Fatal Trucking Accidents

Anne Arundel Injury News: Maryland Man Dies in Fatal Commercial Truck Accident on Bay Bridge

May 26, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Traffic collisions can occur in a myriad of ways. And as varied as car, truck and motorcycle accidents are, the injuries sustained in these wrecks range from minor to severe. How people are injured, or killed, can also be affected by numerous factors, including being hit by debris thrown through the windshield, striking a hard surface within the vehicle upon impact, being tossed about (usually when a seatbelt has failed or not been used), being ejected from the vehicle during a rollover accident.

As Baltimore trucking accident attorneys and personal injury lawyers, our job is to help victims of automobile, truck and pedestrian accidents recover medical expenses, lost wages and other costs associated with a highway wreck or urban traffic collision. In some cases, when the victim has died as a result of the crash and is no longer able to speak from himself, we assist the victim’s family in recovering damages due to wrongful death.

Not long ago, an 70-year-old retired gentleman lost his life following a traffic accident along the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in Anne Arundel County. According to news reports, the victim was former sportswriter, Harry Blauvelt, who had worked for numerous news agencies over the years. Sadly, the history of the Bay Bridge caught up with this individual as it has with others before him.

Based on reports, Blauvelt was apparently returning home to Kent Island on Monday morning around 10:30am when his Honda experienced some kind of mechanical problem along the center span. There is no breakdown lane, which makes for an extremely dangerous situation whenever a car or truck becomes disabled on the two-lane bridge.

Just as Blauvelt was getting out of his stalled vehicle to investigate the trouble, a 2003 International commercial truck slammed into the rear of the man’s car and threw him over an adjacent barrier wall into the water 50 feet below the roadway.

Maryland Trucking Accident Update: Traffic Collisions between Passenger Cars and Semi Tractor-trailers Can Be Deadly

March 9, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

There’s no arguing against the laws of physics when it comes to serious traffic accidents. Here in Maryland, passenger car occupants as well as motorcyclists are killed on an uncomfortably frequent basis when caught in a collision with semi tractor-trailer rigs. It’s a known fact that smaller, less substantial motor vehicles — such as sedans, economy car, and minivans and SUVs — are no match for those larger and more massive commercial vehicles.

As Baltimore auto accident lawyers and personal injury attorneys, I and my staff understand the physical pain and financial burden that a serious trucking accident can bring upon an auto accident victim and his family. Not only do the injuries from a car-truck collision sometimes take months to heal, if ever, but the cost of medial treatment and rehabilitation can run into the tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.

From just this fact, it is always advisable to avoid 18-wheelers as much as possible when traveling on Maryland’s roadways. Although there is really no way to predict when an accident may occur, tangling with a big rig or commercial delivery truck can sometimes cause serious injuries. The shear mass of these large trucks also raises the possibility of fatalities depending, of course, on the circumstances. But why take the chance?

Maryland Injury Accident News: Driver Dies in Head-on Crash with 18-Wheel Rig

February 16, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As Maryland automobile accident lawyers and personal injury attorneys, we speak from experience when we say that traffic accidents involving passenger cars and commercial trucks hardly ever end in favor of the smaller vehicle. With a gross weight on the order of 20 tons or more, a fully loaded semi tractor-trailer rig has as much mass as nearly 10 sport utility vehicles (SUVs), which makes any kind of highway accident a deadly proposition for the average motorist in a family car.

Furthermore, if a passenger car hasn’t much chance, then one can only imagine what the odds are for an economy car or motorcycle that tangles with a 18-wheeler on the expressway or undivided rural road. Needless to say, every passenger car and light truck driver should pay extremely careful attention whenever passing a tractor-trailer rig or other commercial truck. The watchword here is caution.

Even though we try to be careful, accidents continue to happen. A case in point is a crash that happened not long ago when a minivan crossed over the centerline and struck a tanker truck driven by a Baltimore truck driver. The crash happened just after 11am on a Tuesday morning and resulted in the death of the driver of the Chrysler Town and Country, 50-year-old Richard Baker.

Maryland Injury Accident News: Baltimore Trucker Dies in Fatal Semi Crash along I-695 in Towson

February 7, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Anytime a person is killed as a result of a traffic accident there is always a lingering question of whether things could have truned out differently depending on the circumstances. Many fatal car, truck and motorcycle wrecks seem so senseless when the families of the victims look back on the incident. Although the reasons are not always clear, certain things may be obvious, such as speed too fast for weather conditions, poorly maintained tires or impropoerly designed safety equipment and driver fatigue.

How important is it to get to one’s destination fast if the alternative is not getting there at all? Sad but true, a certain percentage of these deadly collisions could probably have been avoided if something had not occurred or a certain fateful choice had never been made.

As a Maryland personal injury attorney, we often hear victims’ families ask these kind of after-the-fact questions with little hope of knowing for certain if their loved one could have avoided the tragedy altogether. One known cause of commercial truck accidents is driver fatigue, whcih has been a constant source of concern for police and regulatory agencies for decades. This is why there exists federal regulations limiting hours of service. In fact, 49 CFR Part 395 puts limits on when and how long commercial trucker may operate their vehicles.

Baltimore Trucking Accident News: Maryland Trucker Cited for Excessive Speed in I-95 Semi Crash

January 31, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Recently there has been some more discussion about the so-called “sweatshop” workplace conditions that over-the-road truckers must endure as part of their job hauling goods and materials across the nation. Long hours and tight deadlines have been blamed for numerous accidents here in Maryland as well as other states.

