A truck collision can cause serious injuries that leave you facing medical treatment, lost income, and difficult questions about what happens next. A New Jersey truck accident lawyer at Reinartz Law Firm can investigate the crash, identify the parties and insurance coverage involved, preserve important evidence, and pursue compensation for qualifying losses. Our Hackensack office represents people injured in commercial truck crashes throughout New Jersey.
Truck accident claims involve more evidence and more potential parties than an ordinary passenger-vehicle collision. We handle the insurer communications, investigate the available evidence, and build the claim on the facts and New Jersey law.
Call us as soon as possible at 201-289-8614 for a free case review.
"Federal regulations, black-box data, aggressive litigation—this is where experience matters"— Richard Reinartz
How Can a New Jersey Truck Accident Lawyer Help?
A NJ truck accident attorney can investigate the collision, identify potentially responsible parties, preserve evidence, assess insurance coverage, and pursue a claim when the facts support one.
Truck accident investigations require prompt action, because federal rules require carriers to keep records of duty status and supporting documents for only six months. The specific evidence and legal issues depend on the collision. Call Reinartz Law Firm for a free case review if you were injured in a New Jersey truck accident.
Common Types of New Jersey Truck Accidents
The most common types of truck accidents on New Jersey roads include rear-end collisions, jackknife crashes, rollovers, sideswipe collisions, underride crashes, wide-turn collisions, and crashes caused by unsecured or improperly loaded cargo.
Where a crash happened often shapes what evidence exists. Bergen County carries the freight traffic feeding the George Washington Bridge, and Interstate 80, Interstate 95, and the New Jersey Turnpike all run heavy commercial volume, which makes traffic camera footage and weigh station records more likely to exist than on a local road.
Rear-End Truck Crashes
A commercial truck can require substantially more distance to stop than a passenger vehicle. When a truck strikes another vehicle from behind, the size and weight difference means visible vehicle damage is a poor guide to the size of the claim.
Underride Collisions
An underride crash involves a passenger vehicle becoming trapped under the rear or side of a commercial truck. Investigators examine the truck's rear impact guard, lighting and reflective equipment, braking, positioning, and roadway conditions.
Wide-Turn and Blind-Spot Crashes
Large trucks have substantial blind spots and require additional space when making certain turns. A truck can strike a vehicle, cyclist, or pedestrian when the driver cannot see another road user or when the turning path is misjudged.
What Federal Trucking Regulations May Apply to a Crash?
FMCSA regulations govern many commercial motor vehicles and their drivers. They generally apply to vehicles used in interstate commerce with a gross vehicle or combination weight, or weight rating, of 10,001 pounds or more.
New Jersey enforces the federal commercial motor vehicle safety regulations alongside its own state requirements. The New Jersey State Police Commercial Carrier Safety Inspection Unit conducts roadside safety inspections and post-crash investigations of commercial vehicles, and operates five fixed scale installations and two roving weight teams statewide. A post-crash inspection report from that unit can become one of the more significant documents in a claim.
Hours-of-Service Rules
Hours-of-service rules at 49 C.F.R. Part 395 limit how long commercial drivers may remain on duty and require rest before driving, and they exist to address driver fatigue.
Electronic logging devices, or ELDs, record hours-of-service information for most drivers required to keep records of duty status, with exceptions for certain short-haul operations. Those records are often the clearest account of what the driver was doing in the hours before a crash.
Drug and Alcohol Testing
Federal rules establish drug and alcohol testing requirements for many drivers holding a commercial driver's license, or CDL. Testing can occur before employment, randomly, on reasonable suspicion, after qualifying crashes, and in other circumstances.
Post-accident testing is not required after every commercial truck collision. Under 49 C.F.R. § 382.303 it is required after a fatality regardless of any citation, and after a qualifying injury or tow-away crash only when the driver receives a citation for a moving violation. Alcohol testing must be attempted within eight hours and controlled substances testing within 32 hours, so the window closes fast.
Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance
49 C.F.R. Part 396 requires motor carriers to systematically inspect, repair, and maintain every commercial vehicle under their control, and to keep maintenance records for each vehicle for one year. Maintenance records become relevant when a crash may have involved brakes, tires, steering, suspension, lighting, or another mechanical issue.
Who May Be Responsible for a New Jersey Truck Accident?
A truck accident can involve several parties beyond the driver. Depending on the facts, a claim may involve the trucking company, vehicle owner, maintenance provider, cargo-loading company, manufacturer, or another party whose conduct contributed to the collision.
The relationship between the driver and the trucking company shapes which of those claims are available.
Truck Driver Negligence
Negligence means failing to use the care the circumstances required, which on a truck case usually looks like distracted driving, excessive speed, unsafe lane changes, or following too closely.
Negligent Hiring and Retention
A trucking company may face liability of its own for how it hired, retained, trained, or supervised a driver. New Jersey recognized the tort of negligent hiring in Di Cosala v. Kay, and the state's model civil jury charge sets out what the claim requires. The employer must have known or had reason to know of the employee's particular unfitness or dangerous attributes, and that unfitness must have proximately caused the injury.
This is a claim against the company rather than one passed through the driver, which is why employment records matter. Driver qualification files, licensing history, safety records, training documentation, and prior employment checks are all fair subjects for examination.
Maintenance and Inspection Failures
A carrier or maintenance provider can face liability when inadequate inspection or repair contributes to a crash, and the record trail usually runs through repair invoices, driver vehicle inspection reports, and prior roadside inspection findings.
