Truck Accident Lawyers Chattanooga

Case Illustration of a Chattanooga Truck Accident

Justin is headed to his job at Siskin Steel and Supply on I-58, when a truck driver changes lanes without looking, side-swiping Justin’s car, and sending it into the path of other drivers, where it is hit two more times. Justin’s seatbelt and airbags offer some protection, but he still suffers serious injuries from the accident. After being cut from his vehicle by emergency services, Justin is taken to the nearest hospital where his doctors perform emergency surgery to repair internal injuries.

Doctors are also concerned about an injury to Justin’s spinal cord, fearing he could be partially paralyzed as a result. Justin is looking at a long, difficult recovery. He will be unable to return to work—possibly for a very long time—and is worried about how he will pay his normal monthly expenses. A family member of Justin’s recommends that he speak to an attorney at Dennis & Winningham Law, so Justin sets up a meeting.

Since Justin is unable to leave his hospital room at the time, attorneys Tricia Dennis and Lupton Winningham meet with him in the hospital where they discuss his options. Justin feels almost immediate relief knowing he now has strong advocates who will work hard for his future while he focuses on healing from his injuries.

Do I Have a Chattanooga Truck Accident Case and What Is It Worth?

There’s no way to know whether you have a solid Chattanooga truck accident case or what it could be worth until you speak to an attorney at Dennis & Winningham Law. We will comprehensively evaluate the facts and circumstances of your case, gathering evidence and definitively proving liability. Proof of liability is one of the primary factors in whether you have a case and can be proven in many different ways.

There may have been witnesses to the accident, photographs you took following the accident, or there may be video footage from areas surrounding the scene of the accident. Once liability is proven, we will thoroughly examine your injuries and damages resulting from the accident to determine an amount for the demand letter sent to the insurance company. We will include lost wages, medical expenses, future medical expenses, and pain and suffering in this calculation.

What is the Claims Process Following a Chattanooga Truck Accident?

After proving liability and calculating your damages, a demand letter will be sent to the insurance company or companies of the at-fault party or parties. Negotiations will take place, and if the insurer refuses a fair settlement, your attorney will file a lawsuit. In many cases, the very filing of the lawsuit will be enough to persuade the insurer to pay an equitable settlement amount, but if not, it is important that your chosen attorney has litigation experience. At Dennis & Winningham Law, we are highly skilled negotiators as well as aggressive, experienced litigators. Your case will be comprehensively prepared right from the beginning, so if a lawsuit is filed, we will be fully prepared to litigate your case.

What Are the Typical Damages Following a Chattanooga Truck Accident?

You will be entitled to medical expenses, both current and future. These expenses include the cost of an ambulance, hospital, anesthesiologist, surgeon, physicians, prescription drugs, and any necessary rehabilitative therapies. You are also entitled to lost wages, whether for a few weeks, months, or much longer. If your injuries are so severe that you may never be able to return to your job, future lost wages will be calculated based on your age, your education, your current position, and the determination of how likely it is that you would have moved up in your career if you had not been injured. Pain and suffering damages include actual physical pain as well as emotional pain and trauma such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD related to the accident.

Top Notch Legal Services Offered at Dennis & Winningham Law

At Dennis & Winningham Law, our Chattanooga law firm provides legal services for a wide variety of trucking accidents, including:

• Accidents involving tractor-trailers
• Semi truck collisions
• Accidents with large commercial vehicles
• Accidents involving the transportation of hazardous material
• Large truck accidents
• Improperly loaded trucks
• Accidents that cause catastrophic injuries, including brain injuries
• Wrongful death

Dennis & Winningham Law also represent other accident cases, including claims with injuries from car accidents or motorcycle accidents. We have helped thousands of injured Tennessee and Georgia victims get the proper medical treatment, surgeries, and financial compensation after an accident. Many of our trucking accident clients credit us with helping them reduce their pain because we made the trucking company’s insurance pay for their medical treatment. To schedule a free evaluation of your case with one of our Chattanooga truck accident lawyers, call our legal team at: (423) 556-9467.

