Out of all types of motor vehicle accidents, collisions involving large commercial trucks often lead to some of the most devastating injuries across Central Illinois highways including Interstate 55, Interstate 72, and Route 36.
Whether it be with an 18-wheeler, tanker, big rig, or another type of box truck, these massive vehicles can weigh up to 80,000 pounds and can cause life-changing injuries even in low-speed collisions when you’re riding in or driving a smaller vehicle such as a passenger car or truck, motorcycle or even as a pedestrian. However, the Illinois truck accident lawyers at the Noll Law Office know that it is the high-speed collisions which truly result in catastrophic and often fatal injuries to victims and their families.
Attorneys Dan Noll and Sarah Noll are Central Illinois Truck Accident Lawyers – Serving Springfield, Decatur, Champaign, and Peoria Near You
At the Noll Law Office, our attorneys Dan Noll and Sarah Noll will not let insurance carriers and defense law firms protect dangerous truck drivers. Rather, their experienced trucking accident attorneys near you serving Illinois have built an acclaimed and aggressive legal team dedicated to protecting the rights of victims and their families in Illinois.
In a serious car vs truck accident case, victims shouldn’t hire “generalist” injury lawyers. Instead, they should seek out an experienced battle tested trial lawyer that isn’t afraid to negotiate and pressure corporate insurance companies, as well as have the deep pockets to be able to take things all the way to a jury trial if needed.
Trucking cases are complicated and for sure require an experienced legal team, which is why victims and their families need to go to dedicated plaintiff personal injury and accident lawyers who handle these specific types of motor vehicle wreck cases.
To learn more about your rights after a truck accident in Illinois and how the Noll Law Office can help, call their Central Illinois 18-wheeler accident lawyers to schedule your free consultation today.
Types of Truck and 18 Wheeler Accidents Our 18 Wheeler Accident Law Firm Handles
Each year in Illinois there are over 11,000 semi-truck crashes. There are many different types of trucking accidents that Dan Noll and Sarah Noll can handle for your and your family. These types of crashes often involve many of the common causes above, and usually are the result of state and federal violations.
Some of the most common types of truck accidents that we handle include the following:
- Jackknife accidents
- Rollover incidents
- Rear-end collisions
- Underride accidents
- Accidents involving hazardous materials, and
- Other types of serious or fatal trucking accidents in Springfield, Decatur, Champaign, and Peoria.
Sadly, Illinois is ranked the sixth highest state for truck crash fatalities. This trend is unfortunately increasing, as statistics reveal there are approximately 21,500 traffic accidents involving large commercial trucks in Illinois each year, which accounts for an increase of roughly 4.5% over prior years.
Of these crashes, other statistics indicate that almost 80% of those killed in Illinois truck crashes were occupants of other vehicles. Despite these figures, insurance adjusters and defense lawyers continue to deny valid trucking accident claims throughout Illinois, leaving victims and their families with significant pain and suffering, lost wages, and medical bills.
Truck Accident Lawyer Fees at Noll Law Office
At the Noll Law Office, our personal injury lawyers handle truck accident cases on a contingency fee basis. You pay no upfront fees as we only get paid if we win your case. Our standard fee ranges from 30% to 40% of the recovery. This approach ensures that you can pursue justice without financial pressure, with experienced legal support focused entirely on securing the compensation you deserve.
Common Causes of Truck Accidents in Illinois
There are many common causes of trucking accidents in Central Illinois that Dan Noll and Sarah Noll can handle for you and your family. Many of the common causes are the result of statutory or regulatory violations.
These may be based off of Illinois law, or the complex regulatory network of rules created by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, or FMCSA. These federal rules apply to truck drivers and trucking companies throughout the United States, and serve as the minimum requirements that must be followed at all times. Many Illinois trucking accidents involve violations of these rules.
For example, some of the most common Illinois state laws and FMCSA rule violations include the following:
- Hours-of-Service Violations – Federal rules limit how long truckers can drive, yet many companies still push impossible delivery schedules. When a fatigued driver drifts off or makes a split-second mistake, Dan Noll and Sarah Noll of the Noll Law Office dig into the driver’s logs, GPS data, and dispatch records to prove the violation and pursue full compensation for the victims.
