Primary Location
Phoenix Personal Injury Lawyers
2700 N Central Ave Suite 320, Phoenix, AZ 85004, United States
Phone: (602) 905-7766
Call us at (855) 855-8910
Call us at (855) 855-8910
Seventy feet of steel, diesel, and cargo. That is what is trying to make a right turn at the same intersection you are sitting at. And most drivers in Phoenix have no idea how bad it can go.
Here's what happens. The cab swings left to set up a right turn. You see the truck drift left and figure it's changing lanes. So you pull forward into the gap. Then the trailer cuts right and pins your car against the curb. That's a right turn squeeze, and it happens fast.
Wide left turns? Just as ugly. The trailer tracks a completely different arc than the cab. It drifts into the adjacent turning lane and catches vehicles that had no reason to expect contact.
A few things make this worse than you'd think:
Central Ave, Grand Ave, the I-17/I-10 stack. These Phoenix corridors see nonstop commercial truck traffic. Distribution hubs in west Phoenix and the Deer Valley industrial area funnel semis through the same intersections you drive through every day.
Wide-turn crashes are a small but brutal slice of our Phoenix 18-wheeler cases — the driver training failures behind them show up across jackknife, rollover, and underride files too.
Pedestrians stepping into a crosswalk get caught in the same right-side blind zone, which is why pedestrian blind-spot crashes often share the exact same reconstruction experts and scene geometry as wide-turn cases.
Right turn squeeze crashes don't look like your typical fender bender. We're talking about a vehicle getting compressed between an 80,000-pound truck and a curb or guardrail. The physics are brutal.
Crush injuries top the list. Your car gets pinned and the force damages bones, organs, and soft tissue in ways that sometimes take weeks to show up. Shattered knees. Broken hips. Dislocated joints. These are the injuries our firm sees over and over in squeeze crash cases.
A lateral hit can slam your head into the B-pillar or side window. That's how traumatic brain injuries happen in these wrecks, even when the vehicle doesn't roll. Closed-head injuries from a hard sideways jolt cause memory problems, mood changes, and concentration issues that last months or longer.
Spinal cord damage is on the table too. When a truck compresses your vehicle, the force can herniate discs, crack vertebrae, or cause partial paralysis. We recovered $2.82 million for someone hit by a turning semi who ended up with permanent injuries from the impact.
Beyond the physical injuries, people deal with:
And here's something most people outside Arizona don't think about. Phoenix summer heat. If you're stuck inside a pinned vehicle waiting for fire rescue to cut you out, cabin temperatures rocket past 150 degrees. That makes every injury worse.
The same blind-spot mechanics that cause wide-turn squeeze crashes also drive cyclist right-hook crashes at Phoenix intersections, where a turning truck catches a rider going straight through.
So who pays? The truck driver is the obvious answer. But in these cases, the driver rarely carries the whole bill.
The driver. Didn't check mirrors. Skipped the turn signal. Swung into the turn without looking for cars, bikes, or pedestrians beside the trailer. Any one of those is negligence.
The trucking company. Here's what we tell clients. If the company hired someone without proper training, or if dispatchers pressured the driver to skip safety protocols and rush a delivery, that company shares the blame. FMCSA rules say trucking companies have to keep driver qualification files and training records [1]. Gaps in those records help us build your case.
Maintenance crews. A cracked mirror, a dead turn signal bulb, a worn-out steering linkage. If the shop missed it or used cheap replacement parts, they're on the hook.
The truck manufacturer. Bad mirror design or a defective power steering system can make a truck harder to turn safely. That's a product liability claim.
Cargo loaders. Stuff an extra five thousand pounds on a trailer and the turning radius changes. The driver planned for one arc. The overloaded trailer swings a wider one. If the loader ignored weight limits, they share fault.
We've handled cases with three or four defendants. Our attorneys recovered $1.6 million in a trucking wreck where fault landed on multiple parties. More defendants often means more insurance coverage available to you.
One thing people don't realize about Arizona. You can share blame and still collect. Arizona runs a pure comparative fault system. If a jury says you were 30% at fault, your award drops by 30%. But you still get the other 70. Even at 80 or 90% fault, you recover something. That's different from a lot of states.
A wide turn truck crash costs more than most people expect. Your medical bills are just the start. Arizona law allows claims for the financial hit and the personal toll.
Direct costs include:
Then there's the stuff without a receipt. The pain that wakes you up at night. Anxiety about driving through intersections. Missing your kid's soccer game because you couldn't get out of bed. Your spouse losing a partner in the ways that matter most.
Insurance adjusters will call with an offer designed to close your file, not cover your losses. Here's our advice: don't take it. Don't give a recorded statement. And definitely don't sign anything before you talk to a lawyer. You only get one shot at this.
What you do in the first 24 to 48 hours after a wide turn crash matters more than you think.
Get to a doctor. Today. Not next week. Adrenaline hides injuries, and crush injuries from a squeeze crash can take days to fully surface. A same-day medical record ties your injuries directly to the wreck.
Call 911. Phoenix PD or the Maricopa County Sheriff will respond depending on your location. Get the report number before you leave the scene. You'll need it.
Take photos of everything. The truck sitting sideways in the intersection. Tire marks. The traffic signals. Lane markings. Your bruises and cuts. Damage to your car from every angle. Use your phone and get 30 or 40 shots. More is better.
