Highway accidents are unfortunate and frequent. Among the most severe highway accidents are collisions with large trucks. These accidents tend to be huge, involve multiple drivers, and inflict serious injuries.
Truck accidents often involve large semi trailer trucks, and collisions and crashes might occur in various ways. You might be involved in dangerous jackknife accidents, T-bone collisions, and a crash involving a negligent turn made by a trucker. While truck drivers tend to be the first people implicated in these kinds of cases, their employer, the trucking company, should be included. Your injuries might be extreme, your vehicle might be totaled, and you might be deeply emotionally distressed or traumatized. Your injuries and losses deserve massive compensation.
Speak to our truck accident attorneys of Howe Law to set up a free case review regarding your truck accident by calling our team at (844) 876-4357.
How A Truck Accident Can Occur on the Highway in Gainesville, GA
One important detail you must discuss with your attorney is how your accident happened. A truck accident could happen in numerous ways. How your accident happened might help our truck accident attorneys determine who is responsible and where to find evidence.
Jackknife Accidents
This kind of accident happens when the trailer of a truck is moving faster than the cab. Often, this is due to the truck driver suddenly braking. While the cab slows down quickly, the trailer does not. The speeding trailer might continue moving forward and push the cab to the side so the truck is in an L shape. Truckers often completely lose control of their vehicles at this point, and other people on the road often get hurt.
In such accidents, the truck might swerve into other lanes or traffic. Often, the cab swerves one way while the trailer goes the other way. Drivers on both sides of the truck might be caught up in such an accident. Since these accidents are often related to speed, we should focus on finding evidence related to the trucker’s speed when the accident occurred.
T-Bone Collisions
T-bone crashes happen in various accidents, not just truck accidents. However, a T-bone crash involving a truck can be extremely dangerous since trucks are much larger and heavier than typical vehicles.
One possibility is that you were going through an intersection when a truck blew through illegally and T-boned you. This kind of accident can leave victims with severe, sometimes fatal, injuries, depending on how fast the truck was going.
Another possibility is that a truck with a long trailer was moving through an intersection but stopped short, leaving a good portion of the trailer sticking out into the intersection. Other drivers might inadvertently T-bone the truck’s trailer and get badly hurt.
Accidents Involving Turns
Many truck accidents involve turns gone wrong. Trucks cannot make tight turns like a car can. Truckers must make very wide turns and often have to swerve into other lanes to make a turn wide enough. As such, truckers must be on the lookout for other vehicles. They also have to begin preparing for a turn much earlier than most other drivers so they do not hit anyone when they make a wide turn.
Unfortunately, not all truckers take these precautions. You might have been right beside a truck when the trucker made a wide turn without checking their surroundings. In some cases, truckers do not immediately stop because they might not realize they hit someone, and you could be pushed into other lanes of traffic or off the road.
The People Responsible for a Truck Collision in Gainesville, GA
Determining who to name in your truck accident case can be challenging. While naming the trucker and holding them responsible might seem like the obvious choice, it might not be the only choice. Depending on the situation, you might also have the option to name the truck driver’s employer and hold them liable.
Of course, the driver of the truck is often the main defendant in accident cases because their negligent behavior is usually the direct cause of the collision. If the trucker ignored a red light, drove at dangerously high speeds, or made a wide turn without checking for other drivers, they can and should be held accountable for their negligence.
In addition to the trucker, you can sue the trucking company that hired them, depending on the nature of the crash. Under the legal theory of respondeat superior, plaintiffs can hold employers vicariously liable for injuries caused by an employee’s negligent behavior. For this theory to work, the employee’s negligence must happen while they are on duty and in furtherance of their typical job functions. Common acts of truck driver negligence (e.g., speeding, inattentive driving, ignoring signs) often fall under this rule.
Injuries and Damages Commonly Claimed in Gainesville, GA Truck Accident Cases
Damages in truck accident cases are famous for being substantial. Injured accident victims often have severe physical injuries and long-lasting medical complications. Many are left permanently disabled or disfigured. Treatment for such injuries might last for a long time, sometimes indefinitely. As such, it is no surprise that medical bills in these cases pile up quickly.
You should talk to your attorney about all the medical costs you have incurred thus far in addition to reasonably anticipated future medical bills for your injuries.
Physical injuries and pain tend to take center stage in truck accidents, but we must not overlook the cost of your car. In many accident cases, plaintiffs’ cars are totally destroyed. Even if repairs are possible, they tend to be expensive. The costs of these repairs or a replacement vehicle should be added to your overall damages calculations.
Another major area of concern regarding damages is emotional distress. Truck accidents tend to leave injured victims traumatized. Even if the accident itself does not take a toll on you psychologically, your injuries might. Many people must come to terms with permanent disabilities, scarring, and disfigurement. As such, accident survivors often experience depression, anxiety, and even PTSD. Even though emotional suffering and distress are not necessarily related to money or costs, they should still be compensated.
Call Our Gainesville, GA Truck Accident Attorneys if You Were Hurt in a Collision with a Truck
If a negligent truck driver hits you, contact our truck accident lawyers of Howe Law to arrange a free case evaluation about your truck accident by calling our team at (844) 876-4357.
