Salem Truck
Accident Lawyer

We Handle All Commercial Truck Accidents in Salem, Oregon

X

A collision involving a large commercial truck can leave you facing severe injuries, extensive medical bills, and a long recovery. Truck accidents can happen along busy Salem routes such as Interstate 5, Highway 22, Commercial Street SE, and Lancaster Drive NE, where passenger vehicles share the road with tractor-trailers and delivery trucks. When a negligent truck driver, trucking company, or another party causes a crash, injured victims may have the right to pursue compensation.

At Johnston Law Firm, we understand the challenges of pursuing a claim against trucking companies and their insurers. Although we’re based in Portland, Marc A. Johnston and our legal team represent truck accident victims in Salem, throughout Marion County, and across Oregon. When you choose us, our legal team will investigate your truck accident, identify responsible parties, preserve critical evidence, and fight for compensation while you focus on recovering.

Injured in a Salem truck accident? Speak with a Salem truck accident lawyer at Johnston Law Firm. Call (503) 546-3167 or contact us online for a free consultation.

How Our Attorneys Can Help
With Your Salem Truck Accident Claim

Truck accident claims often involve more complicated legal and insurance issues than ordinary car accident cases. Multiple parties may share responsibility, and important evidence can be controlled by trucking companies that have their own legal teams and insurers. At Johnston Law Firm, Marc A. Johnston and our legal team can handle these challenges, investigate your collision, and protect your interests while you focus on recovering from your injuries.

When you trust us with your Salem truck accident case, we can:

• Investigate your truck accident to establish how the collision occurred and identify negligence.
• Identify potentially liable truck drivers, trucking companies, maintenance contractors, and other responsible parties.
• Secure driver logs, electronic logging device records, maintenance reports, and other critical evidence.
• Examine potential violations of federal trucking regulations and applicable Oregon traffic safety laws.
• Work with accident reconstruction specialists and medical experts to strengthen your injury claim.
• Document medical expenses, lost earnings, future treatment needs, and other accident-related damages.
• Handle communications with trucking insurers and challenge attempts to unfairly minimize your losses.
• Negotiate for fair compensation and prepare your case for litigation when necessary.

We understand that a serious truck accident can affect your health, financial stability, and family’s future. That’s why we take a personal approach to every claim, keeping you informed, answering your questions, and developing a legal strategy based on your circumstances. From our Portland office, we represent injured individuals in Salem, throughout Marion County, and across Oregon, working to hold negligent parties accountable and pursue the compensation our clients deserve.

Common Types of Truck Accidents
We Serve in Salem, OR

While accidents involving large trucks may seem infrequent, the fact is that it is challenging to control a truck of any size, and even a minor problem the driver experiences could end up impacting numerous others. Among the most common and potentially dangerous, truck accidents include:

• Head-on collisions: These often occur near the highway exits and entrance ramps. Being unfamiliar with a specific area is a contributing factor.
• Rear-end collisions: Considering the massive weight of most trucks, they require more time to come to a stop. Rear-end collisions are common in heavy traffic or when truck drivers engage in tailgating.
• Rollover accidents: These can happen to pick-up trucks, delivery vans, and large 18-wheelers, impacting other drivers on the road. Uneven loads and going too fast around curves are common causes.
• Side-swipe accidents: Visibility is reduced when driving a truck. Swerving into another driver’s lane or attempting to pass can cause these crashes.
• Side-impact accidents: These are common when truck drivers run red lights or stop signs, often leaving other motorists with life-threatening injuries.

Why Truck Accident
Cases are Unique

Truck accident claims are not like other personal injury cases, and they take a well-experienced personal injury lawyer to handle them. They revolve around federal law, such as the hours of service rule, state law, industry practices, science, and trucking experts.

Accidents with heavy and large commercial trucks pose more dangers to other motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians. Additionally, the insurance companies that represent truck drivers and the companies they work for are extremely aggressive. They often contact accident victims just hours after the crash, hoping to take advantage of the individual’s vulnerability and offer a low settlement that will not cover the cost of the injuries. Due to these challenges, truck accident claims involve highly specialized and complex litigation that requires:

• A comprehensive understanding of the many complicated laws and regulations that govern the trucking industry
• An awareness of unethical practices in the industry, including the destruction and alteration of important evidence
• Accessible truck accident experts who can promptly visit the scene of the crash
• Specialized training and years of experience with handling claims involving commercial trucks
• Familiarity with the customs and practices of the trucking industry

What To Do If You Are Injured In A Truck Accident

Truck accident injuries have the potential to be severe. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) reports that they claim the lives of more than 5,000 people each year while leaving tens of thousands of others suffering serious personal injuries. Victims may be unable to work for weeks or even months after while facing mounting medical expenses.

