Trucking Accident Lawyer Blog

Anyone who rides on public transportation probably feels that there is a certain sense of safety when traveling in that manner. Whether it is a commuter train, a taxi cab or city bus, many people expect that by paying a fare they should be delivered to their destination in one piece and without serious injury to their person.

As a Maryland trucking accident lawyer, I know that reality can be very out of step with a person’s perceptions and expectations. The truth of the matter is that accidents can and do happen no matter what conveyance we choose to get us to our final destination. The Washington, D.C., Metro Red Line accident a year ago last June is one example of how dozens of people traveling with the expectation of safety can end up being seriously hurt through no fault of their own.

Some recent bus accidents in and around the District are an example of how factors can combine to cause injury, but thankfully in these instances, no deaths. According to D.C. police, the passengers on a Metrobus as well as occupants in another smaller vehicle were caught up in a serious accident early on a Monday morning in mid-June.

According to police reports, a Chevy Camaro ran a red light at the intersection of 15th St. and Pennsylvania Ave. As the southbound sports car, which was carrying two persons, went through the intersection it collided with a passing Metrobus that was traveling on Pennsylvania Avenue -- the bus was carrying two passengers at the time, plus the driver.

The force of the impact was so great that the bus driver lost control and ended up hitting a hit a tree and then rammed a parked car alongside the curb. Emergency response teams arriving at the scene treated those five people, all of whom were subsequently transported to a local hospital. An investigation was ongoing at the time of the news report.

Not long after the Pennsylvania Avenue crash, another Metrobus was involved in another traffic accident along Interstate 395. In that incident, two people who were in a passenger car were taken to a local hospital while 18 teenage school kids traveling on the bus were treated for very minor injuries. The crash happened on the morning of June 15 near Maine Avenue southwest.

DC Metrobus, Car Involved in Accident, MyFoxDC.com, June 15, 2010

Car Runs Red Light, Hits Metro Bus in SE; 5 Hospitalized, News8.net, July 5, 2010

Highway traffic accidents involving semi-tractor trailers and other large commercial trucks happen hundreds of times a year. Some of those crashes result in injuries to one or more people. Still others can cause death or permanent injury to occupants in smaller, less massive motor vehicles such as minivan, sedans, economy cars and motorcycles.

Statistics also indicate that larger vehicles, such as tractor-trailer rigs, are more likely to be involved in serious multiple-vehicle collisions than passenger cars. This data also tells us that injuries resulting from truck accidents can be much more serious and many times fatal. Common injuries include spinal cord damage, severe brain trauma, broken bones and other serious and permanent bodily harm.

As Maryland trucking accident attorneys, I and my staff know that any multi-vehicle accident can be fatal, with some causing mostly minor, yet significant injuries. Although people can physically recover from such minor wrecks, even those associated medical costs can become a burden to a family already strapped for cash.

A recent accident along Maryland’s Interstate 95 near Route 32 was one of the luckier types of 18-wheeler wrecks as it resulted in few serious injuries. However, it did show that there is always potential for disaster any time, any where.

According to news reports, the southbound portion of I-95 near Columbia, MD, was the site of a flipped 18-wheel trash hauler. Vehicles of this size can weight as much as 50,000 to 80,000 pounds depending on the type of cargo being carried. In this case, the truck was traveling along the entrance ramp to I-95 South around half past seven in the morning. As the driver of the rig negotiated the ramp connecting Route 32 to I-95, the vehicle suddenly overturned for some reason. Debris was scattered across all lanes and southbound traffic had to be stopped.

There were no serious injuries, although the truck driver likely required some attention. Because the it was an open trailer, debris was scattered all across the southbound lanes of I-95.

I-95 Southbound In Maryland Reopened After Tractor Trailer Carrying Trash Overturns, WUSA9.com, June 29, 2010

A Maryland jury recently found the state of Maryland and a commercial truck driver liable for more than $2 million in damages following the 2007 death of a prison inmate who was killed along a highway exit ramp while removing trash and garbage from I-495. The jury award of $2,025,000 will go to the estate and family of Rodney Jennings, who died after being run over by a dump truck driven by Wayne Goss -- Goss is the owner of W.H. Goss Trucking, LLC.

According to reports, Jennings -- who was 28 years old at the time of his death -- was serving time for a drug-related crime at the Herman L. Toulson Boot Camp in Jessup, MD. Although Goss was not working for Maryland at the time of the traffic accident, the Jennings’ family’s attorney argued that the state was also responsible for the man’s death because it did not sufficiently ensure Jennings' safety.

Based on court records, the plaintiff’s lawyer claimed that employees in Maryland's Department of Corrections -- as well as the State Highway Administration -- did not correctly evaluate the traffic conditions near the exit ramp where the accident occurred. They should have, said the attorney, required that inmates traverse that particular portion of the highway by van, instead of on foot as Jennings was doing when he was struck. The family’s attorney also threw fault on the apparently poor training received by the state workers who were assigned to monitor the inmates work.

A spokesman for the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services said the department has instituted policy changes since the fatal accident in August 2007. Now workers are reportedly required to be driven across exit ramps and other similar traffic areas by way of a state corrections van instead of by foot.

At the time of the news article, it was not yet known what portion of the settlement would be paid by the state of Maryland and how much would be paid by Goss. Apparently, there were also no plans for any criminal charges to be filed against Goss regarding the accident.

Md. jury awards $2 million in inmate highway death, SFExaminer.com, June, 24, 2010

Large motor vehicles such as semi tractor-trailers, dump trucks and tankers can inflict serious personal injury and property damage when operated irresponsibly. As a Maryland trucking accident attorney, I understand the shear power of these vehicles and the potential for injury or death during a traffic accident.

While most drivers of commercial vehicles use caution when operating these large and massive machines, any mistake can be an opportunity for disaster. Smaller vehicles, such as passenger cars, minivans and motorcycles are at greatest risk when a big rig 18-wheeler goes out of control on a highway or city street. The results of a collision with a heavy truck can range from broken bones and lacerations to full-on paralysis and even death.

Not long ago a man who was driving a moving van was taken into custody by Prince George’s County police following a chase that resulted in a number of traffic accidents along the way. The majority of the incident took place along the Baltimore-Washington Parkway on a Monday afternoon.

According to news articles, around 2pm Monday a caller to the Prince George’s County police department reported a fight between two All My Sons moving company employees in a New Carrolton neighborhood. Police indicated that local residents said the movers were arguing about the manner in which they would move a heavy piece of furniture out of a home.

After one of the men attached the other, the suspect reportedly ran from the house and fled in the moving truck. Prince George's County Police initiated a pursuit after the driver attempted to run a Cheverly, MD, patrolman off the road. The truck hit multiple vehicles during the pursuit, running one passenger car off the road and into nearby woods. The victim of that impact was taken to a local hospital and was listed in fair condition with non-life threatening injuries.

The chase apparently ended when the driver crashed the moving van just south of Powder Mill Road. Officers on the scene took the man into custody at the intersection of Dorsey Run Road and Waterloo Road in Howard County. The entire event caused the Baltimore-Washington Parkway to be shut down for several hours as U.S. Park Police and an accident reconstruction unit investigated the aftermath.

Mover Causes Multi-Accident Police Pursuit in Moving Truck on Baltimore-Washington Parkway, MyFoxDC.com, June 1, 2010