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Savannah Truck Accident Attorney

A collision with a commercial truck or tractor-trailer can be devastating. Getting into a crash with the largest and heaviest vehicles on the road can lead to catastrophic damages, including life-threatening injuries. At Bowen Painter Injury Lawyers, we have the skill, resources, and trial capabilities to give you the strongest possible claim when going up against a powerful trucking company or another corporation. We understand what you need during this difficult time and how to effectively handle your case.

Discuss the details of your truck accident lawsuit with our attorneys in Savannah, Georgia today. Request your free consultation at (912) 335-1909 anytime.

Why Choose Bowen Painter Injury Lawyers?

• We have spent more than two decades representing individuals and families in many different types of personal injury lawsuits, with a special focus on vehicle wrecks.
• Our Savannah personal injury attorneys are dedicated and pay attention to detail. We will analyze all aspects of your specific case to tailor our legal strategy and recover the highest amount possible.
• We operate on a contingency fee basis, meaning you won’t pay your truck accident attorney unless he or she recovers financial compensation on your behalf.

Meet Attorney Andrew Bowen

Founding Partner

Andrew Bowen, the founder of Bowen Painter Injury Lawyers, has built a notable legal career distinguished by his expertise and unwavering dedication. Beginning his journey as a Savannah accident lawyer, Andrew has represented defendants in cases involving automotive collisions, medical negligence, and Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Since 2001, he has fervently advocated for individuals affected by serious injuries or the loss of loved ones, skillfully managing cases in medical malpractice, wrongful death, and various vehicular accidents. Andrew Bowen remains committed to justice and leverages his extensive legal experience to provide personalized and effective representation to those seeking redress in the face of personal injury challenges.

Meet Attorney Paul W. Painter III

Founding Attorney

Paul W. Painter III, founder of Bowen Painter Injury Lawyers, is a devoted personal injury attorney from Savannah, Georgia. Known for his unwavering dedication to cultivating personal and trustworthy relationships with his clients, Paul delivers top-tier, assertive, and ethically sound representation. A former U.S. Navy Lieutenant with five years of honorable service, Paul participated in many critical missions. Transitioning seamlessly to the legal field, he has consistently secured multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements for clients nationwide, specializing in various legal matters including car accidents, slip and fall incidents, wrongful death cases, truck accidents, and more.

Savannah Truck Accident Resources

• What Compensation is Available After a Truck Accident in Savannah?
• Why Hiring a Trial Attorney Matters
• What Makes Truck Accident Cases Unique?
• Common Causes of Truck Accidents in Savannah, Georgia
• What To Do After a Truck Accident in Savannah
• Contact Our Truck Accident Lawyers in Savannah Today

What Compensation is Available After a Truck Accident in Savannah?

You may be wondering what type of compensation you are eligible for. Typically, a settlement includes only economic damages, but you may be able to build a personal injury lawsuit and receive non-economic damages as well, depending on the case.

Economic damages can include medical bills, lost wages, loss of earning potential, and property damage. Non-economic damages could include pain and suffering, emotional distress, disfigurement, and loss of companionship. Make sure you hire the best truck accident attorney in Savannah so you ensure that you receive the maximum compensation that can be awarded for your injuries.

Why Hiring a Trial Attorney Matters

Trial capabilities are important in a high-dollar case, such as a major truck accident lawsuit. Since the injuries that result from these types of collisions are often catastrophic, it is critical to hire an attorney who has the experience and skill to go up against a major corporation. Otherwise, you may settle for less than you deserve for your future needs, ongoing medical care, physical therapy, rehabilitation, and lost wages.

The threat of going to trial is often enough to make an insurance company offer a higher, more just settlement. Insurance companies want to avoid going to trial, as court cases take a lot of time and money. Once an insurance company finds out that your attorney has the ability to go to trial, it will most likely offer a better settlement in an attempt to avoid going to court.

Although no amount of money can make up for extensive losses, a fair and full settlement can give you what you need to pay the bills and move forward with greater financial security. Even more importantly, hiring an attorney can allow you to concentrate on your physical and emotional recoveries while an experienced and trained professional handles the complicated legal aspects of your case for you.

How Our Savannah Truck Accident Lawyers Can Help You And Your Family

If you or a loved one suffered injuries after being involved in a truck accident, our lawyers can help you in several ways. 

Assist with Medical Treatment

Any time you’re involved in an accident and plan to pursue a personal injury case, your treatment and medical records will play a significant role in your case. At Bowen Painter, we can help you find doctors, obtain medical records, and even attempt to help you manage and negotiate your medical expenses, as they can get quite costly very quickly. 

