APPLETON TRUCK ACCIDENT LAWYERS

Weighing in at up to 80,000 pounds, commercial trucks are the largest vehicles on Wisconsin roadways. Due to their massive size, collisions involving semi-trucks can cause serious injuries and even death—and these crashes often occur close to home. For example, in March 2025, WBAY reported that a semi-truck crashed into a passenger van in nearby Grand Chute, Wisconsin, resulting in two fatalities.

If you or someone you love was injured in a truck accident, you may be unable to work and facing big medical bills. You deserve an attorney who’s willing to stand up for your rights to maximum compensation.

At Brian Hodgkiss Injury Lawyers, we hold negligent drivers and trucking companies accountable when their carelessness puts others in harm’s way. After a truck accident, you can count on our team to fight for the compensation you deserve for your medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Contact our Fox Cities legal team today at (920) 486-9630 for a free consultation.

How Truck Accidents Differ From Auto Accidents

Truck accidents and passenger vehicle accidents are similar in many ways. However, it’s important to have an experienced truck accident lawyer on your side who knows the key differences between these types of crashes. For example:

• Trucks are larger and can cause significantly more damage than passenger vehicles during accidents, so victims’ injuries are usually more serious and their medical expenses are often much higher.
• Trucks carry much larger insurance policies. An experienced truck accident lawyer can help you calculate how much compensation you may be entitled to after a truck accident.
• In a car accident, the responsible party is usually the driver of the other car. In a truck accident, the responsible party can be harder to determine. It may be the driver, the trucking company, the truck manufacturer, another party, or more than one of the above. Our legal team can help you determine who can be held liable for your injuries.
• Trucking companies have major legal power behind them and will fight harder against your claim.

You deserve every advantage possible after suffering injuries in a truck accident that wasn’t your fault. That’s why we recommend hiring an attorney experienced with semi-truck accidents to represent you. Our Fox Cities truck accident team isn’t afraid to take on big companies to help you get maximum compensation.

Common Truck Accident Injuries

Truck accidents often result in catastrophic injuries due to the sheer size and weight of commercial vehicles. Data from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation shows that large truck crashes caused 1,665 injuries in the state in 2023 alone and an average of 1,700 per year from 2019-2022.

Many of the injuries sustained in truck accidents are life-changing and require extensive medical care. Some of the most common include:

• Multiple Broken Bones: The impact of a truck crash can easily cause severe fractures in the arms, legs, ribs, and pelvis. These injuries often require surgical intervention and long-term physical therapy, and they may lead to permanent disability.
• Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs): Sudden jolts or blows to the head during a crash can result in brain injuries ranging from concussions to more severe trauma. TBIs can impair memory, motor skills, speech, and emotional regulation—sometimes permanently.
• Spinal Cord Injuries: Damage to the spinal cord can cause partial or full paralysis, often leaving victims unable to walk or care for themselves independently. These injuries typically demand lifelong medical care and rehabilitation.
• Internal Organ Damage: The violent force of a collision can damage vital organs like the liver, spleen, or kidneys. These injuries may not be immediately visible but can be life-threatening without prompt treatment.
• Internal Bleeding and Soft Tissue Injuries: Even without external signs, truck crashes can rupture blood vessels and cause serious damage to muscles, ligaments, and tendons. Internal bleeding can be deadly if not diagnosed quickly.
• Chest and Abdominal Trauma: The chest and abdomen are vulnerable areas that can suffer blunt-force trauma in a crash. Injuries may include broken ribs, punctured lungs, or crushed organs, often requiring emergency surgery and intensive care.
• Facial Injuries and Skull Fractures: Victims may suffer broken facial bones, dental damage, or skull fractures, especially in high-impact collisions. These injuries can lead to disfigurement and complications such as vision or hearing loss.

Where to Seek Treatment for Truck Accident Injuries

It’s important to get immediate treatment after a truck accident, as the adrenaline from the crash can mask the pain of hidden injuries. Many victims initially report feeling fine after crashes involving large trucks, only to develop serious and potentially life-threatening complications later due to internal injuries.

Local clinics and hospitals that provide walk-in, emergency, and specialty care include:

ThedaCare Urgent Care-Appleton

ThedaCare Regional Medical Center-Appleton

Ascension NE Wisconsin – St. Elizabeth Hospital

Types of Truck Accidents and How They Happen

Truck accidents can take many forms, each with its own causes and consequences. Due to their massive size and limited maneuverability, large trucks are involved in some of the most dangerous crashes on the road. Understanding how these accidents happen can help identify who may be at fault and how negligence may have played a role.

