Google review
“They came to the hospital the day after my husband's crash. When the adjuster called, we already had a lawyer.”
Truck Accident Lawyers Chicago, IL
The trucking company sent its lawyers within hours. Now you have yours.
Available 24/7. Free, confidential, no obligation. We come to the hospital or your home.
4.9from 500+ Google reviews$250M+recovered for clients100+truck cases won$0unless we win
A Chicago truck accident law firm. Nothing else.
Founded in ChicagoTwo trial partnersTruck cases only
RBH Law Office handles truck cases, and that is all we do. After a crash, the carrier's investigators can be on the scene before you leave the hospital, and their first job is to shape the record.
We preserve the evidence, deal with the insurers, and carry the case to a verdict if that is what it takes. You pay nothing unless we win.
As seen in
- Chicago Tribune
- Chicago Sun-Times
- WGN-TV
- ABC 7 Chicago
- NBC 5 Chicago
- FOX 32
- Crain’s Chicago Business
- Chicago Daily Law Bulletin
- RBH Law Office attorneys are selected to Illinois Super Lawyers by Thomson Reuters, 2016 to 2026.
- RBH Law Office is ranked Tier 1 in Chicago for Plaintiffs’ Personal Injury by Best Lawyers’ Best Law Firms, 2026.
- R. B. is peer-selected as a Leading Lawyer in Illinois by the Leading Lawyers Network.
- R. B. is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates.
- RBH Law Office is a member firm of the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys.
- B. H. is a member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum.
- RBH Law Office is a member of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association.
- RBH Law Office is rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell.
Named outcomes, not adjectives.
A selection of truck cases resolved by RBH Law Office. Amounts are gross recoveries before fees and costs.
- $14,200,000I-55 Stevenson, Bedford Park
Jury verdict
Fatigued driver, hours-of-service logs falsified. Rear-end at a stopped lane.
- $9,750,000I-294 Tri-State, Hinsdale
Settlement
Underride beneath a trailer without a compliant rear guard. Wrongful death.
- $6,400,000Halsted St., Pilsen
Settlement
Wide right turn across a bike lane. Above-knee amputation.
- $4,100,000I-80, Joliet
Settlement
Broker hired a carrier under an out-of-service order. Spinal fusion.
- $3,350,000Western Ave., Logan Square
Settlement
Delivery van, distracted driver. Traumatic brain injury.
- $2,900,000I-290 Eisenhower, Oak Park
Settlement
Brake failure, maintenance records falsified. Pelvic fractures.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is different.
What our clients had to say
Every review here is a Google review from a client we represented. Across 500+ reviews, the rating is 4.9 out of 5.
- Google review
“I was 20% at fault according to the first report. RBH found the dashcam. The final number was eight figures.”
- Google review
“I never once had to chase them for an update. Every month, a call, in plain English.”
- Google review
“The hospital bills arrived before the police report did. RBH took every one of them and told me what each letter meant.”
- Google review
“My father was killed on I-80. They never pushed us to settle. When the offer was wrong, they went to trial.”
Also rated onGoogle4.9500+ reviewsAvvo10.0Superb ratingYelp4.8120+ reviewsBBBA+Accredited business
Hear it from them.
Three clients, in their own words. Press play to read each story.
Maria G.Little Village
Dwayne T.Bronzeville
Priya S.Naperville
Chicago moves more freight than any city in North America. The crashes follow the freight.
A quarter of the country's freight trains pass through this region, and the trucks that meet them run on the same expressways you drive to work. These are the numbers behind the crash that brought you here.
- 25%of all U.S. freight trains pass through this region
- 30,000+trucks a day on its busiest expressways, one vehicle in seven
Truck corridors · Chicago region truck where our cases cluster
- 90Kennedy / Jane Addams
- 94Edens
- 290Eisenhower
- 88Reagan Memorial
- 294Tri-State Tollway
- 55Stevenson
- 90/94Dan Ryan
- 57I-57
- 94Bishop Ford
- 80I-80
80,000 lb
A loaded semi weighs about twenty of your car.
The physics were never fair to you. The claim should be.
23 U.S.C. § 127525 ft
What a loaded truck needs to stop from 65 mph. A car needs 316.
Nearly two football fields. A tired or distracted driver had already run out of road.
FMCSA70%
of people killed in truck crashes were in the other vehicle.
The truck is built to survive the crash. Your car is not. That is why your injuries are what they are.
NHTSA, 20233,750
people injured in Illinois truck crashes in 2024. And 139 who did not come home.
You are not the only one, and you are not overreacting.
FMCSA, preliminary 2024
Sources: Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning freight snapshot; FMCSA Motor Carrier Management Information System (2024, preliminary); NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts, Large Trucks 2023; FMCSA driver guidance on stopping distances; 23 U.S.C. § 127.
A truck crash is not a big car crash. It is a corporate claim with a clock on it.
Within hours of a serious crash, most carriers dispatch a rapid-response team: an adjuster, an accident reconstructionist and defense counsel. Their job is to shape the record before you have read yours.
The evidence is theirs.
