Philadelphia Truck Accident Lawyers

A collision with a tractor-trailer or other commercial truck can leave people facing catastrophic injuries, significant medical expenses, time away from work, and questions about who was responsible.

Truck accident claims can also be substantially more complicated than ordinary car accident claims. The truck driver may be only one part of the investigation. The trucking company, maintenance providers, cargo companies, equipment manufacturers, and other businesses may also have played a role in putting an unsafe vehicle or driver on the road.

At Stampone O’Brien Dilsheimer Holloway, our Philadelphia truck accident lawyers investigate serious commercial vehicle crashes from every angle. We examine what happened on the road, but we also look at what happened before the crash: how the driver was hired and trained, whether the vehicle was properly maintained, how long the driver had been working, whether safety problems were ignored, and whether other companies contributed to the collision.

When the injuries are serious, the investigation should be equally thorough.

Why Are Truck Accident Claims Different From Car Accident Claims?

A truck accident is not simply a bigger car accident.

Commercial trucking operations can involve federal safety regulations, corporate policies, vehicle inspection requirements, electronic records, dispatch systems, maintenance programs, cargo operations, and multiple companies working together.

That means a truck accident investigation may need to answer questions that do not arise in a typical passenger-vehicle collision.

For example:

Was the driver qualified to operate the vehicle?
Had the driver been on the road too long?
Was the trucking company monitoring its drivers?
Was the truck properly inspected and maintained?
Did brakes, tires, steering systems, or other equipment fail?
Was cargo properly loaded and secured?
Did the company know about previous safety problems?
Did another contractor or business contribute to the crash?

These cases can also involve significant amounts of evidence controlled by commercial defendants rather than the injured person.

That makes early investigation especially important.

What Should You Do After a Truck Accident?

Your health comes first. Seek immediate medical care after a serious collision, even if you are not yet sure how badly you have been injured.

If possible, there are also steps that can help preserve important information.

Report the Crash

Call 911 and make sure the collision is documented. Police records can help identify the drivers, vehicles, witnesses, insurance information, and circumstances surrounding the crash.

Document the Scene

If you or someone with you can safely do so, take photographs or video of:

• Vehicle damage
• The truck and trailer
• Company names and identifying information
• License plates
• Roadway conditions
• Debris
• Tire marks
• Traffic signals and signs
• Visible injuries

Commercial vehicles may be repaired or placed back into service, and roadway evidence can disappear quickly.

Get Witness Information

Independent witnesses can become extremely important when drivers or companies dispute how a collision occurred.

Collect names and contact information whenever possible.

Preserve Your Records

Keep medical records, bills, photographs, employment and wage loss information, insurance correspondence, and other documents related to the crash and your injuries.

Be Careful About Giving Statements

A trucking company and its insurer may begin investigating immediately after a crash. Do not provide a recorded statement to the trucking company or its insurer before speaking with an attorney. You should also avoid signing documents or agreeing to anything that could affect your rights until you understand your legal options.

Speak With a Truck Accident Lawyer Early

Some of the most important evidence may be held by the trucking company or another commercial entity.

An attorney can take steps to identify and preserve that evidence before it is lost through repairs, routine data deletion, employee turnover, or ordinary business practices.

Who Can Be Held Responsible for a Truck Accident?

A serious truck crash may involve more than one responsible party.

Identifying all of them can be critical to understanding how the collision happened and what claims may be available.

The Truck Driver

Commercial drivers have a responsibility to operate large vehicles safely.

Driver negligence may involve:

• Speeding
• Following too closely
• Distracted driving
• Unsafe lane changes
• Driving while fatigued
• Driving while impaired
• Failing to adjust for rain, snow, traffic, or road conditions
• Ignoring traffic signals
• Losing control of the vehicle
• Failing to conduct required inspections

But stopping the investigation with the driver can miss the larger story.

The Trucking Company

A trucking company or motor carrier may have responsibilities related to the driver, vehicle, and commercial operation.

An investigation may examine:

• Hiring practices
• Driver qualifications
• Training
• Supervision
• Company safety policies
• Driver scheduling
• Vehicle inspections
• Maintenance
• Prior safety problems
• Company communications
• Compliance with applicable commercial trucking requirements

A crash caused by an individual driver may reveal broader failures within the company responsible for putting that driver and vehicle on the road.