Rather than having to pay out of pocket for these costs, you have the right to hold those at fault accountable in a claim. Steps to take to protect yourself and your rights if a truck accident in Portland happens include:

• Report it to the police immediately;
• Exchange personal and insurance information with the trucker and any other drivers involved;
• Make note of the trucking company they work for;
• Gather evidence, such as the names of witnesses and photos or videos of the scene;
• Seek medical attention right away, regardless of the severity of your injuries;
• Follow your doctor’s instructions regarding follow-up care and work restrictions;
• Speak to our Portland truck accident attorneys before making any statements to the truck company or accepting a settlement.

The Moments After a Truck Accident are Important

The immediate moments after a truck accident are incredibly important. You must call medical help to the scene, as well as law enforcement, and you will likely be in shock due to your severe injuries. While all of this is going on, the insurance company is already working against you and is planning to send investigators to the scene. They do this so they can find evidence and potentially destroy or alter it. Even an object as big as a semi-truck can be moved, and other important evidence has been known to disappear in the moments following a truck accident.

For this reason, it is critical that you collect as much evidence as you can while you are still at the scene. Most importantly, take pictures of the vehicles involved, and the accident scene as a whole. Also, locate witnesses and ask them for their contact information so your lawyer can contact them in the future. If you are not able to collect this important evidence, ask an objective third party to gather them for you.

Common Injuries from
Truck Accident Cases

Among the most common types of truck accident injuries include:

• Broken bones and multiple fractures;
• Burn injuries, due to contact with hot engine parts or fluids;
• Crushing injuries, causing damage to body limbs and internal organs;
• Head injuries, which can result in traumatic brain injuries;
• Injuries to muscles, tendons, and other soft tissues;
• Spinal cord injuries, result in partial or complete paralysis.

When these and other types of truck accident injuries happen, you have the right to hold those at fault accountable. This includes the truck driver, the trucking company they work for, and other motorists on the road who may all share a portion of the blame.

Determining Negligence
After a Truck Accident

Every truck driver, trucking company, and other party in the industry is represented by insurance companies. These insurers have teams of investigators, adjusters, and attorneys, all who have the same goal of limiting the liability of the insurance company and minimizing the settlement paid to injured parties. None of these individuals are prioritizing the safety and well-being of accident victims.

It is for this reason that it is imperative that accident victims have the same type of representation. Insurance companies may try to deny liability for the accident or shift the blame to accident victims, potentially leaving them without the compensation they need for their losses.

To claim the full settlement you deserve, you will generally have to establish four elements of negligence:

• Duty of care: You must show that another party owed you a duty of care. Truck drivers, trucking companies, and other responsible parties have legal obligations to act reasonably to avoid causing harm.
• Breach of duty: You must establish that the responsible party breached their duty of care, such as by violating traffic laws, driving while distracted, or failing to maintain a commercial truck.
• Causation: You must demonstrate that the other party’s negligence caused the accident and your resulting injuries.
• Damages: You must show that you suffered injuries and other losses as a result, including medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, or other damages.

Truck accident claims are unique in another way, though. Due to the fact that they are governed by so many state and federal laws, these collisions are often caused by a violation of the law. Under Oregon’s negligence per se doctrine, a violation of a safety law intended to protect others may help establish negligence when the legal requirements are met.

Proving a violation of the law is not always easy. Although you may have seen a cell phone in the truck driver’s hand, that can be difficult to prove to the insurance company or the court because it may be your word against theirs. Our Salem truck accident lawyers have the resources to investigate these violations. In the example of a distracted trucker, we may seek the driver’s cell phone records, which could help establish whether they were texting while driving at the time of the crash.

Compensation We Can Help You Recover
After a Salem Truck Accident

A serious truck accident can leave you facing significant financial losses, painful injuries, and long-term changes to your everyday life. At Johnston Law Firm, we work to assess the full extent of your damages and pursue compensation that reflects both your current and future needs.

Depending on your circumstances, you may be entitled to recover:

• Economic damages: These cover measurable financial losses caused by the accident, including medical bills, hospitalization, rehabilitation, future medical treatment, lost wages, reduced earning capacity, property damage, and other out-of-pocket expenses.
• Non-economic damages: These compensate you for the personal and emotional consequences of your injuries, including physical pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, permanent disability, disfigurement, and loss of companionship where applicable.

We can evaluate your losses, gather supporting evidence, and pursue fair compensation from the parties responsible for your Salem truck accident.

Frequently Asked Questions About Salem Truck Accident Claims

If you have driven on the roads in Oregon, you know that large commercial trucks are a common sight. All of the trucking companies using our roads have a legal obligation to operate their vehicles in a safe manner. Unfortunately, that does not always occur. When semi-truck accidents do happen, the consequences can be truly catastrophic.

At the Johnston Law Firm, we have extensive experience handling truck accident injury claims. Our law firm holds negligent trucking companies liable. Here, our experienced Portland semi-truck accident attorney answers some of the most frequently asked questions that injured victims have regarding truck crashes.