Fatal Trucking Accidents

Port Deposit, MD, Gasoline Tanker Crash Kills Maryland Driver in Roadway Blaze

November 15, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As Maryland personal injury lawyers, we know of few more terrifying accidents that driver can find themselves in than a car or truck fire. While pedestrians and motorcycle riders who are hurt in traffic accidents can receive some bad injuries, being trapped in a burning motor vehicle and knowing that one’s fuel tank is filled with the equivalent of many sticks of dynamite can be a horrifying experience, and one that survivors of such events are not soon to forget.

Roadway accidents happen all over the state of Maryland and the Washington, D.C., area. But vehicle fires are not always seen, though they do occur with some frequency. As auto accident attorneys practicing in the Baltimore area, I and my colleagues are ready to assist those victims of car, truck and pedestrian accidents, as well as to assist the families who have lost a loved one following a tragic and untimely death.

A while back we heard of one accident that would likely send chills through drivers everywhere. The roadway crash in question took place on a Friday evening when a commercial tanker truck carrying a load of gasoline crashed and burned in the area of Port Deposit, Maryland. According to news reports, the incident took place around 9pm at the intersection of Main St. and Rte 222 in Cecil County, MD. According to the Maryland State Police, the tanker truck was rounding what officials describe as a “sweeping curve” as it came down a rather steep incline heading westbound from Interstate 95 on the way into Port Deposit.

Baltimore Highway Accident News: Entire Maryland Family Dies in Fatal Semi Tractor-Trailer Collision

October 29, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Heart-breaking human tragedies happen all too often here in Maryland, not to mention throughout the nation and the world, so there is little sense railing against the nature of fate and unexpected events. Yet, this is just the problem with traffic-related injuries and deaths; so much about car, truck and motorcycle accidents would seem to be preventable, if not mostly avoidable. When a car or trucking accident takes the life of someone, anyone, we all suffer to some extent.

Families suffer through the loss of a loved one; a spouse, a sibling, a parent or a child killed in a tragic traffic accident. Society suffers in some way as well, with the loss of a fellow human being and, in the case of children or young adults, a young life that may have been full of promise, now gone forever. Never mind the financial costs to the family or the community, especially if the victim was a major contributor to the well-being of the local economy or a supporter of charities and other benevolent organizations.

In short, fatal highway wrecks in no way improve the human condition; at best they can only point up deficiencies in the safety of certain vehicles, poor design in particular roads, or lack of care on the part of another, possibly negligent driver. As Maryland injury attorneys practicing in the Baltimore area, as well as Washington, D.C., we understand how a family can be ripped asunder by a senseless and preventable death caused by a highway collision.

“Bad News Bears” Remake Actress Dies following Car Crash with Tractor-Trailer; Police Suspect DWI

October 17, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As children we have little choice but to place our lives in the hands of others. Parents and grandparents are constantly responsible for the safety of their young charges, and in choosing a suitable adult with whom they have faith will look after the best interests of their child during car trips, play dates and other activities away from immediate relatives. This is why any injury to a minor or young child hits families hard when a caretaker or other responsible adult falls down on the job of watching over their young ones.

As we get older and move into adulthood, the responsibility shifts to us when we have choices to make that could have a permanent or long-term effect on our health and livelihood. While most people probably don’t dwell much on these matters, it isn’t at all farfetched to consider that every ride with a friend, relative or loved one could be a potential opportunity for disaster. At the risk of sounding morbid, I and my colleagues know that every time someone ventures out on the roadway these days there is always a chance of being involved in a serious traffic accident.

As Baltimore auto, truck and motorcycle accident attorneys, it is our job to dwell on the downside to every choice. But it is also our duty to identify when another person may have taken the faith and trust of another individual for granted, though thoughtless actions or deeds, and altered forever that person’s life. One should not have to suffer from another person’s poor choices. Sadly, people die every day through the negligent actions of a stranger; yet many Americans are killed or seriously injured by the actions of someone they know and trust.

