Michigan Construction Truck Accident Lawyer: Experience, Integrity, Excellence.

You don’t need to drive far on Michigan’s roads and highways to spot a construction truck. Sadly, you may not have to drive much further to see a crash. If you’re injured in one of the 7,500 construction truck crashes that occur in Michigan every year, then you need to hire a construction truck accident lawyer. 

In addition to the typical safety issues involving all big, heavy-duty trucks, construction trucks pose some unique and specific dangers of their own. These include heavy loads, specialized equipment, handling challenges, frequent backing up/changing direction, work site hazards, and of course dangers to workers and to pedestrians. 

Meanwhile, most Michigan personal injury lawyers – even those who advertise for truck accidents – do not have the knowledge and sophistication to properly handle a construction truck injury case. Unlike other commercial truck accidents, construction truck accidents will require knowledge of very specific state and federal laws, and there are a myriad of trucking safety rules and regulations that a lawyer needs to know and understand. If you have been injured in a crash involving a construction truck, one of the most important things you can do is hire an experienced truck accident attorney who specializes in this area of the law.   

In 2022 alone there were nearly 7,500 construction zone crashes in Michigan, resulting in almost 2,000 injuries and 22 fatalities. (MDOT)

If you’ve been injured in a crash involving a  construction truck and would like to learn what your accident case may be worth, please check out our Settlement Calculator. 

What constitutes a “construction truck?”

The term “construction truck” refers to the many types of specialized trucks used in the construction industry. These heavy-duty trucks are designed to handle a variety of construction projects, including road work, home and commercial construction.

Common types of construction truck accident cases our lawyers have handled include: 

• Dump Trucks: Dump trucks are used to move large loads of material, including gravel, dirt, sand, rocks, and debris. They generally have hinged beds that are raised to discharge cargo.
• Crane Trucks: Crane trucks are used for lifting and placing heavy equipment and materials, such as large beams and other heavy components.
• Bucket Trucks: Bucket trucks have a hydraulic boom with a bucket at the end, which allows workers to access elevated areas and perform specialized tasks.
• Flatbed Trucks: Flatbed trucks have open cargo areas with no sides or roof. They are used to move equipment and materials to construction sites.
• Concrete Mixers: Concrete mixers have rotating drums to mix concrete while in transit. They are used to transport fresh concrete to construction sites.
• Tow Trucks: Tow trucks are used for towing disabled construction vehicles and equipment.
• Utility Trucks: Utility trucks often feature compartments for carrying tools and equipment, making them suitable for various construction and maintenance tasks.
• Fuel Trucks: Fuel trucks transport and dispense gas and fuel for construction trucks and machinery.
• Service Trucks: Service trucks come with tools and equipment for on-site maintenance and repair of construction machinery and vehicles.
• Water Trucks: Water trucks transport water to construction sites for a variety of construction-related activities.
• Vacuum Trucks: Vacuum trucks are used to remove waste materials from construction sites.

Why are construction trucks so dangerous?

Our lawyers know construction truck accidents are particularly dangerous because of the locations in which they operate, including construction, maintenance, and utility work zones. 

The Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning reports the number of fatal crashes and injuries that occur in such zones.

In 2022, there were:

• 7,436 work zone crashes.
• 22 fatal work zone crashes. 
• 1,928 work zone injuries.

The OHSP notes that the highest number of work zone crashes occur when lanes are closed. The second and third-highest number of crashes occur when there is work on the shoulder/median and lane shifts/crossovers.

Our construction truck accident lawyers are aware that these heavy duty vehicles share many of the same safety concerns as other large, commercial trucks, such as size/weight, driver inexperience/error, equipment/mechanical failure, challenging maneuverability, limited visibility, weather, and more. 

But our construction truck accident lawyers understand that there are also several specific safety challenges unique to these types of heavy duty vehicles, including:

• Heavy/Challenging loads – these heavy duty vehicles often carry extremely heavy and often difficult to balance loads, including dumb trucks filled with gravel, cement truck that are mixing cement during transport, and so forth.
• Specialized equipment – Driving a commercial truck is challenging enough, but operating specialty Construction trucks involves an entirely different type of training and experience.
• Handling challenges – These big vehicles don’t just go from point A to point B. They are typically confined to a particular area, where they are consistently backing up, turning, and shifting. This presents several unique challenges in operation.
• Work site hazards – Construction trucks also have unique challenges at the worksite, including various obstacles and conditions. There is also the unique challenge of working around employees who are working outside the trucks, and pedestrians. 

