No matter the cause, truck accidents are almost always devastating. It comes down to simple math: When an 80,000-pound truck collides with a 3,000-pound car, the smaller vehicle is always going to lose.
The driver of that smaller vehicle may be left with broken bones, neck and back injuries, brain injuries, and other issues that can prove fatal.
The sad truth is, truck accidents are far too common in Georgia. If you’ve been involved in an accident with a big rig, you have legal options.
At Rafi Law Firm, we know how to help you get the compensation you deserve. Clients across the state have recovered over $45 million with our assistance. Give us a call at 404-800-1156 or contact us online to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with an Atlanta truck accident lawyer today.
What You Need to Know About Truck Accidents in Georgia
While data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) showed a slight decline in highway fatalities in 2018, crashes involving large trucks increased by nearly one percent.
The Most Common Conditions Leading to Truck Accidents
A wrongful death lawsuit cannot be filed for every type of death that occurs. The death must occur when the victim would not have died if the defendant had not acted maliciously or negligently. Essentially, a wrongful death lawsuit is valid if a victim was healthy before the accident, but perished due to the accident, which was the fault of the defendant.To further explain the concept, let’s examine some examples.
A famous wrongful death lawsuit was brought against O.J. Simpson after he was acquitted in criminal court. The civil court case for the wrongful deaths of Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman were brought forward by their parents. The plaintiffs argued that the malicious acts of Simpson (namely, committing a murder) caused these individuals to die when they otherwise wouldn’t have. His actions were malicious and had the intent to cause the deaths. This isn’t always the case in wrongful death suits.
Cases of medical malpractice can qualify for wrongful death. Doctors have a duty to give their patients proper care. If they do not, due to carelessness or misdiagnosis of an illness any other reasonable doctor would have diagnosed, and it results in a patient’s death, they can be sued for wrongful death. They can also be sued if they over or misprescribed medications that lead to an overdose or poisoning of a victim.Car accidents caused by a driver’s negligence result in wrongful death suits when a victim dies as a result of the collision. While many car accidents result in injuries, most are not fatal. For a car accident to cause death, the crash must have been severe. This could be the result of an impaired driver, a truck accident, or even a pedestrian hit by a turning car.
An easy way to determine if a case qualifies for wrongful death is to ask “would this have been a personal injury claim if the victim had lived?” If the answer is yes, then it’s a wrongful death claim.
Get the Help You Need from an Atlanta Truck Accident Lawyer
Truck accidents most often happen during the safest, most normal conditions. You assume that truck accidents are more likely to happen when it’s dark and rainy on back roads, but the majority of wrecks happen on highways and other main roads during bright, dry, sunny days.
No matter the cause or factors leading to your truck accident, you have legal options. At Rafi Law Firm, we have helped truck accident victims throughout Georgia get the compensation they deserve. We know how the insurance companies work, and we know how to fight for your rights in and out of court.
Before you accept any settlement offer from the insurance company and forfeit your right to seek greater compensation, give us a call to talk about your case at no cost to you. Call us at 404-800-1156 or contact us online to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with an Atlanta truck accident lawyer today