Because of their massive weight, large blind spots, and relative lack of maneuverability, large commercial trucks cause many serious highway accidents every year. Injured victims of truck accidents may face lifelong physical, emotional, and financial consequences.
If you have injuries resulting from a truck accident that was not your fault, Georgia law entitles you to pursue monetary damages from any responsible parties through a personal injury claim. Negligence plays a role in many truck accidents, and a dedicated personal injury lawyer could help you collect evidence to establish the other driver's liability.
With support from a Roswell truck accident lawyer at Atlanta Personal Injury Law Group, you could gain the compensation you need to move forward with your life. Contact our team to learn more today.
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Why Work with Atlanta Personal Injury Law Group After a Truck Accident?
Our Roswell truck accident attorneys from Atlanta Personal Injury Law Group represent victims hurt in truck wrecks in Fulton County. We believe victims of serious collisions with large commercial trucks deserve fair and just compensation for their injuries and related expenses. When a professional truck driver's negligence causes a crash and you face preventable injuries, we can work to hold the driver and their employer responsible.
Our legal team can provide you with compassionate support and aggressive legal representation during this difficult time. We can protect your rights and develop a strong compensation case, seeking financial compensation for your related expenses and losses. We can handle all aspects of your legal case while you continue your physical and emotional recovery from the accident.
Our truck accident clients often have serious injuries and undergo extensive treatment and rehabilitation. You may be facing weeks or months of missed income, or you may have the ability to return to work because of the lasting effects of your injuries. During this time, you can rest and recover while we fight for your best interests and pursue the compensation you need to cover your medical bills, lost income, and other damages.
Georgia Grants Legal Rights to Truck Accident Victims in Roswell
Under Georgia law, a traffic accident victim has a right to pursue damages for their crash and injuries from the legally liable party. The at-fault driver could bear responsibility, but others may be liable, too. These negligence laws allow victims to seek compensation for their related expenses and losses.
In general, we seek compensation for our Roswell clients by filing an insurance claim or suing the liable parties in Fulton County civil court. Whether we pursue one of these options or both depends on the case's circumstances and unique details. Most of our cases settle without going to court, but we do not back down from going to trial against a trucking company or their insurer because of their size or tactics.
Our attorneys can also often build a case against the trucking company thanks to Georgia's recognition of vicarious liability in truck accidents. This allows us to hold the driver's employer liable for their employee's negligence in causing the crash.
Bringing a Case for Serious Injuries in Georgia Truck Accidents
Big rigs are much larger and heavier than most other vehicles. This amplifies the forces in a collision. Many truck accident victims suffer serious or catastrophic injuries.
Our Roswell lawyers help clients seek compensation based on injuries that include:
- Spinal cord injuries
- Other back and neck injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
- Concussions and other head injuries
- Broken bones, crush injuries, and other serious fractures
- Internal bleeding and organ injuries
- Burns and scarring
- Soft tissue injuries
- Joint injuries
- Amputations and loss of use injuries
All too often, victims of truck accidents suffer devastating injuries that alter their lives instantly. If this happens to your loved one and they cannot act on their own, we can discuss your next steps with you. We also represent families in wrongful death actions when a loved one passes away from their injuries.
Compensatory Damages in Roswell Trucking Crash Claims
Damages in truck wreck cases should try to put the plaintiff in the same position they were in before the accident. Georgia law refers to this as βmaking the plaintiff whole.β A legal professional from our team could help a Roswell resident determine the full extent of the losses for which they might seek compensation.
Economic Damages for Tractor-Trailer Collisions
Economic damages are quantifiable expenses incurred by the plaintiff and their family because of the injury.
Depending on the circumstances, a plaintiff might seek compensation for:
- Lost earnings and other income, including tips, commissions, and other sources
- Medical expenses and future medical bills
- Home renovations necessary to accommodate the injury
- A family member's lost income if they served as a breadwinner
- Psychological counseling to deal with the accident's aftermath
- Any other expense that resulted from their injury
Non-Economic Damages for Truck Accident Victims
Non-economic damages compensate for the physical and emotional impact of the truck collision on the plaintiff and their family members.