Commercial Lumber Truck Crashes near Baltimore, Igniting Fire and Killing Driver on Interstate 95

September 25, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

We’ve said it before, but trucking accidents are an unfortunate part of the automotive landscape here in Maryland. With the tens of thousands of passenger cars, truck and motorcycles all sharing the road with each other, it’s amazing that more accidents do not happen on a regular basis. But when it comes to collisions involving commercial vehicles, we are all in greater danger as occupants of much smaller and less massive passenger cars.

As Baltimore auto accident attorneys, I and my colleagues see just a fraction of the thousands of innocent people who are injured every year across the United States as a result of being caught up in a collision with a tractor-trailer, 18-wheeler, tanker truck, of large commercial delivery vehicle. Obviously, the sheer size and mass of these motor vehicles — approaching 20-times the weight of an average sport utility vehicle or family minivan — makes these trucks intrinsically more dangerous than other cars and trucks on the roadways.

As motorists ourselves, we have each at one time or another driven slowly past the site of a commercial vehicle accident on the expressway or country road. The destruction that such a large and heavy vehicle can cause to cars, light trucks and motorcycles is sobering to say the least. Weighing in at upward of 80,000 pounds, a commercial vehicle whose driver has lost control, for whatever reason, can easily wreck serious havoc on other passenger vehicles and bystanders. Serious and fatal injuries are not uncommon in these instances.

Maryland Auto Injury Accident News: Two Die in Separate Trucking-related Traffic Accidents

September 14, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Surviving a collision with a large commercial motor vehicle can be as random as the initial circumstances that set the traffic accident in motion to start with. One could say that it is simply a “role of the dice” whether or not an victim of an automobile or motorcycle wreck will make it to the hospital, much less recover from his or her injuries sufficiently to live a long and fulfilling life.

Looking as we do at the events leading up to a serious injury accident or fatal traffic collision, it is no mere coincidence that vehicle mass, or weight, plays a significant part in whether or not a driver or other occupants will sustain mild or critical injuries. Being involved in a highway accident between a relatively small passenger car, minivan or sport utility vehicle and a much larger commercial motor vehicle is a case in point.

As Maryland personal injury attorneys, we know that a significant percentage of injuries are sustained by drivers and passengers of smaller vehicles that are hit by large trucks, such as semi tractor-trailers, large box trucks, commercial delivery vehicles and even heavier utility trucks. It all goes back to physics, but the important thing to remember is that the danger exists. Knowing that a roadway incident involving a larger motor vehicle, drivers should always be on the alert when traveling in traffic alongside one of these vehicles or when approaching an oncoming truck on an undivided road.

Maryland Driver Killed in Worchester County When Her Car was Hit by 18-Wheeler in Pocomoke

July 31, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Dozens of traffic-related personal injury accidents take place every month across this state and it doesn’t make much difference whether you live in an urban area like Baltimore, Rockville and The District, or in a less populated portion of Maryland. A bad car, truck or motorcycle crash will likely put one or more people in the hospital. Occasionally, fate plays the unenviable part in a roadway collision, resulting in an untimely death for a driver or passenger of a motor vehicle.

As automobile accident attorneys, I and my staff of experienced legal professionals understand all too well the extent of bodily injuries that can occur as a result of a really bad accident. From compound fractures, collapsed lungs, ruptured spleen or even closed-head trauma, the range of life-threatening conditions that can precipitate from a car or commercial trucking accident are many and varied. What we do know is that recovery, in many cases, will long and drawn out; some people may never fully recover, requiring daily or near-constant care for months or even years.

Car-to-car wrecks can be quite serious, to be sure, especially in the case of head-on accidents or high-speed T-bone crashes at highway intersections and access roads. Speed and size of the vehicles involved play a large role in the potential outcome of most any traffic wreck.

Injuries and Deaths from Maryland Traffic Accidents Continue Apace in the Old Line State

July 16, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Examples of roadway collisions can be found almost every day across this state. As the fifth most densely populated state in the Union, it shouldn’t be too shocking to read of car, truck and motorcycle wrecks happening all across Maryland every month. Still, being actually involved in one may bring the pain home.