Maintenance and Repair Companies

Commercial trucks require regular inspection, maintenance, and repair.

If a separate company was responsible for maintaining the vehicle, they may be liable if brakes, tires, steering systems, lights, or other components contributed to the crash.

Cargo Loaders and Other Commercial Entities

Improperly loaded or secured cargo can affect a truck’s balance, stability, braking, and handling.

Depending on how the shipment was arranged, another company may have been responsible for loading or securing the cargo.

Truck and Parts Manufacturers

Sometimes the problem is not the driver or maintenance. It is the vehicle itself.

Defective brakes, tires, steering components, coupling systems, or other equipment may contribute to a serious collision.

When a defective vehicle or component is involved, our product liability lawyers can investigate whether a manufacturer or another company may also be responsible.

What Causes Truck Accidents?

Serious truck crashes rarely happen without a reason.

Common contributing factors include:

Poor hiring or supervision
Driver fatigue
Speeding
Distracted driving
Impaired driving
Unsafe following distance
Inadequate training
Improper vehicle maintenance
Worn or defective brakes

Tire failures
Improperly secured cargo
Overloaded trailers
Unsafe lane changes
Blind-spot collisions
Unsafe backing
Failure to adjust to weather or road conditions

In a serious case, the question should not stop at what happened immediately before impact.

The investigation should also ask why the dangerous situation was allowed to develop in the first place.

What Evidence Matters in a Truck Accident Case?

Commercial trucking operations can create records that help reconstruct what happened before and during a collision.

The evidence available depends on the circumstances, but an investigation may include:

Electronic Logging Device Records

Electronic logging devices can contain information related to a driver’s recorded hours of service.

These records may become important when fatigue or excessive driving time is suspected.

Electronic Vehicle Data

Some commercial vehicles contain electronic systems capable of recording information about vehicle operation.

Depending on the truck and its systems, electronic data may help experts analyze speed, braking, engine activity, or other events surrounding a crash.

Driver Qualification Records

An investigation may examine the driver’s qualifications, training, driving history, prior violations, employment information, and other records relevant to whether the person should have been operating the vehicle.

Maintenance and Inspection Records

Inspection, service, and repair records can help determine whether safety problems were identified, ignored, inadequately repaired, or allowed to continue.

These records can be particularly important when mechanical failure may have contributed to the collision.

Dispatch and Company Communications

Dispatch records, schedules, emails, messages, and other communications may help establish what the driver had been instructed to do and how the trucking operation was being managed.

Evidence From the Crash Scene

Police reports, surveillance video, dashcam footage, photographs, witness statements, roadway evidence, vehicle damage, and accident reconstruction can help establish how the collision occurred.

No single piece of evidence tells the whole story in every case. The goal is to determine how the available evidence fits together.

Why Does Driver Fatigue Matter in Truck Accidents?

Operating a tractor-trailer requires sustained attention, judgment, and reaction time.

Fatigue can impair all three.

Federal trucking rules regulate the amount of time many commercial drivers may spend driving and working before required rest periods. When fatigue is suspected, attorneys may examine electronic logs, dispatch records, schedules, receipts, communications, and other evidence that helps reconstruct the driver’s activity before the collision.

The investigation may also look beyond whether a driver technically exceeded a particular limit.

Company scheduling practices, delivery expectations, inadequate rest, and pressure to remain on the road may all help explain how fatigue contributed to the crash.

What Happens When a Trucking Company Fails to Maintain Its Vehicles?

A tractor-trailer can travel thousands of miles while carrying enormous loads. Its brakes, tires, steering systems, lights, coupling equipment, and other safety systems have to work properly.

When maintenance is neglected, a mechanical problem can become a catastrophic roadway hazard.

A thorough investigation may examine:

Vehicle inspection reports
Maintenance schedules
Repair records
Driver inspection reports
Prior mechanical problems
Brake and tire condition
Whether the vehicle should have been taken out of service
Which company was responsible for maintenance or repairs

Sometimes what initially appears to be driver error may actually stem from decisions made long before the crash—including neglected repairs, ignored warnings, or failures in a trucking company’s maintenance practices.

What Injuries Can Truck Accidents Cause?

The size and weight of commercial vehicles can result in devastating injuries to people in smaller vehicles, pedestrians, bicyclists, and others on the road.

