Truck Accident Lawyers in Jonesboro

Semi-trucks are an integral part of Georgia’s economy. Many of the state’s biggest industries, including agriculture and manufacturing, rely on trucking. If there’s no truck available, a farmer’s entire harvest of one crop could go bad. Without the necessary components, a manufacturer could lose millions of dollars per day due to being late on orders.

Because of this, you’ll see commercial trucks everywhere in Georgia. In Jonesboro, they’re a common sight on major roads like Highway 41 and State Route 54. However, heavy truck traffic also comes with risks. Accidents involving tractor-trailers are much more likely to be serious or fatal than crashes that only involve passenger vehicles.

Victims of truck accidents in Jonesboro have options. At Bailey Javins & Carter, we fight to help victims like you get the compensation they deserve. Learn more about your legal options now by calling us at 800-497-0234.

The Consequences of a Truck Accident Could Follow You Forever

While any type of automobile accident can have a severe or fatal outcome, truck accidents are particularly dangerous for those in passenger vehicles. When a tractor-trailer is fully loaded, it can weigh dozens of times more than a passenger vehicle. Even if it’s moving at 25 miles per hour on a city road, it can cause massive damage with a small tap.

Since these accidents can be so severe, victims are likely to deal with injuries that will affect them forever. Traumatic brain injuries, crushed limbs, amputations, and permanent organ damage are all possible.

The worst-case scenario is a fatal injury, and truck accidents are more likely to result in fatal injuries than other types of collisions. For those who survive their serious injuries, there is the potential for a lifetime of medical care, physical therapy, direct care assistance, and dependence on other people.

Determining the cause of these accidents and figuring out who is liable can be fairly complicated. Not only are truck drivers required to follow the laws of the road, just like other drivers, but they are also bound by laws that are unique to the field of truck driving. Drivers in violation of state or federal truck driving laws could find themselves in trouble beyond the scope of a personal injury claim.

Types of Truck Collisions

The unusual shape of a tractor-trailer means that accidents differ significantly from accidents that only involve standard passenger vehicles. Some of the collisions that may affect semi-trucks include:

• Jackknife: Jackknife accidents are relatively common, as they’re often the result of both inexperienced drivers and poorly balanced loads. When the trailer swings out and away from the tractor, the driver generally loses control of the vehicle and it slides across the road.
• Underride: Underride accidents are often fatal, which is why they’ve been the subject of multiple federal investigations over the years. These generally occur when a driver is not watching the road ahead of them and does not notice that they are behind a tractor-trailer. They run into the tractor-trailer and get wedged underneath the back end. As a result, the front of the smaller vehicle is generally ripped off.
• Rollover: Rollovers can occur as a result of other accidents. For example, a heavily overloaded truck may jackknife and then roll over. Rollovers are always severe, but outcomes vary. For example, a truck not carrying hazardous materials on an empty road is not as bad as a hazardous materials-carrying truck that rolls over on a busy freeway.
• Blind spot: trucks are known for their enormous blind spots. Vehicles that inadvertently end up in a truck’s side, front, or rear blind spot are at serious risk of being hit. While a truck driver may stop as soon as they make contact, that’s still plenty of time to cause significant damage.
• Pile-up: A pile-up is always possible with a truck collision. These accidents often block off entire roads, leading to secondary accidents as people try to avoid the primary accident.

Who’s Liable for Your Injuries?

A number of parties could be partially or completely liable for the accident and your injuries. Potentially liable parties include:

• The truck driver: The truck driver could be at fault for the accident if they were negligent while driving. This is often the case if the driver was impaired, fatigued, or distracted at the time of the crash. While the driver may be at fault, liability generally falls to the employer. This is obviously not the case for owner-operators, as they are self-employed contractors.
• The trucking company: The company employing the truck driver could be liable. Beyond simply being liable for the driver’s errors, they too may have made mistakes. If they ignored red flags in a driver’s history when employing them, failed to do background checks that would have uncovered a dangerous driving history, or forced the driver to ignore safe driving standards, they may have some liability.
• The cargo loading company: Cargo must be loaded in a specific way and within certain parameters to avoid an overloaded or unbalanced truck. When loaders ignore these standards, they may be responsible for subsequent accidents.
• Vehicle manufacturer: When a vehicle is unsafely designed or manufactured, the company that makes it may be at fault for accidents resulting from those flaws.

How the Team at Bailey Javins & Carter Can Help

If you’ve been hurt in a truck accident, it’s important to have an aggressive and experienced truck accident attorney advocating for you. The truck driver has a number of parties on their side—their employer, their employer’s legal team, and their employer’s insurance provider, to name a few. None of those people are focused on getting you the compensation you deserve. In fact, they simply want to protect their clients from financial loss.

We know how complex these cases can be and how to best utilize the variety of evidence available after a collision. From the vehicle’s black box to the employer’s hiring records and physical evidence, we will use everything at our disposal to build a strong case supporting your claim for compensation. Instead of feeling bullied by insurance companies and trucking companies, you can focus on your own journey to recovery.

Reach Out Today—We Are Here to Help You

Don’t wait any longer to talk to a truck accident lawyer in Jonesboro. Under Georgia law, you only have two years from the date of the accident to file a claim. Call us at 800-497-0234 or send us a quick message to talk to one of our attorneys.