Truck Accident Attorney in Dothan

Have You Been Injured In a Trucking Accident in Dothan, Alabama?

Unlike a typical car wreck, accidents involving massive tractor-trailers present unique challenges. For one, the injuries and damage are usually far worse. Catastrophic injuries are far more likely when a heavy truck hits a normal car. Truck crashes also frequently involve multiple defendants and higher insurance limits. With so much at stake, you can count on trucking companies and insurers to put up a fight.

After a truck crash, you need aggressive legal representation from experienced truck accident lawyers who will move fast to preserve evidence and protect your rights. Contact the truck accident lawyers in Dothan at Gartlan Injury Law at (334) 600 1882 now for a free consultation to find out more about your best options.

Never speak with the trucking company’s representatives or the insurance company without the advice of your own attorney. An insurance adjuster may try to tell you that you are required to give a recorded statement or that you must talk to them if you wish to be compensated. Both are not true. Here is what you should understand about fighting for compensation after an 18-wheeler accident. Contact our Dothan truck accident attorney today.

Truck crashes are different, primarily because trucking companies and truckers are heavily regulated by state and federal law. Here are some specific rules that apply only to commercial vehicles.

Alabama Truck Accident Statistics

Truck crashes make up a small share of Alabama’s crashes, but they cause an outsized number of injuries and deaths. In 2024, more than 10,000 truck crashes occurred, resulting in 2,368 injuries and 131 deaths, according to the Alabama Department of Transportation’s Crash Facts report. Alabama’s interstate highways carry the heaviest truck traffic and account for roughly a third of all truck crashes in the state. However, state routes see a disproportionate share of truck-crash deaths.

Nationally, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that truck accidents injured more than 161,000 people in 2024. This represents a 5 percent jump from the year before.

Houston County does not break out truck crash data separately, but the county still recorded 13 traffic deaths in 2024. Dothan sits along US Highway 84, US Highway 231, and the Ross Clark Circle, all busy freight corridors that see heavy truck traffic every day.

Why Choose Gartlan Injury Law for Your Dothan Truck Accident Case?

Truck accident claims often pit an injured Alabamian against a trucking company, its insurer, and a team of corporate lawyers. Gartlan Injury Law will show up prepared and ready to fight for you. Founder Aaron Gartlan and his team have built a reputation across Alabama for aggressive trial preparation and honest representation, and they will take time to learn your story.

Large trucking companies must answer for their actions when their negligence causes injury, and Gartlan Injury Law will keep you informed at every stage of your case. In one past case, our firm secured a significant settlement after a corporate truck struck a Dale County man riding his motorcycle.

We don’t charge any upfront fees for us to work on your case. We only collect payment if we recover money for you. You can review our firm’s case results and client testimonials to see how this approach has helped other injured Alabamians.

Common Causes of Dothan Truck Accidents

Truck drivers and trucking companies can cause a crash in several ways, including the following:

• Unsafe lane changes
• Failure to yield the right of way
• Tailgating
• Poor stopping-distance judgment
• Improperly secured cargo
• Brake or tire defects
• Inadequately trained drivers
• Unrealistic delivery schedules that pressure drivers to speed or skip rest breaks

Common Truck Accident Injuries

The size and weight of a commercial truck often lead to injuries far more severe than those from a typical car crash. Common truck accident injuries include the following:

• Traumatic brain injuries
• Spinal cord injuries
• Internal bleeding and organ damage
• Amputations
• Paralysis
• Severe burns
• Fractures
• Scarring and disfigurement

What To Do Immediately After a Truck Accident

The steps you take right after a crash can protect both your health and your right to compensation. If at all possible, you should do the following:

• Seek medical care right away, even if your injuries seem minor, since some symptoms take time to appear.
• Photograph the crash scene, the vehicles involved, and any visible injuries before conditions change.
• Collect contact information from any witnesses.
• File a police report.
• Speak with a truck accident lawyer before giving a recorded statement to any insurance company, since adjusters often look for ways to deny a claim.

Why Truck Crashes Are Especially Dangerous

A loaded tractor-trailer can weigh up to 80,000 pounds, which is approximately 20 times heavier than the average car. That extra weight means trucks need much more distance to stop safely, and drivers who follow too closely often cannot avoid a collision. Large trucks also have significant blind spots and need extra room to turn, putting nearby vehicles at risk when a driver swings wide. Moreover, when cargo shifts inside a trailer, the sudden change in weight distribution can cause a truck to jackknife or roll over, putting everyone nearby in danger.

What Financial Compensation Is Available for Trucking Accident Losses?

Beyond medical bills and lost income, a serious truck accident can create other costs that are just as real. Additional compensation categories can include the following:

• Property Damage – This covers the cost to repair or replace your vehicle and any other items damaged in the crash.
• Rehabilitation – Many truck accident victims need physical therapy or occupational therapy to regain lost function.
• Medical Equipment – Wheelchairs, prosthetics, and home modifications can add substantial costs after a catastrophic injury.
• Counseling – Emotional trauma from a serious crash often requires ongoing mental health support.
• Scarring and Disfigurement – Permanent scarring can affect your confidence and quality of life for years to come.
• Punitive Damages – According to AL Code § 6-11-20, the court can award punitive damages to a plaintiff if it “is proven by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant consciously or deliberately engaged in oppression, fraud, wantonness, or malice” toward the plaintiff.

