Discuss Your Potential Case

Home » Auto Accidents » Commercial Vehicle Accident

Cincinnati & Covington Commercial Vehicle Accident Lawyer

Experienced Commercial Truck Accident Lawyers in Northern Kentucky and Southwest Ohio

Even the most careful, experienced drivers face real risks every time they get behind the wheel. Wherever there is traffic, there are going to be car accidents. A collision with a passenger vehicle is frightening enough on its own, but a wreck involving a large commercial truck comes with its own set of complications that most car accident victims never have to think about. That’s why, if you’ve been in a truck accident with a commercial vehicle, you need an experienced commercial vehicle accident lawyer on your side.

Safety standards and regulations for commercial drivers are significantly stricter than those for ordinary motorists, largely because these drivers often operate large vehicles such as passenger buses, 18-wheelers, and tanker trucks hauling hazardous materials. Combined with their heavy weight, fully loaded cargo, and sheer size, large commercial trucks are among the most dangerous vehicles on the road, and accidents involving them frequently result in severe injuries, including broken bones, TBIs, spinal cord injuries, and other life-threatening harm. Fatal accidents are unfortunately common in commercial truck accident cases as well. When this happens, injured victims or their families may have grounds to pursue compensation from the negligent party.

After any type of motor vehicle accident, including a serious crash involving a commercial vehicle, the Cincinnati and Covington personal injury lawyers at Lawrence, Beirne & Lewis can help. For a free, no-obligation consultation to evaluate your case, call our Northern Kentucky law office at (859) 578-9130, our Southwest Ohio law office at (513) 651-4130, or our toll-free line at (800) 698-4054. You can also reach out via our website to get started today.

Let’s Discuss Your Potential Case

Submitting this form is the fastest way for our team to review your situation and determine whether it may warrant legal review. While we respond to all phone calls, sharing details online allows us to begin evaluating your potential case right away.

Get In Touch

Let’s Discuss Your Potential Case

GET IN TOUCH

The Importance of Contacting Experienced Commercial Vehicle Accident Lawyers After a Serious Crash

Taking on a large trucking company after a commercial vehicle accident is not something anyone should attempt alone. Trucking companies and their auto insurance carriers spend enormous sums on skilled attorneys whose job is to reduce liability and pay out as little as possible to the people injured by their trucks, which means you need an experienced car accident attorney who can anticipate challenges and meet that legal team on equal footing.

That’s exactly what you get with Lawrence, Beirne & Lewis. If you or a loved one suffered severe injuries in a collision with a big rig caused by a negligent driver or another negligent party, having a skilled legal team representing your interests is essential. Our personal injury attorneys defend clients’ rights throughout both Northern Kentucky and the Greater Cincinnati area, pursuing compensation for the injuries our clients have suffered and aggressively working toward the best possible financial recovery for their damages.

What is Considered a Commercial Vehicle?

A commercial vehicle is any vehicle registered or titled to a business. Company cars, semi-trucks, fleet vehicles, and other automobiles used for business purposes all fall under this definition, and any truck weighing more than 26,001 pounds is automatically classified as a commercial vehicle regardless of ownership. Other common examples include pickup trucks used for business purposes, rideshare vehicles and taxis, vans, box trucks, 18-wheelers, delivery trucks, RVs, and tractor-trailers.

Ohio Commercial Vehicle Rules and Regulations

Commercial truck drivers spend a substantial amount of time on the road, which is why rigid safety regulations and laws exist to govern their conduct. In addition to the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) works to enforce these standards nationwide. Each state also sets its own safety regulations for drivers holding a commercial driver’s license. In Ohio, these rules are detailed under Ohio Revised Code 4501.

Kentucky Commercial Vehicle Rules and Regulations

In Kentucky, comparable commercial driving regulations can be found under 601 KAR 1:005, which governs safety standards for semi-trucks and other commercial vehicles operating throughout the state.

