When hauling heavy and oversized loads like construction materials, or equipment, flatbed trucks are commonly used. These vehicles are designed to carry considerable shipments, but they also create a substantial threat to those on the road when they are involved in accidents.
A flatbed truck accident lawyer in Columbus can help you if you or a loved one has sustained severe injuries, wrongful death, or property damage because of a flatbed truck collision. There are a number of ways the attorneys at John Foy & Associates can be of service to you. Learn more from a professional Columbus truck accident lawyer.
Flatbed Truck Accidents
When a flatbed truck collides with another automobile, an object, a pedestrian, a cyclist, a biker, or with property, an accident takes place. These accidents can happen for a variety of reasons. Some of these include the following:
- Fatigued drivers lack the response time they would have if they were not exhausted. Comparisons have been made between fatigued drivers and drunk drivers, and their driving efforts are similar.
- Distracted drivers cause many accidents. GPS, phone usage, texting while driving, and other distractions make flatbed truck operators susceptible to accidents.
- Operating a flatbed truck under the influence of drugs or alcohol can end in catastrophe.
- Poor road conditions can include poorly marked lanes, lack of road signs, potholes, and lack of guardrails and other safety features. These can cause accidents involving flatbed truck drivers.
- Ill-maintained vehicles are to blame for a number of flatbed truck accidents. Brakes that are not properly serviced, signal lights, headlights, and brake lights that are not functioning can cause problems as well.
- Bad weather, including snow, fog, ice, heavy rain, flooding, and other dangerous weather conditions, increases the likelihood of vehicle accidents, including flatbed trucks.
- Overloaded or unbalanced cargo can end disastrously in flatbed truck accidents.
Flatbed trucks are commonly carrying large loads of cargo. The weight they are carrying can make stopping difficult and can lead to disaster for all involved.
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A Columbus Flatbed Truck Accident Lawyer Can Help
When flatbed truck accidents occur in Columbus, contacting one of our experienced Columbus personal injury lawyer at John Foy & Associates is your best bet for ensuring you receive the compensation you are due. If you have been injured in a flatbed truck accident, here are some ways we can help:
- Investigation: John Foy & Associates are fully equipped and experienced at conducting thorough investigations and determining the cause of flatbed truck accidents. We review accident reports from law enforcement, photos from the accident scene, surveillance video and dash cam videos that might be available, eyewitness interviews, photos of the road conditions, and evidence from the scene to piece together a clear picture of how the accident occurred.
- Identification: After determining the cause of the accident, your Columbus flatbed truck accident attorney can identify the liable party. Liability could be the driver of the truck, the trucking company, the truck manufacturer, or even the repair company who worked on the truck if a fault repair caused the accident.
- Negotiation: John Foy & Associates understands how negotiations with insurance companies work and are there to make sure that you recognize lowball offers and that you receive the best compensation available.
- Litigation: If negotiations fail to produce fair reimbursement, the lawyers in our firm are ready to take your suit to trial in order to recover the damages you deserve for medical costs, pain and suffering, lost wages, property damage, and the like.
- Representation: We are ready to represent our clients in investigation, negotiation, and litigation. We are ready to present all of the evidence our investigations have produced so that our clients are awarded fair compensation.
Damages You May Seek Following a Flatbed Truck Accident
If you or someone you love has been in an accident involving a flatbed truck accident in Atlanta, your legal team can help you determine what damages you may be eligible for when filing an insurance claim.
Economic Damages Caused by Atlanta Flat Bed Truck Accident
Economic damages are the damages suffered after a personal injury that is fairly simple to calculate. They correlate directly with the amount of money the injury has cost the person who suffered it. Listed below are some of the damages included under the umbrella of economic damages:
- Medical expenses like ambulance travel, emergency room visits, intensive care unit stays, hospital stays, surgeries, procedures, X-rays, diagnostic tests, anesthesia, pain management medications, and appointments with doctors and specialists should be included in a settlement package.
- Physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and psychological therapy costs add up quickly and should be included in your claim.
- Property damage could happen to your home, business, or vehicle if they were in the path of the flatbed truck when the accident occurred. This would make them eligible for replacement or repair by the flatbed truck driver’s insurance company.
- Repair or replacement of vehicle following the flatbed truck accident.
- Lost wages are another common problem after a flatbread truck accident. Missed work for hospital stays, recuperation, or follow-up appointments can mean lost income while the bills quickly mount.
- Home alterations are sometimes necessary due to injuries sustained in an Atlanta accident. These could include installing ramps, staircase lifts, widened doorways, roll-in showers, handicap-accessible bathtubs, and grab bars and handrails.
- Mobility devices like crutches, walkers, wheelchairs, electric wheelchairs, and canes can make getting around accessible for those who suffer injuries that compromise their mobility after an accident. These devices should be included when calculating economic damages.
- Prosthetics are expensive but are a must to include in a settlement if a limb or digit was lost due to the flatbed truck wreck.
- Medications to control pain and ward off infection may be necessary after an accident, so they should also be included in the list of economic damages you are entitled to.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages are somewhat more difficult to calculate since there is not a clear receipt for what they have cost a person who has experienced injuries and damages because of their involvement in a flatbed truck accident. Some of the non-economic damages you may be entitled to are listed below:
- Pain and suffering
- Anxiety disorders
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium
- Inconvenience
- Emotional distress
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Loss of educational opportunities
Contact John Foy & Associates Today
If you have been the victim of a flatbed truck accident, contact the experienced legal minds at John Foy & Associates. We are ready to put our skills into practice and help you to achieve compensation for the injuries and damages that you sustained. The consultation is free, and we work on a contingency basis, so it does not cost you a dime to make an appointment.
Contact a flatbed truck accident attorney in Columbus today.
706-400-4000 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form