Key Takeaways
- Truck-crash claims in Georgia have a two-year filing deadline under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33. Evidence preservation letters to the carrier should go out within days to avoid logbook destruction.
- Hours-of-service violations, drug/alcohol test results, dashcam footage, and electronic logging device (ELD) data are unique categories of evidence in truck cases — preserved under FMCSA record-retention regulations.
- According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, occupants of passenger vehicles account for 71% of deaths in two-vehicle crashes involving a large truck, due to the mass and stiffness mismatch.
- Georgia's modified comparative negligence rule (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33) applies, but liability can extend beyond the driver to the carrier, broker, shipper, and maintenance contractor.
- Truck-crash cases require early evidence preservation; a Georgia truck accident lawyer can issue spoliation letters within days of the crash. See our results for representative case outcomes.
Are you looking for new truck accident attorneys?
If you need an attorney to help with your truck accident case, you must find the right one. This article will give you some helpful tips on how to do just that.
Asking the right type of questions will help you determine whether or not the attorney is the right one for your case.
Keep reading to learn what you should ask before hiring a truck accident attorney.
How Long Have You Been in Practice?
A good place to start with your questions is to ask how long the lawyer has been practicing. If they have been practicing for several years, it’s usually a good sign that you’ve come across someone that knows what they’re doing. It also gives you an idea of their experience level and success rate.
Why Does This Matter?
This is important to ask because you want someone that has a vast amount of experience and knowledge when it comes to the law. This will give you confidence knowing that they’re knowledgeable and capable of handling your case, should something arise while working with them.
How Many Cases Like Mine Have You Handled?
Another question to ask your potential truck accident attorney is how many cases like yours they’ve handled in the past. This will give you an idea as to whether or not they’ll be able to handle yours, as well as their track record with similar cases. If they’ve handled several cases like yours, they likely know what to do for your type of case.
Why Does This Matter?
Knowing how many cases like yours an attorney has worked on in the past is helpful because you want someone with experience handling similar cases. If they’re able to handle similar types of cases, there’s no reason why they can’t handle yours as well.
What Are You Going to Charge Me?
It’s always a good idea to ask upfront how much money you’ll be paying the attorney because that should play a major role in your decision-making process.
Truck injury work is almost always taken on a contingency fee, so you should not expect an hourly rate and should be wary of one. What varies is the percentage, whether it rises if the case has to be filed, and how case expenses are treated — ask about all three, and ask for the fee agreement in writing.
Why Does This Matter?
On a contingency arrangement, affordability is not really the question — nothing comes out of your pocket up front. What matters is understanding what proportion of the recovery you will keep, and what happens to advanced expenses if the case is lost.
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What Is Your Strategy?
It’s smart to ask the attorney what their strategy is going to be for your case. Why do you need to know this? Because it will give you a glimpse of how they handle cases like yours and whether or not they have a good track record with similar cases.
Why Does This Matter?
This is important to ask because you want an attorney with experience and knowledge when it comes to handling your type of case. If they don’t know how to handle this type of case, then their strategy is most likely not going to work for yours.
Can I Meet With You In Person?
It’s a good idea to meet with your potential truck accident attorney in person before you make the big decision of hiring them. Although this isn’t always possible, it’s usually best to meet with them face-to-face. This is important because it will give you an idea as to whether or not you like dealing with them on a personal level.
Why Does This Matter?
It’s important to meet with the attorney because you want someone that you can feel comfortable working with and who’s easy to talk to. If they’re someone that you don’t like, then it just doesn’t seem worth it to work with them as your truck accident lawyer.
Will I Be Working With a Team?
It’s a good idea to ask if you’ll be working with a team of lawyers or just the one. This is important because there are many cases where multiple attorneys have to work together on a case, so it’s always best to ask upfront about their strategy and whether or not they plan on working as a team or by themselves.
Why Does This Matter?
A serious truck case usually does need more than one person — the investigation, the expert work and the litigation are different jobs. What matters is not whether there is a team but whether you know who is running your case and can reach them.
How Will You Keep Me Informed?
It’s important to know how your attorney plans on staying in touch with you throughout the case. Some attorneys will contact their clients with regular updates, while others will have one big meeting at the end of the case where they go over everything that happened.
Why Does This Matter?
Poor communication is the single most common complaint clients make about their lawyers. Find out who will update you, how often, and whether you can reach the attorney directly rather than only an intake coordinator.
Will I Have Access to All the Information?
You need to know if you’ll have access to all the information that your truck accident attorney comes across during the case. Just because they’re an attorney, doesn’t mean that they need to hide information from their clients.
Why Does This Matter?
You are entitled to know what is in your own file. Ask what is being collected and how you can see it — an attorney should not be withholding details of your case from you.
Getting Started With Truck Accident Attorneys Today
We hope this guide helps you understand what questions to ask potential truck accident attorneys. At the end of the day, you want someone trustworthy with a great track record of success.
If you are looking for representation on a truck accident claim, give us a call. Car and truck crashes are the only cases we take.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I sue both the truck driver and the trucking company?
Yes. Under Georgia respondeat superior law, the trucking company is generally liable for the driver’s on-duty negligence. The carrier also has independent duties to inspect, train, supervise, and route — violations of those duties create direct claims against the company beyond the driver’s actions.
What evidence is unique to truck-accident cases?
Federal regulations from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration require commercial carriers to maintain driver logs, hours-of-service records, electronic logging device (ELD) data, drug and alcohol test results, maintenance records, and post-crash inspection reports. These records have short retention periods and must be preserved by formal demand.
How much insurance do trucking companies carry in Georgia?
Interstate commercial carriers must maintain at least $750,000 in liability coverage under FMCSA regulations — far above the Georgia auto minimum of $25,000. Many carriers exceed the federal floor and carry $1 million or more, which is why truck-crash recoveries can be substantially larger than passenger-vehicle cases.
What causes most large-truck crashes?
According to FMCSA crash data, the leading contributing factors are driver fatigue, unfamiliarity with the route, brake problems, speeding, and distraction. Many of these correlate with violations of federal hours-of-service rules — a logbook audit early in the case can reveal those violations.
