Truck Accident Lawyer

• Commercial Vehicles Of Any Size
• Tractor Trailers
• “Big Rigs” Or 18-Wheelers

If you are unsure about the types of vehicles involved in your accident, especially if more than one car or truck was involved, do not worry. Reach out to us so that we can help you locate any police accident reports generated in response to your accident.

Driver Fatigue

According to a pivotal 2007 study conducted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), fatigue is estimated to be a critical factor in 13% of all trucking accidents and 30% of all automobile accidents. In theory, this problem is supposed to be mitigated by Federal Hours of Service (HOS) regulations, which govern how many hours a trucker can drive at a time, how much time must be taken between shifts, and how many hours can be logged in any given week. 

These rules are broken all too frequently. It is alarmingly common for drivers to falsify their logs, and for trucking companies to imply or baldly insist that their drivers breach the HOS rules. In their race to stay profitable, many companies push their drivers past the limits of human endurance. 

Truck Maintenance

Sometimes the average car driver may neglect their regular oil changes and tire rotation. That’s dangerous enough when it’s the family car. When it’s a big-rig truck, it may amount to catastrophic accidents. It is all too terribly common for truck tires to be worn out, for brakes, axles, and other truck parts to be old and in disrepair, and for maintenance to have been overlooked. Trucking companies and trucking brokers, out of concern for the bottom line, are often ready to shave their costs at the expense of safety. 

Substance Abuse

Truck drivers work long hours in a dangerous job for low pay. They are alone much of the time, moving from town to town, with relatively little time to see their families. It’s a difficult life, and sadly, many of them deal with the tedium and stress by turning to substance abuse. Half of truck drivers have admitted to drinking and one-third to taking amphetamines. Many others consume cocaine and cannabis. While the pressures they face are a sad reality, there is no justification for the thousands of truck accidents that occur each year.

In order to successfully prove the claim in a truck accident lawsuit, the claimant must demonstrate that the other driver was negligent in their actions. There is no bright-line test to determine if a driver is negligent. Instead, there is a four-factor inquiry that each court will apply to determine whether there has been negligence. This test results from hundreds of years of case law and is applied to every situation in which potential negligence is involved. The elements of the test are as follows:

• The first question to be answered is whether the truck driver owed a duty of care to other drivers on the road. Usually, the answer to this question is an obvious yes. A truck driver cannot do whatever they please behind the wheel, especially as it impacts other drivers.
• Next, the court will determine whether the truck driver breached their duty of care. This question is framed as whether the truck driver acted as a reasonable truck driver would under the circumstances. This does not require absolute perfection, just that the driver did not act unreasonably under the circumstances. This part of the test is usually met if the truck driver broke a traffic law. For example, a reasonable driver would not travel at an excessive rate of speed or make illegal turns on the road. 
• If the first two parts of the test are met, the court will look at whether the victim suffered an injury. So long as there is some sort of damage, this part will likely be met.
• Finally, the court will examine whether the truck driver’s actions were the proximate cause of the victim’s injuries. This is not always the case. For example, a truck driver can collide with another car as a result of another driver cutting off the truck. The question is “but for” the actions of the truck driver, would the victim’s injuries have occurred?

Even if the truck driver was negligent, there is another factor to consider. The court will then look at whether the victim was to blame in any way for the accident that caused their injury. In a handful of states, the victim may not recover anything at all if they share even part of the blame. In Georgia, that is not the case. Georgia uses a modified comparative negligence test. This means that a party who was partially responsible for the accident may still recover for their injuries. For example, if the victim bears ten percent of the blame, their damage recovery is reduced by that amount. However, the law states that any party who is more than fifty percent responsible for the accident may not recover anything.

Accident victims should retain a truck accident lawyer as soon as possible. The truck driver’s employer will likely have their own attorney already on retainer. An accident victim will need an attorney immediately for several reasons:

1. Identifying liable parties

Complex truck accident cases often involve multiple parties, thereby making it difficult to ascertain which party is responsible for the accident and if more than one party is at fault, what percentage of fault belongs to each of the parties. We have significant experience in this kind of complex truck litigation and are able to identify the responsible parties and seek legal recourse against them.

