As the geographical center of the 8th most populous state, Macon is the actual and symbolic heart of Georgia, connecting the corners of the region with major routes like I-75, I-16, and I-475 intersecting in our city. This makes Macon, GA a hub of commerce, activity, and culture—and the site of high volumes of ground-based interstate and intrastate commercial trucking travel.
With so many large commercial trucks passing through our area, Bibb County sees a larger number of trucking accidents than many other parts of Georgia. Economically speaking, tractor-trailers on our roads signal growth, security, resources, and access to essential daily goods. But when truck drivers and trucking companies focus on profits over safety—neglecting the duty to keep others safe as a fundamental component of their work—those of us sharing the roads with these commercial vehicles pay the price.
If you or a loved one suffered an injury, disability, or wrongful death due to trucking industry negligence, a Macon truck accident lawyer from Bey & Associates has the experience you need to pursue befitting legal action.
We have earned a reputation as the preeminent personal injury law firm handling truck accident litigation in the Southeastern United States.
Our lawyers obtain maximum compensation for injured clients, allowing them to move past the undeserved financial burdens of lost income, medical bills, and anticipation of future medical expenses.
You have the right to health and economic stability after injuries caused by a commercial truck driver or company. Contact the Bey & Associates law office to learn more about how our truck accident attorneys can help you put into practice the rights given to you by Georgia and federal law.
Advocacy for Those Injured in Macon, Georgia Truck Accidents
Semi-truck accidents are wholly unlike “regular” car accidents. We can point to a few important points that make truck accidents much more difficult to handle than car vs. car collisions.
- A commercial vehicle is typically owned by a company and driven by an operator who may be an employee or independent contractor. Knowing who is liable and which insurance company is responsible demands a thorough investigation.
- Accidents involving large trucks frequently result in debilitating physical injuries or wrongful death. A fair case outcome is essential to victims recovering the losses of such tremendous devastation.
- Truckers and their employers are protected by high-paid legal representation. Going up against a million-dollar trucking corporation without a truck accident attorney almost guarantees you will not achieve a favorable settlement.
- Federal and state trucking regulations dictate how truck drivers and companies must behave in day-to-day operations and under certain circumstances. Without a comprehensive understanding of these laws, you will not be able to identify a violation that led to your injuries which gives you the right to seek damages.
- Truck companies are known to take quick action to erase, destroy, or doctor evidence proving liability for a truck wreck. An injured victim who doesn’t know where to look or how to take action to preserve evidence faces a disadvantage. An experienced truck accident attorney knows how to gather evidence that proves a victim’s right to fair compensation.
Get Legal Guidance From Our Macon Truck Accident Attorneys Today
Dealing with complicated legal matters while recovering from severe injuries is not something we ask our clients to do. When we take on your Macon truck accident case, we commit ourselves to supporting you in every way possible. We give you the freedom to recover and find emotional healing while we focus on doing what we are known for—winning truck accident cases.
The truck accident lawyers at Bey & Associates can represent you by communicating with the insurance company, investigating and gathering evidence, filing the paperwork needed for truck accident claims, meeting all deadlines, and negotiating the full amount of financial compensation you are entitled to by law.
Bey & Associates Provides Representation for Truck Accident Victims in GA
We’ve recovered millions for our clients. Our legal team is comprised of award-winning attorneys and professionals who put you first, always.
We are nationally-recognized Super Lawyers®, Top 100 Trial Lawyers, Georgia Trial Lawyers Association members, and American Association for Justice members. We’ve built a foundation of excellence by handling some of the toughest personal injury cases in Georgia.
Our Macon truck accident lawyers don’t back down from a challenge. And we don’t stop fighting until we’ve given you the help you came to us for.
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What Are the Leading Causes of Trucking Accidents in Georgia?
Commercial trucks are complex machines that require technical skill, sharp judgment, and the undivided attention of the operator. A commercial truck has the power to end lives in a matter of seconds. When a trucking company doesn’t respect this power, putting their fleet’s steering wheels in the hands of unqualified truck drivers, we see the physical consequences on our highways.