An injured victim and their legal counsel could seek damages such as:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Mental anguish
- Loss of their ability to enjoy life
Unfortunately, truck accident injuries are often significant and could lead to permanent disability such as paralysis, traumatic brain injuries, or disfigurement. In wrongful death cases, a victim's family might also seek wrongful death damages for losing their loved one's support, companionship, or consortium, as well as for funeral and burial costs.
Punitive Damages for Reckless Truck Operators in Roswell
Georgia law allows an injured plaintiff to recover punitive damages under limited circumstances. Punitive damages work to penalize a defendant for especially egregious behavior and deter others from similar conduct.
Punitive damages are available only when a plaintiff can prove that their injuries resulted from a defendant's intentional or malicious behavior that recklessly put others at risk. For instance, driving under the influence can be grounds for seeking punitive damages.
Additionally, a commercial trucking company could intentionally fail to abide by federal regulations regarding driver training, work hours, or vehicle maintenance. In that case, an injured victim might be able to bring a claim against them for punitive damages. A truck accident attorney from Atlanta Personal Injury Law Group can determine whether we can seek punitive damages in your particular case.
Evidence in Roswell Tractor-Trailer Collision Cases
In many truck accident cases, multiple potentially responsible parties could exist.
A diligent attorney can look for evidence of negligence to support bringing a claim against various parties, such as:
- The truck driver
- The driver's employer
- The truck owner
- The truck maintenance company
- The company that loaded the truck
- The manufacturer of the truck and its components
- Other involved drivers
- The local government that is responsible for maintaining the road where the accident occurred
These cases also typically involve significant amounts of documentary evidence to establish the cause of the truck crash.
Compiling evidence of negligence requires the legal team from Atlanta Personal Injury Law Group to investigate:
- The truck's black box
- Maintenance records
- The driver's log
- Police reports
- Video footage
- Accident reconstruction
- A survey of the accident scene
- The victim's relevant medical records
- Expert opinions
- Witness statements
Securing this evidence immediately after the truck wreck can prove crucial, so injured victims should contact our team as soon as possible after a crash. The potentially liable parties could hold some essential evidence in these cases. We need to preserve it quickly to ensure the integrity of the case.
Common Causes of Roswell Truck Collisions
While each accident has unique circumstances, some common forms of negligence cause many truck collisions, including:
- Speeding and other aggressive driving behaviors
- Drunk or impaired driving
- Not checking adjacent lanes before merging or moving over
- Failure to yield
- Ignoring traffic signs or signal
- Lost cargo
- Cargo shifts and rollovers
- Distracted driving
- Drowsy driving, including hours of service violations
- Unfamiliar with roads or routes
- Inexperience with the truck or type of vehicle
- Poor vehicle maintenance
- Unbalanced, unsecured, or overloaded cargo
- Vehicle or parts failure, often with tires, brakes, or steering
Like with other traffic accidents, most truck collisions result from driver error or negligence. For instance, drug- and alcohol-impaired driving is a cause of serious truck accidents. Recently, more American workers are testing positive for drug use, including truck drivers. Labor shortages following the global pandemic may be part of this problem.
Roswell's location also brings a lot of heavy trucking trafficβand more congestion can mean more accidents. Five major state highways intersect in northern Fulton County, including State Route (SR) 400. This also includes SR 92, SR 9 (Alpharetta Highway), SR 120 (Roswell Road), and SR 140 (Holcomb Bridge Road). These highways provide easy access to several major interstates, including I-285, I-85, I-75, and I-20.
Fulton County is also home to several major trucking companies and therefore sees increased traffic.
This includes:
- United Parcel Service (UPS), the largest fleet of trucks in North America
- Saia in Johns Creek, GA
- Colonial Cartage Corp. in neighboring Cobb County
- U.S. Xpress Enterprises and Covenant Transport Services in nearby Chattanooga
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Roswell Truck Collision Cases
We can address specific questions about your truck accident and legal options during your initial consultation. However, you can read on to get answers to some of the most common questions we encounter from prospective clients.
Can I Sue the Truck Driver or Trucking Company?
