When an 80,000-pound tractor-trailer collides with a passenger vehicle in Brooklyn, the results are devastating. Crushed metal. Broken bones. Spinal cord damage. Traumatic brain injuries. Families left wondering how they’ll pay for medical care while the injured person can’t work.
Our Brooklyn, NY truck accident lawyer levels the playing field. At Rosenberg & Rodriguez Personal Injury Lawyers, we’ve recovered a $750,000 truck accident settlement, an $875,000 settlement in a difficult liability case, and jury verdicts of $815,000 and $760,000. We’ve helped our clients recover millions of dollars from trucking companies, insurance carriers, and corporations that prioritize profits over safety.
Why Choose Rosenberg & Rodriguez Personal Injury Lawyers for Truck Accident Cases in Brooklyn, NY?
We’ve Won Against Trucking Companies
Trucking companies carry large insurance policies, often $1 million or more. They can afford aggressive defense teams. Beating them requires attorneys who understand federal trucking regulations, who know how to preserve electronic evidence, and who aren’t afraid to take cases to trial.
Our track record proves we can win these fights:
• $750,000 truck accident settlement
• $875,000 settlement in a high-risk liability case
• $815,000 jury verdict
• $760,000 jury verdict
• $550,000 rear-end accident settlement
• $500,000 auto accident settlement
These outcomes come from thorough preparation and the willingness to fight in court when trucking companies refuse fair settlements.
If you need a personal injury attorney in Brooklyn, NY, our results demonstrate what we accomplish for our clients.
Attorneys With Trial Experience
Ivan Rodriguez has practiced personal injury law in New York for 25 years. He understands the federal regulations that govern the trucking industry. He knows how to obtain evidence from electronic logging devices, black boxes, and driver qualification files. His experience in both State and Federal Courts gives him the ability to pursue claims against any trucking company, from local delivery fleets to national carriers.
Laura Rosenberg has been licensed in New York and New Jersey since 2001. Super Lawyers has recognized her every year from 2019 through 2026, placing her among the top 5% of attorneys. She is a member of the Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, and the New York State Trial Lawyers Association.
Immediate Investigation
Evidence in truck accident cases disappears fast. Electronic logging device data gets overwritten after a set period. Trucking companies repair or scrap damaged vehicles. Witnesses forget details. We move quickly to preserve evidence, send spoliation letters to prevent destruction of records, and build your case from day one.
Contingency Fee Representation
You pay nothing upfront. We advance all costs and only collect a fee if we recover compensation for you. This puts experienced attorneys in your corner without adding financial pressure during your recovery.
What Our Clients Say
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“I can’t say enough good things about this firm. From the first phone call to the final settlement, they treated me with respect and kept me informed every step of the way. They fought hard for me and got results. Thank you Rosenberg & Rodriguez Personal Injury Lawyers!” – Keron Coleman
Read more reviews on our Google Business Profile.
Types of Truck Accident Cases We Handle in Brooklyn
Commercial vehicle crashes happen throughout Brooklyn’s busy streets and highways. We handle all types of truck collision claims.
Tractor-trailer accidents. 18-wheelers traveling through Brooklyn on the BQE, Belt Parkway, and local streets cause catastrophic injuries when they jackknife, rollover, or collide with smaller vehicles.
Delivery truck crashes. Amazon, UPS, FedEx, and local delivery vehicles crowd Brooklyn streets. Drivers rushing to meet quotas cause preventable accidents.
Construction vehicle accidents. Brooklyn’s constant development means dump trucks, cement mixers, and heavy equipment share roads with passenger cars. These massive vehicles create serious hazards.
Bus accidents. Commercial buses, charter coaches, and tour buses fall under federal trucking regulations. Crashes involving these vehicles can injure multiple passengers.
Garbage truck collisions. Sanitation vehicles making frequent stops create blind spot dangers and rear-end collision risks throughout Brooklyn neighborhoods.
Moving truck accidents. Inexperienced drivers operating large rental trucks cause accidents when they misjudge clearances, brake distances, or turning radiuses.
Tanker truck accidents. Vehicles carrying fuel, chemicals, or other hazardous materials create explosion and spill risks in addition to collision injuries.
Underride accidents. When a car slides beneath a truck’s trailer, the passenger compartment can be crushed or sheared off entirely. These crashes cause the most severe injuries.
New York and Federal Legal Requirements for Truck Accident Cases
Truck accidents involve federal rules that don’t apply to ordinary car crashes. Understanding these regulations helps build stronger claims against trucking companies.
