Were you injured in a truck accident in Gresham, Oregon? If the crash was caused by a truck driver’s or trucking company’s negligence, you have a right to financial recovery for your injury losses. Let Rizk Law Gresham truck accident lawyers advocate for your rights and interests.
Due to the inherent danger of trucking, commercial trucks are subject to a host of intersecting state and federal laws, administrative rules, and regulations. Rizk Law has the experience, expertise, and resources to take on big trucking companies and their insurers.
We know the methods, strategies, and tactics used by the trucking industry, typically a combination of delay, deny, or defend. Firm founder Richard Rizk has extensive insider insights from within the insurance industry stemming from his past work as a claims defense attorney and manager of high-exposure, catastrophic claims. Rizk Law’s insights into insurer strategies will drastically shift the balance of power back to you. You deserve just and complete compensation for your pain, suffering, and losses. Let Rizk Law do the heaving lifting on your road to recovery of complete and maximum recovery.
If you or people you care about have been injured in an 18-wheeler, big rig, semi-truck, or other kind of commercial truck crash, don’t go commando. You need a legal team who can navigate the claims process, call out trucking company nonsense, and demand the maximum financial recovery on your behalf. You need Rizk Law.
Contact Rizk Law for a free truck accident case evaluation. Learn how we can help you pursue compensation for your medical bills, lost earnings, and more.
Benefits of Hiring a Gresham, Oregon, Attorney for Your Truck Accident Claim
The recovery process after a devastating truck accident is time-consuming and stressful. After all, you are not your best self after enduring the fallout of a truck crash. When you hire a truck accident lawyer from Rizk Law, you will have an experienced legal advocate on your side. We deal with the details of your truck accident claim while you focus on recovery.
Let our Gresham truck accident law firm fight for the financial recovery you need and deserve by:
- Thoroughly investigating the crash to secure compelling evidence for your claim
- Documenting your injuries and losses to ensure you recover full compensation for your losses
- Identifying liable parties and evaluating your legal options for financial recovery
- Dealing with insurance adjusters, defense lawyers, and trucking company representatives for you
- Aggressively negotiating for a maximum settlement or, if necessary, fighting for you in court
What to Do After a Truck Accident
Following a truck accident, taking prompt action is the best way to protect your right to recover compensation. Steps you can take to prepare for your legal claim after a truck crash include:
- Following your doctor’s treatment recommendations and recovery instructions
- Requesting copies of your medical records
- Reporting the accident to your auto insurance provider
- Keeping all bills, invoices, and receipts of expenses you incur during your recovery
- Gathering copies of your pay stubs or income statements if you miss time from work or can only work part-time or light-duty while recovering from your injuries
- Obtaining a copy of the police crash report
- Contacting a Gresham truck accident attorney from Rizk Law to discuss your legal options
How We Investigate Gresham, Oregon, Truck Accident Cases
A successful truck accident claim will require a thorough investigation of the crash to secure compelling evidence, prove the cause of the accident, and identify those responsible. When you hire Rizk Law after a truck accident, you can expect our legal team to promptly investigate your claim to recover all available evidence. This includes:
- The driver’s hours-of-service logs, which record how long they were on duty and at the wheel
- The truck’s event data recorder (“black box”) logs
- In-cab or dashcam footage
- The truck’s cargo manifest
- The truck driver’s post-trip inspection reports
- The truck’s repair and maintenance records
- The truck driver’s driving and employment records
In some cases, we will bring in experts to help review the evidence and craft a compelling case to prove the truck driver’s or trucking company’s fault for the accident.
Why Trucking Accidents Are More Complicated Than Other Motor Vehicle Crashes
Injured truck accident victims often encounter challenges and obstacles during the claims process that victims of other kinds of motor vehicle accidents do not have to face. Some of the unique factors that make trucking accidents more complicated than other auto accidents include:
- The Severity of Injuries Suffered by Crash Victims – By their nature, truck accidents tend to cause more severe injuries. As a result, injury claims frequently involve higher amounts of potential compensation. This can complicate settlement negotiations when trucking companies and insurers balk at higher settlement demands.
- The Complexity of Truck Accident Evidence – Truck accidents often involve more evidence than other auto accidents, including multiple types of business records kept by trucking companies. A truck accident investigation usually requires a thorough review of a wide range of evidence to determine the cause of the crash and identify those at fault.
