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Whether you’re driving along I-85, I-285 or another highway in Brookhaven, you’re going to be sharing the road with semi-trucks. And if you are involved in an accident with one of these huge vehicles, the consequences can be dire. More than 150 people died in truck crashes in Georgia in 2014, and thousands more were injured. If your car has been in an accident with a semi-truck, you may be able to get money for your injuries. You need a Brookhaven truck accident lawyer on your side.
At John Foy & Associates, we’ve been helping people cope with their losses from truck accidents for more than 20 years. We know how to get insurance companies to pay for your medical bills, the time you’ve lost from work and other costs. We’d like to offer you a free consultation to learn what happened to you and explain how we can help. Let us give you a free consultation. Call us at 404-400-4000 and get your free consultation today.
Are 18-wheeler accidents worse than other types of accidents?
Yes, and you only have to look at the size of a big semi truck to see why. Traveling on the highway, a semi dwarfs an ordinary sedan, and it weighs far more too – as much as 80,000 pounds when carrying a full load. In an accident, a semi can easily crush almost anything in its path.
Nationwide, there were 83,000 injury crashes involving large trucks in 2015 alone. One contributing factor was the truck drivers and trucking companies. Truck drivers notoriously are held to difficult schedules that don’t allow them enough time to rest. Fatigue is a major factor in many truck crashes.
Also contributing to the severity of truck accidents is the geometry of the trucks themselves. Trucks have major blind spots, especially along their sides, that make it difficult to see cars in the adjacent lanes. Trucks also have a different braking system than passenger cars, and this makes it hard for trucks to stop suddenly. And when a driver tries to make a sudden maneuver or misjudges a turn, 18 wheelers can “jackknife” or tip over, spilling the truck’s load or causing massive damage.
Who is liable for my injuries in a semi-truck accident?
Liability depends on the way your accident happened and who owns and operates the truck. In highway accidents, the party who is liable is the one who was negligent, or careless, usually because of driving in an unsafe manner or not following traffic laws. But sometimes a driver’s employer is held liable, or there might be a third party whose negligence caused the accident. Depending the situation, several different parties might be liable for a semi-truck accident, including the trucking company, the driver, a third party that did maintenance on the truck, or another motorist on the road.
As long as you didn’t cause the accident, however, you have a valid claim and the City of Brookhaven allows you to recover money from whoever is liable. Accidents are expensive, and the money you receive can make up for what you have had to pay for medical care, time lost from work, and repairing or replacing your car.
Many people who were badly hurt in a truck accident recover large amounts of money for “pain and suffering.” When someone dies in a truck accident, immediate family members can recover “wrongful death” damages for their losses. For many accident victims, this money is the only thing that makes it possible to continue treatment, pay the bills, and begin focusing on the future.
The insurance company is already offering me money. Should I take it?
Be wary of that first offer you get from the insurance company. It isn’t as good as you think it is. Insurance is a for-profit business, and that means insurance companies want to make as much money as possible. How do they do this? By paying as little as they can to people who make claims after being injured.
Almost every time, the offer you received is much less that you are really entitled to. The insurance company knows that you are probably feeling a lot of stress and worry about the accident and your future, and it hopes you’ll snap up the first thing you’re offered. The catch is, you can only get one insurance settlement, and if you take the first offer, you won’t be able to get more or file a lawsuit for your injuries.
A better approach is to be patient and set up a consultation with a good personal injury lawyer. Once you have a lawyer on your team, you don’t have to worry about negotiating with the insurance company or proving how badly you were hurt – your lawyer has that covered, making it easier for you to work on getting treatment and recovering. And having a lawyer usually means you ultimately get far more money than you would have received otherwise.
How long do I have to file a claim in a truck accident?
There are time limits for filing claims in injury cases. These are known as “statutes of limitations” and they are found in both state and federal laws. In Georgia, the statute of limitations for truck accidents is usually two years from the date the accident happened. But some types of accidents have a much shorter time frame.
If you miss the deadline for filing a claim, the local courts will dismiss your claim, and you will be stuck footing the bill for an accident that wasn’t your fault. To prevent this from happening, it is critical to talk to a good truck accident lawyer as soon as possible after your accident.
Talk to a Brookhaven Truck Accident Lawyer
At John Foy & Associates, we only do one thing, and in 20 years we’ve learned to do it very well: we get money for people who have been injured. We have an affordable payment policy — you never pay us at all unless we succeed in getting you paid. Let us give you a free consultation to explain how we can help you with your claim. Call us at 404-400-4000 or fill out the form to your right and get your FREE consultation today.
