Michigan Big Rig Accident Lawyer Near You: No Fees Unless We Win

If you were injured in a tractor trailer crash – or if a fatal semi truck crash took the life of your loved one in Michigan – you need an experienced big rig accident lawyer who specializes exclusively in these cases to help you protect your legal rights and get you and your family the compensation and money damages you are legally entitled to.

A Michigan lawyer with specialized knowledge and skills in helping people who have been injured in big rig accidents will fight to get you the maximum compensation for your pain and suffering and loss of your ability to live your normal life.

A Michigan big rig accident lawyer will also help you recover economic damages to help you pay for your medical bills and replace wages and earnings you have lost because your injuries have disabled you from returning to work.

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Our Michigan lawyers, who specialize exclusively in handling big rig accident cases, have been helping trucking crash victims like you for more than 50 years.  

We have litigated more truck crash cases than any other personal injury law firm in the state.

The big rig accident lawyers at Michigan Auto Law have achieved noteworthy victories for our clients:

• We have won the largest truck crash settlement of any attorney or law firm in state history.
• We have recovered the top reported truck crash jury verdict and settlement for our clients for more years than any other attorney or law firm in the state.
• We have more million-dollar truck crash results, including recovering the top-reported truck crash settlement and verdict of the year more times, than any other law firm in the state.

Our law firm is the only law firm in the state with a board certification in Truck Crash Law by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (the highest designation of skill and experience available for attorneys in America today). 

Attorney Steven Gursten is one of only three truck crash attorneys in America to receive the Hall of Fame Award from the American Association for Just Trucking Litigation Group.

Our attorneys have spoken at over 300 legal seminars in 26 states, teaching attorneys throughout the country how to handle truck crash cases.

Truck crash cases are far more complicated than other types of accident cases. Entrusting your Michigan big rig accident case to a lawyer who lacks the necessary experience, skill, specialized knowledge and proven track record of success could cost you hundreds of thousands – if not millions – of dollars in compensation.

To find out what your case may be worth, please check out our Settlement Calculator. 

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“Big rig” is a colloquial term generally used to refer to large, heavy-duty trucks. While the term doesn’t have a specific definition, it generally encompasses a wide spectrum of large trucks used for long-distance transportation and hauling of heavy loads. And when these trucks are involved in a crash, the results are often fatal.

The term “big rig” encompasses a wide variety of large commercial trucks, including but not limited to semi-trucks or tractor-trailers, dump trucks, tanker trucks, flatbed trucks, and log trucks.

Although semi-trucks are the most common type, all big rigs share several common characteristics:

• They are larger and longer than most other vehicles on the road.
• They are designed to carry heavy loads, which far exceed what other vehicles can transport. To do this, these trucks need powerful engines (often diesel) to provide the torque needed to carry heavy loads and to maintain highway speeds. They also have multiple axles.
• They have an articulated design, meaning the tractor unit and trailer are connected with a fifth wheel coupling, allowing for increased maneuverability when navigating significant turns.
• They are designed for commercial purposes, such as hauling goods and materials, and they are operated by trained and licensed, professional drivers.
• They are designed for long-distance hauling, often covering cross-country routes.
• They can have specialized trailers, including flatbeds, tankers, dry vans, and refrigerated trai
• lers.

• Size and Speed: Heavy duty trucks are inherently more dangerous than other vehicles because they are significantly larger and heavier than nearly every other vehicle on the road. As such, crashes involving semi trucks have greater impact force, which often leads to devastating consequences.
• Longer Stopping Distances: Because of their size and speed, these heavy duty trucks require much longer distances to come to a complete stop, which increases the likelihood of rear-end collisions.
• Design: Semi truck drivers have more limited visibility, especially in their blind spots or the areas behind the truck. This makes it more challenging to see smaller vehicles, which can cause crashes during lane changes or when merging.
• Driver Error: Semi truck drivers often face rigorous schedules with few breaks, which leads to fatigue and impairs reaction times, increasing the risk of crashes. Even though federal trucking safety rules prohibit distracted driving by truck drivers, some operators take their eyes off the road to check a text message or make a call, often leading to serious crashes. Further, failure to properly load and balance cargo can cause loads to shift and big rigs to roll over.
• Maintenance and Mechanical Failures: Big rigs get a lot of wear and tear as they are always hauling loads and have little down time. As a result, parts break down and mechanical failures occur. Failure to inspect a vehicle regularly and maintain/replace brakes, tires, and other parts greatly increases the risk of a crash.
• Weather Conditions: Semi trucks are less maneuverable in adverse weather conditions such as rain, snow, and ice. Wet and/or slick roads make it challenging for heavy duty truck drivers to control their vehicles.
• Inexperienced or Unqualified Drivers: Proper training is essential for big rig drivers. Lack of experience and qualifications greatly increases the risk of crashes.

