Alpharetta is a major commercial and economic hub in the northern Atlanta metropolitan area. Due to its strategic location and well-connected road network, the city attracts a substantial amount of commercial truck traffic. The high volume of truck traffic – coupled with congested highways – increases the risks of accidents significantly.
If you have been injured in a commercial truck accident in Alpharetta, you might be entitled to monetary compensation. At Miller Injury Trial Law, we have a team of exceptionally skilled Alpharetta, GA personal injury attorneys who are committed to protecting your rights, holding the at-fault parties responsible for their negligence, and helping you get fair compensation for your injuries and other losses.
Call us today at 855-44MILLER to schedule a free consultation with one of our experienced Alpharetta, GA truck accident lawyers.
Dangerous Truck Routes in Alpharetta, GA
Several stretches of Alpharetta’s roadways are designated as truck routes, where commercial trucks transport a wide range of items on a daily basis. These include:
- Ga. 9 (North and South Main Street)
- Ga. 120
- Haynes Bridge Road
- Hembree Road
- Maxwell Road
- North Point Parkway
- McGinnis Ferry Road
- Westside Parkway
- Mansell Road
- Windward Concourse
- Windward Parkway
How Trucking Companies in Alpharetta, GA Violate FMCSA Regulations
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations play a vital role in ensuring the safety and efficiency of the trucking industry in Georgia. These regulations set standards for commercial motor vehicles and their operators in order to reduce the risk of crashes involving commercial trucks.
Unfortunately, many trucking companies in Alpharetta tend to violate these regulations just so they can increase their profit margins. The most common FMCSA violations committed by trucking companies include:
- Hours of Service (HOS) Violations: These violations include exceeding daily driving limits, not taking required rest breaks, and falsifying logbooks to conceal hours of service violations.
- Vehicle Maintenance Violations: This category includes violations related to vehicle inspection, repair, and maintenance of brakes, tires, lights, and other critical components.
- Driver Qualification Violations: Violations in this category involve employing drivers without proper qualifications, failing to verify driver records, and allowing untrained drivers to operate commercial vehicles.
- Drug and Alcohol Violations: These violations include failing to conduct random drug and alcohol tests for drivers, allowing drivers with positive test results to operate vehicles, and failing to enroll drivers in a Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) program following a positive test.
- Recordkeeping Violations: These violations include failing to maintain required records and falsifying records.
Our Alpharetta, GA Truck Accident Lawyers Can Prove FMCSA Violations by Trucking Companies
Following a truck accident, we will take several steps to investigate and prove FMCSA violations by the trucking company. These include:
- Collecting Evidence: Our first step involves collecting all available evidence related to the accident. This includes police reports, witness statements, physical evidence from the accident scene, any available video footage, and the truck’s black box data.
- Reviewing Driver Logs and Records: We will thoroughly review the driver’s logs – including electronic logging device (ELD) data – to determine if the hours of service (HOS) regulations were violated in any way. It can help us establish whether the driver was fatigued at the time of the accident.
- Reviewing Vehicle Maintenance Records: We will review the trucking company’s maintenance records to identify any violations related to vehicle repair and maintenance.
- Checking Driver Qualifications: We will verify the truck driver’s qualifications – including their commercial driver’s license (CDL), medical qualifications, and training records. If the driver does not meet the necessary eligibility criteria for operating commercial trucks, we can hold the trucking company liable for negligent hiring.
- Reviewing Drug and Alcohol Testing Results: We will review the trucking company’s drug and alcohol testing policy and the truck driver’s drug and alcohol test results to determine if there were any violations of FMCSA regulations. Positive test results or failure to conduct required testing can indicate negligence on the part of the trucking company.
Early Legal Representation Can Shield You against the Insurance Company’s Pressure Tactics
When you are involved in a truck accident, it is important to understand that you are not just up against the negligent driver. Behind them stands a formidable legal team backed by the trucking company and their insurance carrier. These are professionals who have years of experience in handling accident claims and know how to employ tactics that can help them reduce their liability and limit payouts.
Following the accident, they might reach out to you and try to extract information that can be used against you or pressure you into accepting a settlement far below what you deserve.
In the face of these pressure tactics, early legal representation can be your strongest defense. By hiring a dedicated Alpharetta, GA truck accident attorney promptly, you can make sure that your rights are protected from the outset. The sooner you have legal counsel on your side, the better positioned you are to navigate the complexities of dealing with insurance companies and trucking corporations.
Seasoned Alpharetta, GA Truck Accident Attorneys at Miller Injury Trial Law Can Protect Your Rights
At Miller Injury Trial Law, we are familiar with the strategies that the insurance company might employ to undermine your claim. Once you hire us, our experienced attorneys will step in immediately to handle all communication with the opposing parties. By serving as your advocates, we can shield you from the relentless pressure tactics employed by the other side.
From the moment you enlist our services, we will take over all interactions with the insurance company and the trucking company’s legal representatives. This includes negotiating on your behalf, gathering evidence to support your claim, and ensuring that your rights are upheld throughout the process. By entrusting us with this responsibility, you can focus on your recovery without the stress of dealing with aggressive insurance adjusters or legal teams.
Types of Evidence Our Alpharetta Truck Accident Lawyers Will Collect to Prove Liability
- Police Reports: Official reports filed by law enforcement officers who responded to the accident scene can provide crucial details – including their assessment of the cause of the accident and any citations issued to the parties involved.
- Eyewitness Statements: Testimony from individuals who witnessed the accident firsthand can provide valuable insight into what happened and who was at fault.
- Accident Reconstruction: In complex cases, we might employ accident reconstruction experts to recreate the sequence of events leading up to the accident. Using physical evidence, skid marks, vehicle damage, and other factors, these experts can provide a detailed analysis of how the accident occurred and who was at fault.
- Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs): Electronic logging devices record a wide range of data like speed, braking patterns, and hours of service. ELD data can be instrumental in determining whether the truck driver was in compliance with federal regulations at the time of the accident.
- Truck Maintenance Records: Maintenance records for the truck involved in the accident can reveal whether the vehicle was properly serviced and maintained.
- Driver Logs and Records: In addition to ELD data, driver logs, trip sheets, and other records can provide insight into the driver’s actions leading up to the accident, including hours of service violations, fatigue, or other factors that might have contributed to the crash.
- Surveillance Footage: Video footage from nearby traffic cameras, businesses, or residences can provide objective evidence of the events leading up to the collision and help establish fault.
- Black Box Data: Event data recorders (EDRs) or black boxes record data like vehicle speed, acceleration, steering angles, following distance, and braking. These data can provide valuable information about the truck’s movements in the moments leading up to the accident.
- Cell Phone Records: If distracted driving is suspected as a contributing factor in the accident, we will subpoena the driver’s cell phone records to determine whether they were using their phone at the time of the crash.
Our Seasoned Alpharetta Truck Accident Attorneys Can Maximize Your Compensation
At Miller Injury Trial Law, we know that the consequences of a truck accident can be devastating and potentially life-altering. It is why we go above and beyond what most other personal injury law firms do and fight hard to secure the maximum amount of compensation for our clients.
We have extensive experience in litigating commercial truck accident claims and we have the expertise and resources to take on large truck companies and their insurance carriers. With us on your side, you do not have to worry about settling for anything less than what you deserve.
Call us today at 855-44MILLER or contact us online for a free case evaluation by one of our highly rated Alpharetta, GA truck accident lawyers.
