Truck accidents a threat to Georgia motorist safety

February 21, 2013

Collisions with tractor trailers and other heavy trucks are some of the biggest threats Georgia motorists face. It is not that truckers are any more likely to cause an accident than other drivers -- in fact, because of the strict regulations they face, most truckers and trucking companies take safety very seriously.

The real danger comes from the fact that commercial trucks are so much larger than passenger vehicles. A fully-loaded tractor trailer can weigh as much as 80,000 pounds. By comparison, the average passenger vehicle weighs somewhere between 3,000 and 4,000 pounds. In a crash, this sheer size disparity means that vehicle occupants are more likely to experience death or catastrophic injury.

Fatal Bartow county truck crash

An example of the harm trucking accidents can cause can be found in a crash that occurred in late December 2012 in Bartow County, Georgia. At the time of the accident, a 29-year-old woman and her 4-year-old passenger were occupying a Ford Expedition that was travelling in the right lane of northbound I-75. The driver of a tractor trailer traveling in the center lane apparently did not see the Expedition and changed lanes, sending the SUV off the road.

The SUV crashed into a guardrail before hitting a signpost and bursting into flames. Both occupants were killed.

The truck driver who caused the crash fled from the scene of the accident without stopping. The Georgia State Police launched a search for the vehicle -- a late '90s maroon long-nosed Peterbilt with a silver trailer -- but, as of mid-February 2013, it was still unclear whether the suspect driver had been found.

Georgia truck accident lawsuits

When truck accidents occur, Georgia law gives victims a number of options for seeking justice.

If the accident results in injuries, the victims can pursue financial compensation in personal injury lawsuits. Some of the compensable elements of damage in these cases include medical bills, lost wages and pain and suffering.

If the accident involved fatalities, the families of those killed can sue for wrongful death. Wrongful death lawsuits are intended to provide for the things the victims would have provided to their families, had they lived. Some of the compensable elements of damage in wrongful death lawsuits include funeral expenses, loss of the victim's future earnings, loss of inheritance, loss of the victim's care and companionship and the family's pain and suffering.

In order to succeed in these claims, truck accident victims need to be able to show that the accident was caused by negligence. In some cases, the blame will lie with a truck driver who made unsafe decisions behind the wheel. In other instances, though, the fault may be attributed to a trucking company that performed inadequate maintenance or a manufacturer that incorporated safety defects into its vehicles or parts.

Truck accident lawsuits are complicated, especially when more than one party may be at fault. If you or a loved one has been the victim of a truck accident, talk to an experienced Georgia personal injury attorney who can evaluate your case and help you understand your options for moving forward.

Article provided by McCamy, Phillips, Tuggle & Fordham, L.L.P.
Visit us at www.mccamylaw.com