Trucks and commercial vehicles are still one of the most popular means of distributing goods nation-wide. It is reported that as much as 70% of all freight moved in the United States is done by trucks. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), a division of the United States Department of Transportation, the number of truck-related accidents that occur each year is in the hundreds of thousands. With numbers like these, it is statistically possible that you or your loved one may be involved in an accident with one of these giants of the road at some point. If you are the victim of a truck or commercial vehicle wreck you, need experienced legal help to seek justice and explore how you can be fairly compensated.
Trucking accident cases are unique. Fault may be difficult to determine and the large trucking firms have equally large teams of lawyers that have but one job, to deny and seriously devalue claims against brought against their client. That is why it is extremely important that you seek experienced legal guidance from an Atlanta Truck Accident Lawyer. The skilled team at Christopher Simon Law understands the process of determining liability and is knowledgeable regarding state and federal regulations that govern trucking safety. We are proficient in filing legal claims on behalf of our clients to recover damages for injury or death when a truck accident occurs.
Our Atlanta Truck Accident Attorneys were trained by insurance companies to defend trucking companies early in their careers and are able to bring that experience to bear for our clients now. If your lawyer has never done work for insurance companies, they are half blind to the way the system operates. We prepare all cases as if they will go to trial. If we take your case, we’ll immediately start investigating the accident, collecting pertinent evidence such as police reports and medical documents, interviewing any witnesses, and filing the proper paperwork. Our legal team will work hard to get you the compensation you deserve.
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We listen to your concerns and make sure you know all of the options before you make a decision on your case.
The majority of truck drivers are professional, courteous, and careful, but despite this fact, accidents do happen, either by mistake or carelessness. Among the factors that typically contribute to tractor-trailer accidents are:
The elements required to prove negligence in trucking accident claims may seem straightforward, but how to substantiate them may be harder than you expect. Identifying the truly responsible parties can be difficult. It could be the driver, the trucking company, a third party who loaded or failed to secured cargo, and even government entities if there were dangerous road conditions that were not identified and the public sufficiently warned.
We listen to your concerns and make sure you know all of the options before you make a decision on your case.
There are a lot of lawyers in Georgia that claim to handle tractor-trailer crashes, but it takes real-world experience for your lawyer to know where to look in the records to prove your case. As a former lawyer for the trucking companies and their insurance carriers, Mr. Simon spent six years defending semi-truck drivers after crashes. In the years since that time, he has concentrated 40% of his law practice on representing victims against those companies.
An experienced Atlanta tractor-trailer accident lawyer knows that for serious cases, the lawsuit should be filed every time because it is only with discovery and subpoena power that the operational records of the trucking company will come to light. When litigating cases worth hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars, it pays to hire a former industry insider who can expose the lies being used to prevent juries from seeing what some of these trucking companies really do.
Atlanta trucking cases are more complex for a number of reasons. First, all interstate trucking companies are regulated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. They put out a massive book called the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations that takes years of study to master. When a tractor-trailer driver violates these safety regulations, the Court can charge the jury on negligence per se, which can make a world of difference in a disputed liability case. That means that if the rule is broken, the judge tells the jury that the breaking of the rule means the trucking company is somewhat responsible.
Second, tractor-trailers incorporate advanced computer systems similar to an aircraft “black box” and some have onboard radar and satellite tracking data that can tell the truth about why the crash happened, even when the driver is lying. Third, semi-truck crash reconstruction requires an engineer with specialized skills and only an experienced trucking lawyer has these engineers on their Rolodex. Fourth, trucking cases should never be settled without the lawyer at least deposing under oath the driver and risk manager as well as an exhaustive review of all operational documents. An average car accident lawyer is simply not trained to handle a trucking case in Georgia.
Common Atlanta tractor-trailer accidents include lost cargo loads and underride accidents. If you do not know your accident type, one of our Atlanta tractor-trailer accident lawyers can review police reports, revisit the scene, and re-create the accident, if necessary. Our attorneys have the power to understand who or what caused your crash and to help you file a claim against that party.
An accident against a tractor-trailer or a large company truck has a high risk of causing severe injuries or even a fatality. A Georgia truck driver has a responsibility to make the roads a safe place for all other vehicles. An attorney can help you find the fairest compensation for any injuries caused by the responsible party’s negligence. Schedule a free consultation today.