What is the most common cause of a construction truck crash?

As a law firm that has handled both more truck crash cases and specifically more construction truck accident cases than any other law firm in Michigan, our lawyers have found that the most common cause of these crashes is driver error, especially fatigue and lack of training and experience with trucks of this size and weight. 

Construction truck accidents also often involve a larger failure in the trucking company’s safety management system. Many driver error cases are larger system failure cases that involve the trucking company not properly training, supervising, and monitoring its drivers. Trucking companies have a non-delegable duty to safely train, supervise, and monitor their drivers, as do all commercial motor carriers. 

Construction truck accident liability

Our Michigan contruction accident lawyers discovered that construction truck drivers are almost always found to be “employees” of trucking companies, despite the contention by many trucking companies (after the driver causes a crash or is injured on the job that they are actually independent contractors. This is to limit or avoid liability. 

In Michigan and in many other states, an employer is also liable for its employee’s negligence that occurs within the scope of the employee’s employment. 

Pain and suffering compensation

When you have been seriously injured in a construction truck accident in Michigan, you can hire a lawyer to try to recover pain and suffering compensation for your injuries and economic loss damages, such as medical bills and wage loss from the at-fault trucking company, the at-fault driver and any other responsible parties. Calculating pain and suffering compensation after a construction truck crash is more subjective than calculating economic damages as it often depends on the severity of the injuries, their impact on the victim’s life, and the degree of emotional distress suffered.

Wrongful death lawsuit

If you have lost a loved one in a construction truck accident in Michigan, you and your family can hire a lawyer to try to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit against the trucking company, the at-fault construction truck driver and other responsible parties.

A Michigan wrongful death lawsuit after a construction truck accident allows you and your family to recover damages for: (1) medical, hospital, funeral, and burial expenses; (2) pain and suffering compensation; and (3) loss of the deceased’s financial support, society and companionship.

Who can you sue for a construction truck accident?

An experienced Michigan construction truck accident lawyer will help you determine which of the following parties you may be able to sue after a crash with a con. In general, the truck driver who causes the crash and the trucking company will always be responsible under the doctrine of respondeat superior. In addition, based on the specific facts of the case, there may be a load broker or another third-party who exercised sufficient “control” over the load who may also be liable. If poor brakes or defective tires were involved, the case may include a third-party maintenance company if one is used to service a company’s trucks. Finally, there may be a potential product liability case that can be brought against the construction truck manufacturer. 

Settlement and compensation

According to our Michigan construction truck accident lawyers, your settlement in a case will, as with any personal injury case, partly depend on how much liability insurance coverage the driver and the trucking company are carrying on the construction truck involved in your crash.  

Federal law requires interstate trucks to have a minimum of $750,000 to cover bodily injury and property damage. Our law firm has had hundreds of cases representing people injured in contruction truck accidents, and our lawyers often find that trucking companies and construction companies misrepresent the full amount of insurance they have or do not disclose other layers of insurance. Often there is an insurance tower that is considerably higher than the federal minimum of insurance of $750,000.

Other factors that may affect the amount of your settlement after a construction truck crash include: (1) the nature and extent of your injuries; (2) your crash-related medical needs (present and future); (3) whether and for how long your injuries will disable you from working; and (4) your attorney’s experience and track record.

No-Fault benefits after a construction truck accident

When you have been injured in a construction truck crash in Michigan, you are entitled to collect No-Fault PIP benefits from the responsible auto insurance company to help pay for your medical bills, lost wages, transportation costs for medical appointments, and attendant care services.

To protect your right to recover No-Fault benefits, you must file an application for No-Fault benefits with the responsible auto insurance company within one (1) year after your crash. (MCL 500.3145(1) and (4))

Generally, a person’s own auto insurance company will be responsible for paying the person’s No-Fault benefits. However, if the person doesn’t have his or her own policy, then benefits may be paid through the policy of a spouse or relative who lives in the same home. If no coverage is available through those sources, then a person will need to apply for No-Fault benefits through the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan.

If you do not file your application on time, then the auto insurance company will use this to deny your claim and refuse to pay any and all of the No-Fault benefits you would have otherwise been legally entitled to.