Here are some of the most common types of truck accidents:

• Rear-End Collisions: When a truck rear-ends a passenger vehicle, the force can crush the smaller car, especially at highway speeds. These accidents often result from distracted driving, speeding, or following too closely.
• Blind Spot Accidents: Large trucks have extensive blind spots on all four sides, particularly along the sides and rear. When a truck driver fails to check these areas before changing lanes or turning, smaller vehicles can be sideswiped or forced off the road.
• Jackknife Accidents: A jackknife occurs when the trailer swings out from behind the cab, forming an L or V shape. This can happen during sudden braking or on slick roads and often blocks multiple lanes of traffic, causing multi-vehicle pileups.
• Underride Accidents: These deadly crashes happen when a smaller vehicle slides underneath the trailer of a truck, often during sudden stops or rear-end collisions. The top of the smaller vehicle may be crushed, resulting in catastrophic or even fatal injuries.
• Rollover Accidents: Trucks have a high center of gravity and are prone to tipping over, especially on curves, during high winds, or when cargo is unevenly loaded. Rollovers can crush nearby vehicles or block entire roadways.

How Negligence Contributes to Truck Accidents

Many truck accidents are preventable and occur due to human error or failure to follow safety protocols. Common forms of negligence that contribute to these crashes include:

• Distracted driving (such as texting or using navigation systems)
• Drowsy or fatigued driving, especially when violating federal rest requirements
• Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs
• Improper truck maintenance, such as worn brakes or faulty tires
• Negligent hiring or training by trucking companies
• Overloaded or improperly secured cargo, which can shift and destabilize the truck

When truck drivers or the companies they work for fail to uphold safety standards, the results can be devastating for everyone else on the road. Identifying the type of accident and the root cause is a critical first step in building a strong injury claim.

How to Report Your Appleton Truck Accident

Wisconsin law requires accidents to be reported to police if they result in:

• Injury of a person
• $1,000 or more in damage to a person’s vehicle or property
• Damage of $200 or more to state or other government-owned property other than a vehicle (for example, road signs or lampposts).

Most truck accident cases get reported automatically when police and other emergency responders are dispatched to the scene. However, it doesn’t always happen, especially in the event of hit-and-runs. The links can below can help you report a crash and look up an existing crash report:

• Wisconsin DOT Driver Report of Crash

Use this link to report the crash to the Wisconsin DOT.

• Appleton Police Department Accident Report Inquiry

Use this link to request a copy of your accident report.

Compensation for Appleton Commercial Truck Accident Victims

From the moment we begin helping you with your truck accident claim, we’ll take the time to get to know you and the details of your case. Taking the time to understand your damages allows us to pursue all possible compensation options for your accident. The most common types of compensation available to truck accident victims include:

• Current and future medical expenses related to your truck accident injury
• Lost wages while recovering from your injury
• Loss of earning capacity if your injury leaves you disabled
• Pain and suffering

At Brian Hodgkiss Injury Lawyers, it’s our goal to get you the best possible results for your truck accident claim. Our case reviews are free, and our legal team is available 24/7.

What Our Semi-Truck Accident Attorneys Can Do for You

When you hire Brian Hodgkiss Injury Lawyers to represent you, we will get started right away investigating the cause of the accident to determine who may be at fault. Truck accidents can be caused by driver fatigue, reckless driving, negligent maintenance or inspections, defective parts used in the truck, regulation violations, and more.

Truck accident regulations are complex, and it’s common for one or more to be violated leading up to an accident. We can comb through police reports, photos and videos of the accident scene, the truck’s “black box” data, and accident reconstruction analysis to determine if the truck driver, company, or loader violated regulations concerning hours of service, cargo securement, weight limits, and more.

Next, we can file a claim on your behalf, including our demands for compensation. If negotiations with the insurance company fall through and we can’t get the settlement we believe you deserve for your injuries, we aren’t afraid to bring your case to court.

How Much Does It Cost to File a Truck Accident Lawsuit?

You don’t pay us anything unless we win your case. Even your consultation is free! We believe that the last thing you need to worry about when you are recovering from truck accident-related injuries is whether or not you can afford a lawyer.

Need an Appleton Truck Accident Lawyer? Bank on Brian!

If you or someone you love were injured in a truck accident, you may be entitled to significant compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Brian Hodgkiss Injury Lawyers knows the trucking laws in Wisconsin, and we’re ready to put our knowledge and experience to work for you. After a truck accident, Bank on Brian! Contact us 24/7 at (920) 486-9630 or fill out our free consultation form to get started today.