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Were you injured in Lawrenceville, GA or its surroundings? Our lawyers can help you recover from your losses. We have decades of combined experience handling local personal injury cases.
Having a local personal injury lawyer with experience with and knowledge of the actual value of your case is vital to ensuring you receive the most compensation possible for your injuries.
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Dacula Truck Accident Lawyer: Seeking Compensation for Truck Accident Victims
Large trucks, including tractor-trailers, 18-wheelers, and big rigs, are a common sight on the roadways in and around Dacula, Georgia. These vehicles often traverse major routes like Georgia State Route 13, as well as smaller, less-traveled roads.
When a large truck collides with a smaller vehicle, such as a passenger car, motorcycle, or bicycle, it can result in devastating and even fatal injuries. Unfortunately, in such collisions, it is typically the occupants of the smaller vehicles who suffer the most severe injuries and damages.
If you’ve been injured in a recent truck accident caused by the negligence of the truck driver or another party, you may have the right to seek compensation and damages through legal action.
Our experienced Dacula truck accident attorneys at Spaulding Injury Law can thoroughly review the circumstances of your accident, determine if you have a viable truck accident claim or lawsuit, and guide you through the entire process.
We will also help you negotiate a fair settlement with the at-fault truck driver’s insurance company. In the event the insurance adjuster is unwilling to provide a favorable compensation offer for your injuries, we can proceed with filing a lawsuit and representing your case in the Georgia State Court System, working towards an efficient resolution.
For a free case evaluation and legal consultation with a knowledgeable truck accident lawyer, please contact our office directly today.
How Truck Drivers Cause Motor Vehicle Accidents:
A significant number of trucking accidents in the Dacula, Georgia, region result from truck driver negligence. Reckless operation of trucks or violations of state and federal motor carrier regulations significantly increase the likelihood of a traffic accident causing severe injuries.
Some of the most common types of truck driver negligence that lead to serious accidents include:
- Exceeding the posted speed limit
- Failing to yield the right-of-way to smaller vehicles
- Violating state or federal motor carrier regulations, such as those related to load limits, lighting requirements, and loading procedures
- Failing to use turn signals while changing lanes or making turns
- Failing to use side view mirrors while switching lanes or backing out of parking spaces
- Driving too fast for weather or traffic conditions
- Exhibiting road rage
- Tailgating other drivers
In addition to these road rule violations, some truck accidents happen when drivers operate under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Some truck drivers resort to controlled substances to stay awake for extended periods, which may result in drowsiness while driving. At other times, truck drivers consume alcohol before driving, significantly increasing the chances of causing a traffic accident.
Alcohol, in particular, can impair a truck driver’s mental state and limit concentration abilities. An intoxicated truck driver may experience blurred vision, dizziness, delayed reflexes, and delayed reaction time. As a result, they might speed, tailgate, or aggressively maneuver in traffic, inadvertently causing serious accidents that leave other drivers and passengers severely injured.
Furthermore, some truck crashes happen when drivers fail to pay attention to the road. A truck driver may divert their attention to a GPS navigation system, smartphone, music system, or other distractions instead of attentively watching the road and mirrors. As a result, the distracted driver may fail to notice other vehicles or pedestrians, leading to serious collisions.
Our knowledgeable truck accident lawyers at Spaulding Injury Law can thoroughly review your accident circumstances and determine whether you are eligible to file a personal injury claim or lawsuit. If you qualify, we will explain your legal options, answer all your questions, and help you pursue the maximum compensation available to you for your truck accident case.
Other Common Causes of Truck Crashes:
Apart from negligent truck drivers, trucking accidents may also occur under the following circumstances:
- When repair facilities fail to perform their work safely and properly, causing the truck to malfunction while on the road.
- When truck part manufacturers or designers cut corners or fail to test their products before making them available for purchase, causing a truck to malfunction while on the road.
Types of Truck Accidents in Dacula:
When drivers, including truck drivers, act negligently or recklessly, several types of truck accidents can occur. Some of the most common examples of truck crashes in the Dacula area include:
- Rear-end truck accidents, where the front of a truck collides with the back of another vehicle, often due to the truck driver’s inattentiveness or speeding.
- Head-on truck accidents, where the front of a truck collides with the front of a vehicle traveling in the opposite lane.
- Sideswipe accidents, where the side of a truck collides with the side of another vehicle traveling in the same direction.
- Truck jackknife accidents, where a truck driver speeds around a sharp curve or down a hill, causing the tractor and trailer to fold inward on each other and leading to a multi-vehicle pile-up.
- Truck rollover accidents, where a truck fully or partially overturns in the middle of the roadway.
T-bone or broadside accidents, where the front of a truck collides with the side of another vehicle at a traffic intersection, often due to the truck driver’s failure to yield the right-of-way.
