Dunwoody Truck Accident Lawyer

An overwhelming majority of Georgia’s communities (76.1%) rely exclusively on truckers to support their community’s needs. With that fact in mind, it’s little surprise that you see so many trucks traversing the roadways within our state.

Unfortunately, trucking accidents occur on a regular basis, too, and when they do, the impacts are often devastating.

A trucking accident usually results in substantial injuries, property damage, and a whole host of other losses. Unfortunately, recovering from those financial losses isn’t easy. In fact, it’s downright complicated!

For that reason, most injured individuals make the decision to seek out a Dunwoody truck accident attorney to help them figure out their legal options. When a trucking accident happens, multiple parties are involved, so several different parties could potentially be considered at-fault in the accident. Any party who is partially at fault may need to pay out compensation to the injured individuals.

Did you recently experience a truck crash? If so, then you’ll want to learn more about your legal options, the potential compensation you could receive, and how a Dunwoody truck accident law firm can help. Find out all the answers right here.

What is a Truck Accident Lawyer?

After you get into a car or truck accident and receive medical care, you might start to experience specific financial losses. For example, you might not be able to immediately return to work, especially if your injuries are substantial. On top of that, your car will likely need to get repaired. You might also be facing significant medical costs regardless of your health care insurance and car insurance policies. Even worse, you might incur costs that you wouldn’t otherwise experience, like an increased need for childcare while you heal from your injury.

When your losses are adding up, it’s a truck accident attorney’s job to identify your legal options. Sometimes, your health insurance policy or car insurance policy will cover some of your losses, but more often than not, the severity of trucking accident injuries exhaust these policy limits.

Your Dunwoody personal injury lawyer will then help you determine who else might share legal liability for the accident. If someone else’s negligence played a role, then you might be able to seek out compensation for your financial losses by seeking out a claim.

Why Should You Hire a Dunwoody Truck Accident Lawyer

If you got into a truck accident here in Dunwoody, then you might be tempted to represent yourself throughout your legal claim. It is possible to seek out a personal injury claim against the truck driver, trucking company, loading company, trucking manufacturer, or a number of other parties without the help of a Dunwoody truck accident law firm, but doing so will leave you at a huge legal disadvantage. Here are just a few ways that explain why hiring a lawyer is preferable:

• A lawyer will inform you regarding your legal options and know whether you have the basis to seek out a claim based on an initial consultation
• An attorney will save you time
• You’ll maximize your settlement amount
• You can lean on the attorney’s knowledge regarding the law
• You’ll avoid common accident claim mistakes based on your attorney’s advice
• You can strengthen your claim before you present it
• Access to expert witnesses, unique evidence collection techniques, and more

Even better, most accident attorneys work on a contingency fee basis. This type of payment arrangement financially benefits the injured person by not making them incur more costs as they seek out a claim. In general, the lawyer will work to represent the injured person, and they won’t get paid until they receive their settlement check.

Understanding Truck Accidents

One important benefit of hiring a truck accident attorney in Dunwoody after a Georgia accident is that your lawyer will help you better understand the circumstances of your accident. They’ll help you identify the type of accident you experienced, who could potentially be liable, and how to figure out the extent of your losses. All of these factors are paramount because they will help you make an informed choice on how to move forward.

For instance, if your losses aren’t that serious or would be covered by your insurance policy, then it might not be worth it to pursue a claim. Similarly, if you were mostly at fault for the accident, then seeking out a claim might not work out in your favor.

By hiring a lawyer, you can get a better understanding of your accident and how to handle it.

Types of Truck Accidents

There are many different types of trucking accidents that can best be classified based on what caused the crash or the way the accident occurred. Here is a broad overview of some of the most common types of trucking accidents:

• Distracted driving accidents
• Fatigued driving crashes
• Multi-vehicle accidents
• Improperly loaded cargo and rollover accidents
• Speeding crashes
• Tire blowouts
• Rear-end collisions
• Sideswipe accidents
• Head-on accidents
• Fatal crashes

In general, if you experience any one of these types of truck accidents in Georgia, then you’ll want to speak with a truck accident lawyer in Dunwoody. Almost every truck crash causes significant losses. The sooner you start to work with a lawyer, the more solid your claim will be in the long run.

Liability for Dunwoody Truck Accidents

Identifying the type of trucking accident you experienced is important because it will also help to determine who was at fault. Identifying who was at fault is paramount to your claim because the person or party who is mostly at fault will be considered legally liable for the accident.

You might think that assigning fault and liability would be pretty straightforward, but that’s rarely the case. Every single party involved has an incentive to blame someone else. Both your insurance provider and the other party will want to minimize fault on their part and instead attempt to assign at least some blame to you.

For these reasons, it makes the most sense to talk about your truck crash with a truck accident lawyer in Dunwoody. They will be able to help you establish fault by collecting the right evidence to prove your claims while also denying any liability on your part.

Establishing Fault in a Dunwoody Truck Accident

So, how will your lawyer help you establish and prove fault after your crash? They’ll do so by helping you collect the right types of evidence that will prove your claims.

One of the first types of evidence your lawyer will collect is the police report. When the authorities came out to the sight of the accident, they launched an initial investigation into what caused the crash and who was at fault. This evidence could work in your favor if police initially determined that something else caused the crash.

