Truck Accident Lawyers in Augusta

Trucking accidents often result in severe, debilitating, and permanent injuries (and unfortunately, often deaths). A fully-loaded tractor-trailer may weigh up to 80,000 pounds (40 tons). The average weight of a passenger vehicle is roughly 4,000 pounds. Therefore, in a car versus truck accident, serious or deadly results often occur.

If you or a loved one has suffered a serious accident involving a commercial truck, you need an attorney who has the knowledge, experience, and resources to handle a trucking accident claim properly.

Be assured; the insurance and trucking company already has a team of lawyers in place. Call (706) 690-4613 to request a free consultation with an experienced truck accident lawyer from Chris Hudson Law Group in Augusta, GA today.

Complex Trucking Cases Require An Experienced Truck Accident Lawyer

Trucking claims litigation is a highly specialized field of practice for lawyers. Other than the complexities involved with dealing with serious injury or death, there exist numerous other complications in truck accident cases, including:

• the involvement of federal regulations governing tractor-trailers,
• the potential for multiple defendants in trucking cases,
• the extensive documents and records companies who operate tractor-trailers are required to keep,
• the need to examine the vehicle’s Electronic Control Module (the “ECM”), which electronically records data such as speed and brake system operation at the time of the accident, and
• the costs associated with properly making a claim arising from a trucking accident.

If you suffered severe injuries or your loved one was killed in a truck accident in the greater Augusta area, you are going to want to be quick to seek legal representation for assistance with all of the many concerns you now have. Make sure that your first phone call is to Chris Hudson Law Group.

Our firm offers tremendous experience with many different kinds of truck accident claims, and we can fight to help you obtain all of the compensation you are entitled to. Call (706) 690-4613 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation.

Why You Should Hire a Truck Accident Lawyer

A commercial truck accident can result in catastrophic or fatal injuries and massive property damage. If a driver or trucking company’s negligence harmed you, are going to want to contact an attorney as soon as possible. When you get a lawyer involved right away, they can preserve crucial evidence that can help demonstrate that a truck driver was at fault for a crash.

You could find yourself being offered a lump sum settlement by an insurance company, and an agent may something about how accepting the offer will allow you to keep more money for yourself. Nothing could be further from the truth as most initial settlement offers are completely lowball amounts that do not cover enormous future expenses, which people must then pay out of their own pockets.

You will want to have an attorney negotiating the settlement of your case because they are going to have a far better understanding of what your case is worth. When an acceptable settlement offer is not presented, the lawyer can file a lawsuit.

Another reason to retain legal counsel concerns liability, as truck accidents frequently involve multiple liable parties. Such parties are not likely to declare their negligence, and you may miss out on another avenue for compensation if an attorney does not identify the liable party.

Why Choose Chris Hudson Law Group To Handle My Case?

Christopher Hudson received the Cali Award for the highest grade in Advanced Legal Writing and the Cali Award for the highest grade in Law Practice Management while attending Mercer University. He has received an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell, denoting the highest level of professional excellence.

Amanda S. Morris has been licensed in Georgia since 2008 and has extensive trial experience as a former Assistant Public Defender for the Augusta Judicial Circuit in 2008 until 2017. 

Types of Truck Accident Cases We Handle

Commercial truck accidents can vary in severity, depending on multiple factors. No two crashes are ever the same, but certain kinds of accidents are more common than others.

Some of the most common types of truck accident cases our firm sees include:

• Blind Spot Accidents — Truck drivers must deal with major blind spots on all sides of their vehicles. Failure to adequately check blind spots could result in a devastating collision.
• T-Bone Accidents — T-bone collisions involve one vehicle striking the side of another automobile, and commercial trucks often cause devastating injuries when they T-bone passenger vehicles.
• Rear-End Accidents — Any rear-end accident involving a commercial truck is far more likely to cause serious damage than a traditional passenger vehicle fender bender.
• Jackknife Accidents — These types of crashes involve trailers swinging out at a 90-degree angle, much like how a jackknife folds.
• Wide Turn Accidents — Truck drivers often need to swing their vehicles out to perform certain turns, and such maneuvers can cause collisions when a driver is negligent.
• Head-On Collisions — Chances of fatalities are much greater when a passenger vehicle collides with a commercial truck head-to-head.
• Underride and Override Accidents — Underride accidents involve passenger vehicles sliding underneath trailers while override accidents happen when a trailer runs over another vehicle.
• Rollover Accidents — A commercial truck could be at risk of rolling over, possibly multiple times, in certain crashes.
• Tire Blowouts — If a tire on a commercial truck fails, it causes a sudden lack of control for the driver that often makes avoiding accidents impossible.
• Lost Load Accidents — Failure to properly secure cargo can result in it falling off a truck, possibly onto other vehicles or into roadways, and causing other accidents.

Common causes of truck accidents include:

• Defective Parts
• Blind Spots
• Unfamiliarity with Roads
• Inclement Weather
• Overloaded Vehicles
• Unsafe Passing
• Failure to Maintain Vehicle
• Poor Road Conditions
• Inadequate Driver Training
• Driver Negligence
• Other Drivers
• Road Construction

Many different kinds of commercial trucks can also be involved in these accidents. Some of the most common types include, but are not limited to

• Tanker Trucks
• Dump Trucks
• Garbage Trucks
• Tow Trucks
• Buses
• Delivery Vehicles
• Construction Vehicles
• Emergency Vehicles

You will want the help of a lawyer who specializes in truck accident cases in examining potential liability for your accident and injuries. Some of the parties that could be liable in these cases include not only truck drivers, but also truck owners, trucking companies, shipping agencies, and possibly other drivers.

Truck Accident Statistics

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 169,562 large truck crashes occurred nationwide in 2021. They caused 79,558 injuries and 5,375 fatalities. During the same year in Georgia, 5,858 large truck accidents occurred, leading to 2,739 injuries and 217 deaths.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), 4,014 people died in accidents involving large trucks. Only 15 percent were truck occupants, while 68 percent were the occupants of other vehicles. Bicyclists, motorcyclists, and pedestrians represented 16 percent of total fatalities.

In crashes involving a large truck and passenger vehicle, 70 truck occupants died, and 2,129 passenger vehicle occupants died.

Fatalities in large truck accidents by road type in 2020 include:

• Freeways and interstates – 1,428 deaths
• Minor roads – 612 deaths
• Other major roads – 1,904 deaths

Statistics for the time of day large truck collisions occurred show most fatal crashes happened between noon and 3 p.m. The percentage of deaths in accidents involving large trucks based on the time of day was:

• Midnight to 3 a.m. – 8%
• 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. – 10%
• 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. – 15%
• 9 a.m. to noon – 16%
• Noon to 3 p.m. – 17%
• 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. – 15%
• 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. – 10%
• 9 p.m. to midnight – 9%

Statistics also found the day with the most commercial truck fatalities was Wednesday, with 689 people dying in accidents involving large trucks in a single year. The second deadliest day was Thursday, with 681 deaths.

In two-vehicle collisions between trucks and passenger vehicles, 2,129 passenger vehicle occupants died. The number of deaths based on where the truck crashed into the passenger car include:

• Front – 1,376
• Side – 565
• Rear – 152
• Other – 36

Contact a Truck Accident Lawyer from The Chris Hudson Law Group in Augusta 

Did you sustain catastrophic injuries, or was your loved one killed in a truck accident in Augusta or another community in Richmond County? You deserve justice, and The Chris Hudson Law Group can help you get it.

Our attorneys have a long history of helping clients obtain the compensation they need and deserve.

Call (706) 690-4613 or contact us online to receive a free consultation and case review.