Experienced Pittsburgh Truck Accident Lawyers
Romanow Law Group is the go-to law firm when you’ve been injured
Truck accidents are among the most violent traffic wrecks on the road in Pittsburgh. Serious injuries like Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs), nerve damage, and fractures are common. The results can be loss of body function and mobility, chronic pain, and other disabilities. Truck accidents can also be fatal.
Crash victims need to collect maximum compensation or risk having their settlements run out before they are healed. But the insurance company wants to settle for as little as they can get away with.
Recovering financial compensation after a truck accident can be very complicated because there’s a lot of money at stake, so get the experienced truck accident lawyers at Romanow Law Group on your side. Our law firm is a leader in Pennsylvania truck accidents. We have recovered millions of dollars in damages for injured accident victims and the families of fatal accident victims. This includes a $19.8 million win for a lost-limb accident and $1.09 million for a single car accident victim.
Injured in a Pittsburgh truck accident? We know how to win in Allegheny County
Were you or a loved one injured in a Pittsburgh area truck accident? You should know that the term “truck accidents” covers a lot more than 18-wheelers, tractor-trailers, and semi-trucks. Truck accidents can involve garbage trucks, construction vehicles, buses, commercial delivery vans and vehicles, snowplows, and dump trucks. Contact the Romanow Law Group for aggressive legal representation that gets results. We’ll give you a free case consultation and help you decide what to do next.
Romanow Law Group is known for building strong cases that demand substantial compensation. If you were injured or a loved one was killed in a Pittsburgh area truck accident, contact us for a free consultation right now.
Types of cases our Pittsburgh truck accident lawyers handle
Pittsburgh truck accidents are different from car accidents. Trucking accidents are not simply car wrecks involving larger vehicles. From a legal perspective, trucking cases are quite different from car accident cases. The rules of the game are changed. These types of claims are not investigated or litigated in the same way as car accidents.
The legal team at Romanow Law Group gets to the bottom of what happened and relentlessly pursues maximum compensation for injured victims. These are just some, but not all, of the types of truck accidents we handle:
- Rollover.
- Jackknife.
- Wide turn.
- Overweight or overloaded.
- Rear-end.
- Underride.
- T-bone.
- Head-on.
- Wrong-way driving crash.
- Drunk driver (drunk trucker, aka DUI trucker).
- Asleep at the wheel accidents.
- Multi-vehicle pileups.
What causes truck accidents?
Throughout Pennsylvania, cars share the road with large semi-trucks, tractor-trailers, and commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) that can weigh as much as 80,000 pounds when fully loaded. When there’s an accident, the consequences can be devastating. Cars are no match for a semi-truck traveling at a high speed. Drivers and passengers can suffer life-altering injuries.
There are multiple causes of truck accidents in Pittsburgh. Truck driver error, mechanical failures, drunk driving, driver fatigue, road changes, traffic signal failures, improper maintenance, and weather conditions are just a few potential causes of truck accidents.
What types of injuries do truck accidents cause?
Large commercial vehicle accidents can cause extensive and life-threatening injuries including:
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) like concussions and brain hemorrhage.
- Severe tissue damage.
- Lacerations and punctures.
- Fractured bones.
- Spinal Cord Injuries (SCIs) and nerve damage.
- Third-degree burns.
- Loss of limbs.
- Loss of sight.
- Paralysis.
- Death.
That’s why it’s critical to have a truck accident attorney who has substantial experience working on cases involving catastrophic life-threatening injuries.
Trucking companies and insurance companies fight claims for compensation after a truck accident because they know there is a lot of money at stake. They have high-powered lawyers working to protect their interests and find ways to limit your compensation. Our lawyers help you fight back to help you recover the compensation you deserve.
In Pennsylvania, who pays for truck accident injuries?
This is a more complicated question than it seems. The short answer is that your car insurance provider will pay for damages up to a point. After that you must identify liable parties and seek more money from them.
