Articles Posted in Truck Accidents

Every year across the country, thousands of people are killed in fatal accidents. Truck accidents, however, make up nearly twice the percentage of total fatal accidents. Because trucks are often the largest, heaviest, and most difficult vehicles to navigate on the road, this should be no surprise to even the most experienced of drivers. Following a major truck accident, you may have suffered from significant injuries or property damage. Figuring out what your next steps are and what options you have legally is crucial to recovering the compensation you deserve.

According to a recent news report, an EMT was killed following a devastating accident involving a semi-truck and an ambulance. Local authorities reported that firefighter EMTs were in an ambulance traveling to respond to a 911 call when they attempted to make a left turn. While making the turn, the ambulance crossed into the road’s southbound lanes, where they collided with a semi-truck heading north. Video from the accident showed that the cab of the ambulance was sheared off from the rest of the vehicle and that the semi-truck was hauling dirt or gravel. The accident remains under investigation as local authorities continue to look into who was at fault in the collision.

Although various types of car accidents can result in significant injury and property damage, collisions involving trucks are often among the most devastating. Because large trucks like 18 wheelers and other large commercial vehicles often dominate the road in size and weight, collisions involving a truck can significantly increase the likelihood of serious injuries, death, and property damage. Following a major truck accident, it is crucial that you remain calm and take the proper steps to recover from the collision.

According to a recent news report, six children were injured and a teenage boy died following a major tractor-trailer accident. Local officials reported that a tractor-trailer crashed into a car, which resulted in serious and minor injuries as well as multiple individuals transferred to local hospitals for treatment. The teenager was in the car with two other adults and several children when it was hit by the truck, and the teen was pronounced dead at the hospital. The truck driver also suffered minor injuries following the accident. The collision remains under investigation by local authorities.

Following a major truck accident, the first thing collision victims should do is ensure that if anyone needs medical attention, an ambulance and local authorities are called. Any subsequent hospital visits, scans, physical therapy, or medical care should be extensively documented so that you have a chance to be compensated for it.

Sometimes, even the most careful and safe drivers experience unavoidable risks while on the road. After all, there is only so much a safe driver can do if others are negligent when operating their vehicles. Although negligence from other drivers can take on many forms, one of the most dangerous is when a driver’s negligence leaves obstacles or hazards on the road that are not immediately clear to drivers in oncoming traffic. Because this negligence can lead to often fatal accidents and consequences, those who are responsible must be held accountable.

According to a recent news report, a fatal tow truck accident left a mother of four dead and several others severely injured. Local authorities reported that the driver of a flatbed tow truck experienced a mechanical issue and stopped in the right lane of the interstate. The tow truck driver ended up getting a ride from someone else and abandoned his vehicle where it had stopped. Officials also reported that the tow truck driver, at the time that he was driving, was operating his vehicle on a suspended license. Later, a separate driver crashed into the abandoned tow truck, which killed his wife and severely injured both his 14 and nine-year-old daughters. Following the crash, both vehicles came to rest in a ditch. The accident remains under investigation.

Although unexpected emergencies can take place without warning, safety officials recommend that drivers pull onto the shoulder when their vehicle comes to a stop. Rather than simply stopping in a lane with active traffic when your vehicle experiences low gas, a flat tire, or other mechanical issues, it is best to get off the active road to keep yourself and others safe.

The person behind the wheel when a crash occurs is often looked at first as the party at fault. However, in some accidents, the driver does not bear any blame. A car may have a defect due to a manufacturing or design defect or because of a faulty repair. In the case of a faulty repair of a truck or other vehicle, the repair shop may be liable for negligence through filing a Maryland negligence claim.

In a Maryland negligence claim, a plaintiff must prove that the defendant owed the plaintiff a duty of care, that the defendant failed to meet the degree of care by required acting or failing to act in some way, that the plaintiff suffered damages because of the wrongful act, and that the defendant’s wrongful act caused the plaintiff damages. A plaintiff has to demonstrate that it was more likely than not that the damages were caused by the defendant’s wrongful conduct.

A repair shop may be liable for negligence if the repair shop was responsible for repairing a vehicle, failed to make the necessary repairs, the plaintiff suffered damages because of the repair shop’s faulty repair, and the plaintiff suffered actual damages. A repair shop may claim that the repair was completed according to expected professional standards or that an accident was caused by another issue. Plaintiffs in a successful negligence claim may be able to recover financial compensation including medical expenses, property damages, lost wages, and emotional suffering.

With limited visibility for the driver and weighing in at over 20 thousand pounds, the average dump truck can pose a serious hazard to others on the road. Indeed, a Maryland cyclist recently collided with a dump truck. Although this particular truck accident did not claim any lives, reports note that the cyclist required emergency medical care. According to a recent news report, the accident happened on the morning of July 1 when a dump truck allegedly struck a cyclist riding on the northbound side of the Rockville Pike.

As the cyclist heals, Maryland authorities will work to uncover which parties were at fault in the accident. Any party that acted negligently in conjunction with this accident was at least partially at fault. A driver or bicyclist acts negligently when she fails to follow the rules of the road. For example, the cyclist in this accident was almost certainly required to travel with traffic rather than against it. Whether the cyclist was traveling north or south when the accident happened will therefore affect any determination of liability. Establishing liability is critical to determining what compensation is due and to whom.

In a majority of cases where a bike and motor vehicle collide, it is the operator of the motor vehicle who behaved negligently and is therefore at fault. According to one study of bike-car collisions, motorists are at fault in over 80 percent of these types of crashes, whereas cyclists are at fault less than 20 percent of the time. Maryland recognizes the legal concept of contributory negligence, which means that multiple parties in a crash can be held to some degree of fault.

Everyone who has ever driven on a highway in Maryland knows that the cars there share the road with many different trucks and buses. Maryland highways are common along the routes for truck drivers, which unfortunately means that they see more than their fair share of Maryland truck accidents. While most people who think about Maryland truck accidents think about semi-trucks driven by experienced truck drivers, an accident may be even more likely when an individual who does not usually drive a truck rents and drives one while they are moving, for example.

For example, take a recent crash that occurred earlier this month. As reported by a local news organization, a large moving truck attempted to make a U-turn when it got stuck. The driver hit the gas in an attempt to get the truck unstuck but unfortunately lost control of the vehicle. The moving truck struck two cars and was on its way to collide with a pickup truck when, fortunately, the man on the back of the pickup truck saw the truck coming and jumped out of the way with moments to spare. He saw the moving truck hit his pickup truck and was grateful that he avoided what would have likely been a fatal crash. Fortunately, no one was killed in this accident.

This truck accident illustrates the risks posed by moving trucks or other rental trucks. While truck accidents are already far too common in Maryland, most truck drivers have years of experience driving large vehicles and understand how to operate something that size on the road. In contrast, individuals driving rental moving trucks may have extremely limited experience driving large vehicles and may find themselves unable to control the vehicle, to successfully make a U-turn or something else of that sort. Unfortunately, this may make them a risk to other drivers on the highways.

When people picturing filing a Maryland truck accident lawsuit, they probably picture going to court, with lawyers standing up in front of a judge and jury and making impassioned arguments. While this sometimes is the case, many cases are actually resolved before making it to trial. Sometimes, the resolution may be in the form of a settlement agreement reached by the parties—agreeing that the plaintiff will dismiss the suit for a certain amount of money. Other times, however, the resolution may be because the judge just decides the case before trial. The judge may decide to grant summary judgment to one side, meaning that even if the other side was correct in the facts it alleges to be true, there’s no way that they could win at trial.