Atlanta Semi Truck Accident Lawyers

Atlanta drivers frequently share the road with semi-trucks. Semi-trucks carry tremendous weight. As such, they have the potential to cause devastating collisions. If you or a loved one were injured or killed in a semi-truck accident, the best way to protect yourself is to contact an Atlanta semi-truck accident lawyer.

Our Atlanta truck accident lawyers have successfully represented semi-truck accident victims for decades. We’ll deliver the best customer service and the greatest result. Our prior victories and our 5-star client reviews validate that promise.

Call us today at (404) 939-9470. Also, you may fill-out our online contact form to schedule a free case review. If you’ve got questions, we’ve got the answers.

We Handle All Types of Semi-Truck Accidents

Truck collisions are often caused by semi-trucks and 18 wheelers. However, we have also helped victims injured by the following types of vehicles:

• box trucks
• cement mixers
• delivery trucks
• dump trucks
• flatbeds
• garbage trucks
• mobile cranes
• moving trucks
• and various other large commercial vehicles.

Our Atlanta truck accident lawyers also represent victims that were injured in the following types of truck accidents:

• Blind Spot Accidents
• Head-on Collisions
• Hit-and-run Accidents
• Jackknife Accidents
• Lost Load Accidents
• Rear-end Accidents
• Rollover Accidents
• Runaway Truck Accidents
• T-bone collisions
• Tire Blowouts
• Turning Accidents
• Underride and Override Accidents
• Wide Turn Accidents

Were You Hit by a Semi-Truck?

We recommend taking the following steps after a truck accident :

Always place your health first.

Don’t wait to go to the hospital. If an ambulance is available, you should take it. That way, the EMS responders can provide care to you while you are transported to the hospital. If an ambulance isn’t available, make sure that you have a friend or family member drive you to the hospital. You might not think you are badly injured. However, you might have injured your spinal discs. Also, you might have internal bleeding. Those types of injuries won’t be visible unless you undergo imaging exams at the hospital. Therefore, you should see a doctor as soon as possible for a full exam.

Call the police.

Even if the accident did not cause severe damage to your vehicle, you should call 911. A 911 call ensures that the police and emergency services arrive as quickly as possible. The police will conduct a thorough investigation to document how the collision occurred. Additionally, the insurance adjuster will review the police report before making a settlement offer.

Get the truck driver’s information.

Ask for the truck driver’s name and personal contact information. Get the name of the driver’s employer and the employer’s contact info. Also, ask for the name of the trucker’s auto insurance carrier and policy number.

Gather witness information.

If one or more witnesses stuck around to help after the crash, ask for their names, addresses, phone numbers, and emails. Your semi-truck accident lawyer will want to contact witnesses soon and obtain their recorded statements.

Document the scene.

Take pictures and videos of vehicle damage. If there are marks on the road, try and take pictures of those, as well. Skid marks can demonstrate what the truck driver did just before the crash.

Notify your insurer.

It is important to notify your auto insurance company about the crash as soon as possible.

Call an Atlanta truck accident lawyer immediately.

When a semi-truck hits you, you will need an attorney to act fast to preserve the crash evidence. The trucking company possesses some of the critical evidence such as the crash data recorder, dash cam video footage and driver’s logs. If you don’t hire an attorney and notify the trucking company ASAP that they need to preserve that evidence, the trucking company might destroy it.

Common Causes of 18-Wheeler Accidents

Our Atlanta semi-truck accident lawyers have observed that the most common causes of truck collisions are:

• Distracted Driving
• Driver carelessness
• Driver fatigue
• Drunk Driving
• Equipment malfunction
• Inadequately secured cargo
• Inadequately trained truck drivers
• Negligent hiring or retention of a truck driver
• Negligent maintenance of the vehicle
• Overloading
• Safety regulation violations
• Speeding
• Truck part defects

Our Lawyers Will Investigate and Find Out What Happened

Truck accidents are usually so traumatic that your mind goes blank right after the impact. Indeed, many truck accident victims only have a vague recollection of what happened. Don’t worry. We will help fill in the blanks. Then we will help determine how the collision occurred and who was at fault.

