Georgia Truck Accident Attorney Blog
In my Atlanta-based trucking safety litigation practice, I often see the tragic outcomes of catastrophic trucking accidents. And because of that, when I travel on the highways I am alert to the minority of truckers who ignore the safety rules. Most of the time they get by with it, without a bad outcome, but slackness about safety will inevitably lead to tragedy.
Some folks, of course, think that statistics are irrelevant to them simply because they are unique and bad things only happen to others. Many of those folks are eventually known as defendants, casualties or … statistics.
And I often wind up representing truckers who are injured by other truckers, as well as “four-wheelers” who are hit by large trucks.
The statistics about the hazards in trucking are impressive. Data collected by the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) reported the following National Crash Facts for 2008:
* 4,066 large trucks and 247 buses were involved in crashes resulting in fatalities
* There were 4,229 fatalities in crashes involving large trucks and 307 fatalities in crashes involving buses
* 129,653 large trucks and 14,045 buses were involved in non-fatal crashes
* 51,680 large trucks and 7,603 buses were involved in crashes resulting in injury
* There were 71,329 injuries in crashes involving large trucks and 17,148 injuries in crashes involving buses
* 77,973 large trucks and 6,442 buses were involved in tow-away crashes
* 2,641 large trucks and 11 buses were involved in Hazmat (HM) Placard crashes
If you or a loved one have been injured by negligence in operation of a large commercial truck in or from Georgia, contact us today to determine whether you have a claim.
Ken Shigley is an Atlanta, Georgia, trial attorney. He has been designated a “Super Lawyer” (Atlanta Magazine), one of the “Legal Elite” (Georgia Trend), and rated “AV Preeminent” by Martindale-Hubbell Legal Directory. He is author of Georgia Law of Torts: Trial Preparation & Practice (West, 2010), a Certified Civil Trial Attorney of the National Board of Trial Advocacy, and currently president-elect of the 42,000 member State Bar of Georgia. He has extensive experience in litigation and trial of cases involving serious personal injury, wrongful death, trucking accidents, automobile accidents, products liability, premises liability, and insurance. Mr. Shigley is a graduate of Furman University and Emory University Law School. This blog post is subject to our ethical disclaimer.