Georgia Truck Accident Lawyers Blog

Truck accidents involving trailer underriding or under-running -- where a car or other passenger vehicle passes under a trailer being pulled by a truck tractor or "big rig" -- remain severe personal injury accident hazards to automobile passengers in Georgia and elsewhere. Over the years, we have seen that catastrophic injuries -- including occupant death by decapitation, closed-head or brain injury, and spinal paralysis -- almost always result from these common tractor-trailer accidents.

Further, the trucking industry has taken the position that since no federal law specifically requires side underride protection, there is no need for same -- despite the clear risk of serious injury or death from side underride collisions, which are more frequent than rear underrides. Thus, the law still fails, in large part, to protect the motoring public from this devastating auto accident hazard.

Sadly, despite a federal law requiring truck trailers to have a rear underride guard or bar, many older trailers on our highways either still lack this basic safety feature. Also, a scary reality is that, with the spread inland of Mexico-based truck traffic from the Mexico border, border states, and eventually most of the country likely will see an increase in these always-serious wrecks. But, without stricter federal laws, jury verdicts will continue to be the only engine for change and improved motorist protection from these crashes.

For an excellent resource for learning more about these tragic, yet all-too-frequent, types of auto accidents, as well as for research into many other highway safety issues, we recommend the IIHS (http://www.iihs.org/research/topics/trucks.html), or Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, as a place to start your research.

Our firm’s Georgia attorney’s have represented serious injury accident victims for many years who have been treated at various trauma centers. In Atlanta, most trauma patients are treated at Grady which is a Level-I facility. Trauma is any life-threatening occurrence, either accidental or intentional, that causes injuries. The leading causes of trauma are motor vehicle accidents, falls, and assaults. Trauma is the leading cause of death among Americans under 44 years of age. A trauma center is a hospital equipped to provide comprehensive emergency medical services to patients suffering traumatic injuries. Trauma centers were established as the medical establishment realized that traumatic injuries often require complex and multi-disciplinary treatment, including surgery in order to give the victim the best possible chance for survival and recovery.

In order to qualify as a trauma center, a hospital must meet certain criteria as established by the American College of Surgeons (ACS). Trauma centers vary in their specific capabilities and are identified by “Level” designation; Level-I (Level-1) being the highest to Level III (Level 3) being the lowest (some states have four designated levels, in which case Level IV (Level 4) is the lowest).

Higher levels of trauma centers will have trauma surgeons available, including those trained in such specialties as neurosurgeons and orthopaedic surgeons as well as highly sophisticated medical diagnostic equipment. Lower levels of trauma centers may only be able to provide initial care and stablisation of a traumatic injury and arrange for transfer of the victim to a higher level of trauma care. The operation of a trauma center is extremely expensive. Some areas are under-served by trauma centers because of this expense. For example, in Florida, Orlando Regional Medical Center was built to serve five counties but currently serves more than 20. A trauma center will often have a helipad for receiving patients that have been airlifted to the hospital. In many cases, persons injured in remote areas and transported to a distant trauma center by helicopter can receive faster and better medical care than if they had been transported by ground ambulance to a closer hospital which is not designated as a trauma center. In almost every case, the sooner a trauma patient receives the expert care afforded by a trauma center, the better the outcome.

