Can a Truck Accident Lawsuit Prevent More Truck Accidents?

Georgia 18-Wheeler Accident Attorney Explains

Video Transcript: 

Christy Childers: 

A lot of lawyers and a lot of people don't realize that you can negotiate for change as part of your settlement. But there are trucking lawyers out there like me, board certified truck lawyers who do negotiate for change as part of their settlement.

Molly Hendrickson: 

What can be done to reduce serious truck crashes? We're gonna talk to Attorney Christy Childers about that on today's Ask The Lawyer. Christy, thanks for joining us.

Christy Childers: 

I'm glad to be here, Molly.

Molly Hendrickson: 

So let's start off, can you talk a little bit about your work with people harmed by trucking accidents as a lawyer?

Christy Childers: 

Of course. So I help primarily people harmed by tractor trailers and commercial motor vehicles. In fact, I'm the first woman in Georgia to be board certified by the MBTA in truck accident law, and I just do a lot of work across the state for good people that are hurt and killed by tractor trailers.

Molly Hendrickson: 

So you help people when they're hurt or killed by tractor trailers, but is there anything that you're doing or they're doing to try to stop trucking deaths from happening in the first place?

Christy Childers: 

That is a really great question, because when I meet the family members of people who are hurt, especially those who are killed in tractor trailer wrecks, there's no amount of money that can make them feel okay with it. They always just want their family member back, and these are people who really want trucking companies to start putting safety over profit so nobody else has to live through getting that terrible phone call that they got when they found out their loved one was dead. And a lot of lawyers, and a lot of people don't realize that you can negotiate for change as part of your settlement. But there are trucking lawyers out there like me, board certified truck lawyers who do negotiate for change as part of their settlement.

So what you can do is, let's say there's a policy that was violated by the tractor trailer driver, and it's a policy that maybe this trucking company had never even heard of or didn't think to implement, you can actually negotiate that they implement that policy as part of the deal. And so in addition to getting money for the family, hopefully you can make the road safer for the next person who comes across this company's tractor trailer drivers.

Molly Hendrickson: 

Yeah, really enact change. As a woman and founder of the Mother Truckers group for lawyers, why did you start this? And tell us a little bit about what it is.

Christy Childers: 

So what I helped organize was the very first Mother Truckers rally, which is a group of women trucking lawyers who get together and basically share strategy and have a good time, but also talk about these big issues like we've been talking about today. How do we make our roads safer? Who better than moms, women to advocate for safety over profits? Our group is dedicated to just that. In the meantime, we are working on some new initiatives and we're gonna continue getting together and really share our ideas because trucking is a very male-dominated niche, both drivers and lawyers, and so what we're doing is we're just trying to get together and get some new thoughts and ideas out there, because right now, we've got more trucks on the road than ever, and it's just really time for everybody's voice to be heard.

Molly Hendrickson: 

So how does that help your clients who are situated in situations like this? You're helping women trial attorneys. How does that benefit your clients?

Christy Childers: 

So I can tell you that juries respond differently to different people. My law partner, David McCain, has a great trial demeanor, and we love having just a lot of diversity on our team because some people, especially now that half the jury is typically women, sometimes I can put things in a better way or in a way that makes more sense to maybe a female juror. It's just, it's past the time of us having an all-male trial team. We just think of things differently. One example I can think of is some of the most brilliant trial attorneys I know that are guys just really think of things mathematically and statistically, and so they really wanna know the cold hard facts of how often things happen, so they can put a dollar value on things.

Christy Childers: 

And whereas a lot of times what we see in female jurors, as well as female trial attorneys, we're coming at it from a place of what have you lost? What is your story that you connect with as a juror, that I connect with as a mom? And when you can put that kind of magic together, both... My law partner was an accounting major at Georgia, so he's got me on the math and the computations, and the statistical brain. And when you put that with just loving your client and caring about the case and putting it to your own story, you can really create magical moments, both in your trial and for justice in the courtroom.

Molly Hendrickson: 

Yeah, it really sounds like putting the facts with the heart of the story, so thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us.

Christy Childers: 

I enjoyed it, Molly. Hope to see you again.

Molly Hendrickson: 

Nice to see you too. And that's gonna do it for this episode of Ask The Lawyer. My guest has been Christy Childers. If you wanna ask her about your situation, call the number on the screen. Thanks for watching. I'm Molly Hendrickson for Ask The Lawyers.

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