For fatal truck accidents, eligible family members in Alabama may pursue a wrongful death claim. This legal action addresses the resulting financial and legal consequences, including expenses like funeral arrangements, medical care, and lost financial support.

Federal Motor Carrier Regulations

Under federal law, trucking companies that transport goods across state lines are required to adhere to strict rules, including hours of service regulations. These are rules that govern how long drivers may be awake, how long they can work in a single shift, how long breaks must last, and how much time they must be off duty before they can get behind the wheel again. But hours of service regulations are just the beginning.

Other regulations include things like:

• How much weight a particular truck and trailer combination can haul
• How much weight can be distributed to each axle
• What kind of cargo can be hauled across certain roads or bridges
• What type of freight can be carried in certain vehicles
• The type of license and endorsements a driver needs in order to drive certain trucks
• How a driver must maintain a logbook to prove compliance with hours of service

State Regulations

Although Alabama has one of the more relaxed regulatory systems in the country, drivers hauling intrastate routes (within the state only) are still governed by state laws pertaining to total hours of service, types of equipment that can be operated on certain roads or in certain neighborhoods, and even what routes can be taken by certain restricted vehicles, such as hazardous materials freight.

Alcohol Use

For the rest of us, Alabama law makes 0.08% the legal limit for impairment. For truck drivers, Alabama has a stricter rule. If a commercial driver operating a vehicle under a CDL (commercial driver’s license) is pulled over with 0.04% BAC, then it is presumptively considered driving under the influence of alcohol. This is relevant because the threshold is lower for drivers who operate these large, extremely dangerous vehicles. Therefore, this can make a difference when proving that a CDL driver was negligent.

Cell Phones

For ordinary drivers in Alabama, there remains no ban on handheld devices for adult drivers. There is a ban on texting for all drivers. For CDL drivers, however, the federal regulations prohibit handheld devices. This federal rule still applies, even when a truck driver is operating in a state that allows handheld calling, like Alabama.

Multiple Defendants

Finally, commercial automobile wrecks can be complicated because there are often several potential defendants, including trucking companies, contractors, drivers, mechanics, and more.

What Are Common Types of Commercial Wrecks?

There is no limit to the vast array of crash types that can be caused by negligent truck drivers and their employers. However, there are a few crashes we tend to see more often. These typically include:

Rear-End Crashes

Overloaded trucks or trucks being operated by fatigued or distracted drivers often fail to stop in time to avoid collisions that would otherwise be completely preventable.

Override Crashes

These happen in a couple ways. The most common is when a car pulls up in a right turn lane behind a combination truck. They are both going right. However, the truck unexpectedly turns left without a turn signal, making it appear that the truck has changed its course to go left. As the truck moves to the left away from the curb, the car moves forward to continue taking a right turn. Suddenly, the truck driver changes course, swinging wide and turning back to the right, dragging the trailer over top of the car. These crashes are sometimes deadly, even at low speeds.

Asleep at the Wheel Crashes

Truck drivers who are not well rested or who are pushed beyond their legally safe driving hours are simply unsafe behind the wheel. When drivers fall asleep at the wheel of an 80,000 pound vehicle, the results can be horrifying.

What If the Trucking Company Says I’m At Fault?

It is common to hear adjusters and trucking company representatives make the argument that a victim is to blame.

This argument is probably among the most common ones a personal injury lawyer will hear when dealing with a trucking accident case. The fact is Alabama denies compensation to victims if they at all share in the blame. Therefore, defendants know if they can manipulate the facts even slightly, it may result in not having to pay.

First, know that when you are represented by an experienced trucking accident lawyer, you are not in this alone.

Second, understand that jurors are real people who understand the rules of the road pretty well. If your version of events is supported by the crash data, the photographs, and the damages, jurors can generally tell the difference between the truth and an elaborate fabrication to avoid responsibility. Contact our Dothan truck accident lawyers today.

Finally, if your attorney understands federal and state trucking regulations, there is often a host of ways the truck driver and the company violated those rules. If so, this is often strong evidence of their negligence.

Truck Accident FAQs

The following are some of the most common questions our clients have when they come to us about their truck accident claims:

How important is event data recorder evidence in a truck accident case?

Extremely important. Many commercial trucks carry an event data recorder (similar to an airplane’s black box) that captures speed, braking, and other data before a crash. This evidence can disappear quickly if a trucking company reuses or wipes the device, so contact a lawyer right away to help preserve it.

Can multiple parties be liable after a truck accident in Alabama?

Yes. Depending on what caused the crash, the truck driver, the trucking company, a cargo loading company, or even a parts manufacturer could share responsibility. When more than one party is at fault, your truck accident lawyer can pursue compensation from each of them. It’s worth noting that Alabama follows a contributory negligence rule, which can bar your recovery entirely if you share even a small amount of fault, so working with an experienced attorney is essential.

Why are truck accident cases more complicated than other types of accidents?

Truck accident cases move fast and involve more moving parts than an ordinary car crash claim. Your truck accident attorney must gather evidence like logbooks and event data recorders quickly, before it disappears. Multiple parties, sometimes based in different states, may share liability, and federal and state trucking regulations add another layer of complexity. Because the potential compensation is often significant, trucking companies and their insurers will fight hard to limit what they pay. As such, you need the assistance of an experienced attorney who will fight for every dollar your truck accident claim is worth.