Countless trucks travel across the United States each day without incident. However, some trucks will be involved in truck accidents. When truck accidents happen, injuries disproportionately happen to other motorists involved in the accident because semi trucks, 18-wheelers, and other big-rig vehicles are much bigger and heavier than ordinary sedans or even SUVs and pickup trucks.
When you or a loved one are injured in a truck accident, you need competent, professional legal help. We will fight hard for you from the moment you file a lawsuit all the way through trial and beyond if necessary.
To discuss your accident for free, call Howe Law’s truck accident lawyers at (844) 876-4357.
Types of Truck Accidents in Peachtree Corners, GA
Truck accidents can happen in a variety of different ways. While it may seem more important that you were simply injured in a truck accident rather than what way the truck accident happened, going over the details of your truck accident can actually help our truck accident lawyers put together a stronger case for you.
Rollover Accidents
Rollover accidents happen when a truck tips to one side and falls over, potentially crushing any vehicles driving next to it and creating an obstacle on the road for any drivers that are using that roadway until the truck is removed.
Truck rollover accidents can happen for a number of reasons. For example, the driver could be careless and turn too abruptly or sharply, the truck may be improperly loaded and the weight all sitting on one side could throw the vehicle off balance, or the tires may be worn out and cause the truck to lose traction in turns and rollover.
Head-On Collisions
Head-on collisions are exactly what they sound like – a truck collides with an oncoming vehicle. These kinds of accidents can be extremely dangerous because the comparative mass of a large truck moving at high speed is much greater than that of an ordinary vehicle, even a large one. Thus, the injuries to ordinary motorists involved in head-on collisions can be extremely severe and, in many cases, fatal.
One of the main causes of head-on collisions is driver fatigue. Truck drivers spend many hours traveling great distances every day. It is no surprise, then, that tired driving is a serious problem in the trucking industry. Driving while tired is about as dangerous as driving drunk. The truck industry knows this, and accordingly, there are regulations in place that dictate how long a trucker is supposed to be on the road. In fact, truckers are required to keep a log of their hours to evidence that they are complying with these rules and regulations. Truck companies, however, may encourage truckers to drive for longer in an effort to deliver more packages and increase profits. If a trucker is on the road for too long, the likelihood that they make a mistake – such as sliding into an adjacent lane and hitting oncoming traffic, greatly increases.
Underride Accidents
Underride accidents happen when a car behind a truck collides with the rear of the trailer. While it may appear that these accidents are the other driver’s fault because they hit the truck, the reality is that these kinds of accidents frequently happen because the trucker hit the brakes abruptly or neglected to turn on their rear-facing lights at night.
Because the trailer of an 18-wheeler sits higher than most cars, when underride accidents happen, the trailer will collide with the windshield area of ordinary vehicles and push right through into the inside of the car, often taking the whole top half off in the process. Because such an accident is almost universally fatal, modern trucks are required to have guardrails on their trailers to prevent this type of grisly accident from happening. Nonetheless, injuries from colliding with a rear guardrail can still be severe. For example, the guardrail may not work if it is made out of poor materials, and some older trucks or trucks not following regulations may not have this safety feature.
How Our Truck Accident Lawyers Can Help You in Peachtree Corners, GA
Truck accident lawyers can do much more than simply advocate for you at trial. In fact, the trial is only the last step in a long legal process. We can assist you with a number of things before trial so that your case has a better chance of success.
Collect Evidence
One of the most important parts of our job in building a strong case for you is compiling evidence about your accident. While it would be impossible for us to be at the site of an accident when it happens, we can certainly visit the location after the fact to get a better sense of the area where the accident took place. Additionally, we can contact police, opposing counsel, trucking companies, and other parties that could have information about your accident to obtain it from them.
Talk to Insurance Companies
Another thing we can do to help is talk to insurance companies on your behalf. Frequently, insurance companies will require some convincing to provide coverage after an accident. This is because most insurance companies do not cover accidents that were the fault of their policyholder. Since insurance companies are not in the business of giving out money all the time, they may try and make it seem like the accident is potentially your fault to avoid paying out. For this reason, it is best to have another party, like our lawyers, talk to insurance companies on your behalf since saying something as innocent as “I could have been more careful” may give an insurance company pause when deciding whether coverage applies or not.
Talk with Our Truck Accident Lawyers Today
Our truck accident lawyers from Howe Law can be reached for free at (844) 876-4357 to talk about your case.
