Atlanta Truck Accident Injury Attorney

In order to operate a large truck in Georgia, a driver must be in compliance with both state and federal operating laws. This means that the driver must:

• Have a commercial driver’s license— which, in order to do so, one:
  • Must be at least 18 years old.
  • Must meet federal medical certificate requirements (must be medically qualified to operate a truck safely).
  • Must attend a CDL school.
  • Must pass CDL tests.
• Meet hours of service requirements, which stipulate that a driver cannot drive more than eleven hours after ten consecutive hours off duty, and can only drive a maximum of ten hours after eight consecutive hours off duty.

Truck drivers are also obligated to follow all rules of the road and operate their vehicles with a high degree of care. When this duty of care is breached and causes an accident as a result, the truck driver or the trucking company can be held liable as such.

Not all truck wrecks require the assistance of a lawyer. As an example, if you got into a minor rear end collision on your way to the office, and only incurred a few hundred dollars of property damage, then a car accident lawyer is generally not necessary.

However, in the event that you suffer a physical or mental injury, particularly a serious injury, it is highly recommended that you contact a lawyer. A quality lawyer will explore all avenues to ensure you get just and adequate compensation. The following is a list of four specific circumstances where hiring a quality lawyer is strongly recommended:

Fault is Disputed

Just because you are injured in a crash does not mean the other party’s insurance carrier will compensate you. In Georgia, the negligent party is liable for the car or truck collision. In some cases, disputes arise over which party is to blame. Sometimes these disputes arise in good faith; however, in other cases, the dispute is caused by another driver lying to the responding officer or to their insurance company. Hiring an experienced automobile accident lawyer will ensure that a thorough investigation is conducted and the truth is revealed. If there is a dispute over fault in a truck accident claim, seeking legal protection is imperative.

You Have Non-Economic Damages

If you have sustained any form of non-economic damage from your car accident, such as pain and suffering, PTSD, depression, anxiety, loss of life enjoyment, or your spouse’s loss of consortium, a lawyer should be making your case for you. These damages can be substantial, but their very nature makes them difficult to quantify. Unfortunately, insurance companies often try to take advantage of this inherent ambiguity and try to pressure survivors into lowball settlements. A good lawyer will call them out on it.

The Insurance Company is Not Offering You a Full Settlement

Truck accident victims injured by another’s negligence are entitled to be made ‘whole’ by responsible parties. No, life may never be the same, especially if someone you love has died. But prevailing in a civil case will better prepare you for the next chapter. It can cover things like medical costs, rehabilitation expenses, property damage, lost wages, loss of earning potential, and wrongful death. Insurance companies are in the business of saving money. They’re going to try to pay as little as possible, if they can get away with it. If the insurance company has offered you a settlement that seems low, or if your claim has been denied, it’s time to contact a lawyer.

It Has Been More Than One Year Since Your Wreck

In any injury claim, it is important to act promptly. In Georgia, there is a strict, two-year statute of limitations for car accident injury and wrongful death claims. That may seem like a lot of time, but there’s often a lot that has to happen before you can officially file. If that claim is not filed within that two-year window, you risk foregoing any right to compensation. If more than one year has passed since your injury and you are still dealing with the insurance company, it is long past time you called a lawyer.

Large trucks have long been problematic on Georgia’s rural roads and highways.

In the release of recent large truck crash statistics, the FMCSA’s Analysis Division, reported the number of large trucks involved in fatal crashes spiked 10 percent in a single year, totaling 4,657. Even accounting for the uptick in the number of miles large trucks traveled, the rate increased 6 percent, from 1.48 fatal truck crashes per 100 million miles to 1.56. The number of people injured in large truck/bus crashes went from 138,000 nationally in 2015 to 180,000 in 2016. One-third of all deadly crashes in highway work zones involved a large truck (in excess of 10,000 pounds). More than 10 percent of all deadly large truck crashes resulted in more than one fatality.

In Georgia, data shows that we went from a steady average of 153 large truck crashes from 2009 to 2014 to a sudden jump to 214 in 2017. Of those, 195 (or 91 percent) were fatal. Most of those deaths (82 percent) were occupants of other vehicles — primarily attributed to the size and weight disparity between passenger cars and these 10,000+ pound behemoths.

Truck drivers are held to a higher duty of care when operating commercial vehicles, whether delivery vans or tractor-trailers, which, fully loaded, can weigh 80,000 pounds. The stopping time and distance are longer, the blind spots are wider, and maneuverability is limited. Even the loads themselves can be dangerous.

That is why federal regulators impose additional responsibility on not only the drivers and their employers, but also on companies that own the trucks and the goods onboard, as well as truck and part manufacturers, including those responsible for maintenance. Each has statutory responsibilities to make sure every trip is as safe as possible.

As monitored by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, some of these duties include ensuring that:

• Drivers do not exceed the stringent Hours of Service Regulations, which aim to reduce the impact of fatigued truckers (sleep deprivation is known to be as dangerous as alcohol impairment on the road, per the National Sleep Foundation).
• Drivers are properly trained and credentialed to operate the type of commercial vehicle with which they’re entrusted.
• Truckers are medically fit to drive (i.e., they don’t suffer from seizure disorders, visual impairments, diabetes, etc.).
• Commercial trucks are in good working order, with properly-functioning brakes, tires, fluids, fog lamps, horns, radios, and other key safety parts.
• Trucks are not overloaded or improperly loaded, as an overweight or unevenly packed truck can be unstable and more likely to crash.
• Commercial vehicles hauling hazardous material use extra caution to avoid collisions or aggravating factors that could cause mass casualties or environmental/property damage.
• All trucks and drivers are properly insured per FMCSA rules with public liability and general liability insurance.

This may seem like a lot, but it’s not even an exhaustive list. Unfortunately, many truckers, carriers, and owners fall short of these obligations. Every year, the FMCSA places thousands of large trucks, their drivers, and motor carriers out of service for violating those rules. Sometimes, violations aren’t caught until it’s too late.

If you’re injured in a Georgia truck accident, call the truck accident lawyers with a track record of proven experience and success in these cases.

According to Georgia’s statute of limitations (GA Code § 9-3-33), any personal injury lawsuit that arises from a car/truck accident/injury must be filed within 2 years of the accident occurring. Based on this statute, if an injured victim of a truck accident tries to file their lawsuit after the 2-year window, the court will, in most cases, refuse to hear it and the victims will lose any right to receive compensation for their injuries.

Another important thing to consider is that if insurance companies are involved, oftentimes these companies engage in stalling tactics to delay proceedings and avoid paying the victims anything. Based on this, it is best to take legal action regarding your single-vehicle accident injury as soon as possible. At Apolinsky & Associates, LLC, our Atlanta personal injury lawyers take the time to collect evidence and witness statements in pursuit of your truck accident lawsuit.