Kentucky and Ohio Commercial Vehicle Accident Lawyers for Different Types of Crashes

Our experienced Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati auto accident lawyers at Lawrence, Beirne, & Lewis handle claims involving serious collisions between a commercial vehicle and a smaller passenger vehicle, where the injuries and financial losses can be severe. We’re fully prepared to help injured clients address the legal matters that follow these crashes and seek compensation from negligent drivers, employers, contractors, and other responsible parties.

Semi-Truck and Tractor-Trailer Accidents

Semi-trucks and tractor-trailers are involved in some of the most catastrophic crashes on Ohio and Kentucky roadways, including underride collisions, rollovers, jackknife truck accidents, rear-end crashes, and wide-turn accidents where a truck’s trailer swings into an adjacent lane. Because of the size and weight difference between a fully loaded semi and a smaller vehicle, these crashes carry a far greater risk of catastrophic and fatal injuries than a typical car accident. The Covington and Cincinnati truck accident attorneys at our law firm regularly handle personal injury and wrongful death claims on behalf of victims and their families who experience these traumatizing accidents.

Delivery Van and Box Truck Accidents

The rise of same-day delivery has put more delivery vans, couriers, moving trucks, and commercial fleet vehicles on the road than ever before. These crashes often involve delivery pressure and tight scheduling that encourages driver distraction, improper parking in traffic lanes or blind spots, and overloaded vehicles that are harder to control. When a delivery driver’s rush to meet a deadline causes a wreck, the driver and their employer may be held financially responsible for the resulting harm.

Bus and Shuttle Accidents

Public buses, private shuttles, school transportation, and charter vehicles all carry passengers who depend on the operator’s training and attentiveness to get them safely to their destination. Passengers and other motorists injured in these types of accidents often face serious injuries and complicated questions about who is responsible, especially when a government entity, private charter company, or school district is involved. Our bus accident lawyers in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky help victims and their families investigate what caused the crash, identify every party who may be liable, and pursue compensation for medical care, lost wages, and other damages resulting from the collision.

Tanker and Hazardous-Material Truck Accidents

Tanker trucks and vehicles hauling hazardous materials pose unique dangers beyond a typical collision, including the risk of fires, explosions, chemical exposure, spills, and extended roadway closures that can affect entire communities. Liability in these cases can extend well beyond the driver to include the carrier, the loading company, the maintenance provider, or even the product manufacturer. Victims of these crashes may pursue claims involving burn injuries, products liability, and other catastrophic injuries stemming from exposure to hazardous cargo.

Rideshare Accidents

Rideshare accidents raise unique legal challenges, since determining liability often depends on whether the driver was logged into the app, actively en route to a passenger, or transporting a rider at the time of the crash. At Lawrence, Beirne & Lewis, our rideshare accident attorneys in Cincinnati and the Covington area help injured passengers, drivers, and other motorists navigate these complex insurance issues and pursue compensation from the rideshare company’s coverage, the driver’s personal policy, or another at-fault party, depending on the circumstances of the crash.

Our attorneys walk clients through their legal options from the very first consultation, working to secure a fair settlement whenever possible and preparing to take a case to court when the insurance company won’t offer the compensation a victim deserves.

Common Causes of Commercial Vehicle Accidents

Because of the sheer size and weight of many commercial trucks, the risk to smaller passenger vehicles increases significantly when they are involved in a truck accident. Various factors may contribute to commercial truck accidents, with many potential parties being at fault.

The following includes some of the most common causes of truck accidents:

Fatigue

Fatigue is one of the most common causes of large truck accidents. Commercial drivers operate under tight schedules and must complete deliveries and assigned tasks on time, and exhaustion behind the wheel leads to slower reaction times, reduced concentration, and a greater likelihood of unsafe decision-making. Hours-of-service laws at both the state and federal level are meant to address how long a driver may operate within a given period, how many consecutive hours they may drive, and how much rest they are required to take, but unfortunately, these rules are not always followed.

Distraction

Distraction is another leading factor. Distracted driving includes anything that takes a driver’s attention off the road, and cell phone use (particularly texting) is widely recognized by the FMCSA as the single most dangerous distraction for commercial drivers. It is essential that commercial drivers keep their full attention on the road to operate safely. When they fail to do so, injury victims may be able to recover compensatory damages through a distracted driving accident claim.