Hours of Service Rules
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration limits how long truck drivers can operate without rest. Drivers may drive a maximum of 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty. They cannot drive beyond 14 hours after coming on duty. Drivers must take a 30-minute break after 8 hours of driving.
Fatigue causes thousands of truck accidents annually. When drivers violate hours of service rules or falsify their logs, trucking companies share liability for resulting crashes.
Electronic Logging Devices
Federal law requires most commercial trucks to use electronic logging devices (ELDs) that automatically record driving time. These devices prevent drivers from falsifying paper logs. ELD data provides powerful evidence in accident cases, showing exactly when the driver was operating the vehicle.
Driver Qualification Standards
Trucking companies must verify that drivers hold valid commercial driver’s licenses, pass drug and alcohol tests, and meet medical fitness requirements. The New York DMV enforces state licensing requirements.
Companies that fail to properly screen drivers can be held liable when unqualified operators cause accidents.
Vehicle Maintenance Requirements
Federal regulations require regular inspections and maintenance of commercial trucks. Brake failures, tire blowouts, and steering malfunctions often result from inadequate maintenance. Maintenance records can prove that a trucking company knew about mechanical problems but kept the vehicle in service anyway.
New York Laws
State laws work alongside federal regulations to protect accident victims.
No-Fault Insurance
New York’s no-fault system requires your own insurance to pay medical bills and lost wages up to $50,000, regardless of fault. However, truck accidents typically cause injuries severe enough to exceed no-fault limits.
To sue the trucking company for additional damages, you must meet the “serious injury” threshold under New York Insurance Law Section 5102(d). Most truck accident victims easily meet this standard due to the severity of their injuries.
Statute of Limitations
New York’s statute of limitations gives you three years to file a personal injury lawsuit. But evidence in truck cases disappears quickly. Contact an attorney immediately to preserve your claim.
Comparative Fault
New York follows pure comparative negligence rules. Trucking companies routinely blame other drivers for accidents. They claim you were speeding, distracted, or failed to yield. An experienced attorney counters these arguments with evidence from the truck’s own data systems.
What Damages Are Recoverable in Brooklyn Truck Accident Cases?
Truck accidents cause more severe injuries than typical car crashes. Compensation in these cases is often substantial.
Economic Damages
These cover your measurable financial losses:
• Emergency medical care, trauma surgery, and ICU stays
• Long-term rehabilitation and physical therapy
• Future medical expenses for permanent injuries
• Lost wages during recovery
• Reduced earning capacity if you cannot return to your previous occupation
• Vehicle replacement
• Home modifications for catastrophic injuries
• Lifetime care costs for severe disabilities
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that large trucks are involved in thousands of fatal crashes annually. Survivors often require years of medical treatment. The CDC injury data confirms that motor vehicle crashes remain a leading cause of traumatic injury deaths.
Non-Economic Damages
New York permits compensation for pain and suffering, including:
• Physical pain from injuries and medical procedures
• Emotional trauma, anxiety, and depression
• Loss of enjoyment of life and activities
• Permanent disability or disfigurement
• Loss of consortium affecting your relationship with your spouse
Truck accidents frequently cause brain injuries that affect cognitive function and personality. Back injuries and neck injuries from the force of impact often require multiple surgeries. Soft tissue injuries may not appear on initial imaging but cause chronic pain.
Punitive Damages
When trucking companies knowingly allow dangerous practices, such as pressuring drivers to falsify logs or ignoring maintenance requirements, New York courts may award punitive damages to punish this misconduct.
Contact Rosenberg & Rodriguez Personal Injury Lawyers
If you were injured in a truck accident in Brooklyn, our firm can help you take on the trucking company and fight for maximum compensation.
We offer free consultations to accident victims. We’ll review your case, explain your options, and answer your questions. No obligation. No pressure.
Our contingency fee arrangement means you pay nothing unless we win. We advance all costs and only collect a fee when you recover compensation.
With over 100 combined years of experience, our attorneys know how to investigate truck accidents, preserve evidence, and build winning cases against trucking companies and their insurers.
Contact us today to schedule your free case evaluation. Evening and weekend appointments are available.
Truck Accident Statistics in Brooklyn
Tractor-trailers, box trucks, and delivery vehicles travel the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, the Belt Parkway, Atlantic Avenue, and dozens of local streets connecting the borough’s industrial zones to its commercial centers. In 2024, Brooklyn recorded 69 total traffic fatalities and thousands of injury crashes, with commercial vehicles involved in hundreds of those collisions, according to NYC DOT data. Nationally, the FMCSA crash statistics show that large trucks were involved in over 5,700 fatal crashes and approximately 120,000 injury-causing crashes across the country in a recent reporting year. The NHTSA large truck data confirms that occupants of passenger vehicles account for the vast majority of fatalities when a car collides with a commercial truck. Brooklyn ended 2025 with its lowest traffic deaths on record, but commercial truck crashes remain a persistent and severe danger throughout the borough, particularly in neighborhoods near warehouses, shipping terminals, and construction zones.
