Schneider National Carriers, Inc. is a leading provider and one of the largest trucking companies of cargo shipments and logistics services.
The company offers an extensive portfolio of trucking solutions, including van truckloads, regional deliveries, dedicated services, bulk transport, intermodal services, logistics, and supply chain management.
In business for over 78 years, funded by Al Schneider, it maintains its headquarters in Green Bay, Wisconsin. With proximity to Chicago, Schneider National regularly uses Illinois roads and highways.
As leaders in trucking accident cases, the personal injury attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC is committed to providing the most aggressive representation for people injured in accidents with semi-trucks. If you or a loved family member were injured in a Schneider national truck crash, contact our truck accident lawyers at (888) 424-5757 for a free review of your case.
Contact information for Schneider National Carriers, Green Bay, Wisconsin:
Schneider National
3101 South Packerland Drive
Green Bay, Wisconsin 54306
(800) 558-6767
Website Address: https://schneider.com/
Schneider National Truck Accident Cases, Drivers & Trucking Company Fleet Size
The Schneider company employs over 16,000 drivers operating more than 9,200 large commercial trucks across Canada and the United States. Truckers for the company in northern America travel millions of miles every year.
Statistics from early 2014 by FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration) state that routine inspections by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) have necessitated the removal of 1,190 vehicles from Schneider’s fleet of 9,262 trucks in the previous 24 months due to federal regulations. Also, 122 of the 16,047 drivers have been let go during the same time.
These numbers represent 12.8 percent of the total number of Schneider’s vehicles removed from service, compared to 20.72 percent of the national average. The statistics also indicate that 0.8 percent of the total number of drivers (122 out of 16,047) removed is much lower than the national average of 5.51 percent.
But in the trucking industry, any company with as many vehicles on the road will inevitably cause a few accidents.
Schneider truck drivers have a good accident record. They have a slightly lower rate of accidents per mile compared to other trucking companies of similar size.
Serious Commercial Truck Accidents
Like all large commercial trucking companies, this company has been involved in catastrophic trucking accidents. In the 24 months before February 2014, many company truck drivers were involved in a Schneider trucking accident. Of the 875 accidents on record, there were 258 victims with serious injuries and 22 fatalities.
Unfortunately, because of the sheer weight and size of large commercial vehicles, any truck crash with a passenger vehicle can have a devastating outcome. Commercial vehicles weigh tens of thousands of pounds, including 18-wheelers, semi-tractor-trailers, and cargo vans.
Through reckless action, including distracted driving, road hazards, or faulty equipment, even a simple collision can cause a life-threatening injury or instant death.
Collisions Involving Schneider Trucks
Schneider National Truck Carriers is one of the trucking companies known for operating their vehicles in a very safe manner and keeping their large truck fleet properly maintained.
Even so, many of their truck drivers work on highly demanding schedules, with tight constraints for delivering cargo across the nation.
These demands for transporting the freight on time often cause the Schneider driver to make poor driving decisions. Other times, maintenance crews, mechanics, dispatchers, and management are negligent in their actions, which causes the Schneider truck accident.
The most common causes of a Schneider National truck accident involved:
- Driving while fatigued: Truckers who drive the legal “hours of service” every day can become overly tired, which often leads to an increased potential of a devastating accident, often considered the truck driver’s fault.
- Driving while distracted: A trucker can become easily distracted by texting, talking on a smartphone, checking locations on a GPS system, speaking to passengers, or becoming listless behind the wheel.
- Truck driving violations: These violations ignore safety regulations and might involve exceeding the speed limit by 15 miles an hour over the posted limits, making erratic or improper lane changes, or following too close behind.
- Vehicle maintenance violations: Often, commercial vehicles have mechanical failures from defective tires, axles, braking systems, brake pads, and other components on the vehicle.
- Truck driver service violations: The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) requires all experienced and new drivers to follow hours of service rules and records of duty status to automatically identify any driver service violation. How truck companies treat their workers has a direct impact on public safety.
