Gainesville, GA Blind Spots Lawyer

Professional Blind Spot Lawyers Serving Gainesville, Georgia

Commercial truck drivers must abide by the same rules as all other drivers, which means that they must check their blind spots before changing lanes. In many instances, however, truck drivers neglect to thoroughly check their blind spots and collide with other motorists when they attempt to change lanes, causing critical injuries. People injured in accidents caused by a truck driver’s failure to check a truck’s blind spots have a right to pursue damages for their injuries. If you were hurt in a trucking accident, our dedicated Gainesville, GA blind spots lawyer at Cook Law Group can advise you on your potential claims and develop compelling arguments to help you pursue any compensation that you may be owed.

Blind Spots On Commercial Trucks

A blind spot is an area around a vehicle that the driver cannot see through side or rearview mirrors. As a result, drivers must use measures other than looking in a mirror to determine whether a blind spot is clear before changing lanes. While most vehicles have one or two blind spots, commercial trucks have four. Specifically, there is a blind spot directly in front of the cab of a commercial truck, directly behind the truck’s trailer, along the body of the driver’s side of the truck and trailer, including under and behind the driver’s window, and along the right side of the trailer. It is a truck driver’s duty to take the necessary steps to check each of a truck’s blind spots, to ensure that the areas obscured by the blind spots are free of other vehicles.

Seeking Damages Following A Trucking Accident

Truck drivers have a duty to drive safely at all times to avoid harming other people on the road, and when they fail to abide by their duty, they may be deemed liable for any injuries that they cause. Usually, a party seeking damages following an accident caused by a truck driver’s failure to check a blind spot will set forth a negligence claim against the truck driver in a civil lawsuit. To recover damages in a negligence claim, the injured person must establish that the truck driver owed a duty to him or her, but the truck driver’s actions or failure to act constituted a breach of the duty. In other words, the injured person must show that the truck driver’s failure to check his or her blind spots was a breach of the duty to drive in a reasonable and safe manner. The injured person must also show that the truck driver’s breach caused him or her to suffer quantifiable harm.

While sometimes liability will not be disputed, in other cases, the truck driver may attempt to argue that the injured person caused the accident by speeding or otherwise driving recklessly, and therefore the injured person should be denied compensation. Under Georgia law, however, an injured person will not be denied the right to recover damages unless he or she is 50 percent or more responsible for causing his or her own harm.

Claims Against The Truck Driver’s Employer

Commercial truck drivers rarely own the trucks that they operate. Instead, the trucks are usually owned by trucking companies that employ the drivers. In many instances, therefore, a person injured in a blind spot accident not only may be able to pursue claims against the truck driver but also may be able to pursue claims against the driver’s employer. Further, in Georgia special rules often allow injured persons to sue the trucking company’s insurance company directly. To recover damages from a trucking company that employed a negligent driver, the injured person and his or her attorney usually must prove either that the accident occurred while the driver was in the performance of his or her job duties or that the company knew or reasonably should have known that the driver operated the truck in an unsafe manner.

Contact A Knowledgeable Blind Spots Lawyer

If you were injured in a blind spot accident, you should meet with an attorney to discuss the damages that you may be owed. The trusted Gainesville, GA blind spots lawyers at Cook Law Group have helped many people injured in blind spot trucking accidents pursue damages in civil lawsuits, and we possess the skills and experience needed to help you seek a successful outcome. In a recent trucking accident case, our client was ran over while in a crosswalk, when the driver rolled forward before she could finish crossing the street. Our accident reconstructionist was able to recreate the collision and show that the driver should have been able to see our client if he had properly looked ahead of his tractor before moving. You can contact us at 678-928-3899 or through our form online to set up a meeting. We represent people in cities such as Gainesville, Albany, Columbus, Savannah, Macon, Augusta, Athens, and Valdosta.