Write down the trucking company name off the trailer door. The driver's name, license plate, and insurance card. If there are witnesses, get their contact info.
When the trucking company's insurance adjuster calls, and they will, don't engage. They're not calling to help. They're building a defense. Anything you say becomes ammunition.
Call a Phoenix truck accident attorney before evidence vanishes. Black box data overwrites itself. Security cameras loop every 48 to 72 hours. Witness memories blur within weeks. Speed matters here.
Wide turn crashes actually leave a rich evidence trail. The trick is grabbing it before the trucking company's legal team swoops in.
Black box data (ELD records). Every commercial truck logs speed, hard braking events, and steering angle before impact. This tells us whether the driver checked mirrors, slowed for the turn, or plowed through without stopping.
City traffic cameras and business surveillance. A lot of Phoenix intersections downtown and along major arterials run city-managed camera systems. Coffee shops, gas stations, and parking garages near the crash site may have footage too.
Hours-of-service logs.Federal law caps how long a trucker can drive before stopping to rest [1]. If the driver was on hour 13 of an 11-hour limit, that's a fatigue violation that proves they shouldn't have been driving.
Training and hiring records from the trucking company. We subpoena everything. If there's no documentation showing the driver received wide turn training, or if the company skipped a background check, that's powerful evidence.
Accident reconstruction. Our team works with engineers who map the trailer's off-tracking path and the exact point of contact. Juries respond to that kind of visual proof.
Eyewitnesses. The driver behind you. The pedestrian on the corner. Someone saw what happened, and their testimony fills in gaps that data can't.
We used this exact approach in a case that ended with a $7 million settlement. A semi-trailer slammed into our client on I-40. Black box data and driver records showed the trucking company had been cutting corners on safety for years.
The evidence playbook in wide-turn cases is the same one our Phoenix injury attorneys’ broader work uses every day — black box downloads, driver logs, maintenance records, and corporate policy discovery.
Here's what the insurance company is going to argue: you should have seen the truck turning. You drove into the blind spot. You should have waited.
Don't buy it.
Arizona runs pure comparative fault under A.R.S. 12-2505 [2]. That means even if a jury assigns you some blame, you still recover money. At 20% fault on a $500,000 claim, you take home $400,000. At 50% fault, you still collect half. Arizona doesn't cut you off at any threshold.
Our job is to push that fault number as low as possible. We do that by proving the truck driver never signaled, never checked mirrors, or turned without clearing the lane. When the ELD data backs up the story, juries listen.
But there's a hard deadline. A.R.S. 12-542 gives you exactly two years from the crash date to file a lawsuit [3]. After that, the courthouse door shuts.
And don't wait until month 23. Black box data has a limited shelf life. Camera footage gets recorded over. Driver logs get "lost." The earlier your attorney sends a spoliation letter demanding the trucking company preserve evidence, the more ammunition you have.
If your case goes to litigation, it will land in Maricopa County Superior Court. We know the procedures and the local filing requirements.
Our attorneys fight truck accident claims across Arizona. Here are outcomes from cases our team has handled.
A semi-trailer rear-ended a 62-year-old licensed vocational nurse on I-40. She suffered serious injuries. Black box data and driver safety records were the keys to this settlement.
A truck lost control and rolled over our client's vehicle. The injuries were severe, and we recovered every dollar the case justified.
Our attorneys negotiated a seven-figure resolution in a trucking collision involving specialized injury claims before the case went to trial.
Every case is different. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Our attorneys have handled personal injury cases across Arizona and California. We know how Phoenix insurance companies operate, and we know how to push back.
That number reflects real results for real families — medical bills paid, lost wages recovered, and futures protected.
You pay nothing upfront. Our fee comes out of your settlement or verdict. If we do not win your case, you owe us nothing.
Accidents do not follow business hours. Neither do we. Call (602) 905-7766 any time — nights, weekends, and holidays.
Our Phoenix team works out of 2700 N Central Ave, Suite 320. We know the roads, the courts, and the insurance adjusters you are up against.
“After a crash, you need a team that answers the phone, explains your options, and fights for every dollar you are owed. That is what we do at The Simon Law Group.”
Over 250 years of combined attorney experience
Phoenix office at 2700 N Central Ave, Suite 320 |
Licensed in Arizona and California
A right turn squeeze happens when a truck swings left before turning right, trapping a car between the trailer and the curb. These crashes are common at Phoenix intersections with heavy truck traffic, especially along routes near distribution centers and industrial corridors.
Yes. Pedestrians and cyclists hit by a turning truck can file claims for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Truck drivers are required to check for foot and bike traffic before turning. Failing to do so is negligence.
Arizona law gives you two years from the date of the crash under A.R.S. 12-542. Contact a lawyer early to preserve black box data and camera footage, which can be overwritten or deleted within days of the accident.
A typical semi is 70 feet long with a large turning radius. The trailer doesn't follow the cab's path, so drivers swing into adjacent lanes to avoid clipping the curb or fixed objects. That extra swing is what creates the danger zone for other vehicles.
Key evidence includes truck black box (ELD) data, traffic camera footage, driver logbooks, witness statements, and the trucking company's training and maintenance records. An attorney can send a preservation letter to prevent the trucking company from destroying this evidence.
Yes. Arizona's pure comparative fault rule lets you recover damages even if you share blame. Your award is reduced by your percentage of fault, but you're never barred from recovery. Even at 50% or more fault, you still collect in Arizona.
Our Location