As a Baltimore trucking accident attorney and personal injury lawyer, my work of this area of accident law exposes me to a myriad of horror stories ranging from minor truck-passenger car accidents to fatal semi tractor-trailer wrecks. In many cases, excessive speed is a major factor in the collision. Even if it didn’t cause the initial accident, high speed coupled with the huge size and mass of these large 18-wheelers makes most any traffic accident worse.

Occupants of passenger cars struck by such a massive vehicle can be left with serious and life-threatening injuries that can linger for years and ruin a person’s quality of life. The costs of medical treatment and rehabilitation following a tragic highway trucking accident can hobble families struggling to survive in this uncertain economy, placing stress on family members and fracturing the very fabric of a formerly happy home.

Baltimore Auto Injury News: Maryland Driver Dies in Accident after Tow Truck Backs into Traffic

January 15, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As Baltimore personal injury attorneys and auto accident lawyers, we cannot stress enough the multidute of dangers faced by Maryland drivers on virtually a daily basis. Even in the most seemingly innocuous traffic situations a fatal accident can occur without warning. Injury accidents and fatal car and truck crashes happen with alarming frequency throughout the state; please use extreme caution at all times, if not for your own sake, at least for that of your family.

A deadly car-truck crash occurred not long ago that showed what can happen when fate conspires to do someone harm. It’s difficult to say whethr or not the victim of this particular crash could have avoided the traffic accident altogether, however the tragic outcome was one that no family would ever want a loved one to experience. According to news reports, police were still investigating the accident a couple days after the fatal wreck.

Based on reports, a commercial flatbed tow truck — a 2004 International — was partially blocking one of the southbound lanes along a stretch of Crain Highway (US 301) near the intersection of Holly Lane. At about 8pm, the truck driver apparently attempted to maneuver the truck into the northbound side of the roadway, Maryland State Police stated. At that moment, a southbound 2007 Toyota Camry driven by 73-year-old Stanley Harten Wallace of Waldorf, MD, crashed into the tow truck around 8pm.

Maryland Trucking Accident News: Experts Say Maximum Driving Hours Still Killing Too Many People

January 7, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The death last August of a Maryland university professor on an Ohio expressway has raised the question of commercial truck drivers’ ability to function well under the currently legal federally regulated hours of service. It was the untimely death of Stevenson University professor Susan Slattery and numerous other traffic accidents involving commercial truck and passenger vehicles — such as minivan, sedans, SUVs and motorcycles — that has people like Joan Claybrook, former head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), looking long and hard at the current rules.

As a Baltimore trucking accident lawyer and personal injury attorney, I have heard dozens of heartrending stories involving families who have lost loved ones in traffic wrecks due to another person’s negligence. According to a news report, the federal regulations governing the number of hours a truck driver may be one the road could also be to blame for thousands of deaths each year.

To some, semi tractor-trailers are simply rolling time bombs that claim nearly a dozen lives every day across the United States. And it’s most likely true, according to some, that of the dozens of 18-wheelers a driver meets on the road every hour may be operated by a trucker who has been driving for more than the 12 hours. In fact, there is no way for other motorists to know whether or not a commercial driver has been on the road for only five or as much as 15 hours.

Claybrook herself has reportedly been an advocate for reducing the hours truckers can drive for a while now. Known as “Hours of Service,” federal regulations state that truckers can drive no longer than 11 hours with 10 hours off for rest. But these rules could change as early as 2011, now that there have been some successful lawsuits carried out by safety groups.

As a result, the federal government is now carefully reviewing the question of how many hours a trucker could more safely drive in any given shift. Given the possibility of proposed changes to the current rules governing hours of service, a change in the law could be implemented no later than next summer.

Some would say that it couldn’t come soon enough, what with driver fatigue being blamed for as much as 40 percent of fatal trucking-related accidents; claiming about 5000 lives across the nation every year.

Maryland Driver Dies in Baltimore County Traffic Accident; Delivery Truck Ran Red Light, Hit Car

December 31, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

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.

Baltimore Traffic Injury Update: Maryland Residents Should Understand Injury Risk when Riding in Commercial Passenger Vans

December 27, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

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.

Maryland Truck Accident News: Passenger Dies after Minivan is Hit by Semi Tractor-trailer on Rte. 13

November 23, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Wherever you live, truck, car and motorcycle accidents are probably a common occurrence. Because we live in a mobile society, automobile collisions are sadly a fact of life, and while people might feel safer living out in the countryside, it’s not necessarily urban traffic accidents that result in fatalities, but rural crashes as well.

As a Baltimore trucking accident lawyer, I understand the reasons for car and truck accidents here in the Baltimore area and elsewhere across Maryland. It’s important to note that the National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) determined a while back that driving in the countryside is no safer than driving in urban areas. In fact, the risk of a fatal car or truck crash in rural areas is nearly 40 percent higher than in our cities.

Part of the reason for this is due to the higher average speeds on rural roads, which can result in nearly two-times more chance of serious injury than in an urban setting. This, coupled with the fact that it typically takes longer for EMS personnel to respond to a crash out in the country, makes it more likely that you will survive a typical in-city traffic accident versus in one out in a rural area.