Legal Question in Personal Injury in Georgia

Re: Finding defendant for civil case

Georgia statutory and constitutional law ordinarily require that a defendant who is a Georgia resident be sued in the county of his or her residence. There are limited exceptions, but I can't tell from your information whether any of those exceptions apply here. If there are multiple Georgia defendants, they may all be sued in the county of residence of any of them.

If a defendant cannot be found for personal service, there are circumstances where service may be made by publication. I can't tell from your information whether that may be possible here. However, we are usually able to locate defendants through investigation. We have database sources that succeed in quickly locating most people if they are operating in the above-ground economy, perhaps with some followup calls to relatives and neighbors revealed in those searches. We also use a retired FBI agent for additional investigation.

If the truck driver was driving on behalf of an interstate motor carrier, service may be obtained on the motor carrier through a registered agent listed with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. I can usually get that information within ten minutes. Much the same is true regarding intrastate motor carriers in Georgia.

In Georgia, insurance companies for motor carriers, either intrastate or interstate, can be sued directly on the basis of contractual obligation for protection of members of the public. That is totally unlike the situation with ordinary automobile insurance.

Unfortunately, many lawyers think a truck wreck is just a bigger car wreck, and do not recognize the specialized field of legal and technical knowledge required to handle such cases correctly.

For more information about trucking cases, see my web site and blog at http://www.atlantainjurylawyer.com/trucking-accident-attorney-lawyer-1008491.html, http://www.atlantainjurylawblog.com/cat-trucking-accidents.html, http://www.atlantainjurylawblog.com/cat-trucking-litigation.html, http://www.atlantainjurylawblog.com/cat-trucking-rules.html, http://www.atlantainjurylawblog.com/cat-trucking-technology.html, http://www.atlantainjurylawblog.com/cat-truck-wreck-of-the-day.html.

I only accept cases involving serious, substantial injuries. Before I could consider accepting your case, I would have to have more complete information about the facts of the wreck, your injury, etc., and you would have to release your current attorney and pick up the file from him or her. Feel free to call me at 404.364.1999.

Grace and peace to you.

Re: Finding defendant for civil case

Your situation is not that unusual. Often defendants are difficult to locate. You cannot file suit against the insurance companies or serve the insurance companies. They are not a party to the litigation. However, you can sue the trucking company that the defendant was driving for. Usually businesses are much easier to serve than individuals.

By the way what is the nature of your injury?

Also, does your current attorney specialize in personal injury and trucking cases? I would normally send my private detective to help locate a defendant. It is really hard to totally disappear these days.

Please feel free to contact me with further questions.

Re: Finding defendant for civil case

It appears you have received good advice already today regarding your situation. There are many avenues to explore that would not warrant dismissal of your case. If you are considering releasing your first attorney and hiring another attorney, we would be happy to talk with you. We do only take serious injury cases and have significant trial experience.

Re: Finding defendant for civil case

The short answer is that the negligent driver is the main defendant. The emplpoyer is what is called "secondarily" liable because of the doctrine of respondeat superior, which simply means that the employer is responsible if the driver was acting in furtherance of the employer's business. You should consult with a local attorney. Note: the case be had in either the county of the driver or the employer. If you would like to discuss, please feel free to give me a call. I don't charge for initial consultations. HOWEVER, IT IS UNETHICAL FOR ME TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT YOUR CASE WHILE YOU HAVE AN ATTORNEY REPRESENTING YOU.