When a large vehicle, such as a semi-truck, gets in an accident, the individuals in the smaller vehicle often bear the full force of the crash incident. The injuries that result can be extremely serious, and it can leave the person who was injured facing a difficult road to recovery.
The Chicago personal injury attorneys at Mark L. Karno & Associates, LLC is dedicated to helping Illinois victims of truck accidents recover the compensation they need for their injuries.
Victims can suffer from long-term medical issues and significant financial loss. The injuries can be extremely serious, leading to a difficult road to recovery. In fact, people are more likely to suffer fatal injuries if they are involved in a truck accident.
If you or a loved one has been in a trucking accident, we provide free consultations and encourage you to contact our law office to discuss your case with an experienced truck accident lawyer in Chicago.
Meet Chicago Truck Accident Attorney Mark L. Karno
Mark L. Karno is the founder of Mark L. Karno & Associates, LLC and an experienced trial attorney dedicated to representing accident victims throughout Illinois and Florida. For more than 40 years, he has helped injured individuals and their families seek compensation after serious accidents caused by negligence.
Based in Chicago, Mark handles a wide range of personal injury matters, including car accidents, truck accidents, and premises liability claims. Known for his commitment to client advocacy and courtroom experience, he works to help victims recover the financial support they need to move forward. Contact the firm today for a free consultation.
Why Choose a Truck Accident Lawyer at Mark L. Karno & Associates, LLC?
- Our Chicago truck accident lawyers have extensive experience with complex truck accident litigation. We understand the unique challenges of truck accident claims and know how to investigate these complex cases, identify all potentially liable parties, and build compelling claims that hold negligent trucking companies and drivers accountable.
- Our law office has a proven track record of multimillion-dollar results. Our firm has won numerous multimillion-dollar verdicts and settlements for our clients. We fight aggressively and advocate for maximum compensation for truck accident victims.
- You will receive personalized attention without financial risk. We work on a contingency-fee basis, meaning you pay no legal fees unless we win your case. We don’t get paid until you do.
- At Mark L. Karno & Associates, LLC, our attorneys have the resources to handle large-scale litigation. Truck accident cases often involve multiple defendants, extensive discovery, expert witnesses, and substantial legal resources. We work with accident reconstruction experts, trucking industry specialists, medical professionals, and economic analysts to build your strongest case.
Steps to Take After a Chicago Truck Accident
- Call 911 if you’re able.
- Inform the arriving personnel (firefighter, police, EMT/Paramedic) about your injuries.
- Follow all instructions from the police officers and medical personnel.
- Speak with the on-scene investigating officer.
- Obtain as much information as possible about the truck driver, the company they work for, and any witnesses.
- Obtain medical treatment as suggested by medical personnel.
If a claim may arise from the injury, documenting the condition with photos is strongly recommended.
Common Causes of Semi-Truck Crashes
- Drivers under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
- Vehicles with unsecured loads that shift the truck’s center of balance.
- Operators who are not paying attention while driving.
- Fatigue or driving more hours than allowed under law.
- Speeding, changing lanes without signaling, or failing to yield.
- Truck companies that do not properly maintain their vehicles.
Injured in a Truck Accident?
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Severe Injuries in Truck Accidents in Chicago, Il
Injuries from semi-truck, 18-wheeler and tractor-trailer accidents can be much more severe than the common injuries sustained in an ordinary motor vehicle accident. They may include:
- Burn injuries
- Multiple bone fractures
- Traumatic brain injury from head trauma
- Spinal cord injuries that can cause paralysis
- Painful back and neck injuries involving disks and vertebrae
- Wrongful death
Severe injuries can require extensive rehabilitation and a lifetime of medical care. Our law office understands that your family is not equipped to handle these long-term medical expenses. Our injury lawyers will fight to get you the compensation you need for medical bills, lost wages and emotional harm.
Who Could Be Liable For A Semi-Truck Accident In Chicago?
It is important to know who is responsible for your trucking accident. A trucker could be liable if they were driving while impaired, distracted, fatigued, or violating traffic laws. An employer could be liable if they enabled unsafe driving practices, pushed a trucker to drive past their limit, or failed to provide safe regulations. Once we identify the liable party, we can help you collect economic and non-economic damages.
