By: Arthur Cooper
Submitted: 2010-12-14 11:46:41 | Word Count: 664
Semi tractor trailers are responsible for many traffic fatalities because of their size and weight in comparison to the majority of other vehicles on the road. For those who survive a wreck with a semi truck, the injuries can be devastating, and the damage can be permanent. If you are injured in a collision with a semi truck, you do not need to deal with the accident on your own, especially when so much financial risk is involved. Medical expenses and lost wages can add up over days, weeks, and even months while you recover; if you are permanently disabled due to an accident caused by a semi truck in Atlanta, it can help to have a personal injury lawyer who can pursue the compensation you deserve.
Before you speak with the trucking company responsible for your accident, you should always retain legal counsel. It is difficult for an individual to obtain all of the necessary evidence to build a strong case against a trucking company. Driver logs, toxicology tests, and other sources of evidence will not likely surface until the case reaches a courtroom. Although trucking companies should have their own insurance policies to pay for damages to other vehicles, the amount of compensation that they deem fit might not be nearly enough to cover your medical costs, lost wages, or additional treatment once you return home from the hospital.
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There are several factors that commonly cause trucking accidents, even though semis are perhaps the most regulated vehicles on the road. Truck drivers are only allowed to drive a certain amount of consecutive hours before taking a break. Even so, many drivers falsify their driving logs so that they can reach their destination as quickly as possible. Usually, this falsification can be revealed upon matching up the mileage on the truck with the hours logged. Other factors such as truck maintenance and payload are also highly regulated – even so, it is possible for truckers or their employers to cut corners and not follow the rules when a truck load must reach a certain destination quickly. These accidents are largely preventable and in some cases, they can result in punitive damages paid out to you; this is compensation beyond the amount of your actual loss in the accident.
Because of these factors, you should never deal with a semi truck accident on your own, even if you feel that pursuit of damages is not worth the hassle. The injuries caused by a collision with a large truck can have devastating and long-lasting effects, and as such, the trucking company should compensate if they were responsible for the accident in any way. The Accident Attorneys of Monge
