Rochester Truck Accident Lawyer
Driving on I-390, I-490, I-590, and other busy roadways in and around Rochester often means sharing the road with tractor-trailers and other large commercial vehicles. That’s something most drivers don’t think about until a crash happens.
These types of accidents can be life-changing, and when they are caused by another person’s or company’s negligence, injured victims may be able to pursue compensation for what they have lost. However, truck accident claims differ from typical car accident claims in ways that can make recovery especially challenging.
Finkelstein & Partners, LLP has represented injured New Yorkers since 1959 and maintains a local office in Rochester. If you were hurt in a truck accident, our Rochester truck accident attorneys can investigate what happened, identify who may be responsible, and help you pursue the compensation you deserve.
You can reach out to us by calling 585-639-3534 .
What Makes Truck Accident Cases So Complex?
A collision involving a commercial truck is rarely just a dispute between two drivers. Several factors can make these claims more complicated than a typical car accident case, including:
- Multiple parties may share responsibility: The truck driver may have caused the immediate crash, but a trucking company may have hired or retained an unsafe driver, a maintenance provider may have failed to repair a mechanical problem, or a loading company may have improperly secured cargo.
- Commercial trucking regulations may apply: Truck drivers and motor carriers must follow rules involving driver qualifications, hours of service, vehicle inspection and maintenance, cargo securement, and other safety issues. Whether those rules were followed can become an important part of determining what went wrong.
- There may be additional evidence to uncover: Electronic logging data, driver qualification files, maintenance records, dispatch information, and other commercial records can help establish how the crash happened, but much of that evidence may be held by the trucking company or another business involved.
- The losses can be more extensive: Truck crashes can cause serious harm like traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and other catastrophic trauma. That can lead to substantial medical expenses, prolonged time away from work, and permanent limitations. Insurers may dispute both the extent of those losses and what compensation is appropriate.
Together, these issues can make identifying everyone responsible, proving how the crash occurred, and determining the full value of the claim considerably more involved than in an ordinary motor vehicle accident.
How Our Rochester Truck Accident Lawyers Can Help
Finkelstein & Partners, LLP has handled serious injury claims for more than 65 years, including cases involving commercial trucking companies and their drivers. Our past results include a $6.8 million jury award after a commercial truck driver caused a four-vehicle pileup and a $5.315 million settlement involving a trucking company that rehired a driver it had previously fired twice for speeding.
We also understand how important it is for our clients to be able to speak with our team face to face, which is why we maintain a local office at 104A Metro Park #8.
When you trust our truck accident attorneys in Rochester to handle your case, we can help:
- Trace the decisions that led to the crash: We look beyond what the driver did in the final moments before impact to determine whether hiring, supervision, scheduling, maintenance, or cargo practices also contributed.
- Secure records from the trucking operation: Driver logs, dispatch records, qualification files, inspection reports, maintenance histories, and electronic data can provide a much fuller picture of what was happening before the collision.
- Compare the evidence with trucking safety requirements: When federal or state rules apply, we examine whether violations involving driving hours, vehicle condition, cargo, or other safety obligations help explain why the crash occurred.
- Reconstruct disputed accidents: When the parties disagree about speed, positioning, braking, or how the collision unfolded, we can work with accident reconstruction professionals and other qualified experts to analyze the available evidence.
- Identify every source of responsibility and coverage: A serious truck crash may involve the driver, motor carrier, contractors, maintenance companies, cargo businesses, or other parties, each with potentially different insurance coverage.
- Build evidence of what the crash has cost you: We document medical treatment, lost income, reduced earning ability, permanent limitations, and other losses so the claim reflects the actual impact of the injuries.
- Take on the trucking company and its insurers: We handle negotiations and disputed claims, and we are prepared to litigate when the other side will not accept responsibility or offer fair compensation.
Our goal is to help truck accident victims hold every responsible party accountable and pursue the full compensation available to them.
Who Can Be Held Liable for a Rochester Truck Accident?
Finding out why a truck crash occurred is often the first step toward identifying who may be legally responsible. In some cases, the driver alone caused the collision; in others, the investigation may uncover failures involving the company that put the truck on the road or another business involved in its operation.
