A collision with a tractor-trailer, delivery truck, dump truck, or other commercial vehicle can leave you facing serious injuries, missed work, vehicle damage, and calls from several insurance companies. You may not yet know whether the crash was caused only by the driver or whether decisions made by the trucking company, maintenance provider, cargo loader, or another business also contributed.
Fulginiti Law represents people injured in commercial-vehicle crashes in Glassboro NJ and elsewhere in Gloucester County. Because Route 47 and Route 322 pass through the borough, an investigation may involve municipal, county, state, and federal records depending on where and how the collision occurred. (gloucestercountynj.gov)
The firm’s role is to determine what happened, identify every potentially responsible party, preserve time-sensitive trucking evidence, and document how the crash has affected your health and future.
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215-774-5162How a New Jersey Truck Accident Claim Works
A truck accident claim generally requires evidence that a person or company failed to use reasonable care, that this failure caused the collision, and that the collision caused measurable losses. A police report, traffic citation, or safety violation may be relevant, but none automatically establishes civil liability.
These cases often involve both New Jersey traffic and insurance law and federal motor-carrier regulations. The investigation may address the driver’s conduct, the carrier’s safety practices, vehicle condition, hours of service, cargo securement, and other circumstances specific to the crash.
Comparative Negligence
New Jersey follows modified comparative negligence. An injured person’s compensation may be reduced by the percentage of fault assigned to that person. Recovery is generally barred if the injured person’s negligence was greater than the negligence of the defendant or the combined negligence of the defendants from whom recovery is sought. (lis.njleg.state.nj.us)
Do not assume that an allegation of speeding, distraction, or another mistake ends your claim. Fault must be evaluated using the available evidence.
PIP and the Right to Sue
Personal Injury Protection, commonly called PIP, may pay medical expenses and certain economic losses after a New Jersey motor-vehicle accident regardless of who caused it. The applicable coverage depends on the vehicles involved, your insurance, and whether you were a driver, passenger, pedestrian, or working at the time.
A policy’s Limitation on Lawsuit option may also restrict recovery for pain and suffering unless the injury falls within a statutory category, such as a displaced fracture, significant scarring, permanent injury, loss of a body part, loss of a fetus, or death. It does not necessarily prevent claims for economic losses. (nj.gov)
What to Do After a Truck Accident
Your health comes first. Take these steps when they are safe and reasonably possible:
- Call 911 and obtain medical help. Report pain, confusion, dizziness, weakness, breathing problems, or other symptoms to emergency personnel. Follow the advice of your treating professionals, and return for appropriate care if symptoms worsen.
- Make sure the crash is reported. New Jersey law requires prompt police notice when a crash causes injury, death, or more than $500 in damage to one person’s property. A separate written driver report is generally unnecessary when law enforcement submits its own report. (lis.njleg.state.nj.us)
- Record identifying information if you can do so safely. Photograph the truck, trailer, license plates, company markings, USDOT number, vehicle damage, road conditions, and debris. Obtain witness names and contact information without entering traffic or approaching an unsafe vehicle.
- Notify your own insurer promptly. Provide accurate information required by your policy, but avoid guessing about speed, distance, injuries, or fault. Be cautious about giving a recorded statement to the trucking company’s insurer before understanding your rights.
- Protect the damaged vehicle and other evidence. Keep photographs, medical paperwork, towing documents, insurance correspondence, and damaged personal items. Before a vehicle is repaired or destroyed, ask whether an inspection is needed.
- Speak with a lawyer before signing a release. An early offer may not account for future treatment, reduced earning capacity, or injuries whose long-term effects are not yet clear.
Why Truck Crashes Require a Broader Investigation
A commercial truck may be driven, owned, maintained, loaded, and insured by different companies. The name on the cab or trailer may not reveal every business that controlled the work.
Depending on the evidence, potentially responsible parties may include:
- The driver, when unsafe speed, distraction, fatigue, impairment, an improper turn, or another driving error contributed to the crash.
- The motor carrier or employer, when it may be legally responsible for the driver’s work or when its own hiring, training, supervision, dispatch, or safety practices contributed.
- The truck, tractor, or trailer owner, if vehicle condition or responsibilities assigned under a lease played a role.
- A maintenance or repair company, if inadequate inspection or negligent work caused a brake, tire, steering, lighting, or other mechanical problem.
- A shipper or cargo-loading company, if improperly loaded or secured cargo shifted, spilled, or made the truck unstable.
- A manufacturer or distributor, if a defective vehicle or component contributed to the collision.
- A public entity, in limited circumstances involving a roadway condition, traffic control device, or public vehicle. Government liability is subject to special rules and defenses.
Federal safety requirements can help guide an investigation, but a violation does not by itself prove that a particular defendant caused the crash.
Common Truck Accident Scenarios
Serious commercial-vehicle claims may arise from:
- Rear-end collisions and unsafe following distances
- Wide turns, lane changes, and blind-spot crashes
- Rollovers, jackknifes, and lost cargo
- Driver fatigue or excessive time behind the wheel
- Brake, tire, steering, or coupling failures
- Delivery vehicles stopping, backing, or entering traffic unsafely
- Crashes involving pedestrians, bicyclists, or motorcyclists
These collisions can cause fractures, internal injuries, burns, amputations, and lasting psychological harm. Some people experience traumatic brain injuries or spinal cord injuries requiring extended treatment and rehabilitation. The seriousness of an injury must be established through medical evaluation rather than assumptions based solely on vehicle damage.