Unfortunately, the title of this entry is something we have witnessed in our practice far too many times. Each year in Georgia, truck driver fatigue contributes to serious collisions involving tractor-trailers and automobiles. Even though the United States Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has very specific regulations concerning the number of hours that a driver may operate a tractor-trailer, what we have seen in our practice is that oftentimes these regulations are deliberately ignored and completely disregarded. Drivers logs, which are required by law to be kept by interstate carriers, are oftentimes falsified. We have seen cases were duplicate logs were kept in order to conceal the excessive hours being driven by the company’s truck driver. We have also seen many cases where they has been a complete failure by the employer/trucking company to enforce duty hours, log violations and other safety violations, which violations then lead to serious injuries and wrongful death claims.
Because serious injuries and wrongful death can be caused by driver fatigue, it is imperative that employers be held accountable for their lapses in this regard. Those trucking companies that allow their drivers to operate their trucks for an excessive number of hours or permit it through the “wink and nod method” where the driver is encouraged to drive more than is safe while the company, on paper, claims that they direct their drivers not to do so, obviously need to be punished. In this regard, it is important that counsel investigate a truck company’s safety and compliance programs to make sure that they are complying with the safety regulations in this area.
Beginning in the calendar year 2003, tractor-trailer drivers were permitted to drive eleven hours after ten consecutive hours off duty. Tractor-trailer drivers may not drive beyond the fourteenth hour after coming on duty, following ten hours off duty. Tractor-trailer drivers may not drive after being on duty for sixty hours and a seven consecutive day period or seventy hours in an eight consecutive day period. This on duty cycle may be restarted whenever a tractor-trailer driver takes at least thirty-four consecutive hours off duty. While these rules seem relatively straight forward, with increased pressure on the trucking company driver to deliver his loads on time and to drive long distances over long hours, enforcement and compliance are the keys to preventing serious injury and wrongful death claims involving driver fatigue.
Our attorneys have seen far too many preventable accidents where the drivers either fell asleep at the wheel or were on stimulants trying to keep themselves awake after driving long distances over excessive hours. Driving too long over a considerable distance is a recipe for disaster when a large tractor-trailer rig is involved. While the states and federal government attempt to enforce compliance with the safety regulations through inspections, litigation brought by innocent victims against trucking companies, that disregard their safety obligations seems to be one of the most powerful weapons available to actually encourage compliance. If these companies are forced to pay for their safety violations and compensate victims not only for damages caused, but also punitive damages because of their disregard of proper safety procedure, obviously, it is hoped that future injuries and death claims due to driver fatigue may be decreased.

As Georgia injury lawyers we have seen the devastating effects of brain injuries which often result from automobile and truck accidents as well as on-the-job (workers compensation) injuries. A person who sustains a severe head injury and gets immediate, expert treatment has a better chance of having a more satisfactory outcome.

New research is being done with respect to effective treatment of head injuries immediately following head trauma. It has been reported in BioMed Central’s Journal of Biological Engineering that severe brain injury due to blunt force trauma could be reduced by application of a simple polymer, Polyethylene glycol or PEG, mixed in sterile water and injected into the blood stream. Andrew Koob and Richard Borgens from Purdue University, Indiana, performed experiments in rats which showed that PEG was effective in limiting damage if administered within four hours after the head injury. However, if treatment was delayed for a further two hours, the beneficial effects were lost. During the experiment, rats were injured with a falling weight and then PEG was administered fifteen minutes, two hours, four hours, or six hours later. The authors then carried out a series of behaviourial tests on the rats to determine the effectiveness of the PEG treatment.
According to Borgens, "These data suggest that PEG may be clinically useful to victims of traumatic brain injury if delivered as rapidly as possible after an injury". Such a treatment could be feasibly be carried out at the scene of an accident where PEG could be delivered as a component of IV fluids thus reducing long term brain injury.

With the ever increasing presence of the number of trucks and tractor-trailers on Georgia’s highways and roadways, our attorneys have regrettably but consistently seen a corresponding increase in wrongful death and serious injury claims arising from accidents between automobiles and trucks. Indeed, over the last several years, national statistics indicate that there are approximately 500,000 truck collisions per year. Out of these one half million collisions approximately 5,000 people are killed each year. Georgia is no stranger to these wrongful death claims and as of the writing of this entry, our firm is handling several wrongful death claims on behalf of the families of innocent victims involved in such collisions.

It goes without saying that most any accident involving a tractor-trailer and an automobile has the potential to be extremely serious. Most large trucks weigh far in excess of 10,000 pounds and many as much as 80,000 pounds. Collisions involving large trucks are, by definition, therefore, more likely to cause serious injury or wrongful death because of the size and weight of the vehicles typically involved in tractor-trailer collisions. Some experts have estimated that in approximately 10% of all cases involving tractor-trailer collisions someone will be killed.

Given these sobering statistics, obviously, safety is paramount with respect to the trucking industry. While there are many safety rules contained within the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Regulations, which govern all trucks engaged in interstate transportation, the fact remains that in many of these cases we are handling and have handled over the years these safety rules and regulations are ignored and sometimes deliberately disregarded.

In our practice, we have constantly seen evidence that unsafe trucks and unfit or poorly trained drivers lead to preventable serious injury and wrongful death claims. In our investigation of any truck accident, we typically review the log books, pre-trip inspection records and other maintenance and safety records required by federal law to be maintained by trucking companies. It is astounding how many cases we find where the trucking companies involved keep incomplete records or have no records at all relative to the federally mandated safety obligations.