If you recently suffered injuries in one of these types of truck accidents caused by another driver’s negligence, it is crucial that you seek the legal help you need immediately. At Spaulding Injury Law, we can assist you in filing a timely personal injury claim or lawsuit against the responsible party to recover the compensation you need for your accident-related losses.
Injuries that Truck Accident Victims Suffer:
Victims of serious truck accidents in Dacula often sustain debilitating injuries that require ongoing medical treatment, complex medical procedures (including surgeries), and significant pain, suffering, and inconvenience.
The injuries that a truck accident victim suffers typically depend on several factors, such as whether the victim was a driver or passenger in the vehicle, the force of the collision, the type of truck accident, and the movement of the victim’s body in their car during the crash.
Some of the most common truck accident injuries in Dacula include:
- Traumatic head and brain injuries
- Rib fractures
- Internal organ damage
- Soft tissue whiplash injuries
- Broken bones
- Spinal cord damage
- Full or partial paralysis
- Bruises
- Open lacerations
If you suffered one or more of these injuries in a recent truck accident, it is crucial that you undergo a comprehensive medical treatment regimen to increase your chances of a full recovery. It is equally essential to contact a skilled truck accident attorney right away.
At Spaulding Injury Law, we can handle the legal aspects of your personal injury claim while you focus on recovering from your injuries and obtaining the necessary medical treatment.
Common Injuries from Truck Accidents
Trucks can cause severe injuries due to their sheer size. People might suffer from issues like traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, internal damages, or even mental challenges such as PTSD, depression, or anxiety. Recovering from such incidents requires extensive medical care and therapy.
Spaulding Injury Law understands the complexities of these injuries and their long-term effects. Our aim? To secure compensation that truly reflects the depth and breadth of the injuries so victims can heal properly.
Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs)
Imagine a scenario where a truck rear-ends a car, causing the car’s driver to hit their head on the wheel. This can result in a traumatic brain injury (TBI), which might affect memory, behavior, and even physical capabilities. Compensation for such injuries covers medical treatment, therapy, lost income, and pain and suffering.
Spinal Cord Injuries
Consider a biker getting hit by a truck and being thrown off, injuring their spine. Such an injury might result in paralysis or loss of bodily functions. Compensation in these cases can cover medical treatments, ongoing therapy, home modifications, lost income, and quality of life changes.
Internal Injuries
A pedestrian might get struck by a careless truck driver, leading to internal injuries that might not be immediately apparent. Timely diagnosis and treatment are crucial. Compensation here can include medical costs, surgeries, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
Psychological and Emotional Injuries
A close call with a truck could leave someone mentally scarred, leading to conditions like PTSD, anxiety, or depression. These issues require care just as physical injuries do. Compensation might cover therapy, medication, lost income, and emotional trauma.
For all these situations, having a seasoned personal injury attorney is essential. They can guide you, ensuring you consider all potential damages and fight for them.
How Spaulding Injury Law Can Elevate Your Case
In Dacula, many truck accidents are traced back to driver negligence, safety lapses, or even the trucking company’s recklessness. These issues might arise from driver fatigue, poor training, mechanical issues, or distractions.
Aware of the profound effects such accidents can have on a person’s life, we at Spaulding Injury Law are unwavering in our commitment to secure comprehensive compensation for every suffering endured.
Driver Fatigue
Driver fatigue is a situation where truck drivers become too tired to focus correctly because of prolonged driving without sufficient rest. When such fatigue becomes the cause of an accident, Spaulding Injury Law steps in. They meticulously comb through logbooks and GPS data to determine if the driver violated any regulations about driving durations. By showcasing the role of fatigue in the accident, they build a robust case for their clients.
Poor Training
A truck driver’s inadequate training can be a primary reason behind some accidents. Such drivers might lack the necessary skills or knowledge to respond appropriately during unexpected road situations. Spaulding Injury Law delves into the background, checking the driver’s training records. If it turns out that the driver was ill-prepared for the road, they highlight the trucking company’s negligence in ensuring their drivers are adequately trained.
Mechanical Issues
Sometimes, the truck itself is the problem. Mechanical failures, like malfunctioning brakes or faulty lights, can result in catastrophic incidents. Recognizing this, Spaulding Injury Law uses experts to inspect the involved trucks post-accident. Unearthed issues, especially those that were overlooked or ignored, become powerful evidence, pinning the blame on the trucking company or the driver for not maintaining the vehicle.
Distractions
With the rise of technology, distractions, such as texting or talking on the phone, have become a significant concern on roads. A momentary lapse in attention due to these distractions can lead to severe accidents. The team at Spaulding Injury Law is adept at gathering evidence like phone records or even eyewitness accounts to highlight a driver’s distracted state during the accident.
Overall, Spaulding Injury Law understands the multifaceted causes behind truck accidents. Their experience and dedication ensure that victims have the best representation, aiming to secure rightful compensation for the hardships faced.
