What are the first steps to take if you or someone you love is involved in a trucking accident in Georgia?
Immediately after an accident, call 9-1-1.
If you are a truck driver, contact your trucking company, call an attorney, contact the police at the scene, and get medical attention.
According to a May 2023 post from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), 4714 people died in large truck crashes in 2021. This number represents a 17% increase over the previous year.
In a longer timeframe, the number of deaths has risen dramatically. IIHS notes that the number of people who died in large truck crashes was 50% higher in 2021 than in 2009.
Who was killed in these crashes? IIHS reports that 16% of the deaths were occupants of the truck, 68% were occupants of cars and other vehicles, and 15% were bicyclists, motorcyclists, and pedestrians.
Almost every consumer product, from a thumb tack to a party van, spent some time on a large truck. So, a fully-loaded large truck weighs over 80,000 pounds. As a result, the force in a semi-truck collision is so immense that no safety restraint system, however sophisticated, could possibly absorb it. Catastrophic burns are often the worst injuries in these collisions. Diesel fuel burns at a different temperature from ordinary gasoline, making the resulting burns extensive, painful, and difficult to treat.
These injury claims are complex, not just because the injuries are so severe. Generally, an out-of-state shipping or transportation company owned the truck involved in the crash. These companies often immediately hire high-priced lawyers to defend them in court. Because of these complexities, only the most experienced Marietta personal injury lawyer should handle such claims. Inexperienced lawyers have little or no chance of obtaining maximum compensation in these cases.
Basic Building Blocks
Truck crash claims in Georgia are almost overwhelmingly complex. The respondeat superior rule is a good example. The shipping or transportation firm that owned the cargo or employed the driver, usually an out-of-state holding company, is often financially responsible for truck crash damages. When a problem seems complex, it’s best to break things down into small steps.
These small steps begin almost immediately after the wreck. If victims say and do the right things at this critical time, it’s much easier for a Marietta personal injury lawyer to obtain maximum compensation later. This compensation usually includes money for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering.
Wait for Emergency Responders
Since 2010, the number of fatal large truck crashes has increased by 31%. The danger has increased as regulators, citing supply chain concerns, now look the other way when truckers violate HOS (hours of service) laws and other safety laws. These cases are quite complex since the liability chain does not stop with the tortfeasor (negligent driver). The company that owned the truck, which is usually an out-of-state conglomerate, is legally responsible for damages in these cases.
So, there is usually no such thing as a “simple” truck crash claim. Such a complex case demands a Marietta personal injury attorney with a certain skill set. There is no way to guarantee that a victim will find the right lawyer. However, victims who look for the following three qualities in their attorneys have a much better chance of obtaining maximum compensation for their serious injuries.
Experience
The number of large truck crashes is on the rise, in part because of the number of inexperienced drivers who are behind the wheel. According to the American Truck Driver Association, the current 80,000-driver shortage could reach 160,000 by 2029. These large vehicles are difficult for even experienced operators to handle. An inexperienced driver could cause a high-speed crash that leaves little but charred wreckage behind.
The lack of eyewitness and physical evidence could be a problem when such cases go to court. But an experienced Marietta personal injury attorney knows how to overcome such problems and turn lost opportunities into new opportunities. Frequently, electronic evidence survives even the worst and most destructive wrecks. Furthermore, most tech-savvy Cobb County jurors embrace electronic evidence and give it even more weight than some other kinds of proof.
Event Data Recorder
Mostly because of driver issues, large truck crashes have increased by 47% since 2009. Especially given continuing supply chain issues, companies put more pressure on drivers than ever to deliver their loads as quickly as possible, regardless of safety concerns. In other words, these companies put profits before people. Regulators have not helped. If anything, regulators have made the safety problem worse by diluting key safety requirements, like HOS (hours of service) rules.
Big companies often disregard public safety, and regulators often look the other way. In such environments, people can still count on a Marietta personal injury attorney to protect them. Attorneys hold negligent companies responsible for the injuries they cause even when regulators fail to do so. More importantly, a lawyer obtains the financial compensation truck crash victims need and deserve.
Impaired Driving
At a minimum, fully-loaded semi-trucks weigh over 80,000 pounds. Especially if they carry consumer goods, state and federal regulators almost routinely give truckers overweight waivers. Although today’s cars and trucks have many more safety features than the ones made 20 years ago, modern safety features cannot possibly absorb all the force in a high-speed truck wreck.
Largely because of this excessive force, the average injury-related medical bill in a serious injury claim exceeds $100,000. If the victim required helicopter medevac, which is common in these cases, the medical bills could exceed $150,000. Generally, group health insurance companies refuse to cover such costs. So, a Marietta personal injury attorney connects victims with doctors who, even though they are tops in their fields, charge nothing upfront for their services.
Head Injuries
Truck drivers hauling certain consumer products are exempt from some HOS (Hours of Service) rules, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Administration.
The latest exemption does not expire until May 2022 at the earliest. In a statement, the FMCSA stated the extension was necessary, even though COVID-19 cases are dropping, since “persistent issues arising out of COVID-19 continue to affect the U.S. including impacts on supply chains and the need to ensure capacity to respond to variants and potential rises in infections. Therefore, a continued exemption is needed to support direct emergency assistance for some supply chains.”
The HOS waiver applies to drivers carrying livestock, feed for livestock, fuel, most medical supplies, and most food and paper products.
Some months ago, State Police and local highway authorities were searching for a large commercial truck that they believed was involved in a deadly hit-and-run collision. The truck accident occurred in the early morning hours on a stretch of road in Marietta.
Georgia State Police believe that a yellow Volvo tractor trailer was traveling westbound and attempted to make an unlawful U-turn on the highway. An oncoming car struck and drove under the truck’s trailer. Tragically, the driver and the passenger of that vehicle were killed in the wreck. Witnesses say the truck pulled into a nearby parking lot before fleeing the scene of the accident.
Georgia Law: Drivers Must Stop and Remain at the Scene of a Crash
Marietta Injury Lawyer Blog