The truck's engine control module, the driver's electronic logs, dashcam footage, dispatch messages and maintenance files all sit with the carrier. Without a preservation letter, routine deletion can erase them in weeks. Destroying evidence after that letter is spoliation, and a court can punish it.
There are more defendants than a driver.
Carrier, freight broker, shipper, loader, maintenance contractor, parts maker. Under vicarious liability, a carrier answers for its driver's negligence. Each company has its own insurer and its own reason to blame someone else.
The rules are federal.
Hours-of-service limits, driver qualification files, drug and alcohol testing, inspection records. A violation of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations is often where the case is won.
We send the preservation letter the day you retain us. Read what to do after a truck accident
2 years
is the Illinois statute of limitations for a truck injury claim, counted from the day of the crash. 735 ILCS 5/13-202.
The law gives you two years. The evidence gives you weeks.
You are allowed to be exhausted, and to focus on healing. The statute of limitations is the last day a court will hear you. Some of the evidence that proves what happened expires in days.
- Days 1 to 3
Dashcam loops overwrite
In-cab cameras on looping storage can erase the crash footage within days unless someone saves it.
- 30 to 90 days
Carrier camera and dispatch purges
Most carriers' own retention policies delete fleet video and messages inside three months.
- 6 months
Driver logs may be lawfully deleted
Federal rules only require carriers to keep electronic logs and supporting documents for six months. 49 CFR 395.8(k).
- 1 year
Deadline to sue the City, CTA or county
If a city truck, a CTA vehicle or a road defect played a part, the claim against that public body closes after one year. 745 ILCS 10/8-101; for the CTA, 70 ILCS 3605/41.
- 2 years
Deadline against the driver and the carrier
After this, the case is gone no matter how strong it was. Wrongful death claims run two years from the date of death. 740 ILCS 180/2.
We send the preservation letter the day you retain us. It puts the carrier under a legal duty to keep every record above. One call starts that duty, while you take the time you need.
Deadlines depend on the facts. Claims for children run two years from their 18th birthday (735 ILCS 5/13-211). Do not rely on this page for your own deadline; ask us, free, today.
What a truck accident claim can pay for.
Illinois puts no cap on what a jury can award an injured person. A claim is built from every loss the crash caused you: the ones with receipts and the ones without.
No lawyer can promise you an amount. We give you a range once we have the evidence, not before.
Your medical bills, now and later
The ambulance, the surgery and the hospital stay, and then the rehab, equipment and future care a life-care planner prices out.
The pay you lost, and the pay you will lose
Missed paychecks today, and the earning power you lose if you cannot go back to the same work.
The pain, and the life you had
Physical pain, disability, scarring, and the things you can no longer do with the people you love.
What a family loses
After a death: lost support, funeral costs, and the grief and sorrow Illinois law recognizes for a spouse and next of kin.
Punishment, when the carrier knew
Punitive damages for conduct like falsified logs or a driver kept on the road after failed tests. They exist to punish, not to compensate.
What to do after a truck accident.
Whether you are reading this from a hospital bed or a week later at the kitchen table, these five steps still protect you. None of them asks you to feel better first.
See a doctor, and keep going back
Go even if you walked away. Brain and internal injuries can show up days later, and a gap in treatment is the first thing an insurer points to.
Keep everything
Photos of the scene and your injuries, the name and DOT number on the truck, witness names, your damaged car. Do not repair or release the car yet.
Get the crash report number
Chicago Police or Illinois State Police will have filed one. You only need the number. We pull the report.
Do not give the adjuster a recorded statement
The trucking company's insurer may call within a day, friendly and in a hurry. You do not have to talk. Say “Please call my lawyer” and nothing else.
Call a truck accident lawyer before the evidence goes
Dashcam footage and driver logs can be lawfully erased. One call lets us send the letter that stops it.
Until you have spoken to a lawyer: sign nothing, accept no check, and post nothing about the crash.
Check your deadlinesFour stages. You are told where your case stands at each one.
Preserve
Day 1: preservation letter to every potential defendant. Our investigator photographs the scene and the vehicles, pulls the Chicago Police or ISP report, and secures witness statements.
Investigate
We download the ECM, obtain ELD logs, dispatch records, driver qualification and drug-testing files, and the carrier's FMCSA safety history. Reconstruction and medical experts are retained early.
Build
Medical care is coordinated and documented. Every defendant and every policy is identified, including excess and umbrella coverage. We value the case on evidence, not on what the adjuster offers.
Resolve
Most cases settle once the carrier sees the file. If the offer does not reflect the harm, we try the case. Both of our partners are trial lawyers.
Your costs: none up front. We advance every expense. If there is no recovery, you owe nothing.
Seven parties can owe you for one crash.
Illinois law holds a carrier responsible for its driver's negligence. Federal law requires most interstate carriers to hold at least $750,000 in liability coverage, and up to $5,000,000 for hazardous cargo. Finding every policy is part of the job.
Truck driver
Fatigue, speed, distraction or impairment at the wheel.
Motor carrier
Answers for its driver, and for how it hired, trained and dispatched them.
Freight broker
Liable when it hands a load to a carrier it should never have chosen.
