Choosing an attorney after a truck crash happens under conditions nobody would design. You are in pain, probably on medication, and being asked for decisions before you are ready to make them.
These are the questions we would want asked of us, and a way to read the answers you get. They are not a description of our firm. If you are interviewing several attorneys, take them to all of them.
Why a truck case changes what you should ask
A typical two-vehicle auto claim may center on one driver’s conduct and one primary liability carrier. A commercial truck crash can be a different shape: several companies, several records systems, an additional motor carrier safety framework, and much of the deciding evidence held by the people you are making a claim against.
These questions ask for concrete answers about experience, process, evidence, communication, and fees. Concrete answers are easier to verify than general ones. The point is not to catch anyone out; it is to give you something checkable to compare. We would rather be measured on that than on an advertisement.
The mechanics behind each question are ones we have written about separately: , , and .
Six questions worth asking
1. When do you send preservation letters, and to whom?
This is the question with the shortest fuse, and the answer depends on which record you mean. Different records live on different clocks. Driver duty-status and electronic logging records carry regulatory retention periods measured in months. Crash-event data from the truck’s own systems, telematics feeds, onboard video, and third-party surveillance can have much shorter retention or overwrite cycles, depending on the system and who controls it.
A useful answer identifies which records are at risk in a crash like yours, who actually controls each one, and when preservation action would be taken. In some cases that is the carrier alone; in others it reaches a telematics vendor, a maintenance provider, or whoever owns a camera that faced the road.
An answer worth following up on: “We will look into that.” Ask when. If the answer is vague about timing, the records that would have supported the claim may already be gone by the time the file is opened.
One point of law is worth understanding here, because it cuts both ways. In Georgia a duty to preserve evidence can arise once a party controlling that evidence reasonably anticipates litigation. A written preservation or spoliation letter gives express notice of the claim and identifies what should be kept, which is one clear way that duty gets triggered. It is not the only way it can arise, so the absence of a letter in the first days does not necessarily mean nothing was owed.
2. Which federal or Georgia-adopted motor carrier safety rules apply to this crash?
Commercial trucking runs under a safety framework that sits on top of ordinary traffic law. It is not only an interstate question. Georgia’s Department of Public Safety has adopted the federal motor carrier safety rules by reference for carriers operating in the state, including the parts governing driver qualification, hours of service, inspection and maintenance, and cargo securement. A purely intrastate truck crash is not automatically outside that framework. A rule in that framework only matters to your case if someone identifies the specific one that applies and shows how it connects to what happened to you.
A useful answer names the category of rule that fits your crash and describes the record that would prove or disprove a violation.
An answer worth following up on: a general statement that federal regulations are important, without reference to which ones or how they would be checked.
3. Who else might be responsible besides the driver?
Depending on what each one actually did, the parties whose conduct may be at issue can include the driver, the motor carrier, a maintenance provider, the party that loaded or secured the cargo, and a broker or shipper. Being part of the chain is not the same as being liable. What matters is what each entity did or failed to do, which is a question of evidence rather than of category.
A useful answer usually arrives as questions back. What was on the trailer. Whether the truck was owned or leased. Who the load was for. Those answers determine which companies could be involved.
An answer worth following up on: a first consultation that discusses only the truck driver. The conduct of the other entities in the chain cannot be evaluated if nobody ever asks about them.
4. How many truck cases has this firm taken to a jury verdict?
If a case cannot be resolved through negotiation, counsel may ultimately have to prove it at trial. Asking about truck cases actually taken through trial tells you about the firm’s litigation experience. Settling a case is not a shortfall in itself.
A useful answer names specific cases, courts, and outcomes, including outcomes that were not favorable. Verdicts are a matter of public record, so an attorney describing them is describing something checkable.
An answer worth following up on: one that stays general. If you asked about verdicts and heard only about outcomes in the abstract, ask for a court and a year.
5. Who advances the cost of experts and litigation expenses while the case is pending?
A truck case may require reconstruction, forensic data extraction, depositions, or regulatory analysis long before any recovery exists. Somebody pays for that work in the meantime, and the amounts can become substantial.
A useful answer states plainly who fronts those costs, whether there is a ceiling, and what happens to them if the case does not recover. That last part belongs in the written fee agreement, not in a conversation.
An answer worth following up on: one that treats the question as premature. If the answer is unclear, ask where the fee agreement addresses those expenses and who ultimately bears them if there is no recovery.
6. Have you handled cases in the court where mine would be filed?
Experience in the likely forum can be useful for understanding local procedure, scheduling practice, and the logistics of getting a case heard. It is not an outcome predictor, and it is not a requirement. Attorneys can and do handle cases outside their home county.