As in any other case, it is important for the victim of a incident involving a tractor-trailer case that they confer with legal counsel as soon as possible in order to protect their legal rights. Trucking companies and their insurance carriers typically send out investigators immediately following any serious incident. Safety records and other records which might demonstrate compliance issues have a tendency to be lost in these cases by trucking companies and/or sometimes are deliberately discarded. Accordingly, a prompt and thorough investigation of the companies involved in these cases is imperative if there is to be protection of the victim’s rights in these cases. Thus, based on our experience of handling many wrongful death and serious injury cases involving truck accidents, we strongly recommend that the innocent victims involved in these cases confer with counsel as soon as is practicable.

We have written in the past about the danger of using aged tires on vehicles and the inherent rollover dangers in large passenger vans. We recently learned of the existence of an organization dedicated to addressing these dangers, educating the public about these dangers, and hopefully saving lives.

The American Center for Van and Tire Safety, acfvats.org, was established by Patrick James after the tragic death of his young daughter. On July 17, 2007, ten year old Alexis James was a passenger in a 15 passenger van traveling with others from her home in South Carolina to a softball game in Georgia. Unexpectedly, the left rear tire of the van suffered a failure, causing the van to rollover. Although Alexis was wearing the provided lap belt, she was ejected from the van and suffered fatal injuries.

Subsequent investigation determined that the van was traveling within the speed limit and there were no additional causative factors for the rollover other than the tire failure.

After the incident, Patrick James decided to direct his grief into positive action. He researched the failed tire and learned that it was over 13 years old, but had seen no use prior to installation on the van. It had been a spare. He learned that here was ample research demonstrating that tires over approximately 6 years old were subject to failure and should be replaced or not otherwise put into use. Many automobile manufacturers now make these recommendations and the NTSB has issued an advisory.

However, relatively few persons are receiving this information. Now, the American Center for Van and Tire Safety is working with the NTSB to start an public awareness campaign. Hopefully, the word will spread, and other families will not have to endure the losses suffered by the James family and many others. The American Center for Van and Tire Safety is to be commended for these efforts

Six men in a van were killed when a tractor-trailer loaded with sand hit their vehicle last Monday in south-central Florida.The Florida Highway Patrol reported that the tractor-trailer failed to heed a stop sign around 6:30 a.m. and struck the van's right side.

The force of the collision caused the van and the tractor-trailer to roll over, coming to rest on the shoulder of a two-lane highway about 60 miles east of Fort Myers.

At least two of the six men inside the 1993 Chevrolet van were thrown from the vehicle. All six were pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the tractor-trailer was driving for West Coast Aggregate Haulers, Inc., of Venice, Fla. He was listed in serious condition at a local hospital but is expected to survive.

Dangerous trucks from Mexico will continue to be allowed to use the highways of the United States. The Bush administration recently announced that it would extend its cross-border trucking pilot project for two more years, despite evidence that this action will expose U.S. motorists to increasing dangers from unsafe trucks and unqualified drivers. The United States Congress has clearly instructed the administration to cease these operations.

In December 2007, Congress passed a measure aimed at requiring the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to comply with certain safety assurances. The measure, contained in the appropriations bill for the Department of Transportation, prohibited the use of funds to “establish” cross-border trucking pilot projects. But FMCSA extended the program to more carriers in clear defiance of the intent of Congress.

The consumer advocacy group, Public Citizen, along with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and other groups argued against the program in February in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, citing numerous violations of repeated congressional mandates, including the recent spending bill. A final ruling is expected soon.

In addition, U.S. Reps. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) and James Oberstar (D-Minn.) introduced a bill July 29 to prohibit the secretary of transportation from granting authority to Mexico-domiciled carriers to operate beyond a specified commercial zone unless authorized by Congress. A committee approved the bill two days later, although the full House of Representatives has yet to vote on it.

In 2001, a NAFTA tribunal ordered the United States to permit access to all U.S. roads for Mexico-domiciled trucking companies. The Clinton administration refused to comply, citing serious safety and environmental concerns with Mexico’s trucking fleet. The Bush administration has tried since 2002 to enforce the NAFTA order to open U.S. highways to these unsafe trucks.