Truck Accidents

Robert A. Clifford and James C. Pullos, partners at Clifford Law Offices, obtained a $19.3 million settlement on behalf of a driver and passenger who were killed when they were pushed off the road into oncoming traffic by a semi-truck on Interstate 80 in Grundy County, Illinois. Sofiane Bessai, 33, of Elgin, was driving a car westbound on Interstate 80 with Brayan Jimenez Velasquez, 26, of Lake County, Indiana, when they were rear-ended by a…

Kevin P. Durkin, partner at Clifford Law Offices and head of its trucking practice area, spoke on May 3rd, 2023, on WGN Radio (720 AM) regarding the 72-car pile-up on Interstate 55 that left seven people dead and dozens injured. Durkin spoke about what to do when a large-scale incident occurs and what federal law requires when commercial trucks are involved. Listen to the entire segment by clicking here.  

Investigators Need to Find Out if 72-Car Pileup in Downstate Illinois Could Have Been Avoided if Motor Vehicle Laws Were Followed As the investigation continues on a two-mile stretch of highway in downstate Illinois, it makes one pause to think if the 72-car pileup should have even happened at all. The Federal Motor Vehicle Carrier Administration and the Department of Transportation expect trucking companies and motor carriers to practice defensive driving – an industry term…

When most of us read the words “commercial vehicle,” we think of eighteen-wheeler trucks that weigh tens of thousands of pounds and cause catastrophic damages in a collision. But these so-called big rigs are just one kind of commercial vehicle on the road, and they’re not the only type you may encounter in the event of an accident. Small vans and buses can be commercial vehicles, as could a tiny sedan in certain circumstances. Because…

Clifford Law Offices has been awarded a place on several of Expertise.com’s 2023 lists identifying the top motor vehicle accident lawyers in Chicago. Expertise.com carefully selects the top lawyers in the city based on the following five criteria: Reputation, Credibility, Experience, Availability, and Professionalism. After reviewing 724 Car Accident Lawyers, Expertise listed Clifford Law Offices as one of the top 30 firms. Additionally, the firm was listed in the top 16 Motorcycle Accident Lawyers out…

Truck Crash Injures St. Ignatius Hockey Team; Driver’s Record and Knowledge of Company Executives May Become Critical Issue At least 16 members of the St. Ignatius Prep High School junior varsity hockey team were injured Saturday, November 12, 2022, when a semi-truck driver slammed into their school bus after the team played in Culver, Indiana, near South Bend. The media reports that the truck driver from New York is being held in police custody pending chemical…

Over the past decades, Clifford Law Offices has developed a highly skilled team of truck accident attorneys who have handled cases resulting in large and record-setting verdicts and settlements. Our firm understands how trucking companies and their insurers operate and use detailed investigation, tact, and a thorough understanding of trucking laws to consistently obtain top results for their clients, making Clifford Law Offices an industry leader within this practice area. Statistically, accidents involving a truck…

Collisions involving semi-trucks or other large commercial vehicles can be devastating, both to the actual vehicles and to the people inside them. Most often in these types of truck accidents, the passenger vehicle and its occupants suffer the most damage. If you are in an accident with a commercial truck and believe the driver of that vehicle to be responsible, you have the right to file a lawsuit against that person, the trucking company, and…

There is nothing more dangerous on our roadways than an 80,000-pound tractor trailer truck driven by a driver who is unfit or fatigued. When an accident happens between a passenger vehicle and a semi-truck, the injuries sustained can be catastrophic or fatal. Having a lawyer who is experienced in transportation cases is tantamount to helping you fight for fair compensation for a serious injury or wrongful death claim. At Clifford Law Offices, we are very…