For over 35 years, the skilled attorneys at Nagel Rice LLP have been winning cases for New Jersey clients who have been seriously harmed in all types of traffic accidents, including those involving garbage trucks. Most of us view garbage trucks as cumbersome vehicles going through their assigned task as efficiently as possible, moving slowly and stopping frequently. If you have been seriously injured in a garbage truck accident, you need more than urgent medical treatment; you need legal counsel from aggressive litigators like those at Nagel Rice.
Our firm is dedicated to fighting for the appropriate compensation you are entitled to by law. Sanitation companies are notoriously powerful agencies, but we have the clout and determination to level the playing field, in or out of the courtroom, to help you win a substantial settlement or verdict.
Reasons for a Garbage Truck Accident
There are several reasons garbage truck accidents may occur, harming not only drivers and passengers of nearby cars, but bicyclists, motorcyclists, and pedestrians, as well as sanitation workers themselves, including:
- Garbage trucks drive through residential neighborhoods frequently
- Garbage tricks are permitted to ignore certain rules of the road while actively picking up trash — driving on the wrong side of the street, blocking bicycle paths, and even going the wrong way down one-way streets
- Garbage trucks have to rush to meet deadlines
- Workers jump on and off their trucks frequently and throw rubbish onto the truck, and toss heavy metal cans back to the side of the road
- Workers on the back of the truck have to signal the driver when it’s safe to drive
No matter how you were injured in a garbage truck accident, chances are Nagel Rice can win you damages to cover your accident-related costs.
How Nagel Rice Can Help in a Garbage Truck Accident
Our garbage truck accident attorneys have comprehensive knowledge of traffic law, including how it pertains to garbage truck usage, as well as keen insight into insurance matters. We also have outstanding credentials and a track record of winning millions of dollars in damages for our clients. As soon as we take you on as a client, we will take over the following tasks so that you can concentrate on healing:
- Communicating with insurance adjusters and opposing attorneys
- Filing all necessary documents promptly
- Investigating the site of the accident and taking photographs as necessary
- Examining police records and medical reports
- Investigating both the garbage company and driver for prior reports of negligence
- Interviewing witnesses
- Consulting with experts — medical and otherwise — who may testify in court on your behalf
- Keeping you apprised of any important developments in your case
Above all, we will use our noteworthy negotiation and litigation skills to fight for your cause.
We Will Hold Responsible Parties Accountable for All You Have Been Through
Although, as mentioned, truck drivers can ignore certain rules of the road while actively collecting garbage, this exception does not exist when they are simply driving to another location, so liability issues will differ depending on specific circumstances.
Evidence of negligence in the accident in which you were injured may be:
- Absence of working flashing lights when trash was being collected
- Failure of the truck’s alarm to sound when the truck was backing up
- Damaged mirrors further impairing the driver’s vision (in addition to the usual blind spots)
- Police records showing the truck driver was impaired, distracted, or overly fatigued
- Witnesses attesting to unsafe driving on the part of the garbage truck driver
- Records showing that the driver received inadequate training and/or supervision
- Photos or reports of falling waste and trash at the time of the accident
Our talented attorneys will make an impressive case showing that your injuries — be they whiplash, spinal cord or traumatic brain injuries, fractures, burns, crush injuries, nerve, muscle, or organ damage — are the fault of garbage truck negligence. If you have lost a loved one to wrongful death in a garbage truck accident, we will do all we can to see that justice is done. Our goal is to make sure you receive the funds you need to restart your life after this terrible trauma.
Damages We Will Fight To Recover
No two negligence cases are exactly alike, so we will pay careful attention to the details of yours to determine which of the following types of compensation you are entitled to receive:
- Medical costs
- Lost income, now and going forward
- Psychological counseling
- Pain and suffering
- Permanent scarring or other disfigurement
- Loss of limb or organ
- Long-term nursing care
- Loss of sight or hearing
- Loss of consortium
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Final medical costs, funeral costs, loss of financial/ emotional support (in wrongful death)
Contact Nagel Rice’s Experienced Garbage Truck Accident Attorneys Now
We are painfully aware of how overwhelming your situation is as you continue to undergo physical, emotional, and financial distress. We also know that when one family member is seriously injured, the whole family is negatively impacted. We consider it our job to fight tirelessly to give you and your loved ones the comfortable, secure future you deserve. Contact Nagel Rice today.
Nagel Rice LLP helps their clients with their garbage truck accident claims throughout New Jersey including Bergen County, Essex County, Middlesex County, Monmouth County, Morris County, Passaic County, and Sussex County.