Garbage Truck Accidents

Motor Vehicle Collision Attorneys Representing Victims Around Wheaton and Schaumburg

Garbage truck accidents can result in devastating injuries. If you have been hurt in an accident involving a garbage truck, you may be entitled to compensation for your harm. At Therman Law Offices, our Wheaton and Schaumburg truck accident attorneys can carefully analyze the facts surrounding your accident and make sure that you understand your options. We understand that in addition to physical injuries, you may be dealing with serious emotional harm as well.

A garbage truck, also known as a waste collection vehicle (WCV), is a truck designed to pick up waste and transport it to landfills or recycling or garbage facilities. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, operating garbage trucks was ranked seventh in the country among dangerous occupations in 2010. Not only are garbage truck workers at risk, but so are other motorists, pedestrians, and bicyclists who may come into contact with the garbage truck.

Bringing a Claim for Compensation Following a Garbage Truck Accident

Of course, when garbage truck drivers are on duty collecting trash, they need to operate their trucks very differently from drivers of regular cars. However, these vehicles must still operate in a safe and reasonable manner in order not to injure others on the road. Garbage truck accidents may have a variety of causes, including:

• Distracted driving;
• Inexperienced garbage truck drivers;
• Erratic driving because of frequent stops;
• Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs;
• Not checking blind spots properly;
• Falling garbage due to failing to secure objects properly; or
• Mechanical failures or other truck defects.

Collisions with garbage trucks are more common than some people may think, since garbage truck drivers are frequently on the road, doing their job. If you have been injured in a garbage truck accident that was not your fault, you may be able to recover compensation through a negligence claim. In order to establish negligence, your injury attorney must demonstrate the following elements by a preponderance of the evidence: duty, breach, causation, and damages. In other words, the garbage truck driver must have acted carelessly and caused the accident in which the plaintiff was injured as a direct result.

In some cases, it may be more challenging to establish negligence if the garbage truck was stopped at the time of the accident. Sometimes motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians are not as careful as they could be when passing a garbage truck. Illinois follows a modified comparative negligence system, which relatively apportions fault among the parties to an accident. This simply means that if you contributed to the accident, your damages will be reduced accordingly. There is one exception to this rule. If you were 50 percent or more at fault for the accident, you will not be able to recover any compensation at all.

If you have been injured in a garbage truck accident, the injuries can be physically painful and emotionally devastating. Accidents involving garbage trucks have a greater potential than some accidents to cause permanent injuries, due to the size, shape, and weight of these trucks. These injuries can be extremely costly to treat. As a result, if you successfully establish negligence, you may be able to recover a long list of damages, including medical expenses, rehabilitation expenses, pain and suffering, lost wages, and the cost of future care.

Get Assistance from a Knowledgeable Trucking Injury Lawyer in Schaumburg or Wheaton

Each day, motorists share the roads with many types of heavy trucks, including garbage trucks. If you have been injured in a garbage truck accident, our truck crash attorneys are here to assist you. We represent injured individuals and their families in cities such as Schaumburg, Wheaton, Norwood Park, Edison Park, Harwood Heights, Norridge, Elmwood Park, Park Ridge, Des Plaines, Rosemont, and Elk Grove Village. To speak to us in more detail at no cost, you can call us at 312-588-1900 or contact us online.