The Most Important Evidence
You are not expected to obtain a trucking company’s private records yourself. Preserve what is already available to you and tell your lawyer what you remember. A legal investigation may focus on:
- The police report, photographs, videos, and witness information
- The truck’s electronic control module, electronic logging device, cameras, and other onboard systems
- Driver logs, dispatch communications, qualification records, and trip documents
- Inspection, maintenance, repair, and cargo-loading records
- Medical records and proof of income, benefits, and other financial losses
Electronic logging devices can record driving time and duty status by synchronizing with the vehicle’s engine. That information may help determine whether fatigue or hours of service should be investigated. (fmcsa.dot.gov)
A lawyer can send preservation notices, identify the correct companies, arrange vehicle inspections when appropriate, and seek records through insurance claims or litigation.
Compensation That May Be Available
The damages available depend on the evidence, insurance coverage, injuries, and effect of the crash on your life. A claim may include:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Rehabilitation, therapy, medication, and assistive care
- Lost income and reduced earning capacity
- Pain, suffering, disability, and disfigurement
- Vehicle and other property damage
- The cost of replacement services or assistance
- Qualifying losses arising from a spouse’s injuries
When a collision is fatal, eligible family members or an estate representative may have wrongful death and survival claims involving funeral expenses, lost financial support and services, and certain losses suffered before death. The damages available in a fatal-accident case are governed by specific New Jersey rules.
Potential insurance sources may include the truck’s liability policy, additional commercial or excess coverage, PIP benefits, and applicable uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage.
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215-774-5162How Fulginiti Law Can Help
A truck accident lawyer can take over communication with insurers and investigate issues that are difficult for an injured person to address alone. Depending on the case, Fulginiti Law may:
- Determine who owned, operated, dispatched, maintained, and loaded the vehicles
- Preserve and pursue electronic, video, maintenance, and corporate records
- Review state traffic rules and applicable federal motor-carrier requirements
- Work with qualified reconstruction, trucking, medical, or economic professionals when needed
- Document current injuries, future care needs, lost income, and reduced earning ability
- Identify available insurance and address liens or benefit-reimbursement issues
- Negotiate a claim and prepare the matter for court if a fair resolution is not available
Fulginiti Law’s published truck accident practice page reports more than $48 million in trucking accident verdicts and settlements. Prior results do not guarantee the outcome of another case. (fulginiti-law.com)
New Jersey Truck Accident Deadlines
A New Jersey lawsuit for personal injury generally must be filed within two years after the claim accrues, although exceptions can change the deadline. Claims involving a state agency, municipality, county, public authority, or public employee may require a Tort Claims Act notice within 90 days. A trucking company’s internal claim process does not extend these legal deadlines. Prompt review is also important because vehicles may be repaired and electronic or surveillance information may be overwritten. (lis.njleg.state.nj.us)
Helpful Government and Medical Resources
- New Jersey State Police Crash Report Requests: If the New Jersey State Police investigated the collision, this portal can be used to request the available report. If another department responded, request the report from that investigating agency. (nj.gov)
- New Jersey Standard Auto Insurance Policy Guide: The Department of Banking and Insurance explains PIP benefits and the Limited and Unlimited Right to Sue options. Your declarations page and full policy should be reviewed because individual coverage choices vary. (nj.gov)
- FMCSA Electronic Logging Device Guidance: The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration explains how ELDs record commercial drivers’ driving time and duty status. These records can be relevant when investigating fatigue, scheduling, or hours of service. (fmcsa.dot.gov)
- CDC Concussion and Mild TBI Symptoms: Symptoms may appear immediately or later. The CDC advises emergency care for danger signs such as a worsening headache, repeated vomiting, seizures, weakness, slurred speech, unusual confusion, or inability to wake. This guidance does not replace evaluation by a medical professional. (cdc.gov)
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is responsible when a commercial truck causes a crash?
Responsibility may extend beyond the driver. A motor carrier, employer, vehicle owner, maintenance contractor, cargo loader, or manufacturer may be involved depending on who controlled the work and what caused the collision. Liability should be based on evidence rather than the company name displayed on the truck.
What if I was partly responsible?
You may still have a claim if your negligence was not greater than the negligence attributed to the defendant or combined defendants. Any award would generally be reduced by your share of fault. Photographs, vehicle data, witnesses, and reconstruction evidence may be important when the parties disagree about how the crash occurred. (lis.njleg.state.nj.us)
Will PIP cover my medical bills if the truck driver was at fault?
PIP may be a source of medical-expense benefits regardless of fault, but the applicable policy depends on your insurance and whether you were driving, riding in a vehicle, or outside a vehicle. A separate liability claim may address losses not paid through PIP or other available benefits.
Should I accept an offer from the trucking company’s insurer?
Do not sign a release until you understand which claims it resolves and whether your injuries, future care, wage loss, and available insurance have been evaluated. A signed release may prevent you from seeking additional compensation later.
Other areas where we handle Truck Accident:
- Abington
- Bensalem
- Camden
- Cherry Hill
- Chester
- Coatesville
- Deptford
- Doylestown
- East Norriton
- Gloucester
- Haverford
- King of Prussia
- Lansdale
- Levittown
- Lower Merion
- Media
- Middletown
- Mount Laurel
- Norristown
- Pennsauken
- Pottstown
- Upper Darby
- Voorhees
- West Chester
- Willingboro
Speak With a Glassboro NJ Truck Accident Lawyer
If you or a family member was injured in a commercial-truck crash in Glassboro NJ, Fulginiti Law can review what happened and explain your potential options. The consultation is free, and the firm offers contingency-fee representation, meaning attorney fees are collected only if compensation is recovered.
Call 215-602-4204 or contact Fulginiti Law online to request a consultation. Bringing the police report number, photographs, insurance correspondence, and basic medical information can help, but you do not need to collect every record before reaching out.
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215-774-5162