- Distracted or Impaired Driving – Texting on the interstate, fiddling with a tablet, or climbing behind the wheel after drinking or using drugs turns a fully loaded rig into a lethal weapon. The Nolls serving Illinois citizens know how to subpoena phone records, toxicology reports, and cab-camera footage to show the jury exactly how the trucker’s choices caused your injuries—and to recover damages for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
- Improper Cargo Loading or Fastening – Unbalanced or unsecured freight can trigger jack-knifes, rollovers, or spilled cargo that crushes nearby cars. Dan and Sarah work with cargo-securement experts to document weight shifts and tie-down failures, then press the freight company’s insurer for the resources you need to rebuild your life.
- Mechanical Failures – Bald tires, worn brakes, and skipped inspections are often the result of cost-cutting maintenance decisions. The Noll Law Office obtains maintenance logs and ECM (black-box) data to show how a blown steer tire or brake failure turned the truck into an unguided missile—and to hold the carrier financially responsible.
- Negligent Hiring – When companies put untrained or unqualified drivers behind the wheel, horrific crashes follow. Dan and Sarah Noll work diligently for the Illinois clients they represent and help uncover incomplete background checks, missing drug tests, and inadequate training records to prove corporate negligence and secure justice in the way only experienced, brave and aggressive attorneys can.
In every one of these scenarios, their Illinois personal injury law firm combines aggressive investigation with compassionate client service to make sure trucking companies—and their insurers—pay what is fair.
Understanding Insurance and Personal Injury Liability in Truck Accident Cases
After an 18-wheeler wreck, there may be multiple parties who could be liable for your crash. Specifically, this includes individual truck drivers who may face liability for traffic violations, FMCSA violations, or common law negligence. However, trucking companies often share blame for being vicarious liable for the negligent actions of their drivers, as well as independently through negligent hiring, inadequate training, or pressure to violate safety regulations to meet a client’s deadline.
Outside of the truck driver and trucking company, truck manufacturers may be liable for defective parts that cause brake failures or tire blowouts. Cargo loading companies may also bear responsibility for improper weight distribution or unsecured freight, particularly in large shipments coming from ports or construction sites. There are also third-parties who may be liable such as another motorist who was negligent in causing a crash or a municipality for poor roadway design or maintenance.
Proving liability against a defendant in a trucking accident case often involves proving the violation of a state law or federal rule. A victim may be able to use the violation of a state statute to automatically establish liability against a defendant under the doctrine of negligence per se, meaning a victim just needs to prove causation and damages.
Similarly, a victim can prove a FMCSA violation to establish evidence of negligence against a defendant – which is not automatic like a state statute, but very helpful to proving a case. Lastly, the common law, or judge-made law, has created certain societal norms and standard that can be used to prove negligence against a defendant.
Less common scenarios that a lawyer experienced in trucking and commercial crashes can help with:
Black-box “over-the-air wipe” sanctions: If the carrier remotely updates the truck’s engine-control module (ECM) and erases crash data before a forensic expert can download it, an attorney can seek emergency preservation orders and ask the court for spoliation sanctions that shift the burden of proof (or even strike the carrier’s defenses).
Cross-border fuel-tax evidence trail (IFTA logs): Because trucks in Illinois that run between Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. must log every mile under the International Fuel Tax Agreement, counsel can subpoena those rarely-used records to pinpoint the driver’s true hours-of-service—even when logbooks are “clean.”
Qui-tam angle for falsified electronic logs: If the carrier systematically edits ELD entries to hide fatigue, counsel can frame a victim as a whistleblower under the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act, pursuing civil penalties that feed a separate damages pool.
Steps You should Take After a Truck Accident
Following a trucking accident in Illinois, victims and their families should take several important steps to protect both their health and their possible claim. The most important steps that the trucking accident lawyers at the Noll Law Office want you to know are the following:
- Seek immediate medical attention and explain all injuries, no matter how slight, to first responders
- Document the accident scene and father witness information, including taking photographs or videos
- Report the accident to law enforcement and obtain a police report when it becomes available
- Consult with an experienced trucking accident attorney such as Dan Noll or Sarah Noll before speaking to an insurance adjuster.
