Chattanooga Truck Accident Lawyer

We Fight for Victims of All Kinds of Truck Accidents

In 2022, in Chattanooga, the Tennessee Highway Safety Office reported 144 traffic fatalities. This comes out to more than two per day. In trucking accidents, victims are mainly the occupants of other vehicles, not the truck itself, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). At Montlick, we defend victims of all trucking accidents, including:

I-75 Accidents
The I-75 is one of the busiest roadways in the country, running through six states. This high traffic volume dramatically increases your risk of an accident when traveling along it. As countless commercial vehicles must use I-75 to get from place to place, collisions involving trucks can occur for various reasons and leave their victims with catastrophic, or even fatal, injuries.

Rollover Accidents
Rollover accidents occur when trucks tip over onto their sides, potentially causing traffic blockage, spilled cargo, or collisions. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration conducted a study that revealed most rollovers were caused by a failure to adjust speed on curves. Additional causes included inattentiveness, sleeping, distractions, and over-steering/overcorrecting.

Tire Blowout Accidents
Wear and tear on tires that are not carefully monitored can trigger a dangerous blowout. Blowouts make the trucks extremely difficult to control, even for the most experienced driver, potentially causing a devastating accident. A tractor-trailer or other commercial vehicle that experiences a blowout may have multiple parties liable for the accident.

Jackknife Accidents
The term “jackknife” refers to an accident where a truck with two separate parts folds in on itself at the point of separation, forming a 90-degree angle “V” shape. These accidents occur when a driver brakes too hard or drives around a curve too fast. They are particularly dangerous due to the vehicle’s size and unpredictability in the “V” shape.

Logging Truck Accidents
Logging truck accidents mainly occur when a driver is fatigued, unfamiliar with the road, speeding, or carrying an oversized load. Logging trucks that are too heavy often crash because they cannot stop in time. They leave behind debris that becomes hazardous to other drivers on the road, forcing them to lose control and contributing to an even larger crash.

Drunk Driving Accidents
Drunk driving is perhaps the most dangerous cause of all. Operating a truck while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, drivers are not only jeopardizing their own lives but the lives of those around them. Alcohol and other intoxicants impact the driver’s ability to focus and inhibit motor skills, making drunk drivers prone to speeding, tailgating, and not stopping in time to avoid obstacles ahead.

Driver Fatigue Accidents
Truck drivers often are on the job for long periods, causing difficulty in staying alert and focused. Fatigued truck drivers are more at risk of making poor decisions, leading to catastrophic crashes. Studies have shown that extreme fatigue can be just as dangerous as drunk driving. Drivers should assess their mental state and determine whether they can operate a motor vehicle safely.

And more
Montlick’s Chattanooga truck accident lawyers take on all kinds of commercial vehicle accident cases, including collisions with dump trucks, garbage trucks, tow trucks, cement trucks, box trucks, semi-tractor trailers, cargo vans and more. When you or a loved one are injured due to a trucking accident, don’t hesitate to call Montlick for support.

Don’t Let Big Companies Take Advantage of You

Time is of the essence when you’ve been involved in a trucking accident. Montlick’s dedicated team of legal minds will work diligently to investigate every aspect of your case, from gathering and preserving evidence to interviewing witnesses and handling the insurance company for you. The trucking company and its associates may try underhanded tactics to minimize your claim. Tactics could include:

• Manipulating logbooks: Drivers and companies must track critical issues like driver fatigue based on hours of service and maintenance issues. In some cases, trucking companies have been known to falsify those logs.
• Hiding vehicle damage: Companies will often repair a truck involved in an accident and put that truck back in service, compromising evidence of vehicle damage and even deleting onboard data recorder information
• Dodging Responsibility: Companies might characterize the driver and trucking company relationship as an independent contractor rather than an employment relationship so the company can avoid liability and minimize the amount they have to pay you.
• Shifting blame: Companies and their lawyers often try to shift responsibility to accident victims to avoid paying out.

Our team will work fast to preserve evidence important to your case. As evidence can be lost or destroyed in the days, weeks, and even months after the accident, it’s crucial to collect what you can before it’s too late. Our lawyers will thoroughly investigate your accident, when appropriate, going to the scene ourselves, using accident reconstruction experts, and more.

How Do Trucking Accidents Typically Occur?

