Horst Shewmaker Details Georgia SB 68 Truck Claim Impact

ALPHARETTA, GA – September 10, 2026 – PRESSADVANTAGE –

Horst Shewmaker, LLC has published guidance examining how a Georgia tort reform law enacted in April 2025 affects multi-party truck accident claims, alongside the federal evidence framework that governs commercial trucking cases in North Fulton County.

The guidance is anchored by Georgia’s standing among the states with the highest rates of fatal large truck crashes. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts and crash data published by the Georgia Department of Transportation, Georgia consistently reports one of the higher totals of large-truck fatalities nationally. The firm notes that Fulton and Cherokee counties, which bracket the Alpharetta corridor, carry substantial commercial freight volume along the Windward Parkway and GA-9 business corridor, Old Milton Parkway, North Point Parkway, and the Haynes Bridge Road interchange, though localized crash prevalence in any single corridor should be confirmed against the underlying GDOT county-level datasets.

Under FMCSA hours-of-service regulations codified at 49 CFR Part 395, commercial truck drivers are limited to eleven hours of driving time following ten consecutive hours off duty. The agency identifies hours-of-service compliance among the categories most frequently cited during roadside inspections. When a truck accident involves a driver who exceeded these limits, electronic logging device records, fuel receipts, toll records, and GPS data can serve as evidence of the violation. Commercial trucks may carry loads up to the federal maximum of 80,000 pounds established under federal weight limits, and published braking-distance studies indicate that fully loaded tractor-trailers at highway speeds can require more than 400 feet to stop.

Horst Shewmaker states that liability in these cases is frequently multi-party. Fault may run against the individual driver for hours-of-service violations or distracted driving, the motor carrier for negligent hiring or fleet maintenance failures, the cargo loading company for improper weight distribution or securement failures, and the truck manufacturer for defective components. Federal rules under 49 CFR Part 379 set specific minimum retention periods for certain motor carrier records, while other case-relevant documents may be governed by a carrier’s internal document retention policies, which vary by company.

Georgia Senate Bill 68, signed April 21, 2025, modified the state’s apportionment framework. The firm notes that the statute’s provisions concerning fault allocation to non-parties, discovery timing, and their practical effect on recoverable damages remain subject to interpretation as courts apply the new law, and it advises that any specific claim be evaluated against the statutory text and emerging case law.

“Electronic logging device data, driver qualification files, and maintenance records showing brake and tire inspection history are often held by trucking carriers on retention schedules that begin running from the date of a crash,” said Zachary S. Shewmaker, Attorney at Horst Shewmaker, LLC. “Where federal minimum retention periods do not apply, some records may cycle through a carrier’s internal retention schedule quickly. That is why the firm treats early data preservation demands, driver qualification file requests, and electronic logging device subpoenas as time-sensitive steps in a truck accident matter.”

The firm advises that early evidence preservation is among the most consequential steps available to a North Fulton County truck accident victim. Guidance on these issues is available through a Horst Shewmaker Alpharetta truck accident lawyer, and the firm has prepared reference material for anyone seeking to understand the role of an Alpharetta truck accident lawyer in multi-party trucking claims.

Horst Shewmaker, LLC is a BBB-accredited personal injury law firm based in Alpharetta, Georgia, representing truck accident victims, car accident clients, motorcycle riders, and other injury clients throughout North Fulton County, Metro Atlanta, Augusta, and statewide Georgia. The firm’s attorneys include Michael W. Horst, Zachary S. Shewmaker, Jarrett L. Miller, Torrie L. Dale, and Valerie Jane Pallos, and practice areas include truck accidents, car accidents, motorcycle accidents, catastrophic injury, wrongful death, brain injury, and premises liability.

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For more information about Horst Shewmaker, LLC, contact the company here:

Horst Shewmaker, LLC
Zachary S. Shewmaker
6785627714
info@horstshewmaker.com
10745 Westside Way Suite 165, Alpharetta, GA 30009