Burlington Truck Accident Lawyer

A collision with a fully loaded tractor-trailer is not something you simply walk away from and move on. Vehicles are totaled, bodies are broken, and families are thrown into a scramble of hospital waiting rooms, missed paychecks, and phone calls from adjusters who somehow already know your name before you have found a lawyer of your own.

Promoting Justice Personal Injury & Car Accident Lawyers stands with injured Vermonters during moments like this. Whether your crash happened on I-89 near Burlington, on a two-lane stretch of US-7, or at an intersection somewhere in between, we investigate the trucking company, its driver, and every party who contributed to the crash, while you focus on healing. You do not have to figure this out alone, and you do not have to figure it out today.

Contact us today for a free consultation and discover how our truck accident attorneys in Burlington can help you seek the compensation and justice you deserve.

Why You Need a Burlington Truck Accident Lawyer

When a semi-truck or 18-wheeler strikes a passenger vehicle, the results are rarely minor. These commercial vehicles carry enormous mass, and the injuries they cause are often catastrophic, permanent, and life-altering.

What makes truck accidents legally unique is what happens immediately after the crash. Large carriers keep accident response teams and defense attorneys on retainer, deploying them quickly to manage the situation before you find legal representation. Their goal is to protect the company’s money, and going up against them without experienced counsel means facing a well-funded machine alone.

How Promoting Justice Fights for Burlington Crash Victims

At Promoting Justice, we have represented injured Vermonters exclusively since 1980, and we have never once represented a corporation or insurance company. We are plaintiff-only, always, and that commitment shapes every decision we make in your case.

Our team brings uncommon advantages to your fight:

• Insider strategy: Attorney Linda Fraas spent years as insurance defense counsel before joining our side. She knows exactly how carriers attempt to minimize claims and uses that knowledge against them.
• Proven courtroom leadership: Lead attorney Dennis O. Shillen holds an AV Preeminent rating, the highest possible peer-reviewed mark for legal ability and professional ethics, earned across more than 40 years of practice.
• Published legal authority: Attorney D. James Mackall serves on the Vermont Association for Justice Board of Governors and is a published legal author with over 35 years of experience.
• Deep bench strength: Our attorneys and legal staff bring extensive experience, supported by dedicated legal assistants with long-standing service to personal injury clients.
• No upfront cost: We advance all litigation expenses, expert witnesses, accident reconstruction, court filing fees, and collect our fee only if we win your case.

“Attorney Jim Mackall took the time to listen to the details of my case and then went to work on my behalf. I am very pleased with the outcome and resolution reached in my complex case and would highly recommend Jim’s services.” – Peter B.

What We Have Recovered for Clients Like You

Our record is built on one principle: hold every responsible party accountable for every dollar of damage they caused. We obtained a substantial recovery in a complex case involving workers’ compensation and a serious automobile accident. We also obtained compensation for a client who suffered a traumatic brain injury after a landlord failed to maintain safe property.

These outcomes come from thorough investigation, expert preparation, and an unwillingness to be outmaneuvered by corporate defense teams. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes, but they tell you exactly who we are. Call (802) 457-4848 to discuss what your Burlington truck accident claim may be worth, the consultation is free.

What Causes Semi Truck and Big Rig Collisions in Vermont

Burlington and Chittenden County sit at the intersection of major commercial freight routes, including I-89, US-7, and US-2. Tractor-trailers move through this region constantly, and when drivers or carriers cut corners, ordinary families bear the cost.

Most truck crashes are not accidents, they are the foreseeable result of negligence, corporate greed, or deliberate decisions to prioritize schedules over safety. Common causes include:

• Driver fatigue from violating federal hours-of-service rules set by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the agency responsible for commercial trucking safety.
• Distracted driving, including the use of onboard dispatch devices and mobile phones
• Impaired driving caused by stimulants, alcohol, or prescription drugs
• Improperly loaded or unsecured cargo that shifts during transit and destabilizes the vehicle
• Brake failure, tire blowouts, and steering defects from deferred maintenance
• Negligent driver hiring, inadequate training, or punishing delivery schedules set by the carrier itself

Types of Commercial Truck Collisions We Handle

Truck accidents range widely in how they occur and who bears responsibility. We investigate and litigate jackknife accidents, underride collisions where a passenger vehicle slides beneath a trailer, rollover crashes, wide-turn squeeze-play accidents, and rear-end impacts at highway speeds.

We also represent families who have lost loved ones in fatal commercial truck crashes, pursuing wrongful death claims against every party whose negligence contributed to the tragedy. 

Injuries Caused by 18-Wheeler and Big Rig Crashes

The size difference between a commercial tractor-trailer and a passenger car makes injuries from these collisions uniquely devastating. Our clients have faced, and in the most heartbreaking cases, families have lost loved ones to:

• Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) that permanently alter memory, personality, and cognitive function
• Spinal cord damage resulting in partial or complete paralysis
• Severe bone fractures requiring surgery and extended rehabilitation
• Internal organ damage and uncontrolled bleeding
• Amputation and permanent limb loss
• Disfiguring burns

These injuries demand compensation that accounts not just for your medical bills today, but for everything your future care and recovery will require.

One pattern we consistently see in commercial truck claims out of Chittenden County is that catastrophic injuries like spinal cord damage or traumatic brain injury are initially undertreated at the scene because first responders on I-89 or US-7 are triaging for the most visible trauma first, which means subtler but serious injuries surface only after a client is transferred to a facility like the University of Vermont Medical Center days later. 

