Athens Truck Accident Lawyers

An Athens, Georgia, truck accident can leave you with severe injuries, expensive medical bills, missing income, and lost earning capacity – costs you should not have to bear if the 18-wheeler accident wasn’t your fault. A good litigation law firm is an important resource to have during this difficult time, as they can help you hold the responsible parties accountable for what you’ve suffered and pursue the money you need to rebuild your life. Contact Kaufman Injury Law for a free case review with a truck accident attorney and discuss our litigation services in detail.

Why Choose Kaufman Injury Law for Your Truck Accident Claim?

If you’ve been hit by a semi-truck, you could need expensive medical and home health care to recover from your injuries. However, the trucking companies and insurers won’t make getting the financial recovery you need easy. Hiring the right personal injury attorney – one who knows how to build a strong case and isn’t afraid of a legal fight – can make a big difference in the outcome of your truck accident claim. For decades, accident victims in Athens and across Georgia have trusted the legal team at Kaufman Injury Law to help them pursue injury compensation because:

• Our attorneys have over a century of combined legal experience, giving us the knowledge and insight to handle even the most challenging legal cases.
• Our team takes the time to listen to every client’s story and understand their concerns, needs, and goals so we can develop tailored case strategies and legal solutions.
• We handle all the details of our clients’ truck accident claims to give them the freedom to focus on their medical treatment and rehabilitation.
• Our firm works tirelessly to provide high-quality client service to help accident victims through the challenging recovery process. We offer 24/7 availability and will meet you at your home or in the hospital. We also offer bilingual consultations and same-day case reviews.

Common Causes of Truck Accidents

Some of the most common causes of truck crashes in Athens include:

• Speeding or driving too fast for road, weather, and visibility conditions
• Tailgating/following too closely
• Turning or changing lanes without signaling or checking mirrors
• Distracted driving
• Drowsy/fatigued driving
• Driving under the influence
• Running red lights or stop signs
• Failing to yield the right of way
• Improper wide right turns
• Truck driver inexperience or unfamiliarity with routes or local roads
• Inadequate truck or trailer maintenance and repairs
• Unsafe cargo, such as excessive or unbalanced weight or unsecured items

Injuries Suffered in Truck Wrecks

Trucks impart greater force than smaller passenger vehicles due to 18-wheelers’ larger size and weight. As a result, truck wrecks can lead to all kinds of severe injuries, such as:

• Severe lacerations
• Torn ligaments, tendons, or muscles
• Broken bones
• Herniated spinal discs
• Nerve damage
• Internal organ injuries and internal bleeding
• Spinal cord injuries and paralysis
• Facial injuries, including eye trauma
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Burns from post-collision vehicle fires
• Traumatic amputation or limb loss

What Evidence Do You Need to Prove Fault for a Truck Accident?

In many cases, the state- and federally mandated records and logs kept by trucking companies can provide evidence of fault for a truck accident. Examples of evidence you might use to prove a truck driver’s or trucking company’s fault for a crash include:

• The truck driver’s hours of service logs
• The truck’s event data recorder (“black box”) logs
• The truck driver’s driving/employment records
• The cargo manifest
• Pre- or post-trip inspection reports
• The trucking company’s dispatch logs
• Maintenance/repair records

Other evidence you might use in a truck accident claim include police crash reports, surveillance or traffic camera footage, eyewitness testimony, and accident reconstruction expert reports and testimony.

Who Can You Hold Responsible for a Truck Crash?

Depending on the cause of a truck accident, various parties may bear liability for the injuries and losses you suffered as a result, including:

• The truck driver
• The trucking company
• The cargo/shipping company
• The truck’s owner (if not the truck driver or trucking company)
• Third-party mechanics who perform maintenance or repairs on the truck
• The truck’s manufacturer or third-party auto part manufacturers

What Compensation Can You Recover in Trucking Cases

Truck accident damages can provide you with compensation for the financial and personal losses you suffered because of another party’s legal fault. Your injury compensation can provide you with financial recovery for:

• Medical treatment and rehabilitation expenses
• Costs of long-term care/support for prolonged or permanent disabilities that result from your injuries
• Costs of repairing damage to your vehicle or reimbursement of your car’s value if the accident totaled it
• Lost wages/income from missed work or reduced earnings in part-time/light-duty work while recovering from your injuries
• Lost future earning potential and employment benefits if you become permanently disabled from your job or other work
• Pain and suffering, including reduced quality of life caused by disabilities or visible scarring/disfigurement

What Makes Truck Accident Cases More Complicated Than Other Auto Accident Claims?

Truck accident victims frequently discover that pursuing compensation is a complicated process. Some of the challenges that might arise in your truck accident claims include:

• Truck accident victims often suffer more severe injuries and require more compensation, which complicates settlement negotiations if trucking companies balk at higher settlement figures.
• Truck accident cases involve more evidence, potentially requiring accident victims to rely on experts to obtain and review evidence.
• Truck accident claims may involve multiple liable parties who may complicate the case when they contest their share of liability for your injuries and losses.
• Trucking companies may have complex insurance coverage or corporate structures, potentially making it difficult to identify the correct liable parties or determine the amount of insurance coverage in your case.

When Do You Have to File a Truck Accident Lawsuit?

Under Georgia’s statute of limitations on injury claims, you have limited time to pursue compensation for injuries you sustained in a truck crash. You typically have two years after a truck accident to sue a negligent truck driver or trucking company. If you try to file a lawsuit after the limitations period expires on your truck accident claim, the court will likely dismiss it as untimely, costing you your right to recovery. For this reason, you should talk to an Athens, GA, truck accident attorney as soon as possible to file your claims on time.

How Can an Athens Truck Accident Attorney Help?

The personal injury law firm of Kaufman Injury Law can help you by handling all the details of your personal injury claims so you can focus on your medical recovery. Our firm will thoroughly investigate your case to recover all available evidence. We will review the facts to identify parties who may bear liability for your injuries and losses. We will also document your injuries and calculate your ongoing and future losses to determine what fair compensation looks like in your case. You can trust that our firm will aggressively pursue maximum financial recovery for you through a settlement or by advocating for you in court.

Contact Our Firm Today to Discuss Your Legal Options

If you’ve suffered injuries and property damage in a cargo truck accident, you need seasoned legal counsel to help you demand accountability and compensation from the trucking companies. Contact Kaufman Injury Law today for a free legal consultation to discuss how a truck accident lawyer can help you obtain a financial recovery for your medical bills, car repairs, lost income, and pain and suffering.