Our Atlanta semi-truck accident lawyers will thoroughly investigate the crash. Our law firm has a comprehensive understanding of how trucking companies and the trucking industry operate. We know how they investigate truck accidents and where they store the critical electronic data that demonstrates how the crash occurred, such as crash data recorder, dash cam video footage and driver’s logs. Our lawyers also know the ways that they “misplace,” destroy, or alter evidence that we need to examine. By anticipating their actions and demanding that they preserve this evidence at the earliest possible opportunity, we send them a message that they will not deceive us.

Our firm will acquire evidence from a number of other sources, including witnesses, nearby surveillance cameras, and industry experts. We also have the opportunity to file a personal injury lawsuit where we can utilize interrogatories, depositions, and requests for documents to directly obtain evidence from the truck driver and their employer.

Federal Trucking Regulations

Truck accident cases are more complicated than car accident cases. For instance, in a typical two-vehicle car accident, there are only two parties involved: the injury victim and the at-fault driver. In a truck accident case, there are multiple parties involved: the injury victim, the truck driver, the truck carrier, and sometimes a third party vendor or the truck manufacturer. The more parties that are involved, the more insurance that is available to compensate a victim for his or her losses. However, that also means that it is more challenging to prove who was at fault.

Another difference between car and semi-truck accident claims is that truck drivers and truck companies have to follow a set of safety rules enforced by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). When you are injured in a trucking accident, you need an Atlanta semi-truck accident lawyer who knows how to investigate the crash and determine whether the truck driver or truck carrier violated any of the federal regulations.

A common FMCSA violation that we see is when truckers drive too many hours within a certain time period. The FMCSA has strict hours of service regulations to reduce the risk of drowsy driving. If there is evidence that the truck driver failed to adhere to the hours of service regulations and/or faked paperwork to cover-up the violations, we will use that as evidence to prove the trucker and trucking company’s negligence.

Semi-Truck Accident Injuries

Semi-trucks are large and heavy. Depending on their type and size, they can weigh upwards of 80,000 pounds. A vehicle that size can cause substantial property damage and injuries even at moderate speed. When an 18-wheeler is on the highway traveling between 65 and 75 miles per hour, the collision can be catastrophic.

At Graham Scofield Injury Lawyers, our Atlanta truck accident lawyers have represented individuals suffering from:

• Amputations
• Back Injuries
• Head and Brain Injuries
• Broken Bones
• Crushed Limbs
• Lacerations
• Neck and Whiplash Injuries
• Nerve Damage
• Organ Damage
• Spinal Cord Injuries
• Scarring
• Soft Tissue Injuries
• Spinal Cord Injuries
• Spinal Disc Injuries

You should have skilled and resourceful legal representation regardless of the type of injuries that you’ve suffered. Our attorneys will fight for you to receive complete compensation for your physical, psychological, and financial damages.

Compensation after a Semi-Truck Accident

If you were injured by an 18-wheeler, you need to file an insurance claim. Also, you need to file a personal injury lawsuit. That way, you can get compensation for your:

• Disfigurement
• Disability
• Emotional distress
• Loss of consortium
• Medical bills
• Lost income
• Physical pain and suffering

We will help you calculate all of your damages. Your past medical bills and lost wages are the smallest part of your damages. The largest part of your damage is your pain and suffering – physical pain, mental anguish, physical disfigurement, reduced quality of life, loss of companionship, lost career opportunities. Oftentimes, juries will calculate pain and suffering compensation by taking your economic damages (medical bills and lost wages), and multiplying them by a number that they believe is justified by the scope of the harms you’ve suffered. Our job as your semi-truck accident lawyers is to help the jury make that determination by presenting all of the harms and losses you’ve suffered.

Our Atlanta Semi-Truck Accident Lawyers Will Help You

Attorneys that advertise on TV, billboards, radio, and buses don’t have the time or the resources to successfully litigate truck accident cases. Their goal is to settle your case as quickly as possible – even if that means settling your case for far less than its true value. If they can’t get your case quickly settled, they will abandon your case.

Our Atlanta truck accident lawyers have decades of trial experience. We’re not afraid to litigate a challenging case. We’ve recovered tens of millions of dollars in truck accident cases including a $15 million dollar verdict in 2016 that was upheld on appeal. Our team has the time, dedication, and resources to invest in a challenging, but worthwhile case.

Call us today at (404) 939-9470. Also, you may fill-out our online contact form to schedule a free case review with our Atlanta semi-truck accident lawyers.