What we see across the Burlington truck cases we handle is that the trucking company’s insurer treats that delay as an opportunity to argue the injury is unrelated to the crash. In our experience, closing that gap early with a clear chain of medical documentation is often the difference between a fair settlement and a fight that drags on for years.

Who Can Be Held Liable After a Burlington Truck Crash?

A commercial truck collision often involves multiple parties who share legal responsibility for your injuries. Identifying every liable party expands the pool of available insurance coverage and protects your total recovery.

We pursue every responsible party, not just the most obvious one.

What Compensation Can You Recover?

Vermont law allows you to pursue compensation across two main categories after a commercial truck accident.

Economic damages cover your direct financial losses:

• Past and future medical care, surgery, and rehabilitation
• Lost wages and long-term reduced earning capacity
• Vehicle and personal property damage

Non-economic damages address the full personal toll of your injuries, your physical pain and suffering, emotional distress, and the loss of your ability to participate in the relationships and activities that define a meaningful life.

In cases where a carrier or driver acted with extreme recklessness or intentional disregard for public safety, Vermont courts can also award punitive damages. These exist to punish dangerous conduct and send a clear message that it will not be tolerated.

Vermont’s Modified Comparative Negligence Rule

Modified comparative negligence is a legal standard that allows you to recover damages even if you were partly responsible for the crash, as long as your share of fault is 50% or less. Your final award is reduced proportionally by your percentage of fault; if you were found 20% at fault, you recover 80% of your total damages.

Trucking insurers routinely attempt to inflate your share of the blame to reduce what they owe. Our job is to challenge that strategy aggressively and place fault squarely where it belongs.

A tactic we see repeatedly from trucking insurers handling Chittenden County claims is pushing a disproportionate share of fault onto the passenger vehicle driver, particularly at merge points on I-89 or the tighter intersections along US-7 where a big rig’s blind spots are largest. 

What we see across the Burlington truck cases we’ve handled is that this argument tends to collapse once we pull the truck’s own Event Data Recorder and hours-of-service logs, which routinely tell a very different story than the initial police narrative. Carriers rarely volunteer that data, which is why we send a preservation letter within days of being retained, before it can be overwritten or lost.

How We Build Your Burlington Truck Accident Case

Commercial truck cases demand immediate action because critical evidence can be overwritten or destroyed within days of the crash. The moment we are retained, we send an official preservation letter to the carrier, putting them on legal notice that destroying evidence carries serious consequences.

We then secure and analyze:

• Event Data Recorder (EDR) data: The truck’s “black box,” recording speed, braking patterns, and driver behavior in the moments before impact
• Electronic Logging Device (ELD) records: Federal law requires all commercial drivers to log hours electronically, these records expose hours-of-service violations.
• Driver qualification files: Employment history, training records, and prior safety violations
• Maintenance and inspection logs: Documentation exposing deferred repairs or missed service intervals
• Dashcam and surveillance footage: Visual evidence captured at or near the crash scene

When liability is disputed, we bring in accident reconstruction specialists to establish exactly what happened and why.

Steps to Take After a Truck Accident in Burlington

Document Everything at the Scene

If you are physically able, photograph all vehicles, road conditions, skid marks, and the truck’s DOT identification number. Collect contact information from any witnesses before they leave.

Refuse Recorded Statements from the Trucking Insurer

The carrier’s adjuster may contact you within hours seeking a recorded statement. You are not required to provide one; decline politely and call us first, because these conversations are designed to limit what you can recover.

Call Us Before You Sign Anything

Never sign a release or accept a settlement offer without speaking to an attorney. Early offers from trucking insurers are almost always far below what your case is actually worth.

How Our Contingency Fee Works

A contingency fee means you owe nothing unless we win. Our firm advances all litigation costs, depositions, expert witnesses, and filing expenses with zero financial risk to you. Call (802) 457-4848 for a free consultation, any time of day.

Vermont law gives you three years from the date of your accident to file a personal injury claim. Waiting costs you evidence and options. Above all, we hate to lose, and we will fight for every dollar you are owed.

“Best team of professionals in the area. Dedicated, knowledgeable, and willing to take the time to make sure you understand all aspects of your case.” – Gabriel D.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I Recover Compensation If I Was Partly at Fault for the Crash?

Yes. Vermont’s modified comparative negligence rule allows you to recover damages as long as you were not more than 50% responsible, with your final award reduced proportionally by your percentage of fault.

How Long Do I Have to File a Truck Accident Lawsuit in Vermont?

Vermont’s statute of limitations gives you three years from the date of your accident to file a personal injury claim. Missing this deadline almost always means losing your right to compensation entirely.

Can I Sue an Out-of-State Trucking Company in Vermont?

Yes. If your crash occurred in Vermont, our state courts have jurisdiction, and all applicable FMCSA federal safety regulations apply to the carrier regardless of where the company is headquartered.

Can I File a Workers’ Compensation Claim and a Truck Accident Lawsuit at the Same Time?

Yes. If you were hurt in a truck crash while on the job, you can pursue workers’ compensation benefits and a separate personal injury claim against the at-fault driver and carrier simultaneously.

Who Pays My Medical Bills While My Case Is Pending?

Your own health insurance or any MedPay coverage on your auto policy typically handles treatment costs while your claim is pending.