How to weigh it: alongside the other five, not ahead of them. Trucking-specific litigation experience, the resources to fund expert work, and how the firm communicates all bear more directly on how a case is handled than geography does.
Reading the answers
None of these questions has a single correct response, and a confident answer is not the same as a verifiable one. If an answer stays general, ask for something concrete: a record type, a timeframe, a court, a case that went differently than expected.
You are also allowed to say you are still deciding. How a firm responds to hearing that you are talking to others is itself information.
Four things worth clarifying about how the firm works
The six questions above are about the case. These four are about the working relationship, and they are easier to ask now than to discover later. None of them has a disqualifying answer.
Who will actually handle the file. The attorney you meet with is not always the one who does the work. Ask who would be responsible day to day, who you would call with a question, and how you would be told if that changed. If lawyers in different firms would divide the fee, Georgia’s professional conduct rules require that you be told each lawyer’s share and that the total fee stay reasonable, so ask whether that is contemplated.
How you would hear about the case as it moves. Ask what the firm’s practice is: who contacts you, how often, and what happens when there is nothing new to report. Litigation has stretches where nothing visible happens, and that is not necessarily a problem. Not knowing whether silence is normal is.
How experts are chosen. Question five above covers who pays for that work. This one is about who decides it is needed. Ask how the firm determines which experts a case requires, at what point in the case that call usually gets made, and whether you are told before it happens.
How the firm would investigate beyond the police report. An officer documents what is visible at the scene. Whether a company put an unqualified driver on the road, or dispatched a truck it knew needed work, is not in that report and was never the officer’s job. Ask what the firm would look at that the report does not cover.
What to read in the fee agreement
Many personal injury firms use contingency-fee agreements, and Georgia’s professional conduct rules require that agreement to be in writing and to state the percentage and how expenses are treated. The percentage is not the only thing in it worth reading.
Who decides whether to accept a settlement offer. The answer should be you. Your attorney advises; the decision is yours. If the agreement reads otherwise, ask about it before signing.
What happens to case expenses if there is no recovery. Question five above; the agreement should say it plainly rather than leave it to conversation.
How the fee is calculated. Whether the percentage is applied before or after expenses changes the final number. This should be stated in writing, not explained verbally.
What happens if you change attorneys. Agreements address this differently, and it is easier to read before signing than after.
Frequently asked questions
Can I change attorneys if I am already represented? Yes. You have the right to change representation. If you are considering it because of communication problems or concerns about how the case is being handled, ask whether a second-opinion consultation is free before you book it. Ask how a prior attorney’s work would be accounted for; it is one more reason to read the fee agreement closely.
What should I bring to a first meeting? The crash report, medical records and bills you have received, photographs from the scene, correspondence from any insurance company, and anything identifying the truck: carrier name, DOT number, trailer markings. If you do not have all of it, that is not an obstacle. Much of it can be obtained.
Is it worth talking to more than one firm? Consultations are typically free and carry no obligation. If the answers you hear are noticeably different, that difference is information. If they are similar, you have confirmed something rather than guessed at it.
How long will my case take? No lawyer can responsibly guarantee a resolution date at a first meeting, but an attorney should be able to walk you through what drives the timeline: the severity of the injury, when the medical picture stabilizes, how many parties are involved, and whether liability is disputed. Ask what the next ninety days would look like and what would have to happen before the case could be valued.
A law office contacted me before I contacted anyone. Is that normal? It is a reason for caution unless you or someone acting for you asked them to call. Paying people to steer accident victims to a lawyer or a clinic is a crime in Georgia, currently under O.C.G.A. § 33-24-53; effective January 1, 2027, House Bill 1344 (2026) moves that prohibition to a new O.C.G.A. § 33-1-9.2. The State Bar’s rules also restrict lawyers from soliciting people they have no prior relationship with in person or by phone. You can also check any Georgia lawyer’s standing and public discipline history through the State Bar of Georgia’s member directory before you meet.
What if the firm wants me to sign at the first meeting? Unless an actual deadline requires immediate action, ask whether you may take the agreement home to review it. If the answer is no, ask what makes same-day signing necessary in your situation.
If you are working through these questions with more than one firm, we would rather be asked them than not. Adams, Jordan & Herrington, P.C. handles truck and commercial vehicle cases in Middle Georgia. is set out separately. Consultations are free. Call 478-743-2159.
This article is for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case depends on its own facts. Past results do not guarantee similar outcomes. Georgia law changes through legislation and court decisions. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed Georgia attorney.