10 Steps in a Brooklyn Truck Accident Case
A truck accident case in Brooklyn, NY moves through specific stages. Knowing what to expect helps you make better decisions and avoid mistakes that could cost you money. At Rosenberg & Rodriguez Personal Injury Lawyers, we guide clients through each step. Our firm recovered a $750,000 truck accident settlement and has secured jury verdicts exceeding $800,000.
1. Get emergency medical treatment. Your health comes first. Call 911. Go to the emergency room even if your injuries seem minor. Some injuries from truck collisions, including concussions and internal bleeding, don’t produce symptoms right away. Early medical records also connect your injuries directly to the crash.
2. Preserve evidence at the scene. If you’re physically able, photograph the truck, your vehicle, the intersection, road conditions, and your injuries. Get the truck driver’s name, CDL number, and the trucking company’s name from the cab door. Collect witness contact information.
3. Contact a Brooklyn truck accident lawyer. Do this within days, not weeks. A truck accident attorney sends preservation demands to the trucking company immediately, preventing them from destroying electronic logging data, black box recordings, dashcam footage, and maintenance records. This evidence disappears fast.
4. Investigation and evidence gathering. We obtain the driver’s qualification file, hours-of-service logs, drug and alcohol testing records, vehicle inspection reports, and cargo loading documents. We pull the truck’s accident report and interview witnesses. In cases involving road defects or construction zone hazards, we investigate the responsible government agency or contractor.
5. Identify all liable parties. This is where truck cases differ from car accidents. The driver, the trucking company, the vehicle owner, the cargo loader, the maintenance provider, and the truck manufacturer may all share liability. More negligent parties means more insurance coverage available to compensate you.
6. Medical treatment and documentation. While we build the legal case, you focus on treatment. We coordinate with your doctors to make sure injuries are thoroughly documented. Back injuries, brain injuries, and neck injuries from truck crashes often require treatment that extends for months or years. Gaps in care give insurers ammunition to reduce your claim.
7. Calculate the full value of your claim. We add up every economic loss: medical bills, future treatment costs, lost wages, reduced earning capacity, and property damage. Then we calculate pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life. In cases involving permanent disability or wrongful death, the numbers are substantial.
8. Submit a demand and negotiate. We send a detailed demand package to the trucking company’s insurer with all supporting evidence. Negotiations begin. Insurance companies almost always start with a low offer. We counter with evidence that forces them to take your case seriously.
9. File a lawsuit if necessary. If the insurer won’t pay fair value, we file in Kings County Supreme Court and prepare for trial. Most cases settle before trial, but our willingness to go to a jury is what drives fair settlements. The trucking company’s lawyers know our trial record.
10. Resolution and recovery. Once the case settles or a verdict is reached, we handle all lien negotiations with health insurers and medical providers. We make sure you keep as much of your recovery as possible.
Brooklyn Truck Accident Lawyer FAQs
How much does it cost to hire Rosenberg & Rodriguez Personal Injury Lawyers for a truck accident?
Nothing out of pocket. We charge a contingency fee, which means no recovery, no fee. We advance all investigation and litigation costs.
Who can I sue after a truck accident in Brooklyn?
The truck driver, the trucking company, the vehicle owner, the cargo loading company, the maintenance provider, and in some cases the truck or parts manufacturer. We investigate every potential defendant and every available insurance policy.
How long do I have to file a truck accident lawsuit in New York?
Three years from the date of the crash. If a government vehicle or road defect caused the accident, a notice of claim must be filed within 90 days. Contact us immediately.
Are truck accident settlements larger than car accident settlements?
Generally, yes. Commercial trucks cause more severe injuries and trucking companies carry larger insurance policies, often $1 million or more. Our firm has recovered $750,000 in a truck accident case and $550,000 in a rear-end collision.
What if the truck driver was an independent contractor?
Trucking companies sometimes classify drivers as independent contractors to avoid paying damages in an accident. New York courts examine whether the company controlled the driver’s schedule, routes, and equipment. If it did, the company may still be held responsible regardless of the driver’s classification.
What evidence is most important in truck accident cases?