2. Conducting thorough and independent investigations

Commercial trucking companies routinely employ their own slate of investigators in response to accidents of any magnitude, especially when litigation is likely to follow. Since the accident investigator works for the trucking company, their investigative reports are typically one-sided – against the interests of the injured party. Our team at the Eichholz Firm hires its own team of investigators and experts to conduct a careful, thorough investigation of the accident to ensure that a fair and balanced report is created for your case.

3. Determining negligence on behalf of the driver or trucking company

Depending on the specific facts of your trucking accident case, our attorneys may allege that one or more parties involved in your accident engaged in the negligent conduct. Negligent conduct that may give rise to liability includes:

• Driving while under the influence of drugs (DUI/DWI)
• Driving while extremely fatigued due to lack of sleep or extreme working conditions
• Speeding or driving too aggressively for road conditions, violating driving restrictions
• Road rage
• Distracted driving, including texting or making phone calls while driving

In addition to negligence based on the conduct of the driver, there are several ways in which the trucking company can be negligent (even though the driver himself may not have been negligent):

• Setting routes and time constraints that lead to unsafe driving behaviors
• Failure to fix known mechanical or parts-related issues with trucks
• Inability to perform necessary diagnostic vehicle inspections
• Requiring truck drivers to log hours that are more than federal limits

4. Dealing with Car Insurance Companies

Immediately after the incident, automobile insurance companies will be calling for details about the accident. If the victim has suffered an injury in the accident, they may not be able to aptly deal with the insurance companies and will need an experienced lawyer to communicate on their behalf. Insurance companies rarely have the best interest of accident victims in mind, so an accident victim can greatly benefit from the aggressive legal representation a lawyer provides.

5. Recreating the Events of the Accident

Many of the facts surrounding the accident will need to be established. The accident scene is only preserved for a limited period of time. After that, witnesses will need to be interviewed and experts may need to be retained. A truck accident lawyer will need to establish a timeline of the incident along with a recreation of the actions of everyone involved.

6. Negotiating a settlement

A truck accident lawyer will need to negotiate a settlement if possible. Insurance companies and other parties to the accident will typically not give their best offer at first. In fact, they will try to lowball their settlement offers if they make one at all. A truck accident lawyer will know if the settlement offer is reasonable and if an agreement can be reached with further negotiations. 

There are often multiple parties involved in negotiations and pre-trial discovery that often include the commercial trucking company itself. As a result, it is crucial that you rely on an experienced team of attorneys who are skilled at handling complex civil litigation and pre-trial settlement negotiations. Our truck accident lawyers are successful in negotiating settlements with multiple parties involved in a trucking accident, which may include the insurance company, the truck driver, the trucking company that employed the driver, and any parts manufacturers that may be involved in the crash.

7. Completing Lawsuit Paperwork

If it is necessary to file a truck accident lawsuit, the attorney will draft and file the complaint. Courts have stringent requirements for how the paperwork must be filed and will not necessarily be lenient on those requirements for claimants who do not have a truck accident lawyer.

8. Expert Legal Advice

Accident victims need wise counsel throughout the entire process. Hopefully, the incident is the first and only time that the victim has been in an accident with a truck. The Eichholz Law Firm in Atlanta, GA has truck accident lawyers, and have helped many victims under similar circumstances and has the experience necessary to provide advice not just about legal matters, but about handling the accident as well.

9. Dealing with Medical Insurance

The high likelihood of injury in truck accidents means that there will probably be medical bills to tend to. Attorneys can help the victim deal with medical insurance in the event that there are uncovered medical expenses.

If you or someone you love has been injured or killed as a result of a truck driver’s reckless or negligent driving, or due to suspected negligent conduct on the part of the trucking company, please call the skilled truck driver accident attorneys at the Eichholz Firm. 

Our truck accident lawyers will discuss a timeline and suggest next steps so that we can pursue the financial outcome you deserve while you can focus on recovery. Our attorneys are available to discuss all aspects of your potential claim and can answer any questions you might have about what to expect when you bring a truck accident lawsuit against a negligent truck driver or trucking company. 

Call The Eichholz Law Firm for a free case consultation if you have been involved in a truck accident.