Oregon's Truck Accident Attorneys
Commercial trucking accident cases can be both legally complex and medically catastrophic. Our Oregon truck accident attorneys are here to answer your questions, tell your story, and fight for full, fair compensation for your injuries.
Thousands of commercial trucks traverse Oregon roads every day, usually without incident. When a fully loaded semi truck slams into a passenger car, often from distracted driving, substance use, or poor training, the result can be catastrophic.
Serious truck accident cases require experienced truck accident lawyers. Semi trucks and tractor trailer rigs can weigh more than 20 times that of the passenger cars driving beside them. They carry enormous blind spots where the driver can lose sight of an entire vehicle. To make matters worse: commercial trucking companies frequently try to cut corners in training their employees, and demand long, illegal working hours, failing to allow for drivers’ rest.
When commercial truck drivers are fatigued, distracted, or pushed to beat a deadline, truck crashes turn deadly. Our team has seen exactly how that happens, and we know how to prove it to a jury. With more than 50 years of combined experience, and a local reputation of fighting fiercely for every penny owed, the team at Barton Trial Attorneys is here to help after a commercial truck accident.
Truck Accident Cases Require Truck Accident Attorneys
A serious Oregon truck accident can change everything in an instant. One moment you’re driving home; the next you’re facing surgeries, medical bills, lost income, and a life that looks nothing like the one you had before the accident.
At Barton Trial Attorneys, we understand what this feels like. We start every case by seeing the human being behind the truck accident injury: understanding your concerns, your pain, and your financial needs. Building a successful truck accident case begins with learning your full story.
We also know that trucking companies and their insurers do not play fair. Within hours of a commercial truck accident, the company’s rapid-response team, including its insurance company, is already at work limiting what you recover; sometimes they even put lawyers and investigators on the scene before you’ve left the hospital. We believe you deserve a law firm that responds with the same urgency to make sure you receive every dollar you are owed.
Commercial Trucking Companies Follow Strict Regulations
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations govern commercial vehicles’ hours of service, driver qualifications, inspections, and maintenance schedules. FMCSA violations are often at the root of trucking accidents, and can be powerful evidence in a truck accident claim.
Proving in a commercial vehicle accident claim means moving quickly through a demanding legal process: preserving the truck’s electronic data, securing driver logs, and reaching the evidence before it disappears. Our team not only understands every FMCSA guideline that may apply in a truck accident case, but also how to preserve evidence to maximize your claim value.
Meet Barton Trial Attorneys: Oregon’s Choice for Trucking Accident Cases
At Barton Trial Attorneys, we believe that every successful personal injury case starts with a story: a narrative that speaks to your experience and the true cost of your suffering. We pride ourselves on understanding not just the facts and relevant statutes of your case, but the unique human testimony that brings your story to life.
This is the work we love, and we take it seriously. This is also why we limit ourselves to just ten or fewer carefully selected cases at a time. When you work with Barton Trial Attorneys, you have two trial attorneys, and a full staff, fully focused on demanding justice for your injuries.
For more than 45 years, our core values haven’t changed. When we hold a trucking company accountable, we make the road safer for everyone who drives it. Injured clients tell us the same thing again and again: they don’t want this to happen to anyone else. We work toward that goal, every single day.
Case Study
Moutal v. Connell Transport
A truck driver set his cruise control above the posted speed limit, in violation of both state law and his own company’s policy. He drifted in and out of the shoulder for miles along Interstate 84 in the Columbia River Gorge, and claims to have never seen the “Bicycles on Roadway” signs he had passed routinely for a year. He never saw the two Canadian tourists riding legally on that shoulder. He never moved over, even though he had an open lane to his left. His truck struck both cyclists, leaving one of them catastrophically injured.
The trucking company’s defense was that this was nothing more than an accident: ordinary speeding, the kind of thing that “just happens.” We took the case to a federal jury and asked them to see it for what it was: a driver who showed a reckless indifference to everyone he shared the road with.
The jury agreed. Their verdict included $4 million in punitive damages, roughly one million dollars for every mile per hour the driver was traveling over the limit, on top of the full compensatory award for our client’s economic and noneconomic losses. This amounted to about one million dollars for every mile per hour the driver was traveling over the limit.
The company fought to have the punitive award erased, asking the court three separate ways to throw it out or cut it down. The court refused every time. It found the jury had every reason to conclude, by clear and convincing evidence, that the driver acted with an outrageous and conscious indifference to the health, safety, and welfare of others.