Time-Related Constraints: The Georgia Statute of Limitations
Georgia laws dictate a two-year period from the accident date to start a truck accident lawsuit. Waiting longer than this can jeopardize your legal rights. Engaging a truck accident lawyer in Dacula promptly can ensure you meet all legal deadlines.
Exceptions to Note
There are situations that can change this two-year timeline, such as cases involving minors, mental incapacity, wrongful death, government entities, and the discovery rule.
For Minors
In the state of Georgia, the law recognizes that minors might not have the means or knowledge to initiate a lawsuit immediately after an accident. As a result, the statute of limitations is designed to be fair to them.
When a minor is involved in an accident, the clock on the statute of limitations doesn’t start ticking immediately. Instead, it is “paused” or “tolled” until they reach the age of majority, which is 18 years old. From the day they turn 18, the regular two-year statute of limitations starts, giving them ample time to consult with legal counsel and decide on the best course of action.
For Mental Incompetency
Accidents can sometimes lead to severe injuries that affect a victim’s mental capacity. Alternatively, a victim might have had a pre-existing condition that renders them mentally incompetent at the time of the accident. In such situations, Georgia law again shows leniency.
The two-year countdown for the statute of limitations doesn’t commence until the victim regains their mental competency. This provision ensures that the rights of mentally incapacitated individuals are protected, and they are not unjustly barred from seeking compensation due to their condition.
Wrongful Death
The trauma of losing a loved one in an accident is immeasurable. If a truck accident results in a fatality, the clock for the statute of limitations doesn’t begin from the accident date but from the day of the victim’s death. Families and representatives of the deceased have a full two years from that sad day to file a wrongful death claim. This slight distinction is crucial, especially in scenarios where the victim succumbs to their injuries some time after the actual accident.
Government Entities
Cases against government bodies come with their unique set of rules. The statute of limitations for these claims can be shorter than the typical two-year timeline, often ranging between six months to a year. This shortened duration can be attributed to the different bureaucratic processes and protections afforded to governmental entities. For victims, it’s paramount to act swiftly, ensuring they don’t lose their right to file a claim due to these adjusted timelines.
Discovery Rule
Not all injuries manifest immediately post-accident. Some conditions, like internal injuries or psychological trauma, might only become evident later. Georgia’s discovery rule provides a safety net for such victims. Instead of the clock starting from the accident date, it starts from the moment the victim discovered (or reasonably should have discovered) the injury. This rule ensures that victims aren’t denied justice just because their injuries took time to show up.
Satisfying Your Legal Burden of Proof Following a Truck Crash:
To recover monetary compensation in a truck accident claim or lawsuit, you must satisfy your legal burden of proof. As the accident victim, you are responsible for proving liability and damages in your personal injury case.
First, you must demonstrate that another individual or entity, such as the truck driver, violated their legal duty of care to you. In most cases, this means showing that the at-fault truck driver violated one or more traffic rules under the circumstances.
Next, you must establish that as a direct result of this violation, your truck accident occurred. Finally, you must prove that because of the truck accident, you suffered at least one physical injury.
If you can establish all of these legal elements, you should be entitled to various types of monetary compensation. The amount of compensation you receive will largely depend on the severity of your injuries, the extent of your medical treatment, and the overall cost of your medical care.
Potential monetary damages in Dacula truck accident cases often include compensation for:
- All related past and anticipated medical costs
- Lost earnings
- Loss of earning capacity
- Mental distress
- Loss of use of a body part
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Long-term care costs
- Permanent disability or disfigurement
At Spaulding Injury Law, we will work diligently to maximize your total monetary recovery and ensure you receive full and fair compensation for all your accident-related losses.
Contact an Experienced Truck Accident Lawyer in Dacula Today:
If you or a loved one recently suffered injuries in a truck accident, time is of the essence. In Georgia, truck accident victims have only two years from the date of their accident to file a lawsuit seeking monetary recovery. Failing to initiate legal action within this timeframe can result in the loss of your right to pursue and recover monetary damages for your accident-related losses. Therefore, it is essential that you take legal action promptly.
At Spaulding Injury Law, we can promptly file a claim or lawsuit on your behalf, seeking the compensation you deserve. We can also assist you throughout settlement negotiations with the at-fault party’s insurance company and, if necessary, represent your case in the court system. Should your case proceed to a civil jury trial or binding arbitration, we will present evidence on your behalf and help secure the monetary award you need.
For a free case evaluation and legal consultation with a skilled Dacula truck accident attorney, please call us at (770) 821-1835 or contact us online.
Visit Our Truck Accident Office in Dacula County, GA
We help victims inside the Gwinnett County Area and our firm is conveniently located near Dacula County. We have an office in Lawrenceville at 223 Scenic Hwy S #202 Lawrenceville, GA