Garbage Truck Accidents: Municipal Liability Issues

Published Read 5 min read

On this page

When a garbage truck backs into a car or strikes someone on the street, who operated the truck decides which statutes apply. A collection truck run by a city or county falls under the notice, immunity, and motor-vehicle waiver provisions for local governments. A truck run by a private hauler under contract falls under the rules for employers and independent contractors. Either way, the driving rules that govern a truck backing, stopping, and pulling out apply to the driver.

A Truck Owned or Leased by a City or County

The motor-vehicle chapter for local governments defines a “local government entity” as “any county, municipal corporation, or consolidated city-county government of this state,” and “shall not include a local school system.” A “covered” motor vehicle is “[a]ny motor vehicle owned by the local government entity” or “leased or rented by the local government entity,” and a “motor vehicle” includes any “truck” designed or licensed for use on public streets, roads, and highways (OCGA 36-92-1(2), (3), (6)).

For incidents on or after January 1, 2008, local governments’ sovereign immunity for claims over the negligent use of a covered motor vehicle is waived up to $500,000 for bodily injury or death of one person in one occurrence, $700,000 in aggregate for two or more persons in one occurrence, and $50,000 for property damage in one occurrence (OCGA 36-92-2(a)(3)). The waiver rises if the governing body adopts a higher waiver, the entity joins an interlocal risk management agency whose coverage exceeds the waiver, or it buys commercial liability insurance above it (OCGA 36-92-2(d)). The waiver works only as the chapter provides and only for actions in Georgia’s courts, and a local government has no liability for losses caused by an officer’s or employee’s conduct outside the scope of official duties or employment (OCGA 36-92-2(b), (c)).

A driver who commits a tort with a covered vehicle while performing official duties cannot be sued or held liable for it; the claimant names the local government as the defendant, not the driver individually (OCGA 36-92-3(a), (b)).

For example, imagine a collision in which a city’s covered truck injures three people. The waiver caps recovery for bodily injury at $500,000 for any one person and $700,000 in aggregate for the occurrence, so combined damages of $1.2 million would be subject to the $700,000 aggregate, absent an increase under OCGA 36-92-2(d).

Notice and the Older Immunity Statute

A claim against a municipality must be presented in writing within six months of the event (OCGA 36-33-5(b)), and a claim against a county within 12 months after it accrues or becomes payable, the 12 months running from the removal of the disability for a minor or other person under a disability (OCGA 36-11-1). A county can be sued only where a statute allows it (OCGA 36-1-4).

A Truck Run by a Private Hauler

A private company that collects refuse under a contract is not covered by the local-government waiver by its terms. An employer is liable for a servant’s torts “committed by his command or in the prosecution and within the scope of his business” (OCGA 51-2-2), and, subject to the exceptions in OCGA 51-2-5, is not responsible for the torts of one who exercises an independent business free of the employer’s immediate direction and control (OCGA 51-2-4). The Code also lists situations in which a party that hires a contractor is liable for the contractor’s negligence, among them where the wrongful act violates a duty imposed by statute and where the hiring party keeps the right to direct or control the time and manner of the work (OCGA 51-2-5).

Backing and Other Driver Duties

OCGA 40-6-240(a) provides: “A driver shall not back a vehicle unless such movement can be made with safety and without interfering with other traffic.” Subsection (b) adds that a driver “shall not back a vehicle upon any shoulder or roadway of any controlled-access highway.”

Frequently Asked Questions

Is interest before judgment available against the city or county?
Yes, but it counts against the cap: interest before judgment under OCGA 51-12-14 is recoverable against a local government and falls within the per-occurrence aggregate (OCGA 36-92-2(e)).

What if the person hurt is a city sanitation worker?
The motor-vehicle chapter leaves workers’ compensation as the exclusive remedy when a local government officer or employee is hurt on the job (OCGA 36-92-3(e)), so a worker hurt on the job looks first to workers’ compensation against the employer.

Must drivers move over for a stopped garbage truck?
Georgia’s Spencer Pass Law requires drivers to change lanes or slow down for stationary emergency vehicles, towing and recovery vehicles, highway maintenance vehicles, and utility service vehicles displaying the stated lights or cones. Its definition of utility services lists electric, natural gas, water, waste-water, cable, telephone, and telecommunication services and does not name garbage collection (OCGA 40-6-16(b), (c), (e)).