Unhealthy Lifestyles

The demanding lifestyle that comes with long-haul trucking also plays a role. Truckers and other commercial drivers work long hours with high stress and few opportunities for healthy food or physical activity, and this lifestyle can contribute to substance abuse issues that increase the risk of a serious crash.

Driving Under the Influence

Tying in with the unhealthy lifestyle choices that a truck driver may make due to their long and strenuous schedules, they may engage in extremely unhealthy behaviors such as drunk driving. Drunk driving accidents involving large trucks can have devastating consequences, including life-altering injuries and wrongful death. If you or a loved one were the victim of a car accident caused by drunk or impaired driving, a Northern Kentucky or Cincinnati drunk driving accident lawyer at Lawrence, Beirne & Lewis can help ensure you recover full and fair compensation for everything the other driver’s poor decisions cost you.

Other Causes of Trucking Accidents

Unlike a typical passenger-vehicle collision, a commercial truck accident case often involves several potentially liable parties at once. A commercial driver works for another entity, such as a trucking carrier, and negligent trucking companies may be held liable both for their driver’s actions and for the condition of the vehicle itself. A cargo company may also bear responsibility for an overloaded truck, while a manufacturer may be liable for faulty parts or design flaws. Vendors who service the carrier, companies responsible for vehicle maintenance, and even contractors or local government agencies responsible for road maintenance can all share liability depending on the circumstances.

A dedicated Cincinnati or Northern Kentucky truck accident lawyer at our law firm can examine every angle of your claim, including whether the truck manufacturer produced a safe product, whether the mechanics who serviced the vehicle were properly trained and qualified, and how much responsibility the trucking company itself bears.

Truck Accidents Caused By Passenger Vehicle Drivers

Passenger vehicle drivers can cause serious trucking accidents as well, often due to a lack of understanding about how a large truck accelerates, turns, and stops.

The following behaviors are unsafe around big trucks and potentially cause devastating wrecks:

Driving on the right side of a truck making a right turn
Making lane changes directly in front of a truck
Moving in between big rigs
Driving in “no zones” (the areas behind and next to a truck where the driver has zero or limited visibility)
Improper merges into traffic that cause a truck to brake or maneuver quickly
Not slowing down or speeding up while a truck merges or changes lanes
Unsafe passing
Merging into traffic in front of a truck from the roadside and not accelerating fast enough
Turning left in front of a truck at an intersection and misjudging the truck’s speed
Not accounting for crosswind or air turbulence when passing a truck

Truck Accidents Caused by Commercial Truck Drivers

Increasing consumer demand can place a lot of pressure on both truck drivers and the trucking companies employing them. It’s common for safety standards to be overlooked or ignored as a result. Although commercial truck operators are skilled professional drivers, there are several factors besides the size and weight of the truck that contribute to wrecks, including but not limited to:

A lack of training in safety, driving techniques, and defensive driving
Driving longer consecutive hours and faster speeds due to incentivization through pay systems
Driver fatigue stemming from unrealistic schedules and expectations
Faulty truck parts or manufacturing problems
Distracted driving

Common Injuries Caused by Commercial Vehicle Accidents

Because of the size and weight involved, commercial vehicle accidents frequently cause severe injuries, including traumatic brain injuries, neck, back, and spinal cord injuries, paralysis, broken and crushed bones, internal organ damage, burns and scarring, loss of a limb, and permanent disability. These injuries may require surgery, rehabilitation, long-term medical care, and substantial time away from work.

In the most tragic cases, a crash can result in fatal injuries, leaving surviving family members to face sudden financial and emotional losses. A fatal car accident lawyer at Lawrence, Beirne & Lewis can help families pursue accountability and compensation when negligence contributes to a deadly commercial vehicle collision.

Who May Be Liable for a Commercial Vehicle Crash?

