Camden County Truck Accident Lawyer

Key Takeaways

Common truck crashes include jackknife, rollover, underride, and blind spot accidents.
Federal law requires trucking companies to carry $750,000 to $5 million in liability coverage.
New Jersey’s modified comparative negligence rule may reduce, but not always bar, your recovery.
Families may file wrongful death and survival claims within two years.
Let your attorney handle communications with insurance adjusters.

After a truck accident in Camden County, you may be entitled to compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. The amount depends on your injuries, the trucking company’s insurance coverage, and how fault is divided. The Law Offices of David J. Karbasian, PC, helps injured victims and families pursue every available source of recovery.

Common Types of Truck Accidents in Camden County

Truck accidents in Cherry Hill take many forms, and each type can cause serious harm because of a commercial vehicle’s size and weight. Understanding how a crash happened can help show who may be at fault.

Common types include:

Jackknife accidents: The trailer swings out at an angle to the cab, often after sudden braking.
Rollover accidents: A truck tips onto its side after a sharp turn, high speed, or shifting cargo.
Underride accidents: A smaller vehicle slides under the back or side of a trailer.
Rear-end collisions: A truck driver cannot stop in time and strikes the vehicle ahead.
Wide-turn accidents: A truck driver swings into another lane to make a right turn.
Blind spot crashes: A truck driver changes lanes without seeing a nearby car.

What Insurance Must Trucking Companies Carry?

Federal law requires most trucking companies to carry far more liability insurance than ordinary drivers. The required amount depends on the type of cargo a truck hauls. These amounts apply to for-hire interstate carriers with trucks weighing 10,001 pounds or more.

Minimum coverage levels include:

$750,000 for general freight trucking
$1 million for oil and many hazardous materials trucking
$5 million for the most dangerous hazardous cargo trucking

Hazmat trucks face the highest requirements because spills, fires, and explosions can injure many people. Tankers hauling large amounts of hazardous substances, along with trucks carrying certain explosives, toxic gases, or radioactive materials, generally need $5 million in coverage. Many carriers buy additional policies above these minimums, which can mean more money for injured victims.

Compensation in a Truck Accident Case

Your truck accident compensation should be directly tied to the damages that you have suffered. In general, you are entitled to be paid for both your actual financial losses and damages that are associated with the effects of your injuries. The latter category is known as non-economic losses, and pain and suffering damages will be the prevalent part of it.

What is crucial is that you have a truck accident attorney who knows the value of your personal injury case. This is information that the insurance company will have available. If you do not have this data, you are at a disadvantage.

You have power in how your overall amount of truck accident compensation is determined. Your truck accident attorney can negotiate with the insurance company to raise their offer if their initial settlement offer was too low. You can also take your case to a jury in a trial if the insurance company simply will not give you what you deserve.

How Shared Fault Works in Camden County Truck Accident Cases

There is a chance that the insurance company may claim that you were partially or entirely to blame for the truck accident. Even if their allegations are true, there is still a pathway to compensation in this situation. New Jersey uses the law of modified comparative negligence in personal injury cases. This means you can still be compensated for your injuries, so long as you were 50% or less at fault for the accident. However, your compensation would be reduced by the percentage of fault that you bear.

Insurance companies tend to use comparative negligence as a means to reduce their own financial liability by blaming the accident victim whenever possible. It is essential that you push back with evidence of your own through the efforts of your truck accident lawyer. If you cannot agree on fault, you can always take your case to trial and let a jury decide the matter.

What if a Loved One Died in a Camden County Truck Accident?

If a loved one died in a Camden County truck accident, New Jersey law may allow your family to file a wrongful death claim. This claim must generally be filed within two years of the date of death.

Under New Jersey law, the executor or administrator of the estate brings the claim on behalf of eligible family members, such as a spouse, children, or other dependents. A wrongful death claim may help recover:

Lost income and financial support
Loss of care, guidance, and household services
Funeral and burial expenses
Medical bills from before the death

A separate survival action may also seek compensation for the pain and suffering your loved one experienced before passing. Families can often bring both claims together in the same lawsuit.

Dealing With Insurance Adjusters After a Truck Accident

The insurance company will assign an adjuster to your case right after the accident. Be aware that the adjuster is an employee of the insurance company, which is the entity that gives them their marching orders. The adjuster’s job is not to get you the most possible money. Rather, it is to minimize the insurance company’s financial liability as much as possible.

Accordingly, you need to be extremely careful when dealing with an insurance adjuster. Anything that you say to them can be used against you later in your case. The key is to not deal with the adjuster at all. Rather, you should entrust this task to your truck accident attorney. Your lawyer will ensure that communications with the adjuster do not undermine your case.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a truck accident case usually take to resolve?

The timeline depends on the severity of your injuries, the number of parties involved, and whether liability is disputed. Some claims settle within several months, whereas complex cases that go to trial may take a year or longer.

Should I give a statement to the trucking company’s insurer?

No, not without legal guidance. Insurance adjusters may use your words to shift blame or downplay your injuries. You can politely decline and refer them to your attorney.

What if the truck driver was an independent contractor?

The trucking company may still be liable. Federal rules generally hold motor carriers accountable for drivers operating under their authority, and a contract label does not always decide who pays.