A nonprofit built for the week after a truck crash

What we do

Three things. We provide funeral grants toward burial or cremation costs. We provide living-expense grants for rent, mortgage, utilities, groceries, and medical bills when a family’s income has been interrupted by a death or a hospitalization. And when a family asks about their legal options, we arrange a free 30–60 minute consultation with an independent personal injury attorney experienced in commercial truck cases.

Every one of those is free, and none of them require a family to file a claim, sign a contract, or hire anyone. Many of the families we help never pursue a case at all, and that is a completely acceptable outcome to us.

Why tractor-trailer crashes specifically

Large-truck crashes are different from ordinary collisions in ways that hurt families financially. The vehicles weigh up to 20 times more than a passenger car, so injuries are more severe. Liability is usually shared among several companies. And the evidence that determines what happened — electronic control module data, electronic logging device records, dispatch messages, maintenance files — sits in the hands of the trucking company and can be lawfully discarded on short retention schedules.

Meanwhile the carrier’s insurer often has an adjuster on the phone with the family within 48 hours. Families deserve to have someone on their side in that same window.

Our data

The fatality figures on this site come from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Traffic Safety Facts publications and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts, with additional context from the National Safety Council’s Injury Facts. Statutes of limitation are listed as general civil deadlines and are not legal advice — an attorney can tell you how they apply to your family’s situation.

How to reach us

Our phone line is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in English and Spanish. Call (888) 996-8814 or (202) 440-5214, or email help@avahelp.org. If you would rather start in writing, the intake form takes about 15 minutes and we respond within 24 hours.