Determining who is at fault following a devastating truck accident can be challenging, since multiple parties may bear financial responsibility for the damages in a personal injury claim. Potentially liable parties can include:

The commercial driver
The driver’s employer
A motor carrier or fleet operator
The vehicle owner
A cargo loading company
A maintenance or repair contractor
A vehicle or component manufacturer
Another motorist
A public agency responsible for the roadway

What Should You Do After a Commercial Vehicle Accident?

Given how frequently these crashes cause severe injuries to truck accident victims, getting immediate medical treatment is always the top priority when someone has been gravely hurt. If your injuries are minor enough to allow it, however, there are several other important steps our Northern Kentucky and Ohio truck accident attorneys recommend following an accident to help protect your personal injury claim:

Check on everyone involved and call for help. Call an ambulance if needed, and contact the police as soon as possible. You’ll need a police report for your insurance claim, and it’s the most reliable record of what happened.
Get medical attention regardless of how you feel. Adrenaline often masks pain and injury for days after a crash. Waiting too long to seek treatment can make it harder to prove the wreck caused your injuries, so hold onto all of your medical records.
Document the scene safely. Once it’s safe to do so, take photos of the vehicles, road and weather conditions, and any contributing factors such as damaged or missing signage.
Gather contact and insurance information from the at-fault driver, witnesses, the trucking company, and anyone else involved, including names, phone numbers, insurance details, and license plate numbers.
Have your vehicle appraised before authorizing repairs, and check your insurer’s specific requirements for documenting the damage.
Be cautious about what you say. Don’t admit fault, don’t speculate about the cause of the crash, and avoid discussing details with anyone other than your attorney.
Stay off social media. Anything you post can later be used against you if your case goes to trial.
Hire an experienced commercial truck accident lawyer who can provide legal advice, investigate the crash, work with accident reconstruction specialists, negotiate with insurance companies, and pursue full compensation for your lost wages, medical bills, and property damage.

How an Experienced Personal Injury Attorney Investigates the Crash

A thorough investigation is often the most important thing separating a strong commercial vehicle accident claim from a weak one. Our car accident attorneys request electronic logging device records and hours-of-service logs, which record a driver’s time behind the wheel by synchronizing with the vehicle’s engine, and review the driver’s employment, training, medical, and driving records. FMCSA regulations require carriers to maintain driver qualification files containing this information, and our team knows how to obtain it.

We also pursue maintenance, inspection, repair, and cargo documentation, and work to preserve dash-camera footage, event data recorder information, and dispatch communications before they can be lost or overwritten. Police reports, witness accounts, cell phone records, and available roadway video are also reviewed closely. When necessary, we are prepared to work with accident reconstruction specialists and medical professionals to fully understand how the crash occurred and how it affected our client.

How an Attorney Helps With a Commercial Vehicle Accident Lawsuit

Beyond the initial investigation, an experienced attorney identifies every potentially responsible party, reviews the available insurance policies and corporate relationships involved, and calculates both your current and future losses. From there, your attorney will present a claim and negotiate directly with the insurers, and if the parties cannot reach a fair agreement, will file a lawsuit and proceed through discovery, depositions, and the retention of qualified experts to prepare the case for settlement or, if necessary, trial.

To learn more about how personal injury lawsuits unfold and what to expect from the process, our team is ready to walk you through it during your initial consultation.

Compensation Available After a Commercial Vehicle Crash

Settlements for accidents involving large commercial trucks are typically much higher than those involving two passenger vehicles, particularly when an 18-wheeler or semi-truck is involved. Given the extent of the damage, the likelihood of severe or catastrophic injuries and wrongful death, and the fact that a commercial entity is typically involved, compensation in these cases can range anywhere from tens of thousands to tens of millions of dollars.