Shipper / loader
Overweight or badly secured cargo that shifts, spills or jackknifes the rig.
Maintenance contractor
Brakes, tires and lights that were signed off and never fixed.
Truck or parts manufacturer
Components that fail under load: brakes, tires, couplings, underride guards.
Government entity
Road design, signage, or a city vehicle in the crash. Often a one-year deadline.
Every kind of truck crash in Chicago.
- Semi-truck & 18-wheelerTractor-trailer crashes on expressways and arterials.
- JackknifeTrailer swings out under hard braking and sweeps lanes.
- UnderrideA car slides beneath a trailer. Often fatal; often a guard failure.
- RolloverTop-heavy loads, speed on ramps, shifting cargo.
- Rear-endStopped traffic, fatigued or distracted driver, no time to brake.
- Blind spot & wide turnRight-hook turns across bike lanes and crosswalks.
- Delivery trucksAmazon, FedEx, UPS and USPS vans on neighborhood streets.
- Fatal truck accidentsWrongful death claims for families, at the family's pace.
Injuries we see after truck crashes.
A truck crash rarely leaves one injury. These are the ones our clients live with, and the ones we know how to prove.
- Traumatic brain injuryFrom concussion to lasting changes in memory, mood and speech. Often missed on the first scan.
- Spinal cord injury and paralysisFusions, herniated discs, partial or complete paralysis, and a lifetime of care to plan for.
- Fractures and crush injuriesPelvis, legs, ribs, arms. Several surgeries, hardware, and months away from work.
- BurnsFuel fires and hazardous cargo. Skin grafts, scarring and long hospital stays.
- AmputationA limb lost at the scene or in surgery, and the prosthetics and retraining that follow.
- The loss of a family memberWhen the person who was hurt cannot bring the claim, we bring it for the family, at the family's pace.
Two trial lawyers. One kind of case.
R. B.
Principal Attorney
Has tried truck cases to verdict in Cook, DuPage and Will counties, and in federal court. Board member, Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys. Selected to Illinois Super Lawyers for ten consecutive years.
B. H.
Managing Partner
Spent seven years defending carriers and their insurers before joining the other side. He knows what the rapid-response team is doing in the first 48 hours, because he used to run it. Member, AAJ Trucking Litigation Group.
We know these roads.
Our office is in the Loop. We handle truck cases from every Chicago neighborhood, and from Cicero, Elk Grove Village, Bedford Park, Joliet, Naperville and Aurora.
Questions people ask on the first call.
How long do I have to file a truck accident claim in Illinois?
The statute of limitations for a personal injury claim in Illinois is 2 years from the date of the crash (735 ILCS 5/13-202). Claims against a city, county or transit agency can carry a 1-year deadline. Evidence deadlines are shorter than legal ones, so call early.
What if I was partly at fault?
Illinois uses a modified comparative negligence rule. You can recover if you were 50% or less at fault, reduced by your share. Carriers try to push you over 50%. That is what the evidence is for.
How much does it cost to hire RBH?
Nothing up front. Our contingency fee is 40% of what we recover for you, set out in a written agreement. We advance all case costs, and they are repaid from the recovery. If there is no recovery, you owe us nothing.
Should I talk to the trucking company's insurer?
No. Give them our number. Anything you say is used to reduce your claim.
How much is my case worth?
It depends on the injury, the medical future, lost earnings, the policy limits of the insurance in play, and each side's share of fault. We give you a range for your damages after we have the evidence, not before.
Will my case go to trial?
Most settle. At trial the plaintiff carries the burden of proof, so we prepare every case as if it will be tried. That is usually why it settles.
Visit us in the Loop, or we will come to you.
Most of our clients cannot travel in the first weeks. So we go to them: the hospital, the rehab unit, or the kitchen table.
We come to you
Hospital, rehab or home, anywhere in Chicago and the suburbs, usually within 24 hours of your call. No charge, no obligation.
The office
111 W. Washington St., Suite 1800Chicago, IL 60602Across the street from the Daley Center, where Cook County injury cases are tried.
- Hours
- Phones answered 24 hours, 7 days. Office open Monday to Friday, 8:30 to 5:30.
- Train
- Blue Line to Washington, or Red Line to Lake. Two minutes on foot.
- Parking
- Validated parking in the garage next door. Step-free entrance on Washington Street.
- Languages
- English and Español.
Latest guides.
Plain answers to the questions people ask us in the first week.
- First week
What to do after a truck accident in Chicago
A checklist you can follow from a hospital bed, and the three things not to do.
On this page - Bills
Medical bills after a truck accident: who pays, and when
Who pays today, who is paid back later, and the one form you should not sign.
Guide - Deadlines
Deadline checker: the dates that apply to your crash
Enter the crash date and see when the evidence and the legal deadlines run out.
Tool
Tell us what happened. We will tell you what happens next.
Call, or send the form. A lawyer, not an intake service, calls you back within the hour. Free, confidential, no obligation.
No fee unless we winWe come to youAvailable 24/7
- NowYou call or send the form.
- Within the hourA lawyer calls you back.
- The day you retain usThe preservation letter goes out.