Our attorneys represent people who have suffered injuries including:

Traumatic brain injuries
Spinal cord injuries
Paralysis
Amputations
Crush injuries
Multiple fractures

Internal injuries
Orthopedic injuries
Severe burns
Nerve damage
Permanent scarring or disfigurement

Some injuries require repeated surgeries, rehabilitation, assistive equipment, home modifications, or lifelong medical care.

Others permanently change the injured person’s ability to work, care for family members, participate in activities, or live independently.

A serious truck accident claim should consider those future consequences, not simply the bills that have already arrived.

What Compensation May Be Available After a Truck Accident?

The compensation available depends on the circumstances of the crash, the severity of the injuries, and how those injuries affect the person’s life.

Potential damages may include:

Medical Expenses

Compensation for emergency care, hospitalization, surgeries, rehabilitation, medication, medical equipment, therapy, follow-up treatment, and reasonably anticipated future medical care.

Lost Income and Reduced Earning Capacity

A serious injury can prevent someone from working temporarily or permanently.

A claim may account for wages already lost as well as the effect an injury is expected to have on the person’s future ability to earn income.

Pain, Disability, and Loss of Quality of Life

Not every loss comes with an invoice.

A serious truck accident may affect mobility, independence, relationships, hobbies, daily routines, and the ability to enjoy life.Chronic pain, physical limitations, and lasting disabilities can prevent someone from living the life they enjoyed before the crash.

These personal losses are an important part of evaluating the full extent of a truck accident claim.

Wrongful Death Damages

When a truck collision causes a death, surviving family members and the estate may have rights under Pennsylvania law.

Our wrongful death attorneys represent families seeking accountability after fatal accidents and other preventable deaths.

Punitive Damages

Punitive damages may be available in certain cases involving sufficiently serious misconduct. They are not automatically available simply because a commercial truck caused a crash.

How Long Do You Have to File a Truck Accident Lawsuit in Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania generally imposes a two-year statute of limitations on personal injury actions, including truck accidents. But waiting until a filing deadline approaches can create problems in a truck accident case.

Commercial evidence may disappear much sooner. Vehicles can be repaired. Video may be overwritten. Employees may leave or pass away. Electronic information and company records may be handled according to retention schedules.

That is why preserving evidence can be just as important as knowing the legal filing deadline.

Different rules may also apply depending on where the collision occurred, who was involved, and the type of claim being pursued.

How Much Is a Truck Accident Case Worth?

There is no reliable average truck accident settlement that can predict the value of an individual case.

Every case is different, and case value depends on several factors such as:

The severity and permanence of the injuries
Past medical expenses
Future medical and rehabilitation needs
Lost income
Reduced earning capacity
Long-term care needs

Pain and disability
The strength of the liability evidence
Whether multiple parties are responsible
Available insurance coverage
The long-term effect on the injured person and family

Even two crashes involving similar trucks can result in significantly different settlements or verdicts.

An accurate case evaluation requires more than comparing settlement averages. It requires a thorough understanding of how the crash happened, who is responsible, the full extent of the injuries, and the financial and personal losses the injured person may face for years to come.

What If a Truck Accident Causes a Death?

A fatal truck accident creates a different kind of case.

Families may be grieving while simultaneously facing medical bills, funeral expenses, lost income, unanswered questions, and an investigation involving trucking companies and insurers.

A wrongful death investigation may examine the driver, vehicle, trucking company, maintenance history, corporate safety practices, and every other factor that contributed to the collision.

Stampone O’Brien Dilsheimer Holloway represents families in wrongful death cases involving commercial vehicles and other forms of negligence.

Why Choose Stampone O’Brien Dilsheimer Holloway for a Truck Accident Case?

Truck accident litigation requires a willingness to go beyond the police report and find out what actually happened.

Stampone O’Brien Dilsheimer Holloway has handled serious commercial vehicle and truck accident cases involving catastrophic injuries, wrongful death, disputed liability, trucking-company negligence, vehicle safety failures, electronic evidence, and corporate defendants.

Two cases illustrate why that level of investigation and preparation matters.

$55 Million Verdict After a Tractor-Trailer Crash

Our client suffered catastrophic injuries after a tractor-trailer traveling too fast for rainy conditions jackknifed and pinned her against a guardrail, resulting in the loss of both legs.

