Rockford truck accident lawyers

Air cargo is a large part of it. Chicago Rockford International Airport says it has been home to the second largest UPS hub in North America since 1994 (opens in a new tab), alongside other cargo carriers.

Air freight reaches and leaves the airport by road. The state’s freight plan for the region says the growth of cargo operations at the airport has resulted in significant roadway congestion in and out of its cargo facilities (opens in a new tab).

The interstates carry the rest. The same plan reports that the highest truck volumes in the department’s northwestern district are on I-90 near Rockford (opens in a new tab).

The name painted on a truck is not always the company that employs its driver. Federal marking rules help: the truck must display the operating carrier’s name and USDOT number (opens in a new tab).

When the driver owns the truck and leases it to a carrier, the lease must give that carrier exclusive possession, control and use of the equipment (opens in a new tab) for as long as the lease lasts.

So the first job in a Rockford truck case is often identification. We work from the door markings, the police report and the carrier’s federal registration to find the company that was responsible for the truck that day.

Usually in the Circuit Court of Winnebago County, part of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, at the Winnebago County Courthouse on West State Street (opens in a new tab).

A carrier from another state may be able to move the case to federal court (opens in a new tab). Winnebago County belongs to the Western Division of the Northern District of Illinois, and federal law lists Rockford among the places where that court is held (opens in a new tab), so the case can stay in the city either way.

Illinois gives most injury claims two years (opens in a new tab). If the person hurt was a child, the action can generally be brought within two years after the child turns 18 (opens in a new tab).

A crash with a city, county or other local government vehicle is different: the claim must be filed within one year (opens in a new tab).

The driver’s logs are only required to be kept for 6 months (opens in a new tab). An early written request asks the carrier to keep them past that minimum.