Here’s why: Pennsylvania is a “choice no-fault state,” which means crash victims usually file injury insurance claims with their own insurance provider regardless of who caused the crash. Pennsylvania also gives drivers the choice to purchase “full” or “limited” tort insurance.
With a claim, you can collect damages up to your coverage cap. If you still have expenses, and your injury meet state standards for a severe injury, you may be eligible to file a third-party lawsuit to recover further compensation.
Can I sue the trucker in a Pittsburgh trucking crash?
It depends on the circumstances. There may be several culpable people and businesses involved. This makes proving who is at-fault in a truck wreck can be difficult. For just about every big rig on the road, there is a team of people and businesses with a stake in its operation. And none of them want to take responsibility for their recklessness.
Types of people and businesses that may be liable in a truck accident include:
- Truckers.
- Trucking companies.
- Manufacturers of defective truck parts or tires.
- Cargo owners.
- Cargo loaders.
- Careless inspectors and maintenance vendors.
These are just some of the people who may be involved. With so many possible liable parties it’s very important to have an experienced truck accident lawyer to handle your claim. Our Pittsburgh truck accident attorneys can identify those liable for your truck accident injuries and fight to hold them accountable.
The Romanow Law Group knows the games trucking companies play to get out of compensating seriously injured accident victims. When we show up, it’s game over. To get results, our legal team uses proven investigation techniques developed specifically for Pittsburgh area truck accidents.
We cannot be intimidated. We cannot be tricked or confused. We know what it takes to win.
How much is my Pittsburgh truck accident claim worth?
Each accident, each injury, and each victim are different. A specific truck accident victim in the Greater Pittsburgh area may be entitled to much more or much less money than the average amount of compensation. It depends on the severity of your injuries, the circumstances of the crash, and how difficult the trucking company and their insurance company decide to be. Adjusters are notorious for undervaluing the health and wellbeing of accident victims.
Because of this, injured accident victims frequently rely on experienced attorneys to negotiate for a maximum settlement. The Romanow Law Group has taken on many of the same insurance companies you may be dealing with after your truck accident and come out on top. We know how to win in Allegheny County and throughout Pennsylvania.
Pittsburgh truck accident hotspots
On average, Allegheny County has two fatal truck accidents per year. While a truck accident can happen anywhere, some places see more crashes than others. In Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, fatal truck accidents have been recorded on:
- I-79 the Raymond P. Shaler Highway in Franklin Park.
- The Blue Belt/Allegheny Valley Expressway/Route 28 in Fox Chapel.
- Freeport Road in Harmar Township and Springdale.
- 5th Avenue in Pittsburgh.
- I-279/ North Shore Expressway in Pittsburgh.
- Penn Lincoln Parkway (I-376/US-22/US-30) in Carnegie.
- Duquesne Boulevard in Duquesne.
No matter where your truck accident happened, Romano Law Group can get to the scene quickly and start investigating the crash. Strong cases are built on hard evidence. We stop at nothing to prove your claim.
Pennsylvania and Allegheny County truck accident statistics
In an average year, about 160 people are killed in Pennsylvania truck accidents. Understanding more about how truck accidents happen here can help drivers reduce their risk of a crash. Here are some state and local truck accident statistics:
- More than 6,000 truck accidents happen every year in Pennsylvania.
- In an average year, 6 people will die in Allegheny County truck accidents.
- About 1 out of 3 Pennsylvania truck accidents happen on a turnpike.
- About 10 percent of fatal traffic accidents in Pennsylvania involve trucks.
- When a truck crashes due to a defect, the problem is most often tire or wheel related or unsecure or overloaded cargo.
What do I do after a truck accident?
Even though you were hurt in an accident that was not your fault, the trucking companies and insurance companies will try to blame you. This is often a tactic to drag out legal proceedings in the hope that you will agree to take less money. Our lawyers are ready to fight for you all the way to court, and insurance companies know it.