We hope that you never need the services of a semi-truck accident attorney. But, if you do, trust Montlick’s top-rated Chattanooga law firm to provide you with comprehensive legal representation. Over the years, we’ve seen all types of trucking accidents Cases have been caused by:

• Exhaustion
• Road rage
• Speeding
• Improper loading
• Drunk driving
• Overworking
• Improper road education
• Road conditions
• Distractions

The Reality of The Trucking Industry

Additional studies published by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration have revealed that:

• 65% of all truck drivers report they often feel drowsy when driving
• Nearly 50% report falling asleep while driving.
• 17% of commercial truck drivers involved in collisions were under the influence of over-the-counter drugs

When you need winning representation that treats you with respect and dignity, call Montlick. One of our Chattanooga truck wreck lawyers will evaluate your case at no cost.

Common Truck Accident Injuries

The force of impact in any motor vehicle crash can cause severe injury or permanent disability. Although some injuries can eventually heal, traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), spinal cord injuries, and other forms of injury may result in long-term cognitive and physical impairment. Some of the types of injuries that may be experienced by a driver, passenger, motorcyclist, bicyclist, or pedestrian in cases that we handle include:

• Joint injuries of the shoulder or knee
• Whiplash
• Head and neck injuries
• Disfigurement
• Internal organ damage
• Amputation
• Spinal cord injuries (paraplegia or quadriplegia)
• Brain damage impacting cognitive functioning
• Dislocations and hyper-extensions
• Wrongful death

Steps to Take After Being Injured in a Truck Accident in Chattanooga

The accident happened. Now, you have the power to improve your chances of recovering compensation. The first moments after a truck accident are crucial. If you are safely able, remember to:

Seek Medical Attention
Even if you don’t feel injured, receiving a medical evaluation as soon as possible is critical because some injuries may not manifest until hours or days later.

Document the Scene
Make sure to document the accident scene and take pictures of your car and any other cars involved in the incident. Take note of road conditions, traffic signals, weather conditions, and anything else that might help prove who was at fault in the accident.

Collect Evidence
Collect information from all parties involved in the accident, including insurance details, contact information of witnesses, and any other relevant information. In the coming weeks, document everything related to the accident, such as receipts for medical expenses, repair costs, rental cars or taxis taken due to injury or damage caused by the accident, etc. Keep detailed communication records with insurance companies and lawyers to prove when specific steps were taken in filing a lawsuit or negotiating a settlement offer.

If this sounds like a lot to keep track of while trying to heal, that’s because it is. And that’s why Montlick is here, to handle all the complicated aspects of your case–big and small–so you can focus on your physical recovery.

Contact Montlick Injury Attorneys
When clients come to us after a truck accident that has resulted in injury, we sympathize with the physical, financial, and emotional stress they’re dealing with. While nothing can truly compensate for how a car accident injury changes your life, the law can provide financial recourse for lost wages, medical care, pain and suffering, and more in negligence cases.

The sooner you contact one of our Chattanooga 18-wheeler wreck lawyers for a free case evaluation, the better off you’ll be.

What Could My Car Accident Settlement Pay For?

Montlick Injury Attorneys can help you understand what types of compensation you may be entitled to receive after an injury-causing crash. Our team is dedicated to helping personal injury victims recover maximum compensation so they can move forward following an unexpected tragedy.

Damages that could be available include:

Economic damages: These are intended to reimburse victims for money lost due to injuries. This includes medical bills, property damage, lost wages, and any other monetary loss caused by the accident.

Non-economic Damages: These damages are designed to compensate victims for intangible losses such as pain and suffering, emotional distress, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life, and more.

Punitive Damages: In some cases, punitive damages may also be awarded if the responsible party is found negligent or reckless in causing the accident. Punitive damages are intended to punish wrongdoers and discourage others from similar behavior in the future. Punitive damages are most commonly sought in drunk or drugged driving cases.

Wrongful Death: If a loved one has died due to a car accident caused by another party’s negligence or recklessness, their family may be able to pursue wrongful death damages from the responsible parties. These damages could include medical expenses incurred before death, funeral costs, loss of companionship and support the deceased person provided, and more.

Loss of Consortium Claims: If the victim’s spouse is unable to give love and companionship due to injury or death caused by a trucking accident, the spouse may claim loss of consortium against the at-fault party.

These are just a few of the potential damages that Montlick may be able to recover on your behalf. If you have been injured in an auto accident involving negligence, contact us to learn about your rights and what steps are necessary to protect those rights.

Our Attorneys Know What it Takes to Win^®

We believe comprehensive legal representation is a right, not a privilege. That’s why we provide our services on a contingency fee basis. You only pay when we win; winning is what we do best. Past results include: