Garbage Truck Accidents

Garbage trucks are a common sight throughout the Atlanta area. They are a necessary part of any community and are usually operated by private companies who have contracted with municipalities. Unfortunately, garbage trucks are often involved in accidents that lead to injury or sometimes even death. The United States Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) keeps records of all reported accidents involving garbage trucks. If you have been involved in a garbage truck accident, it is important to speak with a personal injury attorney such as the attorneys at Slappey & Sadd, LLC today to preserve your rights against the operator and manufacturer of the garbage truck.

Garbage trucks are large vehicles, ranging up to 18,300 pounds, and require a commercial driver's license (CDL) to operate. Due to their large size, the resulting accidents can cause significant amounts of damage to property, injury to people, and sometimes even death. The following types of accidents frequently involve garbage trucks:

• Garbage Truck Rollovers. Garbage trucks are not meant to be operated at high speeds or over uneven terrain. Garbage trucks are top-heavy and are prone to rolling over if not correctly operated. When a garbage truck rolls over it can endanger the health and safety of both nearby vehicles or people, as well as the operators of the garbage truck. In fact, OSHA's statistics show that employees are often the victims of garbage truck rollover accidents. If you have been involved in an accident involving a garbage truck rolling over, either as a driver of another automobile, or as a pedestrian, or as the driver of the garbage truck, it is important to speak with one of our personal injury attorneys today.
• Garbage Truck Operator Error. Garbage trucks can be dangerous machines. They are composed of many moving mechanical parts that must be operated correctly or will otherwise cause injury to the operators. Examples of injuries that have occurred due to operator error or a manufacturing defect include body parts pinned within the machinery, the swinging arm of the garbage truck striking an individual, and dumpsters being dropped on individuals. Unfortunately all of these injuries or deaths can be prevented with proper operation or better design and manufacturing.
• Garbage Truck Collisions. Garbage trucks are difficult to maneuver at high rates of speed and can cause massive amounts of damage if it collides with property or other automobiles. But even at low speeds garbage trucks still present the opportunity to injure pedestrians or automobile passengers. Any type of garbage truck collision can be deadly. Rear-end collisions with garbage trucks are frequent due to garbage trucks' stop and go nature and unusual traffic patterns. If you have been injured in a garbage truck collision or a family member of yours has been killed in a garbage truck collision, it is important to speak with one of our personal injury attorneys to determine your rights.

When a garbage truck is involved in an accident in Georgia, liability will depend on who has caused the accident. If the garbage truck is the cause of the accident, then multiple parties may ultimately be held liable. Those parties can include:

• The Garbage Truck Company. The company operating the garbage truck will be liable for the operation of the garbage truck provided the garbage truck was engaged in some form of business.
• The Garbage Truck Driver. If driver error caused the accident, then the garbage truck driver will also be liable.
• The Contracting Municipality. In some circumstances the municipality that has employed the garbage truck company to remove waste may be held liable.
• The Garbage Truck Manufacturer. If the garbage truck accident was due to a design flaw or manufacturing flaw, then the manufacturer of the garbage truck may be held liable.
• Mechanics and Parts Manufacturers. If the accident was due to a mechanical failure of the garbage truck, then it may be determined that a mechanic or parts manufacturer recently involved in a repair or maintenance of the garbage truck may be held liable.

The analysis for which parties should be held liable is complex and best done with advice from an experienced personal injury attorney familiar with garbage truck accidents, such as the attorneys at Slappey & Sadd, LLC.

If you have been involved in a garbage truck accident, it is important that you seek both medical and legal help immediately after the accident. You will want to take pictures of the accident scene if possible. It is also necessary to make sure that the garbage truck remains intact as evidence, including its black box, also known as an Electronic Control Module (ECM), which records data from the garbage truck leading up to the accident.

You will also want to see a doctor shortly after the crash to understand the full extent of your injuries and to make sure there is a medical history demonstrating you have been injured. It is not uncommon for someone seemingly uninjured to have injuries crop up long after the accident has occurred. With this information in hand, it is important to speak with a personal injury attorney to determine what rights you might have to recover for medical bills and loss of income.

If you have been injured from a garbage truck accident, either as a victim in a collision, as a pedestrian, or as a driver or operator of the garbage truck, you may have a claim against the responsible party. It is not right for you to have to shoulder the burden of the accident when it is due to the fault of another. The personal injury attorneys at Slappey & Sadd, LLC will determine your rights and the liable parties and seek to recover for your loss. If you have been involved in a garbage truck accident, call the Georgia personal injury attorneys at Slappey & Sadd, LLC today at 404-255-6677.