• Brain contusions
• Spinal cord injuries
• Concussions
• Amputations
• Severe disfigurement
• Burns
• Wrongful death

The most basic concerns for our clients involved in trucking accidents are centered on treatment costs for the above injuries and others suffered in the wreck. After an accident, immediate medical attention at a hospital may be needed. Sadly, this might be only the first step in a long road to recovery. Follow-up surgeries, doctor visits, physical therapy, and other rehabilitation treatments can drag your recovery out for years. In some cases, catastrophic injuries may never fully heal and leave you dealing with undue hardships your entire life.

In addition to high medical costs, a trucking accident can also cause a great deal of property damage. The impact such a large vehicle makes when it collides with another object is often very significant, regularly resulting in a total insurance write-off of the other vehicle(s) involved in the collision. Many accident victims also experience pain and suffering along with severe emotional distress. Settlements and court awards very often include these forms of damages. To truly understand what you may be entitled to, though, it would be wise to speak with an 18-wheeler accident lawyer in Delaware before making any decisions.

Who Can Be Held Liable in a Delaware Commercial Truck Accident?

Truck accident claims are often more complex than standard car accidents because multiple parties beyond the truck driver may share responsibility for the collision. Identifying every liable party is critical to recovering the full compensation that truck accident victims deserve.

The trucking company can be held liable when its policies or practices contributed to the crash. This includes pressuring drivers to exceed hours-of-service limits, failing to enforce safety regulations, or neglecting to conduct proper background checks during the hiring process. If the company cut corners to save money and someone was injured as a result, they can be held accountable.

The truck manufacturer may bear responsibility when a mechanical defect caused or contributed to the accident. Faulty braking systems, defective tires, or steering malfunctions that trace back to a design or manufacturing flaw create a product liability claim separate from the negligence of the driver or trucking company.

Cargo loaders can be liable when improper loading causes a trailer to shift, tip, or lose its load on the highway. Federal regulations set strict requirements for how cargo must be secured, and violations of those standards can make the loading company a responsible party.

Maintenance providers may also share fault when poor maintenance or negligent repairs contributed to a mechanical failure. Maintenance records play a key role in proving that scheduled inspections were skipped or known issues were left unaddressed.

A Delaware truck accident lawyer can investigate the accident scene, review records from all parties involved, and determine every avenue available to pursue compensation on your behalf.

What Are Common Causes of Truck Accidents?

If you’ve been involved in a car accident in the past, you may already have a solid understanding of what causes many tractor-trailer collisions. That’s because most of the same negligent actions that lead to passenger vehicle accidents can cause big rig wrecks. Of course, there are obviously some major differences as well. After all, a sedan carrying two passengers certainly won’t encounter the same issues as a vehicle with a 30,000-lb trailer behind it. Recognizing these differences is vital to understanding potential liability in your case.

• Driver fatigue
• Violation of federal regulations
• Distracted driving
• Mechanical failure
• Improper loading
• Negligent hiring practices
• Unsafe roadways
• Inclement weather

As evidenced by the above list, it’s not always the tractor-trailer driver who is at fault for collisions. For instance, government agencies could face liability if they failed to repair damaged roadways. The trucking company or shipping business could also be at-fault for failing to properly maintain their vehicles. However, statistics have shown us that — when a tractor-trailer accident occurs — the drivers of passenger vehicles are at fault 80% of the time. If you believe you share some level of blame for your injuries, though, you should still reach out to a truck accident lawyer in Delaware.

This is because Delaware is a modified comparative negligence state. This means that — even if you are partially at fault for a tractor-trailer accident — you may still be entitled to recover financial losses. Court awards will be reduced by your level of fault, and you won’t be able to recover if you’re more than 50% at fault. However, in many cases, it’s still possible that you could get a settlement or court award to help you cover lost wages, medical expenses, and other losses you endured due to the accident.

Do I Need an Attorney After Sustaining Serious Injuries?

After involvement in a tractor-trailer accident, you may wonder whether you need legal representation. In fact, this is one of the most common questions that law firms hear when providing consultations for injury victims. Many mistakenly believe that they’ll get exactly what they deserve if liability in accidents caused by truck drivers is clear. Unfortunately, this is rarely the case. In fact, who’s at fault for your injury may not even be as clear as you think.

Any accident involving a tractor-trailer will inevitably result in a call from an insurance company. They’ll tell you that they care about your well-being — and that their goal is to help you get the compensation you deserve. In reality, their primary goal is profit. Your securing maximum financial restitution is in direct conflict with that. This is the case with every personal injury claim. However, a legal professional can ensure you’re not taken advantage of.

Personal injury attorneys will also know when settlement negotiations are futile. If the insurance company will not make a fair offer, you need an attorney who will take your case to trial. The overwhelming majority of cases — even those involving semi-trucks — do not get to this point. However, you don’t want to face off against insurance company attorneys on your own if litigation becomes necessary.

How Truck Accident Survivors Can Pursue Compensation for Long-Term Injuries

Not every injury from a large commercial truck accident heals in weeks or months. Many truck accident survivors face long-term or permanent conditions that fundamentally change how they live and work. Understanding how Delaware law accounts for these lasting impacts is essential to securing fair compensation that reflects the true cost of your recovery.

Ongoing medical expenses often represent the largest component of a long-term injury claim. Surgeries, physical therapy, prescription medications, assistive devices, and in-home care can accumulate for years after the initial accident. Future medical expenses must be carefully calculated and supported by medical testimony to ensure they’re included in your claim.

Lost income and diminished earning capacity extend beyond the paychecks you missed during your initial recovery. If devastating injuries prevent you from returning to the same type of work or reduce the number of hours you can perform, you may be entitled to compensation that accounts for the income gap over the remainder of your working life.

Physical pain and emotional suffering don’t always have an endpoint. Chronic pain from spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, or amputations can persist indefinitely, affecting your ability to enjoy daily activities, maintain relationships, and participate in the things that mattered to you before the accident. Delaware personal injury lawyers factor these non-economic losses into the overall value of your claim.

Life care planning may be necessary in catastrophic injury cases. A life care plan outlines the medical treatment, equipment, and support services you’ll need for the foreseeable future, giving the court or insurance companies a concrete framework for what fair compensation should look like.

Contact Schwartz & Schwartz today for a free consultation with Delaware truck accident attorneys who will fight to secure maximum compensation for the full scope of your injuries.

 

Contact Our Truck Accidents Lawyers in Delaware Today

Any motor vehicle collision has the potential to cause serious injuries, but when truck accidents occur, this risk is greatly amplified. If you or a loved one were injured in a wreck with a tractor-trailer — or if you were a pedestrian or other accident victim — it’s important to seek the compensation you deserve. Lost wages, medical bills, pain and suffering, future medical expenses, and a variety of other difficulties can become costly very quickly. You shouldn’t have to face these struggles on your own, and with Delaware personal injury attorneys on your side, you won’t have to. This means you can focus on healing and caring for your family while the legal process plays out.

At Schwartz & Schwartz, our legal professionals have spent years fighting to secure maximum compensation for our clients who were injured in accidents involving commercial trucks. Tractor-trailers are necessary for our economy, but when negligence is thrown into the mix, the results can be devastating. While our Delaware truck accident lawyers might call “The First State” home, we also serve clients in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., and New Jersey.  With experienced truck accident lawyers on your side, you’ll have a legal advocate who will fight relentlessly to ensure you get justice.

Contact us today by calling (302) 678-8700.