Electronic logging device data, black box recordings, driver qualification files, maintenance logs, cargo weight records, and dashcam footage. This evidence can prove hours-of-service violations, mechanical failures, and driver fatigue.
Can I recover compensation if I was partially at fault?
Yes. New York’s comparative negligence rules allow recovery even when you share some fault. Your award is reduced by your percentage of responsibility. Trucking companies aggressively inflate the other driver’s fault to reduce payouts.
What should I do at the scene of a truck accident in Brooklyn?
Call 911. Get medical attention. Photograph everything. Get the truck driver’s CDL number and the company name from the truck. Do not give a recorded statement to any insurance company. Contact a truck accident lawyer in Brooklyn, NY.
How long does a Brooklyn truck accident case take?
Complex cases involving multiple defendants and catastrophic injuries can take a year or more. Simpler cases may settle within months. We prepare every case for trial.
What types of injuries are common in Brooklyn truck accidents?
Spinal cord damage, traumatic brain injuries, multiple fractures, internal organ injuries, burns, crush injuries, and amputations. Many truck accident victims develop PTSD and chronic pain conditions.
Local Information for Brooklyn Truck Accident Cases
Most Dangerous Locations for Truck Accidents in Brooklyn
Commercial truck crashes in Brooklyn concentrate along specific highways, arterial roads, and industrial corridors.
Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE). The most dangerous highway in the borough for truck-involved crashes. Tight curves near the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, narrow lanes, and heavy commercial traffic create constant collision risk.
Belt Parkway at Shore Parkway Drive. Truck drivers unfamiliar with the parkway’s commercial vehicle restrictions enter illegally, causing overheight crashes at bridges and merging collisions.
Atlantic Avenue (Bed-Stuy to Downtown Brooklyn). This wide corridor carries heavy commercial truck traffic alongside buses, cyclists, and pedestrians. Turning trucks at intersections create blind-spot hazards.
Sunset Park (Third and Fourth Avenues). The Brooklyn Army Terminal and surrounding industrial areas generate dense truck traffic on streets shared with residential neighborhoods.
Red Hook (Hamilton Avenue and Van Brunt Street). Port-related truck traffic from the Red Hook Container Terminal moves through narrow streets not designed for tractor-trailers.
East New York (Linden Boulevard and Pennsylvania Avenue). Industrial and warehouse activity produces heavy truck volumes on roads with limited infrastructure for large vehicles.
What Are Important Local Resources for Brooklyn Truck Accidents
If you’ve been involved in a collision with a commercial truck in Brooklyn, these resources may help.
Rosenberg & Rodriguez Personal Injury Lawyers does not endorse any of the organizations listed above. These resources are provided for informational purposes only.
About the Attorneys
Ivan Rodriguez has practiced personal injury law in New York for 25 years and has handled truck accident claims involving tractor-trailers, delivery fleets, and commercial carriers operating throughout Brooklyn. Our firm recovered a $750,000 truck accident settlement where liability was contested and has an office at 1411 President Street, 3rd Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11235.
What Our Clients Say
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Rosenberg and Rodriguez helped my roommate when he was injured in a car accident. They assisted us at every step to make sure that he received medical treatment and a fair settlement. Erika was a pleasure to work with, very knowledgeable and always responsive.” — AJ Leddy
Read more reviews on our Google Business Profile.
Contact Rosenberg & Rodriguez Personal Injury Lawyers
If you were injured in a truck accident in Brooklyn, NY, our firm can help you hold the trucking company accountable and pursue the compensation you deserve. Your consultation is free. We will review your crash, explain your legal options, and answer your questions. We are available evenings and weekends. Contact us today to speak with a truck accident lawyer at Rosenberg & Rodriguez Personal Injury Lawyers.
Tractor-trailers, box trucks, and delivery vehicles travel the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, the Belt Parkway, Atlantic Avenue, and dozens of local streets connecting the borough’s industrial zones to its commercial centers. In 2024, Brooklyn recorded 69 total traffic fatalities and thousands of injury crashes, with commercial vehicles involved in hundreds of those collisions, according to NYC DOT data. Nationally, the FMCSA crash statistics show that large trucks were involved in over 5,700 fatal crashes and approximately 120,000 injury-causing crashes across the country in a recent reporting year. The NHTSA large truck data confirms that occupants of passenger vehicles account for the vast majority of fatalities when a car collides with a commercial truck. Brooklyn ended 2025 with its lowest traffic deaths on record, but commercial truck crashes remain a persistent and severe danger throughout the borough, particularly in neighborhoods near warehouses, shipping terminals, and construction zones.