The commercial motor carrier denied responsibility and the defense attempted to blame our client. After extensive preparation and trial, a jury returned a $55 million verdict.

Read how the legal team secured the $55 million tractor-trailer verdict.

$40 Million Settlement After a Fatal Commercial Truck Crash

In another case, a family was struck by an 80,000-pound tractor-trailer hauling municipal waste.

The investigation went far beyond the actions of the driver. The legal team uncovered that the truck involved in the collision hadn’t passed a safety inspection in nearly two years. Its brakes and tires were dangerously worn. The driver lacked proper credentials and had a record of prior safety violations. Despite this, the vehicle was allowed to operate while hauling municipal waste more than 3,600 times through controlled facilities.

After nine days of testimony and more than 25 witnesses, the case resolved for $40 million before closing arguments.

Read how the investigation led to the $40 million truck accident settlement.

Past results do not guarantee the outcome of another case. What these cases demonstrate is the work required when trucking companies, insurers, and other defendants dispute responsibility for a catastrophic collision.

Our attorneys investigate the driver, vehicle, corporate operation, electronic records, witnesses, medical evidence, and other potential sources of liability, then prepare the case to stand up in negotiations or at trial.

Additional results can be found on our Verdicts & Settlements page.

Frequently Asked Questions About Truck Accidents

Can I Sue the Trucking Company as Well as the Driver?

Yes.

The trucking company may have legal responsibility based on its relationship with the driver or its own conduct involving hiring, training, supervision, maintenance, scheduling, or other aspects of the trucking operation.

The specific facts determine which parties may be responsible.

What Is a Truck’s “Black Box”?

Commercial vehicles may contain electronic systems capable of recording certain information related to vehicle operation.

The information available varies depending on the vehicle and equipment, but electronic evidence can sometimes help experts understand speed, braking, engine activity, or other events surrounding a collision.

What If the Truck Driver Was an Independent Contractor?

Calling a driver an “independent contractor” does not necessarily resolve every question of legal responsibility.

An attorney may need to examine the relationships among the driver, motor carrier, truck owner, broker, shipper, and other companies involved.

What If I Was the Party Responsible for the Crash?

Do not assume you cannot bring a claim simply because someone alleges that you contributed to the collision.

Pennsylvania uses comparative negligence rules, which can affect whether and how much an injured person can recover. Fault should be evaluated based on the evidence rather than an insurance company’s initial conclusion.

Should I Talk to the Trucking Company’s Insurance Company?

You are not obligated to give the trucking company or its insurance company a statement about the crash before speaking with an attorney. After a serious truck accident, the trucking company and its insurer may begin investigating immediately to protect their interests. What you say could be used to challenge liability or minimize the value of your claim.

Do not provide a recorded statement, sign documents, or accept a settlement without first understanding your legal rights. We strongly recommend speaking with one of our experienced truck accident attorneys before communicating with the trucking company or its insurer about the crash.

Do I Need a Lawyer for a Truck Accident Claim?

When a commercial truck crash causes serious injuries or death, having an experienced attorney can make a significant difference in how a claim is investigated, presented, and resolved. Truck accident cases often involve extensive evidence, multiple potentially responsible parties, complex insurance coverage, and trucking companies and insurers with substantial resources dedicated to defending claims.

Having an attorney on your side levels the playing field. An experienced truck accident lawyer can move quickly to preserve critical evidence, investigate the cause of the crash, identify all potentially liable parties, document the full extent of your losses, and challenge attempts to shift blame or undervalue your claim. Your attorney can also handle communications with insurers, negotiate from a position supported by evidence, and prepare your case for trial if a fair settlement cannot be reached.

You do not have to navigate the process alone. The decisions made early in a truck accident claim can affect your ability to recover compensation, and having the right legal representation can help protect your rights and put you in a stronger position to pursue the compensation you deserve.

Talk to a Philadelphia Truck Accident Lawyer

A trucking company may begin protecting its interests almost immediately after a serious crash.

You should have someone protecting yours.

Stampone O’Brien Dilsheimer Holloway can investigate what happened, preserve important evidence, identify the people and companies that may be responsible, and document the full effect the collision has had on you and your family.

Contact Stampone O’Brien Dilsheimer Holloway for a free, confidential consultation about a truck accident.