Countless trucks go to, from, and through Georgia every day to get where they are going. Unfortunately, so many trucks are on the road, which means that some of them are going to get into truck accidents. Truck accidents are often quite dangerous because of the size and weight of the vehicles involved. Anyone inside an ordinary sedan, SUV, or other commonly owned car has little chance of coming out the other end unscathed if they are hit by a truck. Moreover, the cost of medical treatment for injuries incurred in a truck accident can be extreme, easily reaching hundreds of thousands – if not millions, of dollars.
With so much on the line, you need professional and experienced legal representation if you found yourself injured in a truck accident. Our attorneys can provide just that. We have represented many people injured in truck accidents and can lend that experience to building the strongest case possible to fight for you in court after you are injured.
To talk to our truck accident attorneys and get a totally free case analysis, call Howe Law at the number (844) 876-4357.
What are the Reasons Truck Accidents Happen in Evans, GA?
Truck accidents happen for all kinds of reasons. The particular cause of your truck accident is actually really important to our lawyers. You can only get damages from parties that actually injured you and caused the accident. Therefore, you need to know what caused your particular truck accident so that you can sue the right parties and be successful in court.
Negligent Truck Drivers
Negligent truck drivers are responsible for many truck accidents. Truck drivers can be negligent in many of the same instances that ordinary drivers can. Speeding, drunk driving, and running red lights are all negligent acts for truck drivers, just like they are for you and me. However, truckers also have some other duties they must follow. For example, the FMCSA publishes hours of service rules that truckers must follow. Tired driving is extremely dangerous, so truckers are limited in how long they can be behind the wheel in one go. If a trucker ignores these rules because they want to get where they are going faster or get more deliveries in, they can be considered negligent.
Driver Negligence
Truck accidents can also be caused when other drivers do something negligent. For example, if another driver makes a mistake, hits a truck, and that truck hits you, the initial driver in this hypothetical may be partially responsible for your accident.
However, it is important to note that just because another vehicle initiated the accident does not mean that the trucker is off the hook. If the truck driver was doing something negligent when they got hit, they could still end up being primarily responsible for your injuries.
Improper Loading
Trucks, particularly 18-wheelers, are loaded with a lot of cargo before they head out on their journey. Because so much stuff is going in the rear of a truck, there are certain rules that must be followed about how all that stuff is packed and secured. If a truck is loaded incorrectly, it may become off balance and act in such a way that it does something the driver does not expect, causing an accident.
Sometimes, the trucker themselves is responsible for loading their cargo. Other times, trucking companies employ dedicated loading personnel. The relevant party/parties to bring to court will depend on the particular factors of your truck accident case.
Truck Defects
Sometimes, truck issues can cause an accident instead of anything the trucker does. When something is wrong with a truck, it is considered “defective.” Something is defective when it malfunctions and causes injury in its ordinary use. Defective things can be further broken down into items that have design defects and items that have manufacturing defects.
So-called “design defects” are problems that arise in an “accurately” built version of the product. Essentially, there is a mistake in the truck’s DNA. For example, if a connecting link between a truck cab and a trailer is not designed to withstand forces from a bumpy road, it may cause an accident if the trailer comes loose. This would be a design defect since, even though the truck was made “correctly,” it still does not function when used as it should be.
By contrast, “manufacturing defects” happen during the construction and/or assembly of a truck. In these cases, it is not the inherent design of the truck that is the problem but a deviation from what is supposed to happen in that design. Examples of manufacturing defects include using substandard materials when building the truck, incorrectly installing airbags, or improperly wiring the truck’s electronics.
Damages in Evans, GA Truck Accident Lawsuit
The end goal of any truck accident lawsuit is to get damages to compensate you for your injuries. In law, damages are how the court gets plaintiffs back to a similar place to where they were before getting injured. Usually, this takes the form of financial compensation.
A large chunk of damages in truck accident lawsuits will be for medical bills and expenses. Surgery, long term physical therapy, and other treatments for truck accident injuries can get expensive, so you can get compensated for those costs as damages.
You may also be awarded damages for more esoteric things like physical pain or mental anguish. The value of these things is harder to pin down that the cost of a surgery or hospital stay. Accordingly, our truck accident lawyers will work with you to decide what these kinds of damages are worth in your case.
Call Our Evans, GA Truck Accident Lawyers Today
For a free case review, get in touch with our truck accident lawyers by calling Howe Law at (844) 876-4357.
