Point Pleasant Truck Accident Lawyers

Getting hit by a truck can turn your world upside down in seconds: One moment you are driving along Route 35, and the next, you are dealing with critical injuries, non-stop calls from insurance companies, and a totaled car on top of it all. If this sounds like your situation, contact our Point Pleasant truck accident lawyers at Lombardi & Lombardi, P.A. today to discuss your case.

What Makes Truck Accidents So Much Worse Than Regular Car Crashes?

An 80,000-pound truck can cause devastating damage to you and your vehicle, even in what might seem like a minor accident. The size difference alone tells the story: Your car might weigh 3,000 pounds on a good day, but a fully loaded tractor-trailer can weigh as much as 26 cars combined. When that much weight hits you, even at relatively low speeds, the results can be devastating.

As far as compensation for your accident goes, however, while most car crashes in New Jersey fall under our “no-fault” insurance rules, the law allows truck accident victims to go after the person or company responsible for their injuries. This exception means that victims often have a better shot at getting the compensation they really need.

What Usually Causes Truck Accidents Around Point Pleasant?

Unfortunately, truck accidents happen for all sorts of reasons, and someone could have prevented many of them. For instance:

• The truck driver could have made the critical mistake, which often includes falling asleep at the wheel, texting, eating, or fiddling with the GPS while on the road, speeding, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or operating a truck without proper training. 
• Sometimes, however, the truck itself could have malfunctioned: The brakes could have stopped working, a tire may have blown out, or some other equipment may have given out mid-drive. In this case, the trucking company might have skipped maintenance to save money, which means you can hold them responsible. 
• In other cases, the loading company may have overloaded the vehicle or failed to tie the cargo down properly, leading to a dangerous imbalance on the road. 

We have seen these problems right here in Point Pleasant. Just recently, a tractor-trailer hit several cars near the Stop & Shop on Route 35 South in a serious collision, and another crashed into someone’s house on Route 35 North. 

What Kind of Injuries Should You Expect After a Truck Accident?

When something as heavy as a tractor-trailer or commercial truck hits you, you will often sustain serious injuries, such as the following:

• Head and brain injuries, leading to concussions that can affect your thinking for months, traumatic brain injuries that change your personality, or skull fractures that require emergency surgery.
• Back and neck injuries that look like herniated discs, spinal fractures, or whiplash that cause constant pain or paralysis. 
• Soft-tissue damage with muscle tears that take a long time to heal, or joint issues that cause you pain daily. 
• Fractures and broken bones that need surgery and metal plates, cracked ribs that puncture your organs, or shattered arms and legs that might never work the same way.

These wounds represent real pain, real limitations, and real changes to how you live your life. 

What Should You Do Right After a Truck Accident?

What you do in the first few hours after your accident can make a huge difference—both for your well-being and for your case. Follow these steps:

1. Call 911 immediately to request police and paramedics. 
2. Get medical attention even if you think you feel fine (adrenaline can mask injuries).
3. Take pictures of everything: Your car, the truck, your injuries, the road.
4. Get names, phone numbers, and insurance information from everyone involved.
5. Ask witnesses for their contact information. 

Report the accident to your insurance company, but do not speculate about the accident or admit fault. Especially avoid telling the insurance company that you feel “fine” or that it was “just a little accident.”

How Do Truck Accident Cases Work in New Jersey?

New Jersey uses what lawyers call “comparative negligence.” Basically, as long as you did not cause more than 50% of the accident, you can still recover money. But if you share some fault, courts will reduce your settlement by the percentage of the accident that you caused. For example, if you caused 20% of the collision and win $100,000, you would actually receive only $80,000.

Additionally, unlike in traditional car accidents with just two involved drivers, truck accidents can involve multiple parties who might owe you money:

• The truck driver who made the mistake
• The company that hired them
• The people who loaded the cargo
• The mechanic who did not fix the brakes
• Even the manufacturer, if they made a defective part

If you need to file a lawsuit to claim compensation for your accident, you have exactly two years from the date of your collision to file. Miss that deadline, and you will probably lose your chance forever. 

What Kind of Money Can You Get After a Truck Accident?

After your truck accident, you likely need to deal with medical bills, missed work, and a completely disrupted life. The compensation you receive after a successful personal injury lawsuit can help make up for these disruptions by covering the following costs:  

• Every doctor visit, surgery, and prescription
• Physical therapy and rehabilitation costs
• The wages you have lost and will lose in the future
• Your destroyed car and damaged belongings
• The physical pain you deal with every day
• The emotional trauma of the accident
• Permanent scars or disabilities

If the trucking company or driver did something really reckless—like knowingly putting a dangerous truck on the road—the court might award you ‘punitive’ damages to punish the at-fault party. 

Your exact settlement amount will vary: Minor injuries settle for $20,000 to $50,000, but we have seen cases involving permanent disabilities or death result in settlements worth millions of dollars.

Get the Legal Help You Deserve With the Point Pleasant Truck Accident Lawyers at Lombardi & Lombardi, P.A.

If a truck accident hurt you or someone you love, you do not have to go through it alone. For nearly 50 years, the Point Pleasant truck accident lawyers at Lombardi & Lombardi, P.A. have helped New Jersey families get back on their feet after serious accidents. For a free consultation, call 732-906-1500 today or contact us online. With office locations in Brick, Freehold, Edison, and Toms River, New Jersey, we proudly serve clients across the state, including Point Pleasant.