Determine Liability

Another major factor in your personal injury case will be to determine who is liable for the accident. Our lawyers can help you find the responsible party in several ways. We can speak with witnesses, consult with accident reconstruction experts, and obtain any video surveillance footage from nearby stores, restaurants, houses, or even dash cameras from other vehicles that may have been involved in the accident if applicable. 

Speak and Negotiate With Insurance Providers

Dealing with insurance companies is never easy, and it can be complicated in truck accident cases. An insurance company’s primary purpose is to generate profits. They will almost always try to pay as little money as possible for the claims made against them. They may try to blame you for the accident, or they may make you a very low settlement offer in order to attempt to resolve the case quickly. With competent and professional legal representation, you can be confident that you won’t be taken advantage of by the insurance companies. 

Client Review

What Makes Truck Accident Cases Unique?

An injury case involving a commercial truck is different from typical car accident cases. There are unique rules and issues related to accidents involving big rigs and tractor-trailers, including federal trucking laws and special types of evidence. This is why it is important to hire a truck accident attorney with experience handling these types of cases. An attorney can guide you through all of the unique aspects of your case, such as:

• Catastrophic injuries. The size and weight of a large truck can lead to severe and catastrophic injuries for those in smaller passenger cars. These injuries may include broken bones, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and paralysis.
• Powerful adversaries. Unlike an individual driver, a trucking company has an aggressive legal team and a powerful insurance company for support. Strong adversaries can make it more difficult to obtain fair financial compensation for your injuries and losses without legal representation.
• Unique evidence. The evidence involved in a truck accident lawsuit in Georgia can include the truck’s black box, electronic logging devices, employment records, the driver’s driving and medical records, the company’s compliance history, and truck inspection reports.

The right truck accident attorney can investigate your truck accident for signs of fault, hire qualified experts to testify, and navigate Georgia’s truck accident laws to pursue maximum financial compensation on your behalf. Working with an attorney can make it easier to prepare and present a case, especially when it involves unique elements.

Common Causes of Truck Accidents Savannah, Georgia

The most common cause of truck accidents is driver error, including excessive fatigue, distracted driving, driving under the influence, and poor driving decisions.  Sometimes, the fault lies in vehicle malfunctions, in which the manufacturer of the truck may be liable. The owner of the truck and the trucking company has a responsibility for regular inspections to ensure mechanical failures do not happen and cause accidents.

Errors made by trucking companies and their drivers commonly lead to truck accidents in Savannah. For example, a truck driver could cause a crash by failing to pay attention to the road, texting, and driving, driving under the influence, and ignoring hours-of-service restrictions. Speeding, red-light running, making unsafe lane changes, wide turns, and reckless driving are also common driver-related causes of tractor-trailer wrecks.

Other common scenarios that can lead to a truck accident include the following:

• Jackknifing: Jackknifing is a very common cause of truck accidents. It refers to a situation in which the trailer of a large truck swings out and starts facing a different direction from other parts of the truck, resembling a type of jackknife or pocketknife. This usually happens due to skidding on wet roads, taking a turn at high speeds, or by twisting when the brakes lock up, which is usually caused by traveling too fast and then trying to brake quickly.
• Tire blowouts/tire explosions: Tire blowouts are common in trucking accidents and can be incredibly dangerous. A tire blowout occurs when a tire loses air pressure quickly and severely, essentially causing the tire to explode. This can cause the driver to very quickly lose control of the vehicle. When this happens to a large truck, the consequences can be devastating.
• Blind spots: Driving a large truck or tractor-trailer is challenging because there are significant blind spots to the driver. No matter how carefully they operate the truck, there’s still the risk that they may try to change lanes or pass other vehicles and not realize that there is another vehicle in their way. Unsurprisingly, this can cause destructive accidents.

What to Do After a Truck Accident in Savannah

You may be reeling from pain and suffering from shock after being involved in a truck accident. There are a variety of steps you should remember to take directly after a truck accident to ensure your rights are protected.

Consider taking the following detailed steps below if you are involved in an accident:

1. Call the Police

If you or another party was injured, the first thing you should do is call 911 to help them and yourself. It’s also vital to call the police so they can make an unbiased report of the accident. An officer will complete an official report, and you should request a copy of this document. You want the police to arrive as soon as possible so they can see the scene exactly as it was when the accident occurred, especially if you don’t believe that you were at fault for the accident.