Injuries ranging from simple bumps and bruises to broken bones, internal injuries and closed-head trauma are quite common in and around the state’s urban areas, not to mention our highways. There are few if any excuses one could think of for causing serious injury to another individual, and less so in cases of a fatal automobile accident.

As Baltimore personal injury lawyers, I and my staff of experienced legal professionals believe are dedicated to fighting for the rights of our clients following a car or trucking-related traffic accident. Whether one is injured in Gaithersburg, Columbia, Washington, D.C., or Bowie, the personal injury laws of this state give victims certain rights to pursue recompense for their injuries, emotional distress, current and future medical treatment and necessary rehabilitation.

Maryland Commercial Trucking Accidents: Recognizing the “False Security” of a “Large” Passenger Car

May 31, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Anybody who has lost a parent or child, friend or loved one in a fatal car crash has no doubt looked back many times on what could have been, rather than what is now likely an emotionally painful void in one’s life. Being a survivor is not an enviable position for many people who must carry on in the absence of a significant person in his or her life. As Maryland personal injury lawyers, I and my colleagues understand the finality of a fatal traffic accident; and the senselessness of the whole incident.

As car, truck and motorcycle accident attorneys who represent victims of severe and fatal traffic collisions, we understand all too well the automobile, motorcycle and trucking-related roadway collisions, I and my legal staff have first-hand experience with people whose pain may take years to go away, if ever.

Here in the Baltimore area, as with parts of The District, Cumberland, Annapolis and Bowie, MD, hardly a week goes by that there isn’t a news report of a car crash involving a cyclist or pedestrian. These types of accidents are almost always “one-sided,” in that the person on foot or on his or her bike has little protection against a 3,000-pound car or even larger commercial delivery truck or 18-wheeler. In these instances, closed-head trauma, spinal cord injuries and broken bones can all be quite common.

Four Separate Maryland Semi tractor-trailer Accidents Result in Deaths of 4 Passenger Car Drivers

May 23, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As commercial trucking accident attorneys, we make no bones about the number of innocent people killed each year as a result of negligent driving on the part of truckers operating 18-wheeler rigs and other heavy commercial vehicles. The very nature of these huge motor vehicles — such as fuel tankers makes these vehicle more than a match for the average passenger car, SUV or family sedan.

As such, the drivers of these vehicles are trained and licensed by the government to operate their machines in a responsible and safe manner. And while most truckers do treat their jobs as positions of great responsibility, there are others who tend to give the entire industry a bad name. The same can also be said about trucking line owners, a small percentage of whom seem to thumb their noses at the rules and regulations that have been established to protect the road-going public from harm.

Whether through unwritten policy, direct acts of negligence or outright dangerous vehicle operation, numerous big rig drivers and trucking companies throughout the U.S. are fined or imprisoned each year as a result of poor business practices or injury-related traffic accidents caused by trucker in their employ.

One Person Dead After Tractor-trailer Crashes into School Bus North of Maryland State Line

May 16, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

We doubt that many parents place much stock in hoping that their children have a safe ride to and from school. Preferably, most parents would likely want to be assured by a consistent safety record of the bus drivers that work in their school district. Unfortunately, while a school system can more or less control the quality of the drivers they hire, other external factors affecting the safety of school kids riding in those buses can be much more random and have a sometimes dangerous effect on the number and frequency of traffic accidents involving those school buses.

It’s certainly a tragedy when any innocent child is hurt or killed in a mostly preventable accident. When that accident involves a loaded school bus, more than one child can be affected. As Maryland personal injury attorneys, our concern is for the victims and their families, especially in cases where negligence likely played a part in the confluence of such a roadway collision.

From time to time, we read of situations that place our most precious of resource — our children — in harm’s way. Whether an incident takes place here in the Baltimore area, over in Columbia, or even in Washington, D.C., a victim of a car, truck or motorcycle crash can face a long road back to full health. As injury lawyers, our job is to help victims and their families recover costs associated with a bad auto accident. Of course, recouping monetary costs may not help heal the emotional and psychological scars, but it can go a long way to easing the burden on a family whose world has been turned upside down by a traffic wreck.