The following forms of negligence committed by a truck driver or trucking company are some of the leading causes of Macon truck accidents:
- Impaired driving
- Driver fatigue
- Distracted driving
- Failure to watch for smaller passenger vehicles when turning or merging
- Inattention to blind spots
- Driving without a commercial driver’s license (CDL) or without the proper CDL endorsements
- Speeding
- Loss of vehicle control on sharp turns or steep inclines
- Mechanical failure due to poor maintenance or inspection
Not every truck accident is the result of the driver’s actions alone. Many accidents occur through a combination of factors, and may involve:
- Poor weather conditions
- Defective truck parts
- Inadequate truck care
- Dangerous road conditions
- The recklessness of other drivers
- Lack of training or safety protocol at the truck company
What Are the Most Common Truck Accident Injuries?
Injuries caused by semi-trucks rank among the most severe types of personal injury. Truck accident injuries frequently lead to long-term impairment and require both emergency medical treatment and ongoing therapy and care.
Severe injuries common in large vehicle accidents include:
- Broken bones
- Back and neck injuries
- Spinal cord damage
- Paralysis
- Disfigurement
- Internal bleeding and organ damage
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Lacerations
- Burns
- Bruising
- Crushing injuries
- Penetration injuries
What Are Catastrophic Injuries?
Catastrophic injuries are those which have a dramatic and lasting effect on a person’s life. Victims of catastrophic injury are often unable to:
- Return to their previous position of employment
- Hold gainful employment at the level they once did
- Maintain the level of mobility they enjoyed before the truck accident
- Participate in the sports, hobbies, and activities they once did
- Live independently without in-home care and assistance
In Georgia, it is the responsibility of the at-fault driver to pay for the victim’s accident-related losses. A Macon truck accident attorney can assist you in recovering the financial assets needed to afford quality, long-term care.
What Compensation Can You Recover After a Truck Accident?
If the trucking company or truck driver is the responsible party in your trucking accident, your attorney will represent you in seeking compensation with that party’s insurer.
But it is not up to the insurance company to decide how much you are owed.
Your Macon truck accident lawyers will tally all of your bills and financial expenditures to determine your economic damages. We will also use formulas and careful analysis to calculate your non-economic damages—those that are not affixed with a set financial amount.
Recover Compensation for Non-Economic and Economic Damages
Economic damages in truck accident cases most often come in the form of:
- Lost wages
- Medical bills
- Cost of future medical care
- Domestic services
- Property damage
- Lost earning capacity
In terms of non-economic losses, your truck accident lawyer may advise that you are entitled to recover compensation for:
- Pain and suffering
- Disfigurement
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Psychological injuries like PTSD
- Permanent disability
In wrongful death claims, the surviving family of the deceased may be entitled to damages for funeral and burial costs, pain and suffering, loss of consortium, loss of supporting income, or other losses.
Punitive Damages in a Truck Accident Case
Distinct from compensatory damages (those that compensate losses) is a separate category of damages called punitive damages or “exemplary damages.” This is a financial punishment to the defendant, warning them that their wrongful actions are unacceptable and deserving to be “made an example of.”
The court will only award exemplary damages when it is clear that the defendant’s actions showed willful misconduct, malice, fraud, wantonness, oppression, or complete lack of care. Punitive damages are rare in automobile accident cases. However, they may apply in some truck accident lawsuits. This is something you can discuss with your truck accident lawyer from Bey & Associates during your free consultation.
Types of Tractor-Trailer Accidents
Truck accidents are often categorized by the way these large vehicles make contact with smaller cars or other objects. Like most motor vehicle accidents, semi-truck accidents may be classified as:
- Head-on collisions
- Rear-end collisions
- Sideswipes
- T-bone or side-impact collisions
There are also some types of accidents that are typically seen almost exclusively among large trucks. Those include:
Rollover Accidents
Tractor-trailers are heavy vehicles with high centers of gravity. When a truck driver is speeding on curves, hills, or slippery surfaces, when a tire blows and unbalances the truck, or when a poorly-secured load shifts inside the trailer, a rollover may result.