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Compensation and money damages that a lawyer may be able to recover for your big rig accident in Michigan include:

• Pain and suffering
• Emotional trauma
• Mental distress
• Reduced quality of life
• Permanent and disabling injuries
• Medical expenses (past, present and future)
• Loss of current income
• Loss of potential future earnings
• Vehicle repair or replacement costs
• Wrongful death damages – If a big rig accident took the life of your loved one in Michigan, an experienced lawyer can help you file a wrongful death claim against the at-fault party or parties. In this type of action, you and your family can recover compensation for your loved one’s pain and suffering, as well as the loss of his or her companionship, support, services, and guidance.
• Wrongful death compensation also includes economic losses, such as medical bills and funeral and burial expenses.

Our Michigan big rig accident lawyers know these cases are more complex and difficult than car crash cases because there are so many potentially negligent parties to hold accountable.

They may include:

• The truck driver – Frequently, the driver’s negligent conduct caused or was a contributing cause to a crash. 
• The truck owner – If the state where the crash occurred has an “owner liability” law, then the owner of the truck (i.e.,the tractor or cab) may be liable for any injuries or death that are caused by the negligent operation of their vehicle.
• The trailer owner – A Michigan big rig accident lawyer may be able to hold the owner of the trailer liable for the crash. The owner of the trailer which is being hauled by the truck may not also be the owner of the truck, in which case his or her liability for a crash may arise for the same reasons that a truck owner may be held liable.
• The trucking company – Trucking companies’ liability may arise from their status as the owner of a truck and trailer or from their status as the employer of the truck driver who caused the crash. Additionally, they could also be held legally liable for a crash and the resulting injuries, deaths, damages based on negligent supervision, training and hiring, such as when they employ a driver with driving infractions or when they pressure drivers into violating the hours-of-service requirements or neglecting inspection and vehicle maintenance requirements.
• The shipping company – A Michigan big rig accident lawyer may also hold The shipping company or “shipper”legally liable for a crash. The shipping company is the company that is hiring the truck driver and trucking company to haul its products or cargo from one place to another
• The load broker – This is the middleman or intermediary who is hired by a shipper or company who wants to ship their products and goods to find and hire truck drivers and trucking companies who will transport a shipper’s cargo and goods to the destination specified by the shipper. It is possible that a load broker may have legal liability for causing or contributing to a crash.
• The leasing agent – The person or company that leases their truck and trailer to a truck driver, trucking company, or shipping company to be used to transport cargo, products and goods may be held legally accountable for a crash.
• The loading company – A Michigan big rig accident lawyer may be able to hold the loading company (the company which is hired and paid to load cargo, goods and products onto a semi-truck for transportation), legally liable if it negligently loaded the truck and the shifting of the load or the overloading of the truck contributed to the crash.
• The maintenance company – When the failure to properly maintain a truck in a safe condition contributes to a crash, the truck maintenance company may be held legally liable.
• Manufacturer of the truck, trailer and equipment – Depending on the laws of the state where a truck crash occurs, a truck part manufacturer can be held liable if its defective vehicle, trailer, product, part or equipment causes or contributes to a truck crash. Defective products and equipment can cause brake failures, tire blowouts, and steering malfunctions.

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An experienced big rig accident lawyer who specializes in trucking litigation can help you and your family after a crash in Michigan by: 

1. Winning bigger settlements, faster
2. Stopping the trucking company from destroying key evidence that you will need to prove its negligence
3. Identifying the federal and state truck safety violations that caused your crash
4. Bringing in the nation’s top experts to help prove your case
5. Holding all of the negligent parties fully accountable
6. Increasing the amount of your settlement based on the liability insurance coverage and financial assets of the responsible parties
7. Presenting to the court and to the jury all of the evidence showing the extent of the responsible parties’ negligent conduct and how it caused the crash that resulted in your injuries or loss of your loved one