Understanding Oregon Truck Accident Cases
Who Is Responsible for a Truck Crash?
One of the biggest differences between a car wreck and a commercial truck accident is the number of parties who may share the blame. A thorough investigation often reveals fault well beyond the person behind the wheel:
- The driver for speeding, distraction, fatigue, impairment, or unsafe maneuvers.
- The trucking company for negligent hiring, inadequate training, unrealistic schedules, or pressuring drivers to violate hours-of-service limits.
- The maintenance provider for failed brakes, bald tires, or skipped inspections.
- The cargo loader for overloaded or improperly secured freight that shifts in transit.
- The broker or shipper for putting an unsafe carrier on the road.
- The truck or parts manufacturer when a defect contributes to the crash.
Sorting out who is liable, and finding every available source of compensation, takes experience, resources, and a willingness to dig. We bring all three.
Common Causes of Oregon Truck Accidents
- Driver fatigue and hours-of-service violations
- Distracted driving, including phone use behind the wheel
- Speeding and driving too fast for conditions
- Improper lane changes into a blind spot
- Inadequate driver training and unsafe hiring practices
- Poor maintenance, brake failure, and tire blowouts
- Overloaded or improperly secured cargo
- Impaired driving
In one of our cases, data pulled from a driver’s phone was enough to prove distracted driving: evidence that helped support a manslaughter conviction. Modern trucking cases are won with modern tools, and we know how to use them.
If you were hurt in a crash with a semi or tractor trailer, we encourage you to reach out to us online, or call (503) 203-0015 for a free case consultation.
What to Do After a Truck Accident
Get medical care right away; this preserves health and your case value.
Call the police and make sure a report is filed.
Document the scene if you can: photos of the vehicles, the road, and your injuries.
Get names and numbers of any witnesses.
Don’t give a recorded statement to the trucking company’s insurer before talking to a lawyer.
Call us so we can move to preserve the truck’s electronic data and driver logs before they are lost.
That last step matters more than most people realize. Critical evidence like electronic logging device records, telematics, dash-cam footage, and inspection histories can disappear quickly. The sooner we are involved, the more we can protect.
Why Barton Trial Attorneys
We are a nationally recognized plaintiff’s firm that takes on the cases, and institutional defendants, that most lawyers won’t. We have the experience to handle catastrophic medical and injury cases that demand serious expert work, the resources to fund a fight against a well-funded insurer, and the trial record to back it up. We litigate across Oregon, and we don’t settle simply because the road is long. Meet our team, including Brent Barton, who leads our trucking work.
If you have a story that should be told in a court of law, please reach out to us.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is a truck accident case different from a car accident case?
Almost everything is bigger and more complex. The injuries tend to be more severe, more parties can be at fault, and federal trucking regulations create both additional duties and additional evidence. Trucking companies also defend these cases aggressively, often deploying investigators within hours. You need a firm that understands the rules and the playbook on the other side.
Who can I sue after a commercial truck accident?
Possibly more parties than you’d expect: the driver, the trucking company, a maintenance contractor, the cargo loader, a broker or shipper, or a parts manufacturer. Part of our job is identifying everyone who contributed to the crash and every insurance policy available to compensate you.
How long do I have to file a claim in Oregon?
Oregon generally gives injured people two years to file a personal injury lawsuit, and three years for a wrongful death claim. Important exceptions and shorter deadlines can apply, and key evidence fades long before any deadline. The safest course is to call us as soon as possible. (Nothing here is legal advice; deadlines depend on the specifics of your case.)
What is my truck accident claim worth?
It depends on the severity of your injuries, your medical bills and future care, lost income and earning capacity, and the impact on your life. No honest lawyer can put a number on your case in the first phone call, but we can tell you whether you have a claim worth pursuing, at no cost to you.
How much does it cost to hire you?
We handle truck accident cases on a contingency fee, which means you pay no attorney fee unless we win for you. Your first consultation is always free.
Do I need a lawyer? The insurance company seems willing to settle.
Early offers are almost always low, and a recorded statement or quick settlement can cost you far more than it pays. The insurer works for the trucking company, not for you. Before you sign anything or give any statement, talk to a lawyer who works for you.
Do you take cases outside the Newport and Portland areas?
Yes. We litigate truck accidents and other serious injury cases throughout Oregon, and have earned record results in counties across the state.