Georgia Truck Accident Lawyers Blog

Georgia injury lawyers who have handled serious injury and wrongful death cases against trucking companies closely examine any representations made by truck drivers and this is particularly true when it comes to representations made by the safety departments of trucking companies.

This week, CBS.Com published an article about a Georgia trucker employed by Con-Way Freight who was fired after he had a single vehicle truck accident in his 14-wheeler. According to the driver, as he was exiting the expressway on his way to Knoxville, his brakes failed to work resulting in the tractor and both trailers overturning. The driver claimed that he was unaware of any problems with the brakes until he tried to apply them as he got off of the expressway. Interestingly, the Knoxville police came to the conclusion that the brakes had failed and the driver was not at fault for the accident. Accordingly, the driver was not charged with the accident. When the driver returned to work, he was fired.

When the CBS Atlanta reporter contacted Con-Way Freight to inquire about the incident and the firing, he was referred to their corporate communications department who released a statement that said in part, “if for any reason, a driver has any question about the safe operation of a vehicle, the instructions for what to do are crystal clear: pull the vehicle to the side of the road, park it, call operations, and wait for instructions.”

Although Con-way Freight now claims there was nothing wrong with the brakes, this is completely contradicted by the Knoxville police and their former driver. Our experience has shown that when a motorist claims brake failure at the scene of an accident, the authorities always check the vehicle out for themselves as was no doubt done in this case. Fortunately, no one was injured in this accident; however, had that not been the case, it would have been crucial for an immediate inspection to have been made by an expert to document the condition of the truck and trailer.