The most serious and fatal truck accident injuries will often involve a tractor-trailer truck. Tractor-trailer truck accidents occur far too frequently in New Jersey and across the nation. Some 300,000 accidents involving tractor-trailers happen every year throughout the United States. On average, there are 6,000 tractor-trailer accidents on New Jersey highways each year, leading to approximately 60 deaths due to such truck accidents.

Tractor-trailers and other types of truck accidents have a higher incidence of fatalities than car accidents due to their tremendous size and inability to control the truck once an emergency happens. Tractor-trailer crashes frequently impact multiple vehicles, resulting in numerous injuries or deaths. At Mazie Slater, our New Jersey truck accident attorneys have extensive experience in handling cases for victims of truck accidents who have been injured, such as $5 million settlement on behalf of a client who was hit by a tractor trailer and a $1.47 million settlement for a man killed by a tractor-trailer on the New Jersey Turnpike.

These cases can become very complex as they involve trucking companies, multiple defendants, insurance companies, as well as federal and state laws that regulate the trucking industry. Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances.

There are countless causes of tractor-trailer accidents on New Jersey roads each year. As aggressive New Jersey tractor-trailer accident attorneys, we have extensive experience in handling such cases.

These crashes are usually caused by one or more of the following:

Of the possible causes shown above, fatigue and poor judgment on the part of the driver are most frequently the cause of the crash. Tired drivers are more likely to exceed the speed limit, slam on the brakes and fail to pay attention to other traffic sharing the road with them. Drivers who are in a hurry to get to their destination are more likely to drive in bad weather and through the night when they should be resting.

It can be challenging to establish legal liability in a tractor-trailer or truck accident. Trucking firms like to shift the blame for equipment failures to a third party. They might blame a poorly loaded truck on the company that put the merchandise in the trailer. They could accuse the tire manufacturer if a blowout occurred. They may also blame a truck maintenance company if the tractor-trailer truck’s tire or wheel falls off or separates and ends up in the New Jersey roadway. It takes an aggressive New Jersey tractor-trailer accident attorney to determine the exact cause by sifting through the evidence and having experts reconstruct the scene of the crash.

After an expert decides what or who caused the crash, a truck accident attorney must prove culpability in a New Jersey court of law. In previous years, trucking companies hid actual ownership of the tractor-trailer to evade their liability. Independent drivers, maintenance companies, equipment manufacturers and leasing companies may be fully responsible or may share the responsibility for the crash. Workers who load the trailers or who connect the trailers may also be at fault.

At Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman, our aggressive New Jersey truck accident attorneys have extensive experience handling truck accident cases. We have been named to the Best New Jersey Personal Injury Lawyers list by the Best Lawyers in America publication for a reason. We are prepared to take on your case and recover maximum compensation for your personal injuries or loss.

The aggressive tractor-trailer and truck accident lawyers at Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman specialize in ensuring that victims of tractor-trailer accidents in New Jersey receive just compensation. We begin proving liability immediately after the wreck by gathering evidence from black boxes that detail braking patterns, operating speeds and the driver’s records. It is critical that this data is gathered as soon as possible after the crash occurs. We examine the inspection reports, take photos of the accident scene and document injuries. We scrutinize the official police report and the inspector’s documentation of the mechanical and electrical condition of the tractor-trailer.

Trucking companies have a battery of attorneys who will fight the case vigorously. If you were involved in a tractor-trailer accident, you need an equally committed law firm representing your interests. Our tractor-trailer accident attorneys do not stop until the case goes to court or is settled fairly.

If you or a loved one has been the victim of a serious tractor-trailer accident, please contact the aggressive New Jersey truck accident lawyers at Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman. We will respond as possible to discuss your truck accident case.