A semi-truck cannot turn as sharply or easily as a passenger vehicle. To swing right, the driver often eases left first, and that gap on the right is where people get hurt.

If a truck crushed your vehicle while it was completing a turn, you need a wide-turn truck accident lawyer who understands how these crashes happen and how Wisconsin law decides who pays. The truck accident attorneys at Brian Hodgkiss Injury Lawyers help injured people across Green Bay and Brown County hold trucking companies accountable after a wide-turn or blind-spot collision.

These cases are rarely as simple as the trucking company wants you to believe. The driver may claim you were somewhere you should not have been, and the insurer may push a fast, low offer before you know the full cost of your injuries. Understanding what went wrong, and what the rules require, puts you in a much stronger position.

Contact us today to schedule a free consultation.

What Is a Wide-Turn or Squeeze-Play Truck Accident?

A wide-turn truck accident happens when a large commercial truck swings into more space than its own lane to complete a turn and collides with a vehicle, cyclist, or pedestrian beside it. Most of these crashes happen on right turns, and they have a name in the trucking world: the squeeze play.

Here’s how it unfolds: A driver preparing to turn right drifts left first to give the long trailer room to come around. To anyone behind or beside the truck, that can look like the truck is turning left or going straight, so a car slides up into the open lane on the right. As the trailer sweeps through the turn, it cuts back across that lane and crushes whatever is in the way.

Trucks have to turn wide for real reasons, and understanding them helps explain where the driver went wrong:

• Vehicle Length: A tractor-trailer can be more than 65 feet in length, so it physically cannot make the tight turn a passenger car can.
• Off-Tracking: The rear trailer wheels follow a tighter path than the front wheels, so the trailer tracks inside the line the cab takes through a turn.
• Pivot Points: The hinge where the tractor meets the trailer means the two halves of the truck move on different arcs.
• Blind Spots: The driver has a deep blind spot along the right side, which is exactly where the squeeze play puts a smaller vehicle.

Wide turns are sometimes unavoidable. Crashing while making one usually is not. Left-turn and roundabout versions of these crashes happen too, but the right-turn squeeze play is the most common and the most dangerous.

Common Causes of Right-Turn Truck Accidents

A properly trained driver knows how to make a wide turn without hitting anyone. When a wide-turn crash happens, it usually traces back to something the driver or the company failed to do.

• Failing to Check the Right-Side Blind Spot: The driver never confirmed the right lane was clear before swinging the trailer back through it.
• Swinging Too Far Left at the Start: Drivers are taught not to begin a right turn by veering left, and not to leave the right lane open for cars to slip into. Keeping the rear of the trailer near the curb is what blocks that gap.
• Weak or Missing Signals: A turn signal given too late, or not at all, leaves nearby drivers guessing about where the truck is headed.
• Speed, Fatigue, and Distraction: Taking a turn too fast, or with a tired or distracted driver, removes the margin that prevents a crash.

These standards are not just common sense. The Wisconsin Commercial Driver’s License Manual instructs drivers to turn slowly, signal early, keep the rear of the vehicle near the curb, and avoid starting a right turn by swinging wide to the left.

State law also requires that a right turn be made as close as practicable to the right-hand curb under Wis. Stat. § 346.31. When a truck driver ignores these rules, that failure becomes central evidence in your case.

Blind-Spot Mirrors, Cameras, and Sensors

Commercial trucks are required to carry mirrors that let the driver monitor the sides and rear of the trailer. Many companies now add side cameras, cross-view mirrors, and blind-spot sensors that warn the driver when something is alongside the truck.

When that equipment is available, and the driver still misses a vehicle in plain view of it, or when a company skips safety equipment its competitors use, that can support an argument that the crash was preventable.

Proving Negligence in a Wide-Turn Truck Case

Winning a wide-turn case comes down to showing what the driver and the company should have done and did not. The evidence that proves it tends to disappear quickly, which is why early action matters.

Important evidence includes:

• Black Box and ECM Data: A truck’s electronic control module records speed, braking, and steering inputs in the seconds before impact.
• Driver Logs: Hours-of-service records show whether the driver was fatigued or over the legal driving limit.
• Camera Footage: Dashcam, traffic-camera, and nearby business video can capture exactly how the turn was made.
• The Police Report: The responding officer’s findings and any citations help establish what happened.
• Training and Maintenance Records: These show whether the company put a properly trained driver in a properly maintained truck.

The duty of care a trucking company owes the public comes from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations and the CDL standards on truck turning. When the evidence shows a clear violation of those regulations or standards, it helps prove the crash was caused by negligence and not bad luck.

We move fast to send preservation demands, helping to ensure this evidence is not lost before anyone reviews it.

Who Can Be Held Liable in a Truck Accident?

One of the biggest differences between a truck case and a standard car crash claim is the number of parties who may share fault.

A wide-turn crash can involve several, including:

• The Truck Driver: For making an unsafe turn, failing to check blind spots, or ignoring CDL turning rules
• The Trucking Company: For poor training, negligent hiring, unrealistic schedules that push drivers, or failure to maintain equipment
• A Cargo Loader: If improperly loaded or unbalanced freight affected how the truck handled the turn
• A Maintenance Contractor: If a separate company was responsible for upkeep and neglected it
• A Parts Manufacturer: In rarer cases, if a defective component contributed to the crash

A government entity can also share responsibility when a poorly designed intersection or missing signage contributed to the crash.

Claims against a city, county, or state body in Wisconsin carry a strict deadline: you generally must file a formal notice of claim within 120 days under Wis. Stat. § 893.80. Missing that window can bar the claim entirely, so these situations need attention right away.

Wisconsin Law and Your Right to Compensation

Two parts of Wisconsin law shape a wide-turn truck crash claim: how fault is divided and how long you have to file.

How Fault Affects What You Recover

Wisconsin follows a modified comparative negligence rule under Wis. Stat. § 895.045. You can still recover damages as long as you are not more than 50% at fault for the crash.

Your recovery is reduced by your share of the blame. If a jury finds your total damages are $100,000 and assigns you 20% of the fault, you recover $80,000. If your share of fault climbs over 50%, you recover nothing.

This rule is exactly why trucking insurers work so hard to pin part of the blame on you. In a wide-turn case, the defense often argues you should not have been in the truck’s blind spot. A careful investigation, backed by the truck’s own data and the CDL turning rules, is how that narrative gets challenged.

Deadlines to File a Claim

For most truck-crash injury claims in Wisconsin, you have three years from the date of the crash to file a lawsuit under Wis. Stat. § 893.54. The deadline is different when a wide-turn crash is fatal.

Because the death arises from a motor vehicle accident, a wrongful death claim must be filed within two years of the date of death under Wis. Stat. § 893.54(2m). That shorter window catches many grieving families by surprise, so it is important to know which deadline applies to your situation.

Damages You May Be Able to Recover

Compensation in a wide-turn truck case can cover both immediate costs and long-term losses, including:

• Medical Expenses: Emergency care, surgery, hospital stays, and future treatment
• Lost Income: Wages you missed and reduced earning capacity if you cannot return to the same work
• Pain and Suffering: The physical pain and emotional toll the crash caused
• Property Damage: Repair or replacement of your vehicle and other damaged property

In a fatal crash, surviving family members may pursue a wrongful death claim. Economic losses such as medical bills, funeral costs, and lost financial support are not capped. Loss of society and companionship damages are subject to a statutory cap under Wis. Stat. § 895.04(4), so be cautious of any source that claims Wisconsin has no limits in fatal cases.

What to Do After a Wide-Turn Truck Crash in Green Bay

What you do in the hours and days after the crash can shape your claim. A few steps protect both your health and your case:

• Get medical care right away. See a doctor even if you feel okay, since serious injuries can surface later and your records tie them to the crash.
• Document the truck. Photograph the scene and capture the company name, the lettering on the trailer, and the license and USDOT numbers.
• Get witness information. Anyone who saw how the turn was made may be a key witness.
• Do not give a recorded statement. Politely decline to speak with the trucking company’s insurer until you have legal advice.
• Act quickly to preserve evidence. Logs and electronic data can be overwritten within weeks, so the sooner a lawyer sends a preservation demand, the better.

The large volume of traffic in Green Bay’s busiest turning environments raises the risk. Tight downtown intersections, the heavily traveled Webster Avenue and Military Avenue arterials, the WI-172 beltway interchanges, and game-day congestion near Lambeau Field all put commercial trucks and passenger vehicles in close quarters where a misjudged turn can become serious fast.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is a Squeeze-Play Truck Accident?

A squeeze-play crash happens when a truck swings left to begin a right turn, a car moves into the open lane on the right, and the trailer cuts back across that lane and strikes the car. The driver’s failure to block the lane or check the right-side blind spot is often the cause.

Who Is at Fault if a Truck Hit Me While Making a Wide Right Turn?

Fault usually falls on the truck driver or trucking company for an unsafe turn, a missed blind-spot check, or ignored CDL turning rules. A cargo loader, maintenance company, or government body responsible for the intersection can also share fault. Identifying every responsible party often increases the compensation available.

What Evidence Helps Prove a Blind-Spot or Wide-Turn Truck Crash?

Black box data, driver logs, dashcam and traffic-camera footage, the police report, and the company’s training and maintenance records are the most valuable evidence. Much of it sits in the trucking company’s control and can be erased quickly, so a preservation demand early helps keep it intact.

How Long Do I Have to File a Truck Accident Claim in Wisconsin?

For most truck-crash injury claims, you have three years from the date of the crash under Wis. Stat. § 893.54. If the crash was fatal, a wrongful death claim must be filed within two years of the date of death. Claims involving a government entity require a notice of claim within 120 days.

What if the Trucking Company Says I Was in the Truck’s Blind Spot?

Being in a blind spot does not automatically make the crash your fault. Drivers are trained to keep the rear of the trailer near the curb and to avoid swinging left in a way that invites cars up the right side. Wisconsin’s comparative negligence rule lets you recover as long as you are not more than 50% at fault.

How Much Does It Cost to Hire Bank on Brian for a Truck Accident Case?

There is no upfront cost. Bank on Brian handles injury cases on a contingency basis under the No Fee Guarantee®, which means you pay no attorney fee unless we recover compensation for you. Your first consultation is free.

Talk to a Green Bay Truck Accident Lawyer You Can Bank On

A wide-turn crash can leave you hurting, out of work, and facing a trucking company that already has investigators on its side. You do not have to take that on alone. Brian Hodgkiss is a local Green Bay truck accident attorney who knows these roads and knows how to dig into how a truck handled a turn that should have been routine.

Bank on Brian for a free, no-pressure consultation. With our No Fee Guarantee®, you pay no attorney fee unless we recover for you. When you are ready, contact us and we can talk through what happened and what comes next.