Truck accidents involving 18-wheelers are not normal car accident cases. A truck claim is one injured person against a company that already has a defense team working, and against records that will be legally destroyed on schedule unless someone demands them first.
Coker Accident Lawyers handles these cases in-house and has recovered $1,000,000 in a tractor trailer case and $750,000 in a commercial truck case.
Do You Have a Georgia Truck Accident Case?
A truck case exists when a commercial vehicle caused your injuries and a motor carrier can be identified and held responsible. Work through these five questions:
If a commercial vehicle was involved and you were hurt, call today rather than next week. The calendar matters more in a truck case than in any other case type.
Call (678) 935-6000How Liability Works in a Truck Case
Interstate trucking companies are regulated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, not just Georgia traffic law, and liability usually extends well beyond the person behind the wheel.
Ordinary negligence: following too closely, speeding, unsafe lane change, driving while fatigued or impaired. The starting point, but rarely where the real coverage is.
The company is responsible for its driver acting within the scope of employment, and separately for its own failures: negligent hiring, inadequate training, pressuring drivers to beat hours-of-service limits, or failing to pull an unsafe driver off the road. Federal law requires carriers to complete inspection reports, maintain a qualification file on every driver, and keep a collision register. Those documents are where carrier negligence is proven.
The trailer owner, the maintenance contractor, the company that loaded the cargo, and sometimes a parts manufacturer. Identifying every responsible party matters because each may carry separate insurance.
Our firm knows how to gather critical information from the Department of Transportation, the FMCSA, and SAFER, the electronic database maintained on motor carriers. Most lawyers who advertise truck cases have never heard of these sources. If your lawyer does not know the difference between an OmniTRAC and a Qualcomm system, or between QTRACS and TrailerTRACS, it is time to call the Coker Accident Lawyers.
Who Actually Pays a Truck Accident Claim
Commercial policies, and they are far larger than car insurance. Federal rules require most interstate carriers to carry at least $750,000 in liability coverage, and many carry $1 million or more. Georgia's car minimum is $25,000.
| Source | What it covers |
|---|---|
| The carrier's primary liability policy | The main source in most cases |
| Excess or umbrella coverage | Often layered above the primary in serious-injury cases |
| The trailer owner's policy | Separate coverage when the tractor and trailer have different owners |
| A maintenance contractor's policy | Where a brake or tire failure traces to deferred service |
| A broker or shipper's policy | Where cargo loading or scheduling contributed |
| Your own UM/UIM coverage | Backstop where the carrier is underinsured or unidentified |
Truck lawsuits are expensive and time consuming. Most firms lack the financial resources and staff to handle them properly. Without a lawyer who can go toe to toe with the trucking company financially, you risk an undervalued settlement.
What Drives the Value of a Truck Accident Claim
Truck cases carry substantially higher value than car cases, for two reasons: the injuries are worse, and the coverage is deeper.
The Evidence That Wins a Truck Case, and How Fast It Disappears
The single most important step after a serious truck wreck is sending a spoliation letter that legally obligates the carrier to preserve evidence before its retention period expires. Without one, records are destroyed on a routine schedule and the company has a defensible reason for why they are gone.
| Evidence | What it proves | How long you have |
|---|---|---|
| Electronic logging device data | Hours of service, and whether the driver was legally allowed to be on the road | Limited retention; can be overwritten within months |
| Engine control module (the black box) | Speed, braking, and throttle in the seconds before impact | Can be lost when the tractor is repaired or returned to service |
| Driver qualification file | Licensing, medical certification, prior violations, road test | Retained while employed; harder to obtain once the driver leaves |
| Maintenance and inspection records | Deferred brake and tire repairs on the tractor and trailer | Retention varies; routinely purged |
| Post-accident drug and alcohol tests | Impairment, and whether required testing was even performed | Must occur within hours of the crash |
| Dispatch records and bill of lading | A delivery schedule that could not legally be met | Business records, purged on schedule |
| Dash and forward-facing cameras | The collision itself | Often overwritten in days to weeks |
Meanwhile the other side is already working. Most trucking companies have a 24-hour incident response team that can reach the scene before the vehicles are cleared, and that will try to push you into a low-ball settlement leaving you with thousands in unpaid medical bills. We have seen it. Trust us to protect you from the trucking company predators who prey on victims to maximize corporate profits.
"In my 15 years handling Georgia injury cases, the gap between a modest truck settlement and a real one is almost always what was preserved in the first 30 days."
R. Michael Coker
What the Trucking Company's Lawyers Will Argue
Truck accident defense lawyers are different from ordinary insurance lawyers. Their blunt and aggressive tactics scare firms that do not know when to call a bluff. Expect these:
The most common attempt to separate the deep-pocketed carrier from the person who caused the crash. Federal regulations and the actual control the carrier exercised often defeat it.
Same goal, different route. Dispatch records and ELD data usually tell a different story than the answer to the complaint does.
Because Georgia bars recovery at 50% fault, moving blame onto the passenger vehicle is worth more to them than any other argument. This is why the early recorded statement matters so much.
Blame-shifting to the cargo loader or broker, particularly where a load shifted or was improperly secured.
Standard in every serious case, and defeated with complete medical records and treating-physician testimony.
When you have a lawyer who responds aggressively and ethically, the trucking insurance company knows it has to play by the rules.
How a Truck Case Proceeds, and Who Handles It
We do not refer your case out. Most lawyers who advertise truck cases simply hand them to another firm with more experience, and in that arrangement you are paying two firms instead of one, with little communication from either. Our in-house truck team handles your file directly, and you can contact them directly.
We know you only have one shot at getting your case right. You do not get to try again if you pick the wrong lawyer. Our promise is that we stay fully committed to maximizing your settlement and give you the communication you need to make informed decisions throughout.
Coker Accident Lawyers represents truck accident victims across Gwinnett County and Barrow County, from offices in Lawrenceville, Mulberry, and Winder. Related: car accidents, wrongful death, and Georgia personal injury claims.