Depending on what caused the crash, potentially responsible parties may include:
- The truck driver: Truck driver negligence can include speeding, distraction, fatigue, following too closely, unsafe lane changes, impairment, or other dangerous driving.
- The trucking company: A motor carrier may bear responsibility for its driver’s conduct and may also be negligent in its own right through unsafe hiring, inadequate supervision, poor training, or pressure to disregard safety requirements.
- A maintenance or repair company: Poorly maintained brakes, tires, steering systems, lights, or other equipment can contribute to a preventable crash.
- A cargo-loading company: Improperly loaded or secured freight can shift, fall from the truck, or affect the driver’s ability to maintain control. Federal cargo-securement rules are intended to prevent cargo from shifting or falling during transport.
- A vehicle or parts manufacturer: A defective tire, brake component, coupling system, or other part may create a separate product-liability issue when the defect contributes to the collision.
More than one party may share responsibility for the same accident, so stopping the investigation with the truck driver can leave important causes of the crash, and potential sources of compensation, unexamined.
What Compensation Can You Recover After a Rochester Truck Accident?
New York’s no-fault insurance system can provide first-party benefits for certain medical expenses, lost earnings, and other basic economic losses after a motor vehicle accident. A claim against an at-fault party can involve additional losses, although recovering non-economic damages in covered motor-vehicle cases generally requires an injury that meets New York’s current “serious injury” standard.
Depending on the circumstances, compensation may include:
- Medical expenses: Hospitalization, surgery, specialist care, medication, rehabilitation, and other necessary treatment
- Future medical and care needs: Ongoing treatment, therapy, assistance, or other care resulting from the injuries
- Lost income: Wages and other earnings lost because the injuries prevented the person from working
- Reduced earning capacity: Losses resulting when an injury limits the type or amount of work a person can perform in the future
- Pain and suffering: Compensation for physical pain and other non-economic effects of qualifying injuries
- Permanent disability or impairment: Lasting physical or cognitive limitations caused by the crash
- Property damage and other financial losses: Damage to the vehicle and other recoverable accident-related expenses
When a truck accident results in death, the family may have additional rights through a New York wrongful death claim, subject to the state’s rules governing who may bring the action and what damages are recoverable.
What to Do After a Truck Accident in Rochester, NY
The period immediately after a truck crash can be chaotic, but the information gathered at the scene and in the days that follow may later become important to both the insurance claim and any lawsuit.
When circumstances allow, consider taking these steps:
- Get to a safe location without putting yourself in further danger.
- Call 911 and report the crash so emergency services and law enforcement can respond.
- Seek medical attention for injuries, including symptoms that may not initially seem severe.
- Exchange information with the driver without arguing about who caused the collision.
- Document the scene by photographing the vehicles, roadway, debris, skid marks, traffic signs, and other relevant conditions.
- Record identifying information from the truck, including the company name, license plate, and DOT number when safely possible.
- Get witness contact information from anyone who saw what happened.
- Preserve damaged property and records, including photographs, medical documents, wage information, and crash-related expenses.
- Be cautious when speaking with insurers, particularly before giving a recorded statement or agreeing to a settlement.
- Speak with a personal injury attorney experienced in truck accident cases. An attorney can investigate the crash and determine whether you have a viable claim.
Frequently Asked Questions About Rochester Truck Accident Claims
Schedule a Free Consultation With a Truck Accident Lawyer in Rochester
A serious truck accident can leave you dealing with medical treatment, time away from work, and questions about what happened while the trucking company and its insurers are already evaluating the crash from their side. You do not have to sort through questions about commercial records, responsibility, and compensation on your own.
Finkelstein & Partners, LLP has represented injured people since 1959 and has a local Rochester office available to serve clients throughout the area. If you or someone you love was injured in a commercial-truck collision, contact us for a free case evaluation.
Finkelstein & Partners’ Rochester Law Office
The Finkelstein & Partners Rochester Personal Injury law firm is located at 104A Metro Park #8 Rochester, NY 14623.
You can call us at 585-639-3534 for a free case evaluation.