Trucking Accident Lawyer Blog

When a commercial truck, such as a box truck, tanker or semi tractor-trailer crashes into or hits a much smaller passenger car the result can be very serious. As Maryland personal injury lawyers and trucking accident attorneys, we know how a moment of thoughtlessness or inattentiveness can lead to a lifetime of pain and suffering. In the worst cases, such a simple and seemingly minor distraction can end up causing a fatal car, truck or motorcycle accident.

These kinds of traffic collisions happen rather frequently, which doesn’t make them any less important or somber considering the potentially tragic aftermath. Young families have been known to lose one or both parents in a single heartbreaking car crash. Wives and mothers have lost husbands and children in the blink of an eye. Still other victims have seen their savings dwindle to near nothingness from the extensive medical and financial costs of a terrible motor vehicle wreck.

Trying to understand the reasons for these senseless occurrences doesn’t make them go away, but it does help a family cope. Wrongful death, however, is never easy to reconcile and many times requires the help of a knowledgeable attorney. Not long ago an elderly gentleman was tragically killed in Essex when a commercial truck ran a red light an struck his car on a Tuesday afternoon.

According to reports, the fatal accident happened in Baltimore County at the intersection of Eastern Blvd and Stemmers Run Rd. The 82-year-old driver was heading southbound on Stemmers Run in a Chevy station wagon when the box truck failed to stop and slammed into the man’s vehicle.

The truck, which was traveling westbound on Eastern Boulevard, was being driven by a 51-year-old delivery driver. The crash occurred around 2:30pm in the afternoon and also involved a Ford Focus, which was following the Chevy at the time of the crash. The driver of the Ford, a middle-aged woman, was apparently treated at the scene and then transported to a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

82-year-old man killed in Essex crash with delivery truck, BaltimoreSun.com, December 7, 2010

For most Maryland drivers, being safe on the road can means watching out for the other guy and making sure your car, truck or motorcycle is mechanically sound and well maintained. As a Baltimore auto accident lawyer and personal injury attorney, I understand the reasons why we all should give our personal vehicles the special attention they deserve in order to run right and keep us safe in case of an accident.

That said, everyone -- drivers and passengers alike -- must remember that the commercial vehicles in which we travel from time to time can be a major source of traffic injuries and potential fatalities. It goes without saying that we have little control over or knowledge of the quality of maintenance that these vehicle receive prior to riding in them.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), those large-capacity passenger vans that we all see taking church members, school athletic teams and retirees to and from various events could be more dangerous than any of us imagine. Based on a combination of factors, these vehicles apparently have a higher than average propensity for rollover accidents than most other types of passenger cars.

In fact, the NHTSA has issued a number of warnings regarding large 15-passenger vans. The reason is that these vehicles, often operated by commercial transportation companies, do not have the handling capabilities that lower-slung passenger cars do. The driver of such a vehicle must understand the limitations of these vehicles, which means gaining the necessary experience through training and operating these large vans on a regular basis.

Because 15-passenger vans have a typically higher center of gravity, they are much more apt to roll over during an emergency maneuver at highway speeds. This deadly characteristic is made even worse if the van’s tires are under-inflated, someone has installed defective parts, or if the vehicle itself is loaded beyond its rated capacity.

The sad part of all this is that many of these vehicles also do not have full lap and shoulder belts for all passengers -- and many passengers simply choose not to use the safety belts that are there. As a result, any accident -- not the least of which a dangerous and potentially fatal rollover crash -- can have a tragic outcome for the occupants. The convenience of these vehicles makes them a quick choice for transporting groups of people, but there apparently remains a great risk to passengers especially if the proper safety precautions are not followed.

15-passenger vans, improperly inflated tires and no seat belts ~ a deadly combination, TheVindicator.com, December 15, 2010

Commercial and delivery truck accidents, like many traffic crashes on Maryland roadways, can range in severity from mild to tragically fatal. Unlike automobile and motorcycle wrecks, a trucking accident can maim or kill many people due to the size and mass of these larger motor vehicles.

As a Baltimore auto accident lawyer and personal injury attorney, I have the skills and training to represent the victims of these types of traffic collisions in Fredrick, Hagerstown, Cumberland and other towns and cities throughout Maryland. In cases of fatal trucking wrecks, a victim’s family can be left with massive medical bills, not to mention lost wages following a breadwinner’s untimely death.

Single-vehicle traffic accidents, while not uncommon, can still result in the severe injury or death of the driver. Due to the shear size of a semi tractor-trailer, truck drivers can be killed in a crash when the load in the trailer becomes a projectile itself. Whether the accident is due to another driver’s negligence or defective vehicle equipment, such as improperly maintained tires, brakes or other critical automotive component, the results can be devastating.

Such was the case a while back when the driver of an 18-wheeler was killed on the Capital Beltway’s inner loop. According to police reports, 49-year-old Jeffrey Todd Meade died when his semi overturned on the roadway. Police believe that the truck driver may have attempted to swerve his tractor-trailer to avoid hitting another vehicle stopped in the roadway.

The accident, which tied up traffic for several hours, occurred just before the Old Georgetown Road exit at around 5am just prior to the Monday morning commute. Based on news reports, Maryland State police believe the driver of a passenger car may have been stopped in the Beltway’s active lanes prior to the accident. That man, 28-year-old Romolio James of Germantown, MD, was taken to Suburban Hospital with serious injuries as a result of the crash.

Virginia Man Dead after Tractor Trailer Overturned on Beltway, Patch.com, October 18, 2010

Tractor-trailer crash makes mess of Beltway traffic, WTOPNews.com, October 18, 2010

Defective safety equipment on a commercial vehicle can easily lead to a serious accident down the road. Where trucks are concerned, any traffic accident can result in a serious injuries and even fatalities. Here in Maryland, heavy vehicle wrecks can and do occur with alarming frequency. As a Baltimore trucking accident lawyer and personal injury attorney, I know that poorly designed or incorrectly maintained vehicle systems -- such as brakes, steering and occupant protection components -- can be the cause of commercial motor vehicle accidents that result in head, neck and internal injuries as well as death.

Truck producers and commercial vehicle owners and driver must be aware of their responsibility to make certain that these massive vehicles are as safe as possible to protect the road-going public. If any system breaks on a truck the results can be fatal, not only for the people in nearby passenger cars, but also to the occupants of the commercial truck or bus.

Not long ago, police determined that the brakes on a Maryland tour bus were not working correctly and apparently caused two of the vehicle’s tires to blow out while traveling along the interstate at highway speeds. According to news reports, the failure of the motor coach’s braking system resulted an overheating condition, which caused a couple tires on that vehicle to blow out.

More than 40 tourists from Maryland were on that bus when it lost those two ties on Interstate 89 late on a Tuesday morning. The incident occurred on the southbound lanes and fortunately for the senior citizens traveling aboard, the driver was able to maintain control of the bus and bring it to a stop in the breakdown lane.

An inspection by the department of motor vehicles turned up a faulty valve that had allowed compressed air to flow to the vehicle’s six air brakes even though the driver was not using the brakes at the time. This condition caused the brakes to be applied and as a result heat up. Not only did the heat ultimately cause two of the tires to blow out, it damaged the brake linings, rotors ABS sensors.

As a result of the narrowly averted traffic accident, the company that owns the bus received a $156 traffic ticket for having defective brakes. The vehicle was towed and taken out of service. The owner said he expected to have the vehicle back on the road following a tire change.

Police: Faulty brakes caused bus tires to blow out on I-89, BurlingtonFreePress.com, September 14, 2010