Forest Grove
Truck Accident Lawyer

We Handle Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Involving Semi Trucks, 18-Wheelers & Other Large Trucks in Forest Grove. Call Us Today at 503-496-7949 for a Free Consultation.

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A serious truck crash can change a family’s plans in a single afternoon. Between complex medical needs, missed work, and persistent phone calls from insurers, the path forward is rarely obvious. When a collision involves a semi-trailer truck or an 18-wheeler truck near Forest Grove, you need clear guidance and timely action from an experienced legal team.

Johnston Personal Injury Law Firm is based in Portland and serves Washington County and the communities that surround it. If you are searching for a truck accident lawyer in Forest Grove, our attorneys can step in quickly, protect evidence, and manage communications with the trucking company and its insurers while you focus on healing.

Why Forest Grove Truck Accidents Are Different

Forest Grove sits at the edge of farm roads, college traffic, and regional freight routes. That mix produces unique risk patterns. Agricultural pickups share space with commercial vehicle traffic headed to the coast or to Hillsboro’s industrial parks. Visibility changes quickly with fog in the mornings and sun glare in the afternoons, and two-lane connectors leave little room for error. When a large tractor-trailer makes a sudden stop or merge, nearby drivers have few escape options.

Truck accidents in this area often involve turning movements at rural intersections, speed transitions from highway to town, and abrupt stops near school zones or crosswalks. Those dynamics complicate fault analysis. Our truck accident attorneys study the specific roadway where your collision occurred, from Cornelius Pass Road to Highway 47, and secure the evidence that explains why the crash happened. We look at traffic control, lane widths, shoulder conditions, and prior incidents to build a full picture rather than a snapshot. Local insight, paired with technical investigation, helps you present the strongest version of your case.

Common Truck Accident Causes We See In Forest Grove

Understanding how collisions happen helps frame a strategy for recovery. Many Forest Grove truck accident causes repeat across cases, and each points to a different form of accountability.

• Speeding and inadequate following distance. A fully loaded rig needs far more road to stop than a passenger car. When the truck’s driver misreads traffic or hurries to meet a schedule, rear-end impacts become likely.
• Driver distraction or in-cab device use. Dispatch tablets, navigation prompts, and messages from the yard steal seconds from reaction time. At highway speeds, those seconds decide outcomes.
• Improper turning or lane changes. Wide turns and blind spots require careful checks. When a driver cuts a corner or shifts lanes without full clearance, sideswipe and underride events can result.
• Maintenance failures that appear under stress. Tire blowout events, brake failure, and lighting defects become critical during downhill grades or rain. Poor inspection practices turn small flaws into large hazards.
• Overweight or shifting loads. Unbalanced freight can push a trailer out of line and increase rollover or jackknife risk. Paperwork and scale records help prove what the carrier knew.
• Truck driver’s negligence from fatigue or rule violations. Hours-of-service breaches and skipped rest breaks show up in logs and telematics. Fatigue reduces alertness and invites mistakes.

Each cause has a trail of proof. As your truck accident lawyer, we gather those threads, test the story against data, and present a clear narrative of responsibility.

Proving Liability And Preserving The Evidence

Trucking companies move fast after a collision. So should your legal team. Modern rigs carry electronic control modules and telematics that record the truck’s speed, throttle position, hard braking events, and steering inputs. Many fleets also use dashcams that capture the seconds before impact. These files can cycle or be overwritten quickly. We send preservation letters immediately, then secure the raw data before it disappears.

Independent evidence matters too. Skid marks, gouge locations, debris fields, and vehicle damage patterns all help accident reconstruction experts determine speeds and angles. We canvass for nearby business security video, locate witnesses, and request police photos and measurements. If the facts suggest trucking company negligence, we dig into driver qualification files, pre-trip inspection logs, maintenance records, and prior safety violations. Liability is not a single document. It is a mosaic assembled with precision and supported by Oregon traffic laws and federal trucking regulations.