How to Receive Financial Compensation under Truck Accident Law

Many truck accidents result from driver negligence, such as excessive speed, not stopping at a red light, texting while driving, improperly changing lanes, failure to signal, etc. If you were injured due to driver negligence, then you can file a claim to seek compensation for your damages. The truck driver could have been responsible for the accident if he or she was distracted, impaired, overly fatigued, or was driving recklessly or carelessly. Distracted driving behaviors can include talking on a cell phone, texting, setting or changing a GPS device, talking to a passenger, or simply daydreaming rather than paying attention to the road.

Truck drivers are often overly fatigued, as they are allowed to drive eleven hours at a stretch—and may not sleep well in their trucks when they are not driving. Careless or reckless driving behaviors such as following too closely, changing lanes without properly looking, or exceeding the speed limit are also responsible for many truck accidents.

The trucking company that employs the truck driver may have failed to properly vet the driver or may have failed to ensure the driver was properly trained before sending them out on the road. The trucking company might also have been aware that the truck driver was exceeding his or her hours of service.

If the accident was caused by shifting cargo or otherwise poorly loaded cargo, the loading company may be to blame, or if poor brakes or tires caused the accident, the truck maintenance company bears some responsibility. Defective or faulty brakes and tires are responsible for a significant number of truck accidents. Other common causes of semi-truck accidents include:

• Poor road conditions, including road construction, confusing traffic signals, or lack of hazard signs
• Inclement weather, including heavy rain that results in slick roads, severe wind that can top an already top-heavy truck, ice and snow, or fog
• Unrealistic time constraints place a great deal of pressure on truck drivers as they try to meet company expectations
• Truck drivers who have not been properly trained—and may not even be aware of their lack of skills
• Blind spots on the part of the truck driver where smaller vehicles cannot be seen in the side truck mirrors

Laws that relate to driving vehicles on the roads and highways can be found here for Georgia and here for Tennessee. When a trucking accident occurs, the rule of Georgia and Tennessee law helps determine the liability of the driver responsible for causing the accident. The law holds an “at-fault” driver financially responsible for any monetary damages that result from their negligence.

A person injured in a truck accident can file a claim against the party at fault through the liable party’s insurance company or by filing a legal claim in civil court. If you were involved in an accident with a truck and want to receive the maximum amount for your damages, it is strongly recommended that you contact a Chattanooga truck accident attorney as soon as possible.

Being injured in a Chattanooga truck accident can result in months, years, or a lifetime of medical interventions and rehabilitative therapies. Many people involved in a truck accident suffer lifelong disabilities and an inability to enjoy their lives or accomplish day-to-day tasks as they did prior to the accident. Having a strong Chattanooga truck accident attorney from Dennis & Winningham Law can help you ensure that the right people and entities are held responsible for your accident.

What Should I Do After a Truck Accident?

If you’ve been involved in a truck accident you may have severe, even life-threatening injuries. Getting medical treatment must always be your first priority. If you are able to do so, the following steps can help your attorney build a solid case on your behalf:

• Make sure someone has called the police/EMS.
• Ask the police officer when you can obtain a copy of the police report.
• Exchange information with the truck driver, including their contact information, insurance information, and the name of the trucking company they work for.
• If you are able, take photographs of the scene of the accident with your cell phone.
• Obtain contact information from any witnesses to the accident.
• Once you have received medical attention and are home, take the time to write down any details you can remember about the accident.
• Contact your own insurance company and give them the basics about your accident.
• Do not talk to the trucking company or their insurance company before you’ve spoken to a lawyer. Their goal will be to get you to say something that implies you were at fault or to offer you a quick, low settlement before you are legally represented.
• Call an experienced Chattanooga truck accident lawyer who can guide you through the process, ensuring you don’t inadvertently make a mistake that can significantly diminish your settlement.

The following Chattanooga Emergency Services could be helpful following a truck accident.