Jackknife Accidents
A jackknife describes a truck accident in which the tractor and trailer move in opposition to one another, instead of moving forward in the same direction. This is usually said to form an “L” or “V” shape similar to that made by a jackknife. Jackknifes are most commonly caused by improper braking or driving in adverse weather.
Underride and Override Accidents
These two accident types are extremely dangerous to passenger vehicle occupants. In both scenarios, the smaller car becomes trapped beneath the larger commercial truck.
In an underride accident, the car slides under the back of the trailer, usually when the trucker brakes suddenly without adequate stopping distance between the vehicles. In an override accident, the truck drives or slides over the top of a smaller vehicle in front of it.
Filing Wrongful Death Claims After Fatal Truck Accidents
If you lost a loved one in a Georgia trucking accident, you may be entitled to take legal action against the negligent party. Wrongful death claims hold the commercial transport industry accountable for violating safety standards and following practices that put thousands of lives at risk. This type of claim can also help a family achieve a sense of justice, find peace and healing, and give the financial burden of the accident back to the at-fault party.
To speak with a Macon truck accident attorney about your family’s situation, please contact Bey & Associates to set up a no-obligation consultation session. A trucking accident involving a preventable death is a serious matter. We handle all fatal accident cases with the highest degree of care, confidentiality, and compassion.
What To Do After a Macon Truck Accident
If you were injured in a Macon truck accident, we recommend taking the following steps at the accident scene and later on. While it can be difficult to think clearly in the chaos of a traumatic event, sticking to this plan of action as much as reasonably possible helps to protect your safety and rights.
- Get to safety.
- Call 911 and wait for help to arrive.
- Let an EMT examine you for injuries.
- Seek medical attention immediately if needed. Otherwise, schedule an appointment with your doctor for a complete post-accident exam.
- Communicate with the responding police officer and obtain a copy of the police report.
- Get the truck driver’s name and employer information.
- Take pictures of the accident scene if possible.
- If there were any eyewitnesses, ask if they would be willing to give a statement and their contact information.
- Document all accident-related actions and expenses, including rental car costs, doctor’s visits, medical test results, hospital bills, child care costs, and more.
- Contact a trusted law firm to set up a case evaluation with a Georgia truck accident attorney.
Who Can Be Liable for a Semi-Truck Accident?
Trucking accidents involve many sets of hands on numerous levels of operation. Your truck accident lawyer has the duty to investigate thoroughly and resourcefully to determine what went wrong to cause the crash.
Your attorney may find that one or more parties contributed to the truck collision:
- The truck driver
- A trucking company
- The truck owner
- A shipping, loading, or freight company
- An auto repair technician
- A truck or trucks part manufacturer
- A government entity responsible for road maintenance
How Long Do You Have To File a Truck Accident Claim in Georgia?
Each state in the U.S. has a statute of limitations that dictates the amount of time you have to take legal action after an injury event. In Georgia, you only have two years from the date of your injury to file a truck accident lawsuit. Certain exceptions may give you more or less time.
Your lawyer will need time to investigate the actions of the truck driver and their employer, assess the total amount of your current and future losses, and gather the evidence to prove your claim. This is not something that can be done in a short time. The sooner you speak with an experienced truck accident lawyer after your crash, the better.
We Hold Negligent Truck Drivers and Trucking Companies Accountable
The Macon truck accident attorneys at Bey & Associates know that trucking companies can do better. When we see preventable injuries and deaths caused by trucking negligence, we can’t stand by and do nothing. Our training, experience, and heart for our community call us to act when we see injustice.
Contact Bey & Associates Today
Don’t wait to start your recovery. If you were injured or lost someone close to you, you deserve justice. Let a Macon truck accident lawyer from our law office be the advocate you need.
Call our law firm today to learn the next steps. There is no cost to find out what you can do to protect your rights, your health, your family, and your future.