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Understanding Truck Accident Injuries And Medical Recovery

Truck accident injuries are often more severe than those seen in most passenger collisions. The mass and height of a trailer concentrate forces at window level, where the head and chest are vulnerable. Victims can face orthopedic fractures, disc herniations, shoulder and knee injuries, and head trauma. In higher speed impacts, internal organ injuries and complex pelvic fractures are common. Recovery may involve surgery, multiple rounds of therapy, and periods away from work that strain a household’s finances.

Your treatment plan is also part of the legal plan. Medical records must document not only diagnoses but the trajectory of recovery, future care needs, and limitations that affect your career. Our role is to coordinate with providers, make sure nothing is missed, and convert the impact of those injuries into a persuasive damages presentation. When it is time to resolve your truck accident claim, the quality of this medical documentation will shape the outcome.

How Insurers Try To Limit Truck Accident Claims

Insurance adjusters and defense teams are trained to minimize exposure in serious truck accident claims. Understanding their playbook helps you avoid costly mistakes.

• Quick, low offers before the full picture emerges. Early settlements rarely account for future care, wage loss, or the possibility of surgery. Patience protects your interests.
• Recorded statements are used for selective interpretation. Polite questions can be designed to create doubt about pain, fault, or timing. Speak with a personal injury lawyer before giving any statement.
• Blaming the passenger vehicle. Claims of sudden stops, lane changes, or speeding are common. Objective data often tells a different story.
• Disputing the severity or cause of injuries. Insurers may point to prior conditions or gaps in care to reduce value. Consistent treatment and thorough records counter this tactic.
• Dragging out the process. Delay increases pressure. Structured case management and litigation readiness remove that leverage.
• Hiding the ball on policy limits. Complex layers of coverage can exist. A focused investigation identifies all available policies.

Our truck accident attorneys respond with evidence, organization, and a trial-ready posture that pushes the case toward a fair resolution.

What Your Forest Grove Truck Accident Claim Can Include

A proper claim accounts for the full scope of loss, not just the first weeks after a collision. Depending on the facts, your recovery may include several categories of damages.

• Medical expenses, past and future. Hospital stays, imaging, surgery, medication, therapy, and assistive devices should be documented and projected forward.
• Lost income and reduced earning capacity. Pay stubs, employer letters, and expert analysis establish the financial effect of missed work and long-term limitations.
• Property damage and loss of use. Vehicle repair or total loss valuations and rental costs matter to daily life.
• Out-of-pocket costs. Travel for treatment, home modifications, and caregiver expenses are frequently overlooked.
• Pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment. The human story must be told with specificity, from missed milestones to changed routines.
• Punitive damages in egregious cases. If evidence shows reckless behavior by a trucking company, additional remedies may apply under Oregon law.

We build these elements carefully so your truck accident claim reflects everything the crash took from you and your family.

The Role Of Comparative Fault And How We Address It

Oregon follows comparative fault principles. That means a jury can assign percentages of responsibility between the parties. Defense teams often argue that a passenger car stopped too quickly, merged poorly, or failed to keep a proper lookout. The goal is to reduce what the insurer pays by increasing your percentage of fault. We counter this narrative with data.

Event data recorders, dashcam footage, and mapping of physical evidence can confirm speeds, following distances, and available sightlines. If a jackknife resulted from aggressive braking or if a tire blowout was foreseeable because of poor maintenance, we present those facts plainly. We also use human factors experts to explain perception and reaction time in real traffic. When the evidence is prepared with care, fault moves where it belongs.

Litigation Strategy: From Negotiation To Trial

Most truck accident claims resolve by settlement, but strong results come from preparing as if trial will occur. We start by presenting a complete liability package supported by records, photos, video, and expert affidavits. When negotiation stalls, we file suit and use discovery to obtain additional documents from the trucking company. Depositions of the driver, safety director, and maintenance contractors often reveal gaps in training or supervision.

We then refine damages with treating providers and, when appropriate, bring in vocational or economic experts to explain long-term impact. If the case must be tried, jurors hear a clear story: how the crash happened, how it changed your life, and why the law requires accountability. That readiness changes conversations with insurers throughout the process. It also gives you confidence that your interests are protected at every step.