Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
Following too close on the highway is obviously a terrible idea. In this case, both truckers involved in this crash were charged.
“These two rigs were on the highway, one of them carrying a heavy load of steel beams and the other carrying an unknown cargo, when the unthinkable happened. The trucker hauling steel beams lost control of his rig on snow covered roads. He skidded sideways across the highway and promptly jackknifed,” said Stephen M. Ozcomert, an injury lawyer in Atlanta, Georgia, who practices personal injury, accidents and malpractice law.
The truck crashed, and the semi ended up blocking all westbound lanes on the highway – not an ideal position to be in, to say the least. Then, to compound the problem, the second rig happened along, and although the trucker supposedly tried evasive maneuvers, he was not able to avoid ramming into the jackknifed rig. The force of the impact snapped the restraints on the steel beam load and they tumbled off the truck, scattering across the westbound lanes of the highway.
When emergency rescue crews got there, they helped the truckers get out of the cab sections of their units. “It was quite amazing that neither of them sustained much more than minor injuries. Although having said that, minor injuries often have a way of turning into something worse later,” Ozcomert said.
The accident scene was quickly populated with other rescue equipment whose task it was to remove the disabled trucks and collect the scattered steel beams off the highway. Thankfully, because it was a weekend, highway traffic was lighter than usual and there were no further mishaps or crashes.
Since both truckers were saying it was the other guy’s fault, the police brought in an accident reconstructionist, and as a result of that investigation, both truckers were issued with citations: failing to operate within a single lane and following too closely.
“On the surface, this 18-wheeler accident, although messy, did not seem to have harmed anyone very much. However, should one of the truckers, over time, develop a serious mobility problem as a result of a spinal cord injury or whiplash, etc, one of the options open to them to recover any costs for medical treatment is to file a personal injury lawsuit,” Ozcomert said.
Not every case results in a lawsuit, but in cases such as this one, where the potential exists for a silent injury to manifest itself later, there is good reason to talk to a lawyer. In this case, the truckers did not adjust their speed to take the ice and snow covered roads into consideration. Because of that negligence, there was an accident.
“Trucking accidents are not just two trucks or a truck and another vehicle colliding. They don’t just involve the trucker and the other driver. There are a whole host of unseen participants in the accident, ranging from the trucker’s employer to insurance companies. This is one of the major reasons why trucking accidents are so complex; the number of defendants and their primary wish to avoid liability for the accident and to avoid or diminish any payouts,” Ozcomert said.
In accidents involving big rigs, an Atlanta injury lawyer needs immediate access to the accident scene to begin collecting evidence. They will want to lay their hands on the black box and its hidden treasure of information, police records, driving records, company records, hiring records and log books. And thus begins a case that may take a long while to get to court. However, for justice to be done, a competent Atlanta injury lawyer will painstakingly put together all the information, to show how the accident happened and that it caused the plaintiff’s injuries. For this reason, the immediacy of justice, do not wait to speak to an Atlanta injury lawyer to find out what options are available to recover compensation for injuries.
To learn more visit http://www.ozcomert.com.