The specific facts of your case will determine the compensatory damages you’re able to recover, and in cases involving especially reckless conduct, punitive damages may also be available. A truck crash attorney at our firm will weigh several factors in calculating your compensation, including:

Incidental Culpability: Were there other factors contributing to the accident, such as the other driver being under the influence of alcohol or drugs? This circumstance would assign a more significant portion of fault to that driver.
Medical Expenses: The extent of your injuries and the costs for your medical treatment significantly influence your settlement.
Property Damage Claims: How much damage did your vehicle sustain? Major repairs or a replacement will be reflected in your award. If you need a rental car, that cost is part of your award as well.
Lost Wages: Healing from some injuries may require time off work. Your lost income and future earning capacity will be impacted while you heal from your injuries and will be factored into your compensation amount.
Pain and Suffering: This accounts for the physical pain you felt following the accident as well as the emotional anguish that may result. For example, victims are often traumatized after a significant commercial vehicle accident, with many experiencing severe PTSD after the crash. These are the things your attorney will consider when analyzing a fair settlement amount.

At Lawrence, Beirne & Lewis, we have a proven track record in obtaining maximum compensation for our injured clients. Our verdicts and settlements speak to the outcomes we’ve secured for past clients.

How Fault Laws Affect Ohio and Kentucky Commercial Vehicle Claims

Where your crash occurred can significantly affect which insurance rules and comparative-fault laws apply to your claim, since Ohio and Kentucky handle these issues differently. In Ohio, an injured person can recover compensation as long as their own fault does not exceed the combined fault of the other responsible parties, with the final award reduced by their assigned percentage of fault.

Kentucky follows a similar comparative-fault framework, allocating responsibility among all parties involved and reducing an award according to each party’s specific share of fault. Kentucky claims may also involve personal injury protection coverage, which can affect how and when a claim may be pursued. Because these rules differ significantly between the two states, it’s important to have an attorney evaluate which set of laws applies to your specific case rather than assuming a single general rule.

How Long Do You Have to File a Commercial Vehicle Accident Lawsuit?

Filing deadlines for a commercial vehicle accident claim depend on where the crash occurred, the type of claim being pursued, the parties involved, and any insurance payments already made. In Ohio, an injured person generally has two years from the date of the crash to file a bodily injury lawsuit. Kentucky generally allows one year from the date of the loss.

Because exceptions can shorten or extend these windows, it’s never a good idea to try to calculate your own deadline. Instead, reach out for a case review so an attorney can confirm exactly how much time you have to act and help walk you through the next steps.

Why Choose the Commercial Vehicle Accident Lawyers at Lawrence, Beirne & Lewis?

With offices in Cincinnati, OH, and Covington, KY, Lawrence, Beirne & Lewis represents clients throughout Southwest Ohio and Northern Kentucky in commercial vehicle accident cases, along with truck, bus, car, motorcycle, bicycle, pedestrian, and other motor vehicle accident claims. Our firm has extensive experience handling catastrophic injury and wrongful death claims, and we understand exactly what medical evidence is needed to fully document a client’s serious injuries. We have the resources necessary to investigate corporate defendants and commercial insurers thoroughly, and we prepare every case for settlement negotiations or trial from the outset.

We also handle every commercial vehicle accident case on a contingency fee basis, which means our clients pay no legal fees unless we recover compensation on their behalf. To learn more about our firm, our attorneys, and what past clients have to say, we invite you to explore our website further or reach out today to schedule your free initial consultation.

Contact Our Cincinnati and Covington Commercial Vehicle Accident Attorneys for a Free Consultation Today

As you can see, there are far more variables involved in a commercial truck accident than in a typical car accident case, especially when a large corporation owns the vehicle involved. These companies typically keep a legal team on standby and will pose a real challenge to your claim, fighting aggressively to avoid paying out a fair settlement.

Fortunately, the aggressive truck accident attorneys at Lawrence, Beirne & Lewis are prepared to fight back against these trucking companies and help injured victims pursue the justice and compensation they deserve for injuries caused by another party’s negligence. When you hire our legal team, our dedicated Ohio and Northern Kentucky car accident attorneys will treat your case with priority and professionalism, working hard to hold every responsible party accountable and explore every possible avenue for maximum recovery.

If you or a family member has been severely injured in a commercial truck accident and you wish to pursue compensation, call our personal injury attorneys toll-free at (800) 698-4054 or reach out online to schedule a free consultation today.