What Compensation Can You Recover After a Truck Accident?
Truck crash victims may claim:
Medical costs – Emergency care, surgeries, rehab
Lost wages – Income missed due to injury
Pain and suffering – Physical pain, emotional distress
Wrongful death – Funeral costs, loss of consortium (Illinois has roughly 200 fatalities every year due to truck accidents)
Punitive damages – If gross negligence or misconduct is proven
Other damages that the experienced trucking accident lawyers in Central Illinois at the Noll Law Office may determine appropriate in your case.
Settlements can range from hundreds of thousands to millions, depending on severity and liability.
Illinois Statute of Limitations
Illinois law requires personal injury lawsuits within two years of the injury-causing event, which would be the trucking accident. This deadline applies to all injury claims including wrongful death cases filed by surviving family members. However, there are certain exceptions to this two-year time limit that may shrink or expand the time required to file a lawsuit. Therefore, anyone who is uncertain how long they may have to file a claim should contact an experienced truck accident attorney right away.
Prompt legal action preserves evidence and witness testimony crucial for successful outcomes during negotiations, motions, at trial, or on appeal. Insurance companies use delay tactics hoping victims miss filing deadlines, which will ultimately result in a victim being barred from any recovery – even in catastrophic cases with clear liability.
Our Personal Injury Lawyers, Proudly Serving Central Illinois
The lawyers at the Noll Law Office practice throughout Illinois and can meet with victims and their families throughout Illinois, either in person, over the phone, or virtually. This includes at your house, their office, the hospital, or another reasonable location. Dan Noll and Sarah Noll specifically handle cases in Central Illinois, including in:
- Springfield truck accidents and injuries
- Sangamon County
- Decatur
- Macon County
- Champaign County
- Peoria County, and
- Surrounding areas.
They understand how to handle personal injury cases at these local courts and have appeared in front of many of the judges in these counties on other cases. As a result, they have built a reputation in the community and developed rapport in the community which can help you and your family by having an experienced law firm that understands what the going rate of injury cases is in the locality.
Why Choose Our 18 Wheeler Accident Law Firm that Serves Illinois?
Although there are many personal injury law firms to choose from in Illinois, the Noll Law Office sets itself apart from other legal offices for several reasons. As fifth-generation lawyers serving their community, Dan Noll and Sarah Noll litigate throughout Illinois and have developed a strong reputation of trust and respect amongst insurance adjusters, defense lawyers, the courts, and other third-parties such as experts and medical providers.
This is important because trucking accident cases are complicated and involve complex matrices of state laws and federal regulations, as well as the common law.
It also gives victims a homefield advantage against the large defense lawyers and insurance carriers that try to come into our community and bully victims and their families into accepting less compensation than they deserve after a catastrophic truck wreck. Indeed, Dan Noll and Sarah Noll live and work in Central Illinois, and use the same roads that you do every day – possibly including the road that your accident occurred on. That’s why they are dedicated to serving the community and protecting the rights of all people who live, work, and play in Springfield, Decatur, Champaign, and Peoria.
Unlike other bodily injury law firms that farm cases out to new associates at big law firms in Chicago or outside the area, the Noll Law Firm handles all cases in-house and has handled other catastrophic trucking accident injury cases. That means you will speak with someone in your community handling your case. It also means that you are getting the years of experience, training, and knowledge of one of our experienced Central Illinois trucking accident lawyers, and not a new lawyer who is just learning to practice law – let alone the very complicated area of trucking accidents.
Contact Dan Noll and Sarah Noll for a Free Consultation
The experienced trucking accident lawyers in Central Illinois at the Noll Law Office provide victims and their families with a no-risk, no-obligation case evaluation. There is also no fee unless they recover compensation for you, and that fee is limited to a percentage of what they recover for you plus reimbursement for costs and disbursements.
To learn more about your rights, contact the Noll Law Office to schedule your free case evaluation by dialing (217) 414-8889 or submitting a message through their website today. All contacts are confidential and receive personalized attention from their legal team.