Any lawyer who assumes that a large commercial truck crash is just a bigger car wreck is dangerously naive. Investigation, discovery, technology and law involved in the crashes of large commercial trucks are substantially different from other motor vehicle accident cases.
Attorneys handling commercial trucking accident cases must be familiar with a national body of trucking law based primarily on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, technology in the trucking industry, trucking insurance coverage issues, multistate discovery practice, and other aspects of investigation and discovery particular to trucking litigation.
Lawyers who are not prepared to invest the time required to master the intricacies involved should consider the ethical duty to associate other counsel. Since many interstate trucking cases are removed to federal courts, competent handling includes and familiarity federal court practice and local rules.
In addition, lawyers handling such cases in Georgia should be seasoned Georgia trial attorneys, deeply familiar with Georgia laws, procedures, courts and judges. Law firms in other states that advertise for Georgia cases, but do not actually live and practice in Georgia, are likely to do their unsuspecting clients a severe disservice.