Who we help after a truck crash in Chicago, IL
Walking, cycling, riding, driving, working or grieving. If a commercial truck hurt you or your family, find your situation and see what changes for you.
Available 24/7. Free, confidential, no obligation. We come to the hospital or your home.
If you were not inside a vehicle.
On foot, on a bike or on a motorcycle, you had no cab, no frame and no airbag. You were also where a truck driver sees least.
- Blind spot
- The cab’s turn
- The trailer’s path
Pedestrians hit by trucks
Nothing stood between you and the truck.
A driver sitting high in the cab cannot see the road directly in front of the bumper, or much of the right side, without mirrors. That is why these crashes can happen at walking pace: at a crosswalk, as the truck pulls away or starts its turn.
Every driver owes you a duty of care, the legal obligation to drive as a reasonably careful person would. In Illinois a driver must use due care to avoid hitting a person on foot or on a bike (625 ILCS 5/11-1003.1). Failing in that duty is negligence, the failure to use reasonable care, and it is what a truck accident claim is built on.
We look first at who had the signal, where you were crossing, and what the truck's own cameras recorded. At a crosswalk without signals, a person crossing has the right of way, the legal priority to go first, and drivers must stop and yield (625 ILCS 5/11-1002).
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Cyclists hit by trucks
The right-turn squeeze.
A truck turning right may swing left first to make room. Then the trailer cuts across the bike lane. If you were alongside, you were in the driver's right-side blind spot the whole time.
Illinois gives a person on a bike the same rights as a driver (625 ILCS 5/11-1502), and a driver passing you must leave at least 3 feet (625 ILCS 5/11-703). Keep the bike exactly as it is. The damage shows where the truck touched it.
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Motorcyclists hit by trucks
Lane position, and the assumption that riders speed.
A motorcycle is narrow enough to sit entirely inside the blind spot beside a trailer. When the truck changes lanes, the driver may say the bike came from nowhere.
Insurers lean on the idea that the rider must have been speeding or weaving. We answer with records: the truck's engine module logs its own speed and braking. Illinois does not require riders to wear a helmet, so riding without one broke no law. Tell us either way.
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5,472 people were killed in large-truck crashes in the U.S. in 2023. This is where they were.
12%
outside any vehicle
On foot, on a bike, or otherwise unprotected. 674 people.
70%
in another vehicle
Cars, pickups, motorcycles and buses. 3,837 people.
18%
in the truck itself
Truck drivers and their passengers. 961 people.
If you were in another vehicle, or at work.
Most people hurt by a truck were inside something smaller. What changes from group to group is who carries the liability, the legal responsibility for the harm, and which deadline applies.
In another vehicle
7 in 10 of the people killed in large-truck crashes in 2023 were in the other vehicle. The truck is built to come through the crash. A car is not.
Drivers and passengers of cars
If you were driving, expect the carrier to say you caused it. Illinois follows modified comparative negligence, a rule that splits the blame by percentage. You can still recover if you were 50% or less at fault, and your damages, the money awarded for what you lost, are reduced by your share (735 ILCS 5/2-1116). If you were a passenger, you can usually bring a personal injury claim, a claim for harm to your body, against every driver who shares the blame, including the one you rode with.
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Rideshare passengers and drivers
Several policies can be in play: the truck's, the rideshare company's and the driver's own. Which one answers can depend on whether a trip was under way. Screenshot the trip in the app. It fixes the time, the route and the driver.
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Bus passengers
The claim against the trucking company has the usual statute of limitations, the legal deadline to file a lawsuit: 2 years from the crash (735 ILCS 5/13-202). If the bus was run by the CTA or another local public body and its driver shares the blame, that part of the claim closes after 1 year. For the CTA the rule is in the Metropolitan Transit Authority Act (70 ILCS 3605/41). For other local public bodies it is 745 ILCS 10/8-101.
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At work
Workers' compensation is one claim. The trucking company is a second, separate one.
The crash
Workers’ compensation claim
No fault needed. It pays whoever caused the crash.
Third-party claim
Fault needed. It runs against the other company, and you must show its driver was negligent.
Road and construction workers
Workers' compensation pays whoever was at fault. Illinois law also lets you bring a third-party claim, a lawsuit against a company other than your employer whose driver hit you (820 ILCS 305/5(b)). That claim can recover compensatory damages, the money that makes up for what the crash cost you, including losses workers' compensation does not pay, such as pain.
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Truck drivers hit by another company's truck
You drive for a living, and another carrier's driver put you off the road. If you are an employee, the same two claims apply: workers' compensation through your own employer, and a third-party claim against the other carrier. Your employer's insurer can be repaid out of the second. We deal with that.
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Because of who you are
The crash is the same. The rules around you are not.
An adult hurt in the crashFrom the crash
2 years 735 ILCS 5/13-202
A child or teenagerFrom the 18th birthday
2 years 735 ILCS 5/13-211
A family after a deathFrom the death
2 years 740 ILCS 180/2
A city or other public body involvedFrom the crash
1 year 745 ILCS 10/8-101
Children and teenagers
A parent or guardian brings the claim for a child. The child's own deadline runs until 2 years after their 18th birthday (735 ILCS 5/13-211). The evidence does not wait that long.