Is a city immune for how it runs garbage collection?
Outside the motor-vehicle waiver, a city is not liable for failing to perform or errors in performing its legislative or judicial powers, but it remains liable for neglect or improper performance of ministerial duties (OCGA 36-33-1(b)).

  • OCGA 36-92-1(2), (3), (6); OCGA 36-92-2(a)(3), (b), (c), (d), (e); OCGA 36-92-3(a), (b), (e); OCGA 51-12-14 (as referred to in OCGA 36-92-2(e))
  • OCGA 36-33-1(b); OCGA 36-33-5(b); OCGA 36-11-1; OCGA 36-1-4
  • OCGA 51-2-2; OCGA 51-2-4; OCGA 51-2-5
  • OCGA 40-6-240
  • OCGA 40-6-16(b), (c), (e)

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about garbage truck collisions under Georgia law. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Which statutes apply, and which notice period governs, depend on who owned and operated the truck and the specific facts. A person injured in a collision with a garbage truck should consult a licensed Georgia attorney promptly about the particular situation.

Related posts:

  1. Electric Scooter Accidents: Rental Injuries in Georgia For a rider hurt on a rented electric scooter, the first legal question is what kind of vehicle the scooter is under Georgia's traffic code. Several rules attach to a......
  2. How Pre-Existing Conditions Affect Your Georgia Injury Damages A pre-existing condition does not bar a Georgia injury claim. The injured person can recover for an earlier condition that the defendant's wrong made worse or longer lasting, to the......
  3. Traffic Signal Malfunction Claims in Georgia When a crash follows a traffic signal that showed the wrong indication, flashed, or could not be seen, a Georgia claim depends on what the Code tells a driver each......
  4. Defective Airbag Injuries in Georgia: Takata Recalls and Product Liability Claims An injury from a defective airbag in Georgia is a product liability claim against the manufacturer, and for an older vehicle the decisive question can be the calendar rather than......
  5. Independent Contractor Injuries in Georgia: Personal Injury Claims Without Workers’ Compensation A worker who is an independent contractor stands outside Georgia's workers' compensation system, and a worker who is an employee stands inside it, so the label decides what kind of......
  6. Shoulder Injuries in Georgia Accident Claims: Rotator Cuff and Beyond A shoulder that hurts after a Georgia crash raises one question first: did the collision cause the injury, or was it already there? MedlinePlus describes rotator cuff injuries that come......
  7. Misdiagnosis Claims in Georgia: When Delayed Cancer Detection Costs Lives When a cancer is found after an earlier visit missed it, the first legal question is whether the case can still be filed, and in a misdiagnosis claim the date......
  8. Food Truck Accidents: Mobile Vendor Liability A person hurt by a food truck may have been struck on the road while the truck was moving or injured at the service window while it was parked and......
  9. Exercise Equipment Injuries in Georgia: Treadmill and Weight Machine Defects Exercise equipment raises questions that other products may not: the machine may not be in use when someone is hurt, its risks may be visible to anyone who looks, and......
  10. Airbnb and Vacation Rental Injury Claims in Georgia A guest hurt at a Georgia short-term rental can look to the host who owns or runs the property, to the platform that took the booking, and to the insurance......
  11. Highway Work Zone Accidents in Georgia A crash in a Georgia highway work zone can involve the driver who caused it, the contractor doing the work, and the government that owns the road, and each answers......
  12. Hospital Visitor Injury Claims in Georgia A visitor hurt in a hospital corridor, lobby, or parking area is not the patient, and Georgia law treats the visitor's claim as a premises claim rather than a claim......
  13. Emergency Room Negligence in Georgia: When Rushed Care Causes Harm A patient hurt by care in a Georgia hospital emergency department faces a heavier burden than the ordinary medical malpractice plaintiff. Under OCGA 51-1-29.5, a physician or health care provider......
  14. Airport Shuttle Accidents: Hotel and Transit Van Claims The claim of a passenger hurt in an airport shuttle or a hotel van depends on the duty Georgia law places on a carrier of passengers and on who operated......
  15. Bridge and Overpass Failure Claims in Georgia When a Georgia bridge or overpass fails, the injured person may have claims against the public body that owns it and against the firms that designed or built it, and......
  16. Economic vs. Non-Economic Damages in Georgia Personal Injury Cases Georgia sorts the money in an injury claim with two pairs of labels that come from different statutes. General and special damages are distinguished in OCGA 51-12-2; economic and noneconomic......

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *