Your first call after a truck accident should be to 911 for emergency help. Your second call should be to a good lawyer. Your lawyer can work to hold the truck driver and possibly others accountable for their negligence.
Truck crashes are usually very serious accidents with many injured victims. As such, you should make sure the police and emergency responders are immediately contacted. Once the dust has settled a bit, you should call a lawyer to discuss possible legal options for compensation. Various parties might be responsible for a truck crash. While we often place the full blame on truck drivers, their employers might be just as responsible. Alternatively, other drivers might have somehow contributed to the accident. While there are many possible causes of crashes, some common causes are speeding, truck equipment malfunctions, and tired truckers. To prove your claims against the defendants, we need evidence. Possible evidence might include records from the truck company, information about the truck itself, security camera footage, and witness testimony.
Call (844) 876-4357 to talk to our Atlanta accident lawyers at Howe Law about a free, confidential case evaluation.
Who to Call After a Truck Accident in Sugar Hill, GA
The aftermath of a truck accident can feel like something out of a disaster movie. You might be confused, overwhelmed, and in a lot of physical pain. To put yourself in the best position possible for medical and legal assistance, there are a few calls you should make as soon as possible.
First, you need to call 911. If possible, take out your phone and call 911 and have them send emergency medical responders and law enforcement. You need both the police and emergency responders for several reasons. First, the police will investigate the crash and possibly find evidence our truck accident attorneys need to build your case. Second, emergency responders can quickly get you to a hospital for treatment and compile accurate medical records that might be used to prove damages.
If you are badly hurt and cannot call for help yourself, do not worry. Truck accidents tend to be big, and lots of other people might be at the scene. Someone else can call for help.
After you have been treated by a doctor and the chaos of the accident has subsided a bit, your next call should be to a lawyer. An attorney can determine whether you have a strong claim for damages and explore your legal options to get compensation.
Parties Who Might Be Legally Responsible for Your Truck Crash in Sugar Hill, GA
The thing about truck collisions is that more than one person or party might be at the center of things. While trucker negligence plays a major role in many accidents, the trucker might not be the only person who should be held responsible. Their employer and even other drivers on the highway might bear some responsibility.
As mentioned, truckers are often directly responsible for truck accidents. After many hours on the road, a trucker might fall asleep behind the wheel. Alternatively, a truck driver might be speeding when another driver cuts them off, and they have to slam their brakes. Trucks are too heavy to stop quickly, and sudden stops might cause the truck to topple over. We should talk to the police after they investigate the crash to determine if the trucker is to blame.
If you want to sue the trucker involved in the crash, you might also sue the trucking business that hired them. Under a legal rule called respondeat superior, an employer may be held liable for an employee’s negligence that caused accidents and injuries. For this rule to apply, the employee must have acted within the scope of their typical work duties when the negligent behavior occurred.
Various others might also be implicated. For example, other drivers on the road might have contributed to the crash somehow. Perhaps some important equipment on the truck malfunctioned, and you can sue the manufacturer of the faulty equipment.
How Truck Collisions Sometimes Happen in Sugar Hill, GA
Understanding how your accident happened is an important piece of our legal puzzle. Knowing exactly what went wrong might help us identify all the defendants, find evidence, and build strong legal strategies to get you the compensation you deserve.
Speed
Speed is arguably one of the most important factors in almost any accident. This is even more important in truck accident cases because trucks are extremely large and heavy, making them incredibly dangerous when they are speeding. A good rule of thumb is that the faster the vehicles travel, the worse the accident will probably be.
But how do we determine exactly how fast the trucker was driving? This kind of information might be determined based on eyewitness observations and evidence uncovered after a thorough investigation by law enforcement.
Truck Equipment Malfunctions
In some cases, the equipment on the truck did not work properly, thus leading to the accident. Since trucks often come equipped with all kinds of important gear, there are numerous possibilities for what went wrong. Perhaps the trucker’s brakes failed when they tried to stop. Maybe the underride bar failed, and another vehicle was wedged under the truck.
When equipment fails or malfunctions, we should look not only to the truck company that owns the truck but also to the manufacturer of the equipment.
Driver Fatigue
A huge problem troubling the trucking industry is driver fatigue. Truckers are expected to be on the road for hours at a time. Often, a single delivery trip might take days to complete. While trucking industry regulations require truckers to get enough rest while working, things do not always work out this way. Many truckers are pushed by their employers to drive for as long as possible to complete trips and deliveries faster. Unfortunately, this might lead to tired truckers falling asleep at the wheel.
Reach Out to Our Sugar Hill, GA Truck Accident Attorneys
Call (844) 876-4357 to speak to our truck accident lawyers at Howe Law about a free, confidential case evaluation.