- The Potential for Multiple Liable Parties – If several parties share responsibility for a truck crash, they can complicate the claims process by fighting to allocate liability for your injuries and losses.
- The Complexity of Trucking Companies’ Insurance Coverage – Many trucking companies have layered insurance policies in which each layer of coverage triggers only after other policies have exhausted their coverage. Layered insurance coverage can make it challenging to determine the amount of available coverage when evaluating a trucking company’s financial resources.
Compensation You Could Recover in a Gresham, Oregon, Truck Accident Claim
After a truck crash, you could have the right to recover compensation for financial and personal losses you suffer due to injuries caused by the accident. Our Gresham truck accident law firm will fight to obtain maximum financial recovery for your:
- Medical treatment and rehabilitation expenses
- Costs of long-term disability care and home support services
- Lost wages from missed work or reduced earnings while on part-time or light-duty
- Lost future earning capacity and employment benefits following permanent disability
- Pain and suffering
- Reduced quality of life caused by permanent disabilities or disfigurement
Parties Who Could Be Held Liable for a Truck Wreck in Gresham, Oregon
The trucking industry involves multiple types of companies and workers. Any of these parties could bear responsibility for a truck accident that injures you. Examples of parties that Rizk Law might hold liable for your truck accident injuries include:
- The truck driver
- The trucking company
- The truck’s owner (if not the driver or trucking company)
- Third-party mechanics who perform repair or maintenance work on the truck
- The cargo or shipping company
- The truck’s manufacturer or third-party auto part manufacturers
Could You Recover Compensation if You Are Partly to Blame for a Trucking Accident?
Yes. Even if you share some responsibility for a commercial truck accident, you could still have the right to recover compensation for your losses under Oregon’s modified comparative negligence rule. This statute allows you to recover compensation if your share of fault for the truck accident does not exceed the fault or combined fault of others responsible for the crash.
However, this rule can also reduce your financial recovery in proportion to your percentage of fault for the semi-truck accident. Because the comparative negligence rule can reduce your truck accident compensation, it is best to get experienced legal help to fight back when other parties insist you are at fault.
How Long Do You Have to File a Trucking Accident Lawsuit in Oregon?
Under Oregon law, you typically have two years after getting hurt in a truck crash to file a truck accident lawsuit against a liable party. If you file your truck accident claim after the limitations period expires, you could lose your opportunity to demand financial relief and accountability from at-fault parties.
Protect your right to compensation by contacting a Rizk Law truck accident lawyer in Gresham as soon as possible after a crash.
Common Types and Causes of Commercial Truck Accidents in Gresham, Oregon
At Rizk Law, our legal team advocates for clients who suffered serious injuries in truck crashes. These include:
- Head-on collisions
- Rear-end collisions
- T-bone collisions
- Sideswipe accidents
- Underride accidents
- Jackknife accidents
- Truck rollover accidents
- Fatal truck accidents
We work hard to hold truck drivers and companies accountable for careless actions that cause truck accidents, such as:
- Speeding or driving too fast for conditions
- Tailgating or following too closely
- Reckless driving
- Distracted driving
- Drowsy or fatigued driving
- Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs
- Failing to yield the right of way
- Turning or changing lanes without signaling
- Unsafe or illegal lane changes, turns, or passes
- Improper wide turns
- Running red lights or stop signs
- Traveling the wrong way down the street
- Inadequate truck maintenance
- Unsafe cargo loading or securement
- Inadequate driver screening or training
Typical Injuries Resulting from a Truck Collision
Because of a commercial truck’s significant weight, truck crashes tend to cause more severe injuries than other motor vehicle accidents. Common examples of truck accident injury include:
- Severe lacerations
- Broken bones
- Torn ligaments, tendons, or muscles
- Nerve damage
- Herniated disc injuries
- Internal organ damage
- Internal bleeding
- Facial injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries and paralysis
- Traumatic amputation or limb loss
Contact a Truck Accident Lawyer in Gresham, Oregon, Today
Did a collision with an 18-wheeler, semi-truck, big rig, or other kind of commercial truck cause serious injuries to you or a loved one? You could have the right to recover compensation from a negligent truck driver or trucking company who caused the crash. Hiring experienced legal representation can make the claims process less stressful. Contact Rizk Law today for a free, no-obligation consultation with a Gresham truck accident lawyer.