In Illinois, loaded trucks are allowed a maximum cargo weight of 80,000 lbs. This is to ensure public safety and security, minimize truck accidents, and enable better handling of the heavy vehicles in an emergency situation. If truckers exceed the load limit and their actions result in overloaded/overweight truck accidents in Aurora, IL, they must be held responsible.
If you were either injured or suffered a loss of property due to a truck accident involving excessive cargo weight, you have options. Our experienced truck crash attorneys at McCready Law can help you seek fair compensation for your losses from the responsible parties.
Overloaded semi-trucks pose serious hazards when traveling on Aurora’s roads. These include:
While truck drivers or their companies may accept oversized cargo to increase their profit margins, the risks are usually too high for other road users.
Because of their huge vehicle size, semi-truck accidents linked to an oversized load can be catastrophic. Smaller vehicles can be crushed either by the trailer’s impact or the weight of the load falling on the vehicles.
Drivers may also slip on the road if liquid materials are spilled or collide with cargo that falls off the truck. In the end, vehicle passengers tend to be badly hurt, meaning huge medical bills and other losses for the victims. To recover these losses, it is important to identify who’s responsible.
This may be rather complicated depending on the circumstances. For instance, if the overloaded 18-wheeler was operated by the owner-driver, the responsibility generally falls on the driver.
However, if the driver is an employee or an independent contractor of a trucking company, it means there may be multiple responsible parties. Therefore, it may be necessary to look at everyone involved, including the owner, dispatcher, cargo loaders, manufacturers of vehicle parts, or even the mechanics who were responsible for tractor-trailer maintenance. Once identified, the McCready Law Firm can go after the right parties and help you realize substantial monetary settlements.
Truck accident victims are often severely injured and may require prolonged hospital stays, medical treatments, and more. For some, these incurred costs can lead to financial devastation.
To recover these losses, claimants can seek compensatory damages, including loss of wages and income, property damage, reduced earning capacity, medical and healthcare costs, rehabilitation expenses, and other related expenses.
Victims may also receive additional compensation for non-economic damages such as pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of companionship, loss of enjoyment of life, and scarring or disfigurement.
If the aggrieved party can establish that the defendant acted in bad faith with intentional malice or recklessness when they caused the accident, then the injured victim may be entitled to punitive damages.
To receive financial compensation for property damage, lost belongings, or injuries sustained in overloaded/overweight truck accidents in Aurora, IL, you need experienced legal representation. At McCready Law, our personal injury attorneys can fight to obtain substantial monetary remedies that will make you whole and ease the financial burden.
Contact us today to explore your legal options.