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Older adults
Insurers like to say the pain was already there. In Illinois a jury can be told it may not limit your damages because an earlier condition made you easier to injure (Illinois Pattern Jury Instruction 30.21). We document what you could do before the crash and what you can do now.
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Visitors from out of state
A crash in Illinois can generally be brought in an Illinois court, wherever you live. You do not have to stay in Chicago for it. Most steps can be handled by phone and video.
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Spanish-speaking families
Se habla español. We work in English and Spanish, from the first call.
If someone in your family was killed.
Nothing here needs you today. When you are ready, this is how Illinois law works after a fatal truck crash, and what we take off your hands.
Who brings the claim
When a wrongful act or neglect kills a person, Illinois allows a wrongful death claim, a lawsuit for what the family has lost (740 ILCS 180/1). One person brings it: the personal representative of the person who died. That is the executor named in a will, or an administrator the probate court appoints, often a close family member. The personal representative is the plaintiff, the person in whose name the lawsuit is filed. If no one has been appointed yet, call anyway.
Who it is for
The claim is for the surviving spouse and the next of kin, the relatives who would inherit if there were no will. A jury may award damages for what they lost in support, and for their grief, sorrow and mental suffering (740 ILCS 180/2).
What we take off your hands
- We come to your home, or wherever you are.
- We send the letter that makes the carrier keep its records.
- We take the insurers' calls, so you do not have to.
- We move at your pace. You decide when to talk about the case.
Check the dates that apply to your family
Fatal truck accidents and wrongful death: page in progress
- The crash
The survival action
A survival action is the claim your family member could have brought had they lived. It covers what they went through between the crash and the death: medical bills, lost pay and conscious pain. It belongs to the estate (755 ILCS 5/27-6).
- The death
The wrongful death claim
What the spouse and next of kin lose from the death onward: the support they relied on, and their grief, sorrow and mental suffering (740 ILCS 180/2).
- 2 years from the death: the last day to file this claim
If the truck had a company name on it.
The name on the door or the trailer is where the claim starts, not where it ends. One truck can involve several companies, and each can have its own insurer.
One truck, six questions
The driver
An employee, or an independent contractor, a driver in business for themselves. A company answers for its employee's negligence on the job. Lawyers call that vicarious liability, or respondeat superior. A contractor label does not end the question.
The tractor
Owned by the carrier, leased, or owned by the driver. When a carrier leases an owner-operator's truck, federal rules make the carrier take "complete responsibility for the operation of the equipment" for the length of the lease (49 CFR 376.12(c)(1)).
The trailer
Often owned by someone else: another carrier, a leasing pool, or the company whose name is painted on it.
The cargo
The shipper, whoever loaded it, and sometimes a broker who arranged the trip.
The number on the door
The operating carrier's name and USDOT number must be on the truck. If another name appears too, the carrier's follows the words "operated by" (49 CFR 390.21). That line is where we start.
The insurers
Each of those companies can be a defendant, a party you sue, and each can bring its own policy. Interstate carriers of general freight must carry at least $750,000 (49 CFR 387.9). Finding every policy is part of the job.
Names you may have seen on the truck
We are writing a page for each of these carriers. The names are listed so you can find the one you saw.
- Amazon
- FedEx
- J.B. Hunt
- PepsiCo
- Schneider
- Swift
- Sysco
- UPS
- USPS
- Waste Management
- Werner
- XPO
Three trucks with rules of their own
A mail truck is a federal claim
The United States Postal Service is part of the federal government (39 U.S.C. § 201), so a crash with a postal vehicle runs through the Federal Tort Claims Act, the law that lets you claim against the United States for a federal employee's negligence (28 U.S.C. § 1346(b); 39 U.S.C. § 409(c)). You must first send a written claim to the agency within 2 years (28 U.S.C. § 2401(b)). You can only sue once the agency denies it, or 6 months pass without a decision (28 U.S.C. § 2675(a)). After a denial, you have 6 months to file.
An Amazon van may be run by another company
Amazon describes its Delivery Service Partners as independent businesses that hire and manage their own drivers. So the driver's employer may be a local delivery company with its own insurer. We work out which company that was from the crash report and the vehicle's records.
A garbage truck can be private or public
A truck run by a private hauler follows the ordinary 2-year deadline. A truck run by a city, a village or another local public body can bring the 1-year deadline for claims against public entities (745 ILCS 10/8-101). If you are not sure which it was, treat it as 1 year until we confirm.
Company names on this page are trademarks of their owners. RBH Law Office is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by any of them. The list is alphabetical. Naming a company here says nothing about who was at fault in any crash. Every crash turns on its own facts.
Is this still a case? Short answers.
I was partly at fault. Can I still claim?
