Living and working in Schaumburg means you’re used to sharing the road with trucks. From Woodfield Road to I-90 and Route 53, our streets and highways carry a high volume of semi-truck traffic. These trucks are essential for business and commerce in and around Schaumburg, Arlington Heights, and Palatine. But there’s a hidden threat that many drivers don’t recognize until it’s too late. It’s called an underride accident, and it can change your life in an instant.
Underride crashes happen when a car goes underneath the rear or side of a trailer. The results are almost always catastrophic. The upper part of the car is often crushed or sheared off completely, putting drivers and passengers at serious risk of fatal or life-altering injuries. These collisions are especially deadly because standard safety features like airbags and seatbelts offer little to no protection in this type of crash.
We’ve seen these cases up close. Families come to us after a collision on Golf Road or Higgins, devastated by injuries they didn’t even understand were possible. They thought the impact would be like any other crash. Instead, they faced brain trauma, paralysis, or death. And often, it could have been prevented.
Unlike most collisions, underride accidents involve the entire front of a passenger car slipping under the trailer of a large truck. The first point of impact is not the bumper. It’s the windshield and roof. That means the people inside are exposed directly to the crushing force of the truck’s steel frame. When this happens, survivors are rare, and those who do survive face extreme trauma, including skull fractures, traumatic brain injuries, amputations, or spinal cord damage.
Rear underride crashes can happen in an instant. A truck stops unexpectedly on Route 72, and a vehicle behind it has no chance to stop in time. Without an underride guard or with a poorly maintained one, that car goes straight underneath.
Side underride crashes are also common in Schaumburg and the surrounding area. A truck makes a wide turn or crosses multiple lanes, and a driver crashes into the side of the trailer, especially at night or in bad weather. The lack of side guards allows the vehicle to slide underneath with deadly consequences.
The trucking industry is well aware of the dangers of underride crashes. The National Transportation Safety Board has pushed for stronger regulations, and safety advocates have long demanded side and rear underride guards. Yet many trailers on the road in Illinois still don’t have adequate protection.
Some companies install outdated or damaged guards. Others fail to maintain them or ignore safety recommendations entirely. Meanwhile, innocent drivers pay the price. We’ve handled cases involving trailer underride deaths that could have been prevented by a $200 repair or a basic safety upgrade.
Underride crashes involve many moving parts, literally and legally. It’s not just about the driver of the truck. These cases may involve the company that owns the trailer, the manufacturer of the underride guard, the maintenance contractor, and even the shipper that loaded the cargo.
We investigate every potential source of liability. In Schaumburg and surrounding communities, we often find that trucks are operated by multiple entities across different states. That means your case can become a multi-defendant lawsuit with layers of insurance policies and defense attorneys trying to minimize your injuries or deny fault.
We don’t let that happen. We work with engineers and crash reconstruction professionals who understand how these accidents occur and why they’re often preventable. And we move quickly to preserve the physical evidence before the trailer is repaired, sold, or destroyed.
The injuries in an underride crash are some of the worst we’ve seen. Victims often suffer skull fractures, severe brain injury, cervical spine trauma, loss of limbs, internal bleeding, and burns. Even when someone survives, they may never return to their previous way of life. They may need 24-hour care, multiple surgeries, and long-term rehabilitation.
We build every case with this in mind. We work with medical experts to understand what your recovery will cost, not just today, but for the rest of your life. If you’ve lost a loved one, we’ll pursue wrongful death damages to cover funeral costs, loss of companionship, and the future support your family depended on.
An underride accident occurs when a smaller vehicle crashes into the side or rear of a large truck and slides underneath the trailer. This typically happens when the truck stops suddenly, turns across traffic, or is not clearly visible. In these cases, the front of the passenger vehicle is forced under the trailer, often crushing or shearing off the upper part of the car. These accidents are especially deadly because seat belts and airbags offer little protection against the type of crushing injuries that occur when a car hits a steel frame instead of a bumper.
Federal law requires most trailers to have rear underride guards that meet minimum strength standards. However, these rules do not currently require side underride protection. The problem is that even rear guards often fail to meet today’s safety expectations, especially if they’re old, corroded, or poorly maintained. Some states are pushing for stronger protections, but many trucks still operate without adequate underride guards. When a crash occurs, the condition of the guard, or lack of one, can become a key issue in the legal case.
Injuries from underride crashes are often catastrophic. Victims may suffer traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, decapitation, facial fractures, crushed limbs, internal bleeding, or death. These injuries are not minor. We have worked with families in Schaumburg and surrounding cities who lost loved ones or faced a lifetime of medical care because of a trailer that lacked proper guards or was parked in a dangerous position. These cases often lead to high-stakes litigation because of the severity of the harm and the long-term financial consequences.
Proving fault in an underride case requires an aggressive and thorough investigation. We review truck maintenance records, crash reports, black box data, and, when available, surveillance footage. We also examine the condition and design of the underride guard, the actions of the truck driver, and the trucking company’s training policies. In some cases, we find that drivers violated hours-of-service rules, performed unsafe turns, or parked illegally. In others, the guard failed due to poor design or neglect. Every detail matters, and we build the case from the ground up.
If you lost a family member in an underride collision, you may have the right to file a wrongful death claim. That claim can cover funeral expenses, lost income, loss of companionship, and future financial support. We understand that no amount of money can replace your loss, but filing a claim can hold the responsible parties accountable and provide the financial resources your family needs. We recommend contacting our office as soon as possible so we can begin preserving evidence and protecting your rights before records are lost or altered.
At SJ Injury Law, we represent individuals and families across Schaumburg, Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Des Plaines, Elk Grove Village, Mount Prospect, Palatine, and Rolling Meadows who have suffered catastrophic injuries in truck crashes. If you or someone you love has been hurt in an underride accident, we can help you understand your rights and take the next step forward.
If you or your loved one has been involved in a catastrophic underride crash in Schaumburg, Chicago, or anywhere in Illinois, call us now. We proudly serve Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Des Plaines, Mount Prospect, Northbrook, Palatine, Prospect Heights, Wheeling, Park Ridge, Rosemont, Glenview, and the surrounding region.
If you or a loved one suffered a catastrophic injury in a truck crash, contact our Schaumburg truck accident lawyers to receive your free consultation when you call (847) 434-3555.
Client injured by a distracted driver who was texting at the time…
Student was injured and fractured several bones and required surgery to…
While at work operating a piece of manufacturing equipment, the safety…
Woman was bitten on her face by what she believed to be a vicious…
Our client suffered a back injury and will undergo spine surgery…
Client's vehicle was forced into oncoming traffic, colliding with a semi-truck...
We are highly experienced personal injury lawyers. We know how to help accident victims receive the full financial compensation they deserve. Our Winning Team is focused, dedicated, and sensitive to each of our client's needs. We are here to help you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.