Next, your attorneys will look for evidence like crash scene photos, dash cam footage, surveillance footage from nearby businesses, eyewitness testimony, and even expert crash scene analysis.

All of this evidence will work together to establish who was at fault and thus financially liable for your losses.

Common Causes of Dunwoody Truck Accidents

Truck accidents happen for many reasons, but all of them are preventable. The negligence of one party almost always is responsible for an accident. In trucking crashes, there are several parties who could potentially be negligent along the way, which later causes or contributes to your accident. Learn more about the most common causes of these types of collisions below.

Driver Negligence

The number one cause of truck accidents is human error. When a driver takes their eyes off the road, even for a few seconds, they can easily cause a crash. Driver negligence comes in many forms, though, and it can be either intentional or unintentional. Here are a few examples of what would be considered driver negligence:

• Distracted driving
• Fatigued driving
• Driving in a way that breaks federal trucking regulations
• Speeding
• Reckless maneuvers
• Tailgating
• Driving in a trucker’s blind spot
• Impaired or intoxicated driving

All of these behaviors might be considered negligence under Georgia law. Negligence is defined as a breach in the legal duty to provide for other motorist’s care. Every driver automatically assumes a legal duty to provide for the care and safety of other motorists when they get behind the wheel.

It’s important to keep in mind that more than one party can be considered negligent after a crash, especially when the trucker was on duty. There also might be more than one cause of the crash. For instance, a driver could have been both distracted and carrying an improperly loaded cargo haul.

Mechanical Malfunction or Defects

While we’d all like to believe that every vehicle is constructed with the utmost care, negligence can occur during the manufacturing process or the maintenance process. Unfortunately, negligence during the construction process can later lead to a mechanical defect that causes a very serious trucking accident. Similarly, bad maintenance or negligent maintenance can also lead to mechanical malfunction or failure at the worst times.

In these situations, it might be possible to seek out compensation from the truck manufacturer or the trucker’s maintenance company.

Poor Road Conditions

One very serious issue that can lead to devastating accidents is poor road conditions. Anyone who has traversed through America’s roadways long enough has encountered bad road conditions. Here are some of the worst ones to encounter:

• Serious potholes
• Missing guardrails
• Cracked pavement
• Collapsing shoulder areas
• Root intrusion
• Loose junk and debris on the road
• Insufficient lighting
• Poor signage
• A lack of road warnings for serious hazards

Depending on where your crash occurred, the roadway may be being maintained by the city, county, or state. The responsibility for roadway maintenance might also be spread out between multiple agencies. If you discover that one of these governmental agencies was responsible for maintaining the road way and poor road conditions caused your crash, then you might be able to seek out some compensation from the city, state, or county. Discuss these types of accidents with a lawyer to learn more about your options.

Weather Conditions

Another common cause of trucking accidents is adverse weather conditions. There are several ways that poor weather can contribute to accidents. Rain, for instance, can make the road slippery and impact a truck’s traction. Black ice can lead to serious slipping and even rollovers. Fog and dark roads can reduce visibility for all drivers.

When poor weather contributes to an accident, it might be harder to get compensation for the crash, since each driver may be considered equally at fault.

Overloaded or Unsecured Cargo

One common reason for trucking accidents is when loading companies are negligent when putting cargo on the trucks. Loading companies need to follow a very specific process when loading trucks. When cargo is misplaced or stacked poorly, a truck can easily tip over when attempting a sharp turn or going through a curve.

The Legal Process Involved in Pursuing a Claim Against a Trucking Company

Do you believe that someone else’s negligence caused or contributed to your trucking accident in Georgia? If so, then it makes the most sense to discuss your situation with a truck accident law firm in Dunwoody as soon as possible. The legal process involved in pursuing a claim can be pretty complicated, and you’ll need an attorney’s help so that you can focus on your physical recovery.

First, your lawyer will work on collecting evidence and building up your claim. During this, they’ll estimate the value of your claim. Next, they’ll start the legal paperwork necessary to present your arguments to the court and the other party. The other party will get notified once the lawsuit is official, and your lawyer can start negotiations at this point. If you have a strong and clear case, then your claim might get settled at this point. If not, then your claim might go all the way to court.

Hiring a Dunwoody Truck Accident Attorney

Considering all the facts above, it’s in your best interests to speak with a truck accident law firm in Dunwoody after your trucking accident. Hiring a local lawyer makes the most sense when you’re facing substantial financial losses. An attorney will work hard to get you the compensation you need to move forward.

Contact Singleton Law Firm, LLC Now

A trucking accident can happen for many reasons. Identifying what caused your crash is paramount to determining what type of legal options you have for financially recovering from the ordeal. If you were mostly at fault for the crash, then your options will be limited. You may only be able to seek out compensation from your own car insurance policy.

If another party was mostly at fault, however, then you may have the right to seek out legal claim.

To do so, you’ll want to hire a truck accident attorney in Dunwoody. Your lawyer will help you identify the cause, find out who was at fault, document your losses, value your claim, file the legal paperwork to file a claim, and more. Here at Singleton Law Firm, LLC, our team is prepared to help represent you every step of the way. Leave your contact information on our online form now to schedule a free consultation with our best trucking attorneys and discuss your accident in more detail.

Did it happen in Atlanta or Sandy Springs? Make sure to check out our pages for Atlanta Trucking Accident Lawyer and Sandy Springs Truck Accident Lawyer.