If you were in a truck accident, the first thing to do is get to a safe location at the crash site and call 911. If you can, take photos and video of the scene. Get the truck driver’s name, driver’s license, and insurance information, as well as information about truck ownership and the trucking company that employs them. Do not talk to the trucker, their insurance provider, company owner, or anyone else without a lawyer present. Insurance adjusters will use any excuse to undervalue your claim – so don’t give them one.
Seek immediate medical attention. If you are not transported to the hospital by ambulance, go to an emergency or urgent care department for a thorough medical examination. Then, contact the Romanow Law Group to handle your claim. Our Pittsburgh truck accident lawyers will get to work building you a solid case for maximum compensation while you focus on healing.
How do you investigate trucking companies?
Due to industry regulations that mandate high safety standards, most trucking companies complete thorough internal investigations following any accident. These internal investigations attempt to shift some of the blame for the accident away from the truck drivers and to the drivers of other vehicles.
In a trucking accident, liable parties will do everything in their power to downplay or deny your claim, but they can’t hide the evidence from us. Here are just some of the types of evidence that our Pittsburgh truck accident lawyers may collect if it is relevant to your case:
- Trucker’s driving records, certifications, licenses, and history.
- Trucking company’s history and violations, if any.
- Hiring records.
- Video surveillance footage from dashcams, nearby cameras, cellphones, or another source.
- Truck maintenance records.
- Trucker’s logbook, denoting hours on the road.
- GPS information.
- Black box records.
- Video from the cargo loading or unloading dock.
- Witness statement.
- Medical records.
- State crash report.
There are many other types of evidence that may be collected to build your case depending on the details of the crash. Romanow Law Group truck accident lawyers know how federal and state trucking laws come together to force trucking companies to leave a paper trail. Owners and liable parties will try to hide it. But we know where to find it.
What are the laws that apply to truck accidents in Pennsylvania?
The trucking industry is a heavily regulated trade. Both state and federal regulations contain safety mandates designed to keep our roadways safe. Many cases hinge on whether the trucking company complied with federal and state safety and maintenance regulations. You need a lawyer who knows how to handle these complex cases.
To hold a Pennsylvania CDL (commercial driver’s license), a driver must:
- Have a clean driving record. They cannot drive if the license is suspended, revoked, canceled, or disqualified in Pennsylvania or any other state.
- Meet the medical requirements of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations.
- Maintain a valid Medical Examiner’s Certification (ME Certificate)
- Meet state and federal hearing and vision requirements.
Other laws include:
- A trucker can lose their CDL and therefore be unable to drive a commercial motor vehicle if they get caught drunk driving, driving while high, leaving the scene of an accident, speeding at 15 mph or greater over the posted limit, reckless driving, and tailgating.
- To reduce trucker fatigue and catastrophic accidents, FMCSA sets regulations for trucker driving hours. Depending on what they’re hauling, the law has set minimum requirements for trucker breaks and maximum hours for in-service driving. Typically, a trucker must take a 10-hour break for every 10-14 hours of driving time. In addition, 30-minute driving breaks are mandated for every 8 cumulative hours of driving.
- Truckers can drive a maximum of 60-70 hours in 7-8 days. There must be a consecutive 34 hour off duty break before they can drive again.
Why should I hire your law firm after a truck accident?
Attorney David Romanow has worked for large law firms and handled big cases, bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars through negotiated settlement and jury verdicts. Attorney Ismail Yousef has a doctorate in pharmacy and understands the impact truck accident injuries can have on clients, now and in the future.
Our legal team has the experience and legal knowledge needed to handle big cases. We put in the time, effort, resources and hard work to build strong cases to help you get the maximum compensation possible.
If you were hurt in a Pittsburgh truck accident, don’t delay. It’s important for you to talk to an experienced truck accident lawyer as soon as possible. Call 1-844-GET-MORE or contact us online to schedule a free consultation with one of our truck accident lawyers.