2. Receive Medical Care

If you are severely injured, immediately seek medical assistance. Otherwise, even if you do not need immediate care, make sure you visit your doctor to see if there were injuries you might not be aware of. Your doctor can also provide documentation for these injuries if you choose to seek damages from the at-fault driver afterward. Medical records are a significant part of all personal injury claims, so this is a vital step.

3. Exchange Information

Even if you weren’t hurt, don’t forget to document the truck driver’s insurance company information and the information of the company they work for. You should notify who they are driving for, in addition to both of your insurance companies. You also may want to collect all of the information that can later identify the truck driver, such as their license plate number, their contact information, and their license number.

4. Identify Witnesses

If possible, speak with witnesses and collect their information. If others saw the accident and can verify that you weren’t at fault, this will be very beneficial for your case. It’s also a good idea to see if there are any witnesses that have video footage of the incident. 

5. Collect Documentation

It is important to take photos of the accident at the scene if you can. You also will want to take photos of your injuries, any damage to your car, or other cars and trucks involved in the accident. These pictures can serve as evidence as you are building your case, and they will ensure that you receive the appropriate amount of damages.

6. Contact an Experienced Truck Accident Lawyer

Anytime you’re involved in an accident, contacting an experienced personal injury attorney is crucial. They will help you recover the compensation you deserve and will help you every step of the way in dealing with your claim. They will ensure that your claim is filed on time, as if it isn’t, you will miss out on receiving compensation that may otherwise be legally owed to you. 

If you get injured in a truck wreck in Savannah, stay calm and call 911 to report the crash immediately. If you can, move your disabled vehicle out of the road. Your injuries are most likely too serious for you to collect any evidence yourself. However, a friend or family member can return to the scene and collect evidence for you, such as photographs of the site. A truck accident lawyer can also preserve key evidence on your behalf.

$525 K settlement for truck wreck resulting in an injured shoulder after truck rear ends women’s car.

How Common Are Truck Accidents in Georgia?

The unfortunate reality is that truck accidents are quite common in the state of Georgia. There are some very dangerous highways that often lead to deadly accidents and serious injuries. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, it’s estimated that there are between 180 and 230 fatal truck accidents in Georgia per year. This accounts for approximately 14 percent of all motor vehicle accidents in the state. Of the truck accidents that occur, tractor-trailer and semi-trucks are responsible for almost 60 percent. 

Trucking companies in Georgia are often vicariously liable or responsible for the actions and mistakes of their drivers, even if the drivers are independent contractors. A trucking company can also bear liability for its own careless acts, such as failing to properly maintain fleet vehicles, failing to secure cargo correctly, and hiring incompetent or dangerous truck drivers. If the truck company is not responsible for your crash, you may be able to bring a lawsuit against a truck manufacturer, a cargo company, the government, or another party instead.

Contact Our Truck Accident Lawyers in Savannah Today

If you or a loved one is the victim of a truck or tractor-trailer collision in Savannah, Georgia, contact our truck accident attorneys for legal assistance. We offer free initial consultations, where our truck accident lawyers will listen to your story and answer your legal questions. If we believe your case has merit and offer to represent you, we will customize our legal strategies to pursue the best possible outcome for you and your family.

Contact our law office in Savannah, GA today to request your free case review. We accept clients throughout the coastal regions of Georgia, Florida and South Carolina.

Savannah Chiropractors

• The Joint Chiropractic – 5500 Abercorn St. Savannah, GA 31405
• Crossroads Chiropractic & Wellness – 320 E Montgomery Crossroads. Savannah, GA 31406
• Complete Chiropractic – 1101 E 51st St. Savannah, GA 31404
• Brown Chiropractic – 513 E Oglethorpe Ave. Ste O. Savannah, GA 31401

Savannah Physical Therapists

• Ledesma Sports Medicine – 7010 Hodgson Memorial Dr Savannah, GA 31406
• BenchMark Physical Therapy – 7805 Abercorn St, Ste 21. Savannah, GA 31406
• CORA Physical Therapy – 22 W Oglethorpe Ave. Savannah, GA 31401
• Optim Orthopedics – 210 E De Renne Ave. Savannah, GA 31405

Savannah Emergency Rooms

• Effingham Health System – 459 Ga Hwy 119 S. Springfield, GA 31329
• Candler Hospital: Emergency Room – 5353 Reynolds St, Savannah, GA 31405
• Memorial Health University Medical Center Emergency Room – 4700 Waters Ave Entrance, Savannah, GA 31404
• St. Joseph’s Hospital: Emergency Room – 11705 Mercy Boulevard, Savannah, GA 31419