A woman was struck and killed by a piece of metal protruding from a truck in Clayton County.
The pedestrian was not even on the roadway but was in a grassy area off to the side of the road. Law enforcement accident investigators indicated that they believe a metal fence pole fell off the truck of a fencing company. The metal object struck the accident victim in the back of the head.
While most times people assume that truck accidents involving unsecured or improperly secured loads involve tractor-trailers, sometimes serious traffic accidents in Atlanta and throughout Georgia involve loads that are ejected from the bed of an ordinary pickup truck. Pickup truck accidents can be the result of collisions or failure to properly secure cargo in the bed of the truck.
Pickup truck accidents involving the ejection of cargo from the truck bed are very common regardless of whether the truck is being used for household purposes like transporting trash to the dump or for a commercial use like transporting supplies to a construction work site. Many times pickup trucks are used as a commercial vehicle and may carry cargo in the bed that can be very dangerous if it flies out of the truck bed. The truck may also transport cargo like lumber or long poles that protrude beyond the back of the truck posing a hazard to vehicles following behind the pickup truck.
Improperly loaded and inadequately secured loads can put other motorists at risk by forcing drivers to take evasive action because of obstacles in the roadway. Large items may fall out of the bed of a pickup because they are not sufficiently tied down whereas smaller cargo may be carried out of the pickup bed by strong winds or even a bump in the road. While cargo falling into the roadway poses a significant danger of causing car accidents on Atlanta roadways, some pickup truck accidents may even be caused by items that fall from a pickup truck and crash through the windshield of a vehicle traveling behind or in an adjacent lane to the pickup.
Pickup trucks are heavier and longer than many passenger vehicles, which can also make them more difficult to drive than other passenger vehicles. An inexperienced driver or one who does not respect the fundamental difference in the handling or braking of a pickup truck may pose an increased risk of causing a Georgia pickup accident. Although tailgating or multitasking while driving are always unsafe driving practices, they are particularly dangerous when driving a pickup truck. When pickup trucks are involved in collisions with a smaller passenger vehicle, like a compact car, the weight differential can mean serious injury to the driver of the lighter vehicle.
If a pickup truck driver does not properly secure the load in the bed of the vehicle or fails to drive safely, the driver may be liable for a resulting accident and injuries or wrongful death caused by the accident. If the pickup is a work truck driven by an employee within the scope of employment, the company that employs the driver may also be liable for a Georgia or Atlanta pickup truck accident. Sometimes pickup truck accidents in Atlanta are caused by vehicle defects, which may mean that manufacturer of the vehicle is also liable for any accident-related injuries or fatalities.
The experienced Atlanta pickup truck accident lawyers at Montlick Injury Attorneys are committed to providing exemplary legal services as part of our ongoing goal of being the best personal injury lawyers in Atlanta. We have been representing personal injury victims in Atlanta and throughout Georgia for over 39 years with zealousness and dedication.