Cargo Loading Problems
Cargo must be loaded and secured in a manner consistent with federal requirements. When cargo may have contributed to a collision, investigators examine loading records, photographs, weight information, and the bill of lading, which is the shipping document listing what the truck was carrying and who loaded it.
Evidence That Must Be Preserved After a Truck Accident
Truck accident evidence can disappear or be overwritten as time passes. A semi truck accident lawyer NJ residents contact after a collision can move to preserve it. Important evidence may include:
- The electronic control module data on a commercial truck, sometimes called ECM data.
- Electronic logging device records, driver logs, and supporting hours-of-service documents.
- Post-accident drug and alcohol testing records when applicable.
- Driver qualification and training records.
- Vehicle inspection and maintenance records.
- Dashcam, surveillance, traffic-camera, or fleet-management footage.
- Photographs and measurements from the crash scene.
- Cargo-loading and weight records, plus communications about the driver, vehicle, or route.
Federal regulation, not guidance, sets the floor. 49 C.F.R. § 395.8(k)(1) requires records of duty status and supporting documents to be kept for six months, and 49 C.F.R. § 395.22(i) separately requires a back-up copy of ELD records stored on a device separate from the original, for the same six months.
That second copy is often the one that survives. We send a written preservation demand early so both are on hold before either clock runs out, and you can reach us at 201-289-8614 for a free case review.
What Should I Do Immediately After a New Jersey Truck Accident?
Knowing what to do immediately after a New Jersey truck accident can change how the claim turns out. Trucking companies often dispatch their own investigators to the scene within a day, sometimes before you have left the hospital.
If you're able, photograph the vehicles, the road conditions, and any visible cargo or skid marks. Get the truck's DOT number and license plate, and get contact information for any witnesses.
Seek medical care right away and keep every record of it, because the treatment record documents the claim. Then contact a lawyer, since a preservation letter can require the trucking company to hold relevant data before it is overwritten.
Why Choose Reinartz Law Firm for Your Truck Accident Claim
A truck case is often won or lost on records that belong to someone else. That shapes how we work a commercial vehicle claim from the first phone call.
We move on preservation before anything else. Records of duty status and supporting documents carry a six-month federal retention floor, and the separate ELD back-up copy carries the same, so a written preservation demand issued early is frequently what keeps a case alive at all.
We work the full party list rather than just the driver. The carrier, the vehicle owner, the maintenance provider, the loading company, and the equipment manufacturer each carry their own insurance and their own records, and identifying them early decides how much coverage a claim can actually reach.
We are based in Hackensack and handle commercial vehicle claims throughout New Jersey. Bergen County sits on the freight routes feeding the George Washington Bridge, which means these cases come through our office regularly rather than occasionally.
The first conversation costs nothing. Call Reinartz Law Firm at 201-289-8614 and we will tell you what evidence needs to go on hold today.
FAQs: New Jersey Truck Accident Lawyer
Here are answers to some of the questions we hear most often from truck accident victims and their families.
How quickly do I need to contact a lawyer to protect the evidence?
There's no fixed deadline, but the sooner a preservation letter goes out, the better, since electronic control module data and dash-cam footage are often overwritten within days or weeks. Contacting an NJ truck accident lawyer as soon as possible after the crash gives your case the best chance of preserving key evidence.
Can I still file a claim if the truck driver was an independent contractor?
Yes. Federal leasing rules at 49 C.F.R. § 376.12 require the lease to give the carrier exclusive possession, control, and use of the equipment, which is evidence in a control analysis, though subsection (c)(4) states that requirement is not intended to settle whether the driver is an employee or a contractor. The stronger route is often a claim against the carrier for its own negligent hiring, retention, entrustment, or supervision, which does not depend on how the driver was classified.
What is the deadline for filing my New Jersey truck accident lawsuit?
New Jersey generally allows two years from the date of a truck accident to file a personal injury lawsuit under N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2. One exception is far shorter and catches people off guard: when the truck belonged to a public entity such as NJ Transit, a county or municipal department, or a school district, N.J.S.A. 59:8-8 requires a notice of claim within 90 days of the accident. Missing that notice can end a claim that still has 21 months left on the ordinary deadline.
Can I bring a claim if the truck driver received a traffic ticket?
A traffic citation is evidence about how a collision happened, but it does not by itself establish civil liability. The rest of the evidence still has to be examined.
Do I need a truck accident lawyer if the trucking company already offered a settlement?
Early offers are often made before the full cost of a claim is known. Have a lawyer review the offer before you accept anything.
COMMERCIAL TRUCK ACCIDENT
$900,000
Reinartz Law Firm successfully secured a $900,000 settlement for a motor vehicle accident involving a commercial truck, demonstrating our commitment to achieving justice for our clients.
Contact a New Jersey Truck Accident Lawyer Today
Truck accident cases involve more moving parts than a typical car accident claim. Understanding what happened and identifying the available options can provide a clearer path forward.
A truck accident lawyer New Jersey claimants trust can explain what evidence needs to be preserved, answer your questions, and outline your options at no cost to you. Call Reinartz Law Firm at 201-289-8614 or use our online contact form to schedule a free case review.
The Reinartz Law Firm - Hackensack Office
Court Plaza South - West Wing
21 Main St Suite 205,
Hackensack, NJ 07601
Testimonial
HEATHER F.
"Richard guided me in my suit and made me feel confident in my decisions during my entire case. He made recommendations that I otherwise, would not have known about."
