Macon Truck Accident Attorneys

Large commercial trucks are a common sight in and around Macon. Whether they are pulling up to a downtown business to offload goods or racing along Interstate 16, they command the attention of everyone around.

These trucks are also dangerous. Weighing up to 40 tons, semi-trucks and other big rigs can cause devastating damage when they collide with smaller cars. Injured motorists often have no idea what happened, but they suffer painful, sometimes crippling injuries. If you’ve been involved in a crash, contact Wetherington Law Firm today. Our Macon truck accident attorney is eager to learn your story and discuss how we can help obtain compensation.

Types of Semi-Truck Accidents

While many accidents occur Some of the most common semi-truck accidents in Macon include:

• Overrides: A truck can collide with the vehicle in front of it, sometimes even riding up onto the car. Those sitting in the back can suffer serious, often fatal, injuries.
• Rear-end Collisions: Trucks colliding with the backend of a vehicle can cause horrific damage to both the vehicle and those inside of it.
• Underrides: Trailers sit high enough off the ground that a smaller car can slide underneath. The guard on the back of the trailer might fail, and there are no guards to prevent an underride on the side.
• Rollovers: A semi can roll onto its side when cargo shifts in the trailer, or the truck takes a turn going uphill or downhill.
• Jackknifes: The trailer can swing out at an angle and slam into traffic in adjoining lanes.
• Tire Blowouts: Truck tires are under tremendous stress, and a truck is difficult to operate when tires explode.

Because these trucks are so large, any collision can seriously injure pedestrians and other motorists.

Common Causes of Truck Accidents in Macon

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration performed a study to uncover what causes truck accidents. This causation study identified associated risk factors for critical events like leaving a lane or losing control of a truck. Some of the most common associated risk factors were:

• Brake problems: 29%
• Driving too fast for conditions: 23%
• Lack of familiarity with the road: 22%
• Road defects or problems: 20%
• Over-the-counter drug use: 17%
• Driver fatigue: 13%

Sometimes multiple things go wrong at once, causing a collision. This is true if a driver is fatigued from driving too long but also takes over-the-counter drugs which makes him even sleepier.

We also need to consider a victim’s own contributory negligence. Some motorists pass in a blind spot or drive too closely to the truck. Georgia law states that you can sue only if your negligence is less than the negligence of all defendants combined. In practice, this means you need to be less than 50% at fault for your crash.

Truck Accident Victims Often Sustain Serious Injuries

Truck accidents are often more catastrophic than smaller automobile accidents due to their weight, speed, cargo, and overall size of the vehicle. Even “minor” fender-benders with a truck can result in whiplash, lacerations, bruising, and more. Accidents on freeways or other main roads can result in more serious, long-lasting injuries such as:

• Traumatic brain injuries
• Broken bones
• Vision impairment
• Internal bleeding
• Burns
• Spinal cord damage
• Nerve damage
• Paralysis
• Wrongful death
• Neck injuries
• Back injuries

Many of these injuries may not be known until the days following the incident. It’s crucial to seek medical attention directly following an accident to ensure any injuries do not go untreated.

What Should You Do Following a Trucking Accident?

Any collision with a semi-truck is terrifying. If you suffer serious injuries, all you can do is hope someone calls an ambulance to take you to the hospital. However, if you can move around at all, we recommend the following steps to improve your odds of receiving a settlement.

1. Photograph the accident scene. Use your phone to take a picture of where the vehicles ended up and any debris field. The truck might be resting on your car. If not, photograph where they collided and zoom in to show dents and scrapes.
2. Obtain information from the driver, such as license, employer contact information, and insurance information. Also, take a picture of the truck’s license plate.
3. Identify witnesses to the crash. They could include other motorists who stop to render assistance. Ask each witness for their name and contact information.
4. Go to the hospital soon after finishing up at the accident scene. You should have a doctor look at you to diagnose injuries. The sooner you start a treatment plan, the better.

While seeking medical attention is crucial to your health and well-being, it also helps ensure all costs incurred because of the accident are documented properly. Having this documentation is key in helping our trucking accident lawyers in Macon maximize your compensation. Oftentimes, insurance companies will offer minimal settlements to victims to close the claims as quickly as possible. Working with our firm can help maximize your settlement offer by compiling a detailed list of all our economic and non-economic damages incurred.

Who Can Be Held Liable for a Truck Accident?

Anyone liable for the crash is legally obligated to pay compensation to victims. For this reason, our Macon truck accident lawyers get to work right away trying to identify who is to blame.

Truck accidents are complex events. Any number of businesses or individuals could share blame for the collision. Some of the more common liable parties include:

• Truck Driver: The trucker could have been negligent, reckless, or intoxicated while driving.
• Trucking Company: The trucking company could be liable because they did not maintain their fleet of trucks or they did not perform necessary background checks on drivers. A trucking company is often automatically liable when its employee injures someone.
• Loading Companies: An unsecured or unbalanced load in the trailer can cause a rollover, jackknife, or other collision. We can sue loading companies when their negligence contributes to a wreck.
• Mechanics: A mechanic could have done poor work on a truck or failed to identify a problem when inspecting it.
• Tire Manufacturer: If a blown tire had a defect, the manufacturer could be responsible for the collision.
• Truck Manufacturer: The manufacturer might be liable for putting a dangerous product on the marketplace. We can sue the manufacturer or the manufacturer for a defective part.
• Government: A road defect might have contributed to a crash. We can sue the entity responsible for the road.

As experienced Macon truck accident lawyers, we excel at sifting through the evidence to identify liability. For example, we can review any photographs or police reports describing the accident. We will also listen to you describe what happened.

Truck Accidents & Wrongful Death Claims

Unfortunately, many people die in truck accidents. In Georgia, 234 people died in a collision involving a large truck in 2020. This number was much higher than in preceding years, which is somewhat surprising. For the sake of comparison, only 192 people died in collisions involving big trucks in 2018.

If you lost a loved one in a truck accident, you might have a wrongful death claim. This is a particular type of lawsuit that compensates family members for the death of a family member. In Georgia, the personal representative files the suit, but certain family members will receive any compensation.

Call Our Macon Truck Accident Lawyers Today

The days and weeks following a truck accident are disorientating. Let us help. If you call the Wetherington Law Firm, we can meet to discuss your case. Based on what we hear, we’ll analyze your odds of bringing a successful claim for compensation. Contact Matt Wetherington today to get started.