Compensation in Chicago Truck Accident Cases
Truck accidents often cause severe, life-altering injuries due to the sheer size and weight of these commercial vehicles. If you have been injured in a truck accident caused by another party’s negligence, you may be entitled to substantial compensation for your damages. In a successful Chicago truck accident claim, you may be able to recover both economic and non-economic damages.
Economic damages compensate you for financial losses and costs incurred due to your accident. They include medical expenses, lost wages, property damage, and other financial costs incurred due to your accident.
Non-economic damages are more challenging to prove but can be even more devastating than economic damages. Non-economic damages include pain and suffering, mental and emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of consortium, scarring and disfigurement, permanent disability, and other intangible costs and losses.
In rare cases, you could be awarded punitive damages in addition to economic and non-economic damages. However, Illinois law only permits punitive damages when the defendant’s conduct is particularly egregious.
Federal and Illinois State Trucking Regulations May Impact Your Claim
The trucking industry is heavily regulated by both federal and Illinois state laws designed to promote safety on our roadways. Understanding these regulations is crucial to building a strong truck accident claim, as violations from an at fault trucking company can serve as evidence of negligence.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) establishes and enforces safety regulations for commercial motor vehicles operating in interstate commerce.
One of the most important sets of regulations is the hours-of-service (HOS) rule, which limits how long truck drivers can operate their vehicles without rest breaks. These regulations are designed to prevent driver fatigue, which is a leading cause of truck accidents.
Under current HOS regulations, truck drivers are limited in the number of consecutive hours they can drive and the total hours they can work in a day or week. Truck drivers must maintain accurate records of their driving time, and most are now required to use Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) rather than paper logbooks. ELDs automatically record driving time, location, and vehicle movement, making it much more difficult to falsify records.
When investigating your truck accident, our attorneys obtain and analyze ELD data to determine whether the truck driver was in compliance with HOS regulations. If the truck driver was fatigued while operating the vehicle due to HOS violations, this evidence can be powerful proof of negligence.
The FMCSA also requires regular vehicle inspections and maintenance. Commercial trucks must undergo periodic inspections to ensure brakes, tires, lights, and other critical systems are functioning correctly. Truck maintenance and inspection records can show whether the trucking company failed to properly maintain its vehicle, which may have contributed to your accident.
Cargo loading regulations are another critical area. Improperly loaded or secured cargo can make trucks unstable, leading to rollovers or cargo spills that create hazardous conditions. Weight limits and load-securement requirements must be followed. Violations of these regulations can establish liability.
Driver qualification standards require trucking companies to verify that their truck drivers hold valid licenses, have completed required training, and have medical clearances. Background checks must be conducted, and drivers with histories of serious violations should not be on the road. If a trucking company hired an unqualified driver who caused your accident, this can establish the company’s negligence.
Illinois also has state-specific regulations governing commercial vehicles operating within the state. Our attorneys are well-versed in both federal and state trucking regulations and know how to identify violations that support your claim.
Trucking company violations of these regulations may constitute negligence per se. This legal doctrine presumes negligence when a defendant violates a safety statute designed to prevent the type of harm that occurred. This can significantly strengthen your case and increase your chances of recovering maximum compensation.
Proving Negligence in Chicago Truck Accident Cases
To recover compensation in a truck accident case, you must prove that the defendant was negligent and that their negligence caused your injuries and damages. Proving negligence requires establishing four essential elements:
- You must prove the defendant owed you a duty of care. All motorists, including truck drivers, owe a duty to operate their vehicles safely and follow traffic laws to avoid harming others. Trucking companies owe a duty to properly hire, train, and supervise their drivers, maintain their vehicles, and comply with federal and state regulations.
- You must prove the defendant breached their duty of care. A breach occurs when a party fails to exercise reasonable care under the circumstances. Establishing that a driver was distracted, speeding, or violating FMCSA rules can help you recover the compensation you deserve.
- You must prove that the defendant’s breach of duty was the actual cause of your accident and injuries. You must establish a direct link between the defendant’s negligent conduct and the harm you suffered.
- You must prove you suffered damages. This requires documenting your injuries and losses through medical records, invoices, employment records, expert testimony, and other evidence.
