Content reviewed by:
Alex Shulman
At Shulman & Hill, our Queens personal injury lawyers have over 200 years of combined experience handling truck crash cases like yours. Our team has recovered over $1 billion for accident victims and is prepared to file a strong claim for compensation on your behalf.
Queens is one of the busiest commercial vehicle corridors in the country. JFK Airport moves more cargo than almost any other U.S. airport, feeding a constant stream of trucks onto the Van Wyck Expressway. This, along with the Amazon vans, UPS trucks, MTA buses, and construction vehicles, makes serious truck crashes a daily reality in Queens.
If you’ve been hurt by a commercial truck, you need a legal team that understands federal trucking regulations, how trucking companies protect themselves, and what evidence you need to file a winning claim. Contact our firm to schedule a free consultation with a dedicated truck accident lawyer in Queens and get the help you need to recover damages.
Why Choose Shulman & Hill for Your Queens Truck Accident Case
When a commercial vehicle hurts you, the other side will have insurance adjusters, defense lawyers, and investigators on the case within hours. You need a team that moves just as fast. Here’s what sets our Queens truck accident attorneys apart:
Our Case Results
Shulman & Hill’s commercial vehicle recoveries include, but aren’t limited to, the following:
- $5,100,000 settlement obtained by Senior Associate Michael Zogala for a passenger in his employer’s truck struck by another commercial vehicle
- $1,100,000 settlement for an Uber driver rear-ended by a commercial vehicle
- $1,000,000 settlement for a client rear-ended by a Verizon truck
- $650,000 settlement for a 26-year-old taxi driver hit by a truck
It’s important to note that our past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Reach out to our team today to learn more about how much your case may be worth.
Our Recognitions and Accolades
Our founding partner, Alex Shulman, has been named to the New York Super Lawyers list and to The National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40. Additionally, Shulman & Hill has been recognized by Attorney and Practice Magazine’s Top 10 Plaintiff’s Personal Injury Award.
We Speak Your Language
Queens is one of the most linguistically diverse places on the planet. More than half of its residents speak a language other than English at home, and our services reflect that. We offer support in Spanish and Russian, so your conversations with your attorney happen in the language you’re most comfortable speaking.
We Meet You Where You Are
Serious truck crashes often leave people unable to travel, especially in the first weeks after surgery. If that’s your situation, there’s no need to come to us. We will meet you at your home, your hospital room, or at one of our satellite offices across the five boroughs and Long Island.
No Fee Unless We Win
Our Queens truck accident lawyers take cases on a contingency fee basis. You pay nothing out of pocket while we work on your case. Our fee only comes out of the final settlement or verdict. If we don’t recover for you, you owe us nothing.
What Your Truck Accident Claim May Be Worth
Truck crashes tend to cause injuries that affect a person for their entire life. We believe that the value of your claim should reflect all the ways that this accident has and is expected to impact your life. If you clear New York’s serious injury threshold, our Shulman & Hill Queens truck accident lawyer will seek the following damages for you:
- Economic damages: This includes past and future medical treatment, lost income, loss of future earning capacity, property damage, and any modifications you need at home or in your vehicle to live with your injuries.
- Non-economic damages: This covers the intangible side of your injuries. This type of compensation can be awarded for physical pain, mental anguish, the loss of activities and relationships you used to enjoy, and scarring and disfigurement.
Queens Corridors Where Truck Crashes Happen Often
Commercial truck traffic in Queens runs through a handful of major roadways. Our Queens truck accident lawyers know these corridors well and have extensive experience investigating the crashes that occur on them.
You can count on our team to get to the bottom of your accident and file a well-supported claim for damages if you were hurt in a truck collision that happened on one of the following roads:
- The Van Wyck Expressway (I-678): This is the backbone of JFK Airport freight. Cargo haulers and delivery vans line the shoulder of this road at all hours. The sudden merges that occur near the airport exits on this road result in serious truck crashes every month.
- The Long Island Expressway (I-495): This road stretches across the entire borough and sees heavy traffic daily. The 70-mph truck speeds and notorious stop-and-go traffic often cause catastrophic rear-end collisions.
- The Grand Central Parkway: While commercial vehicles are banned on this road, service trucks and delivery vans often use it anyway, especially near LaGuardia. If you were hurt in a truck crash on this road, our Queens truck accident lawyers at Shulman & Hill can help you seek damages.
In addition to these major roads, local truck routes along Northern Boulevard, Queens Boulevard, Woodhaven Boulevard, and Rockaway Boulevard also see heavy truck traffic. When trucks make wide turns and other dangerous maneuvers here, motorists can pay the price.
Finally, the construction zones feeding Long Island City, Flushing, and Jamaica development projects are frequently trafficked by dump trucks, concrete mixers, and flatbeds. If you’ve been hurt in a crash here, don’t hesitate to reach out to our firm.
What Causes Truck Crashes in Queens
Our firm has investigated commercial truck crashes caused by many different factors. A few causes come up again and again. Reach out to our Queens truck accident attorney at Shulman & Hill if you’ve been injured in a truck wreck caused by:
- Hours-of-service violations: Long hauls to and from JFK push drivers past the federal limits on how long they can be behind the wheel. Fatigue slows reaction time and clouds judgment, and when a driver’s logbook shows a violation, it’s often the single most useful piece of evidence in the case.