• Chattanooga Fire Department— 2103 Hickory Valley Road, (423) 643-5600
• Chattanooga Police Department—3410 Amnicola Hwy. (423) 698-2525
• CHI Memorial Hospital—2525 Desales Avenue (423) 495-2525
• Physicians Care Walk-In Clinic (Urgent Care) 2021 Hamilton Place Blvd (423) 899-6222

As noted above, getting immediate medical attention can be crucial, not only to your current and future health but also to the success of a future claim for damages. If you have suffered injuries from a truck accident, you will need medical treatment from a licensed physician. At Dennis & Winningham Law, we connect our clients to our network of specialists to get you back on the road to recovery. While our job is to provide legal assistance, we also care about our client’s well-being and will help them get the medical help they need.

Additionally, you will also need to provide credible medical evidence if you want to obtain compensation. Whether negotiating with liable insurance companies, putting together workers compensation claims, or filing a lawsuit, an injured victim must provide medical records and proof that their injury was caused by the accident. Receipts from medical expenses are also helpful in determining how much compensation is fair. As such, if you have been in a truck accident, the Chattanooga lawyers at Dennis & Winningham Law highly recommend contacting a doctor immediately.

How Our Lawyers Investigate Chattanooga Truck Accident Claims

At Dennis & Winningham Law, we immediately begin our investigation of your truck accident injury case by visiting the scene of the accident and gathering and preserving evidence. A truck accident is different from a motor vehicle accident in that your Chattanooga truck accident lawyer must gather valuable information from a broad range of sources to prove negligence.

Our full investigation involves gathering evidence from all available sources, including:

• Global position systems, or “GPS”
• Drivers’ log sheets
• Black boxes, also known as an “electronic control module” (ECM) or “event data recorder” (EDR), which are installed on many 18-wheelers and other commercial vehicles
• Truck maintenance records and history
• National databases regarding out-of-state organizations
• Police reports

If a Georgia or Tennessee big truck accident injured you, you have to act quickly to preserve evidence and begin your investigation. Fortunately, the Chattanooga truck accident lawyers at Dennis & Winningham Law have years of experience and are prepared to fight for your case. We have secured millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts for our clients. Let us help you!

There are five things to consider as you look for a Chattanooga truck accident lawyer:

1. Experience – experience is a key indicator of an attorney’s knowledge in their area of practice, but you should look beyond the amount of years an attorney has been in practice. When evaluating experience, look for attorneys who focus on the area of law under which your case falls, the types of cases they handle and how they have resolved them. Tricia Dennis and Lupton Winningham have many decades of experience in both successfully settling personal injury cases through settlement negotiations and obtaining winning verdicts in trial. Our wide experience means we have the ability to use both the tools of settlement and, if necessary, the tools of the courtroom to maximize the value of your Tennessee or Georgia truck accident case.

2. Truck Accident Experience – Experience is not created equally. Just because an attorney has years of legal experience does not mean they have the right kind of experience for your truck accident case. Truck accident cases are very complex. They usually involve serious injuries, numerous state and federal regulations, and many potential causes. Trucking companies and their insurance companies are large and powerful corporations that have huge resources to go to war against your claim. They fight to pay as little as possible, if anything at all. By working with proven Georgia and Tennessee truck accident attorneys at Dennis & Winningham Law, you benefit from working with attorneys who have hands-on experience maximizing the value of your truck accident case.

3. Resources – Truck accident cases are expensive. Trucking companies and their insurance companies are willing to spend thousands of dollars to defend themselves. So, you must choose an attorney or law firm that has the resources to conduct thorough investigations, hire and work with medical and expert witnesses like engineers, and take a case to trial if necessary. Our firm has achieved successful results for clients throughout the years in part because we have the resources to level the playing field with powerful trucking and insurance companies that place profits over people.