Yes, if you were 50% or less at fault. Under modified comparative negligence, Illinois reduces your damages by your share of the fault, and bars the claim only above 50% (735 ILCS 5/2-1116). Carriers often try to push a pedestrian, a cyclist or a rider over that line. The evidence decides it, not the first report.
The driver was an independent contractor, not an employee. Does that end the claim against the company?
Usually not. When a carrier leases an owner-operator's truck, federal rules make the carrier responsible for operating it for the length of the lease (49 CFR 376.12(c)(1)). The truck must also show the operating carrier's name and USDOT number (49 CFR 390.21). Who answers depends on the contracts and on who controlled the work. We get those documents.
It was a government truck. Is that different?
Yes, mainly the deadline. A claim against a city, a county or a park district must be filed within 1 year (745 ILCS 10/8-101). The CTA has its own 1-year rule in the Metropolitan Transit Authority Act (70 ILCS 3605/41). A claim against a federal agency such as the Postal Service starts under the Federal Tort Claims Act with a written claim to the agency within 2 years (28 U.S.C. § 2401(b)), and you cannot sue until it is denied or 6 months pass (28 U.S.C. § 2675(a)). Call early so neither date is missed.
My family member died. Who can bring the claim, and when?
The personal representative of the estate brings it, for the surviving spouse and next of kin. The deadline is 2 years from the date of death (740 ILCS 180/2). A separate survival action covers what your family member went through before they died (755 ILCS 5/27-6). You do not need an estate open before you call us.
I was hurt while working. Is workers' compensation my only claim?
No. Workers' compensation covers you whoever was at fault. Illinois law also lets you bring a third-party claim against a company other than your employer whose driver caused the crash (820 ILCS 305/5(b)). Your employer's insurer can be repaid from that recovery.
My child was hurt. How long do we have?
A child's own injury claim can be filed up to 2 years after their 18th birthday (735 ILCS 5/13-211). Do not wait for that. Camera footage and driver logs can be gone within months.
I do not see my situation on this page.
Call anyway. If a commercial truck or delivery vehicle hurt you, we want to hear what happened. If we are not the right firm for it, we will say so on the first call.
You were at fault for20%
You can recover80% of your damages
Tell us where you were and what hit you. We will tell you which of these rules apply to you, and what happens next.
Sources
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Traffic Safety Facts: Large Trucks, 2023 Data, DOT HS 813 717, April 2025 (where the people killed in large-truck crashes were)
- Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Our Roads, Our Safety: Tips for Driving Safely Around Large Trucks or Buses (blind spots and wide turns)
- Illinois Vehicle Code, 625 ILCS 5/11-1002 (right of way of a pedestrian at a crosswalk)
- Illinois Vehicle Code, 625 ILCS 5/11-1003.1 (drivers to use due care around pedestrians and cyclists)
- Illinois Vehicle Code, 625 ILCS 5/11-703(d) (3 feet when passing a bicycle)
- Illinois Vehicle Code, 625 ILCS 5/11-1502 (rights and duties of a person riding a bicycle)
- Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Motorcycle Helmet Use Laws by State (Illinois has no helmet requirement)
- Illinois Pattern Jury Instructions, Civil, Nos. 10.01 and 10.04 (negligence and the duty to use ordinary care)
- Illinois Pattern Jury Instructions, Civil, No. 30.21 (damages and pre-existing conditions)
- Illinois Code of Civil Procedure, 735 ILCS 5/13-202 (statute of limitations for personal injury)
- Illinois Code of Civil Procedure, 735 ILCS 5/13-211 (deadlines for minors)
- Illinois Code of Civil Procedure, 735 ILCS 5/2-1116 (modified comparative negligence)
- Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act, 745 ILCS 10/8-101 (1 year for claims against local public entities)
- Metropolitan Transit Authority Act, 70 ILCS 3605/41 (1 year for injury claims against the Chicago Transit Authority)
- Illinois Wrongful Death Act, 740 ILCS 180/1 and 180/2 (wrongful death claims, who brings them and the 2-year deadline)
- Illinois Probate Act of 1975, 755 ILCS 5/27-6 (survival actions)
- Illinois Workers' Compensation Act, 820 ILCS 305/5(b) (third-party claims beside workers' compensation)
- Adames v. Sheahan, 233 Ill. 2d 276, Illinois Supreme Court, 2009 (vicarious liability of an employer, respondeat superior)
- Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b), § 2401(b) and § 2675(a) (claims against the United States, time limits and the administrative claim)
- Postal Reorganization Act, 39 U.S.C. § 201 and § 409(c) (the Postal Service and tort claims)
- Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, 49 CFR 376.12(c)(1) (a carrier's responsibility for leased equipment)
- Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, 49 CFR 387.9 (minimum liability insurance)
- Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, 49 CFR 390.21 (marking of commercial motor vehicles)
- Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, 49 CFR 395.8(k) (how long driver logs are kept)
- Amazon, Amazon DSP Program: Our Continued Commitment and Investment, company statement (how Amazon describes its Delivery Service Partners)
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.
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- NowYou call or send the form.
- Within the hourA lawyer calls you back.
- The day you retain usThe preservation letter goes out.