- Shifting or spilled cargo: Freight that was loaded wrong can throw a truck off balance mid-turn or spill across lanes without warning. Cargo loaders, shippers, and the trucking company can all share responsibility when that happens.
- Deferred maintenance: Brake failures, blown tires, and dead lights are leading causes of commercial crashes. Federal rules require fleet inspections and recordkeeping, and gaps in those records are often where our Queens truck accident lawyer finds the strongest leverage.
- Rushed or unqualified drivers: Trucking companies facing driver shortages sometimes cut corners on training, medical screening, or background checks. The result is a driver on Queens streets who shouldn’t be there.
- Phone use, GPS, and dispatch distraction: Modern cabs are full of screens. Every one of them is a chance for a driver to look away at the wrong moment.
- Wide right turns in tight spots: Many Queens intersections are outdated and modern tractor-trailers don’t fit through them cleanly. When large trucks make wide turns at these intersections, pedestrians and others can suffer serious injuries.
We have extensive experience handling cases for many different types of truck crashes. Depending on the cause and details of your crash, we’ll have one of the following highly skilled attorneys from our team handle your claim:
Understanding Federal Rules in a Truck Crash Case
Commercial trucks aren’t governed by the same rules as the average sedan. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) sets the standards for these vehicles. When truck drivers and companies don’t follow these rules and an accident occurs, the violation can be used to support your claim.
At Shulman & Hill, our Queens truck accident lawyers have deep experience using the following laws to strengthen claims like yours:
- Driver hours and rest breaks: Under 49 CFR Part 395, the daily driving time of truck drivers is capped.
- Driver qualification standards: 49 CFR Part 391 outlines licensing, medical fitness to drive a commercial truck, and background checks for trucking company employees.
- Vehicle inspection, repair, and maintenance: The law requires that companies keep written records on every truck in a fleet.
- Drug and alcohol testing: 49 CFR Part 382 makes post-accident testing after serious crashes mandatory.
When a trucking company fails to follow these laws, they must be held accountable. Our team knows how to request the documents that prove a violation and how to use that proof to get a fair settlement or win at trial.
Who Is Liable in a Truck Accident in Queens?
Who is liable in a truck accident in Queens depends on the facts of the crash. Liability can rest with the driver, the carrier that employs them, the company that loaded the cargo, the mechanic that serviced the truck, the manufacturer of a defective part, or a government agency responsible for a defective or dangerous roadway.
It’s important to note that a tired driver may have caused the crash, but a dispatcher who pressured him to skip breaks can also share blame if the crash was caused by fatigue. Similarly, a tire that blew out may trace back to a defective product, or to a maintenance shop that failed to notice a damaged tire.
The more parties that are to blame, the more insurance coverage may be available to pay for your recovery. At Shulman & Hill, our Queens truck accident attorney will conduct a thorough investigation of the crash and work hard to identify all parties that share blame.
What Evidence Do I Need After a Truck Accident in Queens?
The evidence you need after a truck accident in Queens includes the police report, crash scene photos, witness testimony, your medical records, the truck’s electronic control module (ECM) data, the driver’s logbooks and, in some cases, the trucking company’s maintenance records, and dispatch or GPS data from the trip.
The challenging part of gathering evidence is that most of it belongs to the trucking company, and companies routinely overwrite or dispose of such records on a schedule. ECM data gets overwritten as the truck keeps running and dispatch recordings cycle out after weeks.
If no one puts the trucking company on legal notice to preserve these forms of evidence, it may already be gone by the time a lawsuit is filed.
That’s why the Queens truck accident lawyers at Shulman & Hill move fast to secure important records. Within days of taking a case, we send formal spoliation letters warning the trucking company that any destruction of relevant evidence will be used against them in court.
How Do I File a Truck Accident Claim in Queens?
How you file a truck accident claim in Queens starts with submitting a No-Fault application with your insurer within 30 days and filing suit in Queens County Supreme Court within three years, which is required by CPLR § 214. Wrongful death claims have a shorter two-year window, which starts on the date of death under EPTL § 5-4.1.
Queens County Supreme Court, located at 88-11 Sutphin Boulevard in Jamaica, hears civil cases where damages exceed the limits of the lower courts. This almost always applies when a commercial truck is involved.
A typical case runs through pleadings, discovery, depositions, settlement conferences, and trial if settlement doesn’t happen. If a city truck or MTA vehicle hit you, the timeline is shorter. A Notice of Claim must be filed within 90 days to preserve a claim against a government entity. Miss this important deadline after a crash, and your case may be over.
Schedule a Free Consultation With a Truck Accident Lawyer in Queens
A commercial truck crash can turn your life upside down in a matter of seconds. At a time like this, having the right legal team can help greatly. Our attorneys at Shulman & Hill know the Queens corridors where these crashes happen, the tactics the trucking industry uses to protect itself, and how to get the compensation you need to move forward.
Contact us today for a free consultation. We’ll listen to what happened, explain where you stand, and walk you through what our truck accident lawyer in Queens will do to file a strong claim.
Every borough, every block — New York, we got you.
