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CRST Truck Accident
Attorneys for People Injured in Accidents With CRST Trucks
Were you injured, or did you lose a loved one in an accident involving a CRST transport truck? Contact the semi-truck accident attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, LLC at (888) 424-5757 (toll-free phone calls) to schedule a free case review and consultation.
Let a trial attorney from our firm with years of experience work on your behalf to protect your rights and build your case to ensure you receive the compensation you deserve. All information you share with our law office remains confidential.
About CRST International
Herold and Miriam Smith founded CRST in 1955. The couple ran the company until 1983 when the company's presidency was taken over by Herold's son, John. CRST International has provided transportation solutions as one of the largest truck transport companies in the United States since its inception.
Initially, the company transported livestock from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with a Chicago, Illinois. The company filled empty trucks delivering goods in Chicago with heavy steel for the return load back to Cedar Rapids.
CRST International reinvests millions every year to ensure they maintain the newest equipment driven on the road by highly trained truck drivers using the latest advancements and logistics technology.
In 1997, annual revenues reached $300 million. During that time, the company's founder's son purchased CRST International from the family. In 2018, the company generated more than $1,448,000,000, operating over 4500 trucks driven and maintained by 5000 employees and contractors in North America.
In 2011, the Company acquired Specialized Transportation Inc. (Fort Wayne, Indiana) and, in 2013, Special Products Division of Allied Van Lines and the short-haul flatbed specialized trucking company BESL Transport (Cincinnati, Ohio). CRST moved into new offices in 2014, located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
CRST International is an LTL (less than truckload) carrier, meaning CRST delivers mixed freight. This type of trucking is opposite a truckload (LT) carrier that transports trucks containing similar products, goods, and materials to multiple locations.
CRST Expedited provides dedicated and specialized transportation services with offices, truck driver terminals, and distribution centers located throughout the continental United States and Canada.
Contact information for CRST International headquarters include:
201 1st St. SE.
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 5241
Email: info@crst.com
(800) 736-2778 (CRST Expedited)
(800) 443-0940 (CRST Specialized Transportation Fort Wayne Indiana)
Website: https://www.crst.com/
Common Cause of a Large Commercial Vehicle Accident
According to the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), many truck accidents in the United States, including large commercial vehicles, involve:
- Distracted Driving - Truckers are often distracted while looking at their GPS device, talking on a smartphone, reading text messages or emails, grooming, talking to passengers, or eating/drinking beverages while driving.
- Driver fatigue - Maintaining tight schedules often means the trucker must drive for hours on end, which can lead to fatigue and drowsy driving.
- Driving Under the Influence - If the trucker's involved in an accident, law enforcement will often perform a test at the accident scene to determine if the truck driver consumed alcohol or took illegal drugs.
- Improper Use of the Lane - Motorists will often underestimate the amount of space they have when merging or performing passing maneuvers. A large commercial vehicle is limited in its capacity to make fast changes due to poor visibility and the length of space required to come to a complete stop.
- Adverse weather –Any dangerous road condition or adverse weather could create a hazardous environment that leads to a multi-vehicle pileup or catastrophic accident.
- Aggressive Behavior - Any aggressive behavior by a motorist in a car or truck involved in a collision could kill, injure, or maim innocent victims, including others in a passenger car.
Many times, the semi-truck driver has an accident due to erratic movements behind the wheel, distracted driving, or tiredness. In these cases, the trucker and the trucking company should be held legally liable for causing the crash and all the costs associated with injuries or wrongful death of innocent victims.
Accidents Involving Trucking Companies: Severe Injuries and Fatalities
CRST truck crash statistics show that the truck company has an average number of catastrophic truck accidents every year, involving severe injuries and fatalities.
In April 2021, a man died at the scene of a horrific truck accident, the cause being a runaway cement truck colliding with a CRST semi-tractor-trailer hauling alcoholic products. The cement truck driver failed to stop when entering the intersection without stopping, driving through a red light.
Five years ago, in El Paso, a CRST truck crashed into a commercial building, causing significant injury and damage. The truck could not be removed until nineteen days later after the building's structure was stabilized.
In June 2018, the Wyoming Supreme Court decided by majority opinion that CRST must defend a wrongful death lawsuit at trial involving a fatality two years earlier. The fatal accident involved a passenger vehicle rear-ending a parked CRST truck in Utah, claiming the life of a thirty-nine-year-old Casper, Wyoming driver.
Court documents show that before sunrise, the CRST co-drivers parked the semi-tractor on the Interstate 80 emergency lane, turning on their hazard lights. One driver told the other driver inside the vehicle that they felt drowsy and needed to switch places.
Moments later, a Mazda CX 9 rear-ended the semi's trailer. Police reports had no evidence to indicate that the passenger vehicle driver braked before colliding with the truck.
The decedent's estate personal injury attorneys accused CRST International employees of illegally parking on the interstate's emergency lane, claiming that the laws do not allow parking in that location except for an emergency.
A couple of years earlier, the district court awarded CRST International and the truck drivers a summary judgment stating that parking illegally was not the accident's proximate cause. Two years later, the Wyoming Supreme Court overturned the appellate court decision, allowing the lawsuit to proceed.
Filing a Compensation Claim for Personal Injury Caused by a Truck Accident
All parties injured in a crash involving a cargo van, commercial truck, or semi-tractor-trailer have a legal right to seek financial compensation through a claim or lawsuit against all responsible parties at fault for the collision.
You can resolve your case successfully if you abide by state tort laws when presenting evidence in front of a judge or filing a claim with the insurance company adjuster. These cases tend to be highly complex and often require a personal injury attorney with years of experience in handling truck accident cases.
The injured victim typically has the right to file a compensation case or lawsuit against all responsible parties to negotiate an acceptable out-of-court settlement or litigate the case in front of a judge and jury.
Hiring a personal injury attorney to file a truck accident claim is the first legal remedy available to injured victims to ensure they can receive financial compensation for their damages, including:
- Hospital bills, medical expenses, and the cost of rehabilitation and therapy
- Loss of past, current, and future earnings due to a permanent or temporary disability
- Rental vehicle costs while your damaged vehicle is under repair
- Physical damages, including the loss of your vehicle
- Mental stress and emotional anguish
- Pain and suffering
Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC can Make the Difference
The attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC are ready to hear your case if a large commercial truck caused your injuries or the loss of a loved one through wrongful death.
Our aggressive legal firm will represent your family and develop an effective strategy for fighting back against the commercial vehicle company wanting to avoid legal responsibility for causing your injuries or wrongful death.
Contact our law firm today at (888) 424-5757 (toll-free phone call) to schedule a free consultation and case review. Let us begin working on your case now.
We accept every accident injury case through a contingency fee arrangement. This agreement will ensure that you do not pay anything until after we have negotiated an acceptable out-of-court settlement or won your case at trial.
All evidence and information you share with our truck accident attorneys remain confidential through an attorney-client relationship. Our law firm represents clients in numerous practice areas including car accidents, medical malpractice, product liability, construction site accident, defective medications, premises liability, slip and fall accidents.