Truck accident victims and their attorneys frequently file insurance claims and negotiate a fair settlement following a traffic accident. However, Georgia law allows those hurt in these crashes to sue the liable parties. Filing a lawsuit in a Fulton County civil court could allow you to receive compensation beyond what the insurer will offer during negotiations.
Alternatively, other circumstances could lead your attorney to recommend suing the truck driver and/or trucking company for damages. Victims have a right to take the case to a jury trial to get a fair and just verdict and award.
Do I Have to Hire a Lawyer to Handle My Truck Accident Claim?
Yes. You need a knowledgeable attorney on your side to manage your case and navigate the claims process for you.
Focusing on your treatment, healing, and recovery can prove much easier when you have someone else handling your claim and legal case. In addition, a Roswell truck accident attorney is familiar with these cases, the players in Fulton County civil court, the insurance companies, and possibly even the trucking company involved. An attorney from our team will seek the best possible financial recovery based on the caseβs details.
Should I Accept a Settlement Offer from the Trucking Company?
If you have a strong case after a crash, a trucking company or their insurer often reaches out to a victim and offers a payout. This may occur within days or weeks of the accident, usually before the victim becomes aware of their full expenses and losses. We recommend connecting with our team as soon as possible if this occurs. Never accept a settlement offer before you know the value of your claim.
It sometimes takes months before your injuries reach maximum medical improvement or your doctor has a better idea about your prognosis. Your medical bills may arrive over time, and the expenses could continue to add up for several months or even a year or more. Depending on your injuries, you could have future and ongoing expenses you must estimate before seeking compensation.
The trucking company wants you to accept a quick settlement because it knows this. The insurer and their policyholder may know you have a strong case, and they will have to pay out much more if you realize how much your case is worth. For this reason, they may try to settle with you before you hire a lawyerβand learn you deserve much more.
How Much Is My Roswell Injury Case Worth?
This is, perhaps, the most common question we hear from clients and potential clients. However, you won't know how much your Roswell truck accident claim is worth without investigating. If a law firm tries to guarantee a certain result during your initial consultation, they likely are not accounting for the unique aspects of your claim.
To place an accurate potential settlement range on a case, we must first understand your prognosis, current expenses, losses, and likely future costs. This requires investigating what happened and gathering documentation to show how it affected our client physically, emotionally, and financially. It is impossible to offer a fair settlement value without this information.
How Will You Handle My Case?
The goals of any truck accident case include recovering fair compensation and seeking justice. How you reach these goals depends on the facts of your case and the best options available to you. Our team provides free case assessments. During a confidential, no-obligation consultation, you may learn how our attorneys would approach your case and pursue a just outcome on your behalf.
How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Lawyer to Handle My Claim?
Personal injury law firms handle truck accident cases. Generally, these firms represent clients based on contingency fees. Atlanta Personal Injury Law Group also works based on contingency. We do not ask our clients to pay anything upfront. You do not need to put up a retainer or pay any costs or fees when you sign a contract with one of our attorneys for representation.
We use our resources to investigate, develop, and file your case. We handle the entire process without charging you anything.
You will never receive a bill for attorneyβs fees. We only charge a fee if we win your case. We take an agreed-on percentage of your payout as soon as we receive it. You may need to pay court costs and other expenses. We will answer any questions and clearly outline your costs and fees before you sign a contract with us.
How Long Do I Have to Begin a Case?
Under Georgia law, we usually have up to two years to sue the liable parties in a lawsuit. We ensure we do not miss this deadline when possible. We can work to protect our clientβs right to pursue and recover fair compensation.
Call Us Today to Learn How a Truck Accident Attorney Can Help
If you or a loved one suffered injuries in a trucking accident, let an experienced truck accident attorney from our team handle the process of seeking compensation on your behalf. Atlanta Personal Injury Law Group offers free case evaluations for victims. One of our compassionate attorneys could help, allowing you to focus on recovering and moving forward from the incident. We have experience with these cases and know how to seek results.
The sooner one of our Roswell truck accident lawyers can begin working on your case, the more likely they will be able to gather all the evidence necessary to build a strong case. Reach out today at (404) 609-1724 for your free consultation.
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