4. Reputation – How former clients, other attorneys and local communities regard an attorney and their firm is important. Always look at law firm’s ratings and client testimonials. ALWAYS MAKE SURE YOU ARE NOT HIRING A TV SETTLEMENT MILL THAT WILL SIMPLY “PROCESS” YOUR CLAIM. Dennis & Winningham Law are Chattanooga car and truck accident lawyers who have been practicing for a combined 75 years in this community. We understand the court systems of both Tennessee and Georgia. We probably even know the doctors treating you. We have conducted enough trials, we understand the jury hearing your case.

5. Record of success – Although all personal injury cases are different and result do not guarantee success in your case, an attorney’s record of success offers evidence of their ability to successfully handle and resolve cases. At Dennis & Winningham Law, we have recovered millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements for our clients, including those harmed in truck accidents. As you can see from our testimonials, our clients trust us and are satisfied with the personal service we give each client.

When you consider the factors needed to succeed in your Georgia or Tennessee truck accident case, it becomes clear that the lawyers at Dennis & Winningham Law has the experience, resources, and determination to help Chattanooga truck accident victims and their loved ones navigate their legal journeys and pursue the maximum compensation possible.

Our firm offers a free initial strategy session to all prospective clients, where you can discuss your case with Lupton Winningham or Tricia Dennis. You have nothing to lose by calling our office at (423) 556-9467 or booking a free strategy session.

Get Paid Fast for Your Truck Accident Injury

You have bills that need to be paid. You are in pain. You may have lost time at work due to the injury. At Dennis & Winningham Law, we understand the financial concerns that come with a truck accident. Whether you are in Tennessee or Georgia, you are legally entitled to be compensated for your medical bills and any salary or lost wages that might have occurred due to your injury. That is why we work with your insurance company to get you a settlement for your injuries fast. If negotiations are producing a fair settlement, then we will try your case in court in order for you to get the compensation that you deserve. If you’ve been injured we can get you the money that you deserve.

Experience the Dennis & Winningham Law Difference!

Dennis & Winningham Law are experienced Chattanooga truck accident lawyers who take a limited number of cases to ensure we can give our clients the high-quality, professional care they deserve. If you work with us, we will be committed to providing the best legal representation.

Dennis & Winningham Law is not a “settlement mill” that will merely process your case. Our focus is on you. Unlike other firms, you will never be passed off to a paralegal or legal assistant at Dennis & Winningham Law. You will always be working directly with a real and experienced attorney. We maintain a statewide reputation for the care we take with each of our clients. Experience the Dennis & Winningham Law difference. Book your free strategy session today!

Contact Dennis & Winningham Law today to schedule a free strategy session on how to pursue your claim. During your complimentary strategy session with one of our established attorneys, we will assist you in creating a legal strategy on how to best pursue your claim, whether it be the result of an auto accident claim, 18-wheeler injury, or another kind of personal injury case. The sooner you learn about your legal rights, the better you will be able to recover all the benefits you are entitled to.

There are 5 points to your free claim strategy session:

• First, we will listen to your story. You will have a chance to tell everything to someone who wants to hear what happened to you.
• Based on the information you provide, we will give you our best advice on both what claims you have and the next steps you should consider to go forward with your claim.
• If you claim is something that we think we can help you with, we will explain the services that we can provide for you, and what the next steps are that we should take. We will start working immediately.
• If your matter is something that we do not think we can help you with, then we will attempt to put you in contact with another lawyer that might be able to help you.
• Either way, what should happen is we will put to rest some of the unknowns that you may be experiencing. We will start to shed light on what you can expect and how to best pursue the benefits you deserve.

How a Chattanooga Truck Accident Lawyer from Dennis & Winningham Law Can Help

Tricia Dennis and Lupton Winningham have been helping injured people make good decisions about their case for more than 75 years combined. Their practice covers both Tennessee and Georgia. At Dennis & Winningham Law, we possess a combination of legal expertise, communication skills, dedication, and empathy that will ensure you receive the best outcome possible following your Chattanooga truck accident. We have a deep understanding of the complexities associated with personal injury law, including the nuances of insurance policies and the liability issues related to truck accidents. Contact Dennis & Winningham Law if you want to obtain compensation for the damages you have suffered.