More Michigan Construction Truck Accident Lawyer FAQs

Why do I need a lawyer for a construction truck accident?

Hiring an experienced Michigan construction truck accident lawyer who specializes in this area of the law can result in a faster and significantly larger settlement. Your lawyer’s specialized knowledge and track record of success means that he or she will be able to protect and hold the negligent parties accountable. 

Construction truck crashes are different from other types of crashes involving heavy or commercial vehicles. Indeed, they pose unique and specific dangers of their own. These include heavy loads, specialized equipment, handling challenges, frequent backing up/changing direction, work site hazards, and of course dangers to workers and to pedestrians.

How do I choose the best construction truck accident lawyer in Michigan?

To choose the best Michigan construction truck accident lawyer for you and your case, you should consider these qualities: (1) whether the attorney specializes in this area of law; (2) the attorney’s track record of success and reputation; (3) whether the attorney returns phone calls; and (4) the attorney’s fee.

How much does a construction truck accident lawyer cost in Michigan?

The cost of hiring a construction truck accident lawyer in Michigan is probably less than what you think. First, there are no upfront, out-of-pocket payments required. Second, you will not have to pay while your case is pending. Third, you only pay your attorney’s fee at the end of the case and ONLY if we win for you.

We charge a ⅓ or 33% contingency fee, which means your fee payment is contingent on us winning your case. You will only pay after your case has been completed. In other words, you will not pay our attorney fee unless and until we deliver you a winning settlement or trial verdict in your case. 

Injured in a construction truck crash? Call now for a free consultation.

If you were injured in a construction truck accident, call Michigan Auto Law now (800) 968-1001 for a free consultation with one of our experienced lawyers. There is no cost or obligation. You can also visit our contact page or use the chat feature on our website. They will discuss your rights to sue for pain and suffering compensation as well as other noneconomic and economic damages.

Our law firm specializes in all truck crash cases, including construction truck accidents, and receives referrals from lawyers all over Michigan and the U.S. Michigan Auto Law attorneys have spoken at nearly 300 seminars and legal education programs throughout the country, educating other personal injury lawyers on how to handle construction truck accident cases. Attorney Steven Gursten is a past-president of the American Association for Justice’s Truck Accident Litigation Group and has been voted into the Truck Accident Lawyer Hall of Fame, one of only three trucking lawyers in the entire country to have won this award. Michigan Auto Law is also the only law firm in Michigan that has national board certification in truck accident law. 

Our law firm has an extensive record of success, including recovering the highest recorded truck accident jury verdicts and settlements over multiple years, according to year-end compilations of settlements and trial verdicts by Michigan Lawyers Weekly. These include:

• $34.5 Million – A Michigan Auto Law attorney and his team secured the largest-reported tractor-trailer crash settlement in the U.S. for the year of this crash. It is the largest truck settlement to date by any attorney or law firm in the state. The defense’s “final offer” before trial was $14 million. The case settled for $34.5 million in trial.
• $14.3 Million – Our attorneys won this truck crash verdict in Clinton County in a case involving a traumatic brain injury, extensive economic damages and loss of consortium. The defense’s final pre-trial settlement offer was $25,000. This was the largest-reported motor vehicle trial verdict in the state for that year.
• $13.5 Million – Our attorneys settled a case for a victim in a car vs. construction truck crash who suffered major burn injuries. 
• $10.5 Million Truck Crash Settlement – A attorney from our law firm obtained this recovery for a woman who was seriously injured when a truck crashed into her vehicle.
• $9 Million – Our attorneys obtained this recovery for a man who lost both of his legs in a rear-end collision. This was the largest pain and suffering trucking settlement of the preceding decade for a rear-end crash in the state. The insurance company for the trucking company attempted to settle this case for $1 million with the client’s previous attorney, who had urged the client to take this offer before one of our attorneys got involved in the case.
• $6.2 million – This confidential out of state trucking death case was settled by one of our attorneys who was brought in to try the case by another attorney after the insurance company made a “final” offer of $1 million dollars to the widow of the man who was killed. 

For more than 50 years, our construction truck accident lawyers have been helping people like you who have been injured in truck crash injury and death cases. Our attorneys understand the physical, emotional and psychological hardships you are experiencing. We can help.