Proving these elements requires substantial evidence. Our Chicago truck accident attorneys conduct thorough investigations to gather the proof needed to establish your claim. This includes obtaining the truck’s event data recorder (EDR) data, which captures vehicle speed, braking, and other functions in the moments before a crash or incident. We review the truck driver’s logbook and ELD data to identify potential HOS violations. We obtain maintenance and inspection records to determine whether vehicle defects contributed to the accident.
Our law office may use eyewitness accounts, photographs, and video footage from the truck crash scene, and work with expert witnesses to help build your strongest case.
Insurance companies and defense attorneys will aggressively challenge your claim, arguing that you were at fault or that your injuries are not as severe as you claim. Our truck accident lawyers know how to counter these arguments and present persuasive evidence that proves the defendant’s negligence and the full extent of your damages.
Filing Deadlines in Chicago Truck Accident Claims
The Illinois statute of limitations for most truck accident claims is two years from the date of the accident. This means you must file your lawsuit within two years of the date you were injured, or you will lose your right to recover compensation.
While two years may seem like a long time, it is essential to take action quickly after your accident. Evidence can be lost or destroyed, witnesses’ memories fade, and delays can make it more challenging to build a strong case.
Additionally, trucking companies are required to retain certain records for only limited periods. If you wait too long to take legal action, critical evidence such as driver logs, maintenance records, and electronic data may be permanently lost (to the favor of insurance carriers).
There are important exceptions to the two-year statute of limitations that can either shorten or extend your filing deadline. You must promptly consult an experienced Chicago truck accident lawyer to understand your filing deadline.
How Our Personal Injury Attorneys Help After a Truck Accident
Because of the severity of the injuries sustained and the number of parties involved in the collision incident, accident cases including commercial vehicles and semi-trucks are often more complicated than ordinary car accident cases. Along with the truck driver and insurance company, you may be able to hold other parties, such as the owner of the tractor-trailer or trucking company, responsible for their negligence.
To start a case to recover damages from a Chicago trucking accident, you will need to gather proper paperwork to prove liability and damages. This includes police reports, medical reports, financial loss evidence, and medical bill statements. Our Chicago car accident attorneys can help you gather the necessary evidence so you can recover from your losses. You may be able to collect damages for medical bills, vehicle repair costs, long-term care, wage loss, emotional distress, and pain and suffering.
Illinois Truck Accident Statistics
Despite recent improvements, large truck accidents remain a major safety hazard on Illinois roadways, averaging thousands of serious collisions every single year. According to federal crash data, the state witnessed more than 25,000 fatal and non-fatal large truck crashes between 2022 and 2025 alone (averaging over 15 collision incidents every day).
These crashes have exacted a heavy toll, resulting in 614 deaths and more than 12,400 injuries across the state in that four-year span. Even with annual figures trending downward, thousands of commercial trucks continue to be involved in severe crashes each year, underscoring the ongoing danger heavy freight traffic poses to motorist safety across Illinois highways.
Experienced Truck Accident Attorneys Serving the Chicago Area
Accident cases involving commercial vehicles and semi-trucks are often more complicated than ordinary car accident cases. Along with the truck driver and insurance company, you may be able to hold other parties, such as the owner of the tractor-trailer or trucking company, responsible for their negligence.
Before talking to the insurance carriers or trucking companies, make sure to consult with one of our experienced truck accident attorneys about the value of your injury claims. Settling too soon could force you to pay for this care out of your own pocket. Our semi-truck accident attorneys will work with you to ensure you get the compensation you deserve after an incident.
Schedule Your Free Consultation With A Chicago Truck Accident Lawyer
Schedule a free consultation with a truck accident lawyer today. We represent accident victims throughout the Greater Chicago and Miami areas. Our lawyers handle all personal injury and wrongful death claims on a contingency fee basis. We do not collect any money for our services unless you win your case.
Contact Mark L. Karno & Associates, LLC for a free consultation with one of our lawyers.
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This page has been researched, written, edited, and reviewed by our legal content team in accordance with our editorial standards. It has been reviewed and approved by attorney Mark L. Karno, founder of Mark L. Karno & Associates, LLC, who brings more than 40 years of experience representing injury victims in Illinois and Florida.
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