Sample Settlements and Verdicts for Personal Injury & Wrongful Death Lawsuits Involving Schneider Trucks
$8,300,000 Illinois Award
A woman drove her children home on a stormy night in Joliet, Illinois. She drove up to an intersection with a malfunctioning stop light. A police officer was guiding traffic.
The woman obeyed the stop direction before proceeding into the intersection, where she was broadsided by a Schneider vehicle. The truck crash sent her vehicle across the road, causing her life-threatening injuries. Her children were not harmed.
After a thorough investigation, the judge eventually dismissed the case against the city. Lawyers representing Schneider National attempted to show the female driver had been intoxicated at the time of the Schneider truck accident, implying partial blame.
The plaintiffs responded to Schneider’s allegations that the trucker’s mistakes superseded the driver’s negligence, causing the Schneider truck crash. The juror’s cited the plaintiff’s awarding them $8.3 million.
The award was directed to the decedent’s children and the relatives listed as plaintiffs providing compensation for the Schneider truck crash-related expenses, including medical bills, lost wages, future lost earnings, pain, suffering, grief, and funeral/burial costs.
$36,500,000 California Award
Two married victims from India traveling to America to attend a reunion party were driving their Camry on Highway 10 when a Schneider semi-truck approached, attempting to pass their vehicle on the side.
The truck driver accelerated and swung into their lane, hitting the Camry on the side and forcing the vehicle across three lanes of traffic, resting in a ditch. The female Camry passenger suffered a spinal fracture at the C5 point, causing paralysis.
The family faced extensive medical expenses and filed a civil lawsuit against Schneider National. At trial, the injured parties (plaintiffs) sought damages against Schneider, citing their injuries, including trauma, pain, and medical costs.
In response, the trucking company attempted to blame the Camry driver (husband), and critiquing whether the woman’s medical bills were as high as claimed. The jurors sided with the plaintiffs (injured parties), awarding a staggering verdict of $36,500,000.
$695,000 Missouri Award
A Schneider vehicle quickly cut into the lane of a man driving his RV on a Missouri highway before darting into his lane. However, the driver’s movement blocked the RV driver’s visibility to see a state van ahead.
The trucker’s actions made the accident unavoidable, leaving an RV passenger severely wounded. The woman’s estate (plaintiff) reached a privately negotiated settlement with Schneider National. The truck accident injured the man driving his RV, including a traumatic brain injury.
The state of Missouri employed a more successful defense claiming that an arcane rule requiring truck operators to use the road shoulders did not lead to the plaintiff’s harm, placing sole responsibility on the trucking company.
Jurors awarded the plaintiff significantly less than average with a $695,000 verdict.
$1,012,000 Illinois Settlement
A Schneider National truck struck a seventy-five-year-old woman walking around a building in the quiet town of Park Forest, Illinois, when the trucker was exiting Sears.
The trucker had just made a delivery before the truck accident occurred. The woman’s severe injuries led to her death.
Several of her surviving children filed a civil claim against Schneider National, citing wrongful death caused by the trucking company’s negligence. The plaintiffs (the decedent’s children) sued for extensive financial and emotional damages.
Schneider resolved the wrongful death lawsuit outside of court due to the uncertainty of a jury’s verdict.
Legal Representation for Individuals & Families Involved in Schneider Truck Crashes
Victims of serious large commercial truck accidents suffering injuries or death are often denied monetary compensation. As a result, the victim will hire personal injury attorneys specializing in truck accidents.
Our personal injury attorney from Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, LLC will help you by bringing his extensive experience with reckless driving cases.
Contact us at (888) 424-5757 (toll-free phone call) for a free consultation and case evaluation to discuss the details of the truck accident involving a commercial vehicle. Our skilled attorneys assist clients in securing equitable restitution for the injuries, damages, pain, and suffering the victim has endured.
Our law firm accepts all personal injury cases through contingency fee agreements. This arrangement postpones any payment of upfront fees until after we have secured financial compensation on your behalf.
Our accident claim lawyers create an attorney-client relationship to provide confidentiality when discussing private information during a case evaluation.
