Douglasville Truck Accident Lawyers

Evidence is Everything. We Take Steps to Protect It.

Timing is everything after an accident involving a big truck. The last thing the trucking company wants is to pay for an injury their driver caused. They’ll go out of their way to send their investigators to the crash scene, sometimes damaging important evidence and obstructing the accident scene in the process. After the trauma of an accident, the last injustice you need is to receive a lowball settlement because the trucking company responsible for your injuries did a lousy job preserving evidence.

There’s a Few Things the Big Companies Might Try. We Won’t Let Them Get Away With It.

We understand the tactics trucking companies, their lawyers, and their insurance partners use and know how to fight against them. These sketchy tactics can 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 so that evidence of vehicle damage and onboard data recorder information is lost.
• 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.

When preserving evidence after a truck accident, timing is everything. Evidence can be lost or destroyed in the days, weeks, and even months after the accident. It is crucial to preserve evidence before it is too late. Our lawyers will thoroughly investigate your accident, including, when appropriate, going to the scene ourselves, using accident reconstruction experts, and more. Here are some additional tips that can help preserve evidence after a big rig crash:

• Take photographs or video footage of the accident scene as soon as possible.
• Speak with witnesses and obtain their contact information for future reference during your case.
• Collect all medical records about the truck accident immediately following treatment at a hospital or doctor’s office.
• Look for any hazardous materials spilled during the accident, including diesel fuel, oil, antifreeze, brake fluid, etc.

When you contact Montlick Injury Attorneys immediately after your accident, we will do everything possible to ensure the evidence you need to win is preserved, safeguarded, and leveraged. Trucking companies work fast, but our Douglasville personal injury attorneys work faster.

The Right Attorney Adds Value to Your Case

Insurance companies award injury victims higher amounts of compensation when those victims have retained legal representation. A study conducted by the Insurance Research Council (IRC) revealed the following:

85% of payouts by insurance companies for personal injury claims were paid to victims that an attorney represented.
Injury victims with legal representation received, on average, 300% more financial compensation than injury victims who did not have legal representation.

An aggressive Montlick tractor-trailer trucking accident lawyer has the negotiating power to help victims obtain substantially greater compensation than they would if they took on the powerful trucking company alone. Our lawyers are willing to go the distance–taking cases to court if that’s what’s necessary to win the total value of our client’s settlement.

Common Truck Accident Injuries

While some injuries from a severe accident may heal, other damages, such as traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and spinal cord injuries, may result in long-term impairments. Injuries obtained from a car accident may include:

• Joint injuries of the shoulder or knee
• Whiplash
• Head and neck injuries
• Disfigurement
• Internal organ damage
• Decapitation
• Amputation
• Spinal cord injuries
• Brain damage
• Dislocations
• Hyper-extensions
• Wrongful death

Compensation You May Receive for Your Injuries

Trucking accidents may be caused by various factors that, in turn, cause injuries. These factors may include speeding, improperly loaded cargo, distracted drivers, poor truck maintenance, reckless driving, failure to observe safety laws, poor road conditions, equipment malfunctions, etc.

Compensation for truck accident victims can cover the following damages:

• Medical Damages: This will include past, current, and estimated future expenses related to the accident. Your truck accident claim expenses include ambulance bills, hospital stays, medical equipment costs, home accommodations, co-pay costs, prescription medications, medical treatment, reconstructive or cosmetic surgery, ongoing medical treatment, mental health counseling, and occupational or physical therapies.
• Lost Wages: Depending on the severity of your injuries, you could be out of work for an extended period. You have the right to be repaid for lost earnings. This could include your employer’s 401(k) or retirement savings contributions, holiday pay, paid time off, bonuses, salary increases, vacation time, and health insurance costs.
• Pain and Suffering Damages: Pain and suffering include non-economic damages that describe the emotional and physical price the accident has caused you. Damages include diminished quality of life, disfiguring skin scars, emotional distress, inconvenience and embarrassment, personal and professional reputational damages, shame and fear, shock and anticipation, and physical pain.
• Punitive Damages: If a truck driver was found to have acted recklessly or with gross negligence in causing an accident, victims may be able to pursue punitive damages to punish the at-fault party.
• Wrongful Death Damages: In cases where a victim dies due to the negligence or recklessness of another party, their family members may be able to seek wrongful death damages. This includes funeral costs and other expenses associated with their death.
• Loss of Consortium Claims: If the victim’s spouse is unable to provide love and companionship due to injury or death caused by a trucking accident, they may claim loss of consortium against the at-fault party.

Montlick Holds At-Fault Trucking Companies Responsible.

Our country’s truck driver shortage hit a record high of over 80,000 drivers in 2021. Given the size of the industry, this shortage spells trouble. With fewer people working, trucking companies are pressured to overwork their current employees. Combine long hours with the poor sleep hygiene of resting on the road, and you get thousands of fatigued truck drivers passing through Georgia daily.

With fewer people working, trucking companies are pressured to overwork their current employees. Combine long hours with the poor sleep hygiene of resting on the road, and you get thousands of fatigued truck drivers on Georgia’s highways daily. Sleep drivers pose severe risks to others on the road. Truck drivers can also be vulnerable to illness due to unrealistic working hours and lack of exercise. Sick drivers may also take over-the-counter or prescription medications that cause drowsiness.

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

Truck companies may be held responsible for the accident if it is proved that they:

• Hired untrained drivers and/or a failure to train drivers
• Failed to ensure a driver has the proper professional driver’s license and clean driving record
• Hired drivers with disqualifying criminal records
• Failed to screen drivers for alcohol or drug use
• Failed to ensure drivers are physically fit to handle long driving shifts
• Violations of weight and load requirements
• Poor adherence to hours of service (HOS) rules
• Failed to ensure all trucks are properly maintained and inspected
• Failed to log all HOS hours for drivers accurately
• Failed to keep updated copies of maintenance and inspection reports for all trucks

Our adept lawyers understand how to litigate trucking accident cases and navigate complex liability. We hold negligent drivers and trucking companies accountable when their irresponsibility and greed contribute to an accident.

Georgia Law About Truck Accidents
You must first prove that the truck driver was at fault to win your trucking accident case. In Georgia, you have to establish liability under respondeat superior. This is a three-step process that involves proving the driver was employed by the trucking company during the accident, that they were acting on behalf of the company, and that the truck driver’s actions were beneficial to their employer.

We Don’t Settle for Less. Neither Should You.^™

Have you suffered injuries because of the negligence of a commercial driver and/or the indifference of a trucking company? You need a Douglasville truck accident lawyer you can trust. Montlick clients focus on getting better while we fight on their behalf to obtain justice and get them through these dark days.

We provide our services on a contingency fee basis, and the initial consultation is always free. You only pay when we win; winning is what we do best.