To find the right lawyer for a wrongful death trucking accident, look for an attorney who handles trucking cases regularly, not just personal injury in general, then check their track record, ask about their access to crash investigators and evidence experts, and confirm they work on contingency.
At William S. Wojcik, Ltd., we've handled several trucking accident cases, including a $3.37 million settlement in a trucking accident involving a tractor-trailer collision, and a $3.4 million jury verdict in a separate auto and trucking case.
If you'd rather skip the research and talk to someone now, contact our team at Wojcik Law or call 708-424-2121 for an immediate response.
Step 1: Confirm You're Dealing With a Wrongful Death Claim
If your family member died because of someone else's negligence - a truck driver running a red light, a trucking company ignoring maintenance, a driver pushed past legal hours-of-service limits, you likely have a wrongful death claim.
Under the Illinois Wrongful Death Act, your family can pursue compensation any time a death was caused by another party's wrongful act, neglect, or carelessness.
You don't need to be certain about the legal details before you start calling lawyers. That's what the consultation is for. If you want more background first, here's a broader legal guide for victims injured in a semi-truck accident in Illinois.
Step 2: Call a Trucking Accident Lawyer Before You Do Anything Else
Speed matters more here than in most legal situations, and it affects which lawyers can actually help you.
Trucking companies often have investigators at the scene within hours. Their job is to protect the company, not your family. Meanwhile, evidence that could prove what happened, such as the truck's electronic logging data, black box records, and driver logs can be legally overwritten or destroyed if no one sends a formal demand to preserve it.
The sooner you have a trucking accident lawyer working on this, the more of that evidence is still around to use.
Don't wait until you've made a final decision on who to hire.
Call Wojcik today at 708-424-2121. We'll start working on evidence preservation the same day, whether or not we end up being your final choice.
Step 3: Look for Trucking Experience, Not Just Personal Injury Experience
Don’t make this mistake: hiring a lawyer who's good at car accidents and assuming that's close enough.
Trucking accidents involve federal regulations and complexities that don't apply to regular car crashes:
How cargo has to be secured
How often a truck needs to be inspected
Rules about how long a driver can be on the road
A lawyer who doesn't work in this space regularly may not know to look for these violations, let alone how to prove them.
When you talk to a firm, ask directly: how many trucking accident cases have you handled in the last few years? Is this a regular part of your practice, or something you take occasionally? These questions are crucial when you consider the legal differences and difficulties between semi-truck accidents and car crashes.
Step 4: Check Their Track Record
Most law firms that handle serious injury and wrongful death cases publish their past results. Look for that page before you call.
You're looking for settlements and verdicts in trucking cases specifically, not just personal injury cases in general. A firm with a strong record of high-value trucking outcomes has shown they know how to build these cases and aren't afraid to take one to trial if the insurance company won't offer a fair settlement.
If a firm's published results are mostly slip-and-falls and minor car accidents with one or two truck cases mixed in, that tells you something too.
Review Wojcik's case results here to see what a strong trucking accident track record actually looks like.
Step 5: Ask About Their Resources and Access to Experts
Trucking cases often come down to evidence a regular car accident case never needs.
Ask whether the firm works with accident reconstruction experts, has investigators who can get to the scene quickly, and has experience subpoenaing a trucking company's internal records. A firm with these resources already lined up can move faster and build a stronger case than one that has to figure this out as they go.
This is also where the size and experience of a firm actually matters. A solo practitioner who's never needed to hire an accident reconstructionist may simply not have that relationship in place yet.
Wojcik Law has built these relationships over decades of handling semi-truck accident cases. You can read more about why that experience matters in trucking cases.
Step 6: Use Legal Directories & Consultations to Compare and Verify
Once you have a shortlist, a few resources can help you double-check what a firm tells you.
Illinois ARDC Attorney Search: verify a lawyer is actually licensed and in good standing in Illinois.
Chicago Bar Association: for finding a lawyer that can handle your case locally
Consult several lawyers: A 30-minute consultation should be enough to tell you whether their a good fit and understand your situation
Much like finding the right doctor, the best lawyer for your case can either be a recommendation from a friend you trust or by talking to several lawyers to decide who works best for you.
Step 7: Know Who's Legally Allowed to File A Wrongful Death
In Illinois, you can't file a wrongful death lawsuit just because you're the spouse, the child, or the parent of the person who died.
Under 740 ILCS 180/2, the case has to be filed by the personal representative of the deceased's estate - usually whoever was named executor in the will, or someone appointed by the probate court if there isn't one.
This sounds backwards, but it isn't a roadblock. Your trucking accident attorney can guide you through getting someone appointed if that hasn't happened yet; it's a routine part of starting one of these cases.
The compensation still goes to the surviving spouse and family, even though the lawsuit is filed in the representative's name.
Step 8: Confirm the Fee Structure in Writing
Reputable wrongful death attorneys work on contingency. That means you pay nothing upfront, and the firm only gets paid if they recover money for your family.
Get this in writing before you sign anything. Ask what percentage they take and whether that changes if the case goes to trial versus settling early. A firm that's upfront about this from the start is a good sign. If you're also wondering what kind of compensation is realistic in a case like yours, here's a breakdown of damages recovery in Chicago commercial truck accidents.
Step 9: Prepare for Your First Consultation
You don't need to have everything organized. Bring what you have.
The police report, if you have a copy
Photos or video from the scene
Medical records and the death certificate
Any letters or calls you've already gotten from the trucking company's insurance
Be ready to talk through what happened, your relationship to the person who died, and whether other family members might also have a claim. A good trucking accident attorney will use this conversation to tell you honestly where your case stands, not just to get you to sign paperwork.
Step 10: If the Accident Happened Outside Illinois
If the crash happened in Illinois, Illinois law applies and you can work with an Illinois firm.
If it happened in another state, you'll need a lawyer licensed there, most reputable firms can point you toward someone qualified if it's outside their area. Either way, don't wait while you sort out the jurisdiction question.
Schedule a Consultation With William S. Wojcik, Ltd.
William S. Wojcik, Ltd has handled wrongful death and trucking accident cases throughout Chicago and the southwest suburbs for over 38 years.
We work on contingency, we move quickly to preserve evidence, and trucking cases are a regular part of what we do, not an occasional one.
Contact Wojcik Law for a free consultation or call 708-424-2121, and we'll give you a straight answer about where your case stands.