Articles Posted in Truck Accidents

Because trucks are often the largest and heaviest vehicle on the road, they are also frequently involved in devastating accidents. If you are the driver of a smaller passenger vehicle, or even an SUV, you may have actively attempted to avoid or pass trucks on the road for fear of getting into an unexpected accident. These fears are unsurprising. After all, trucks are involved in thousands of accidents that result in significant injuries and fatalities each year for a variety of reasons.

According to a recent local news report, a man died after a tractor-trailer accident. Troopers on the scene reported that the driver of the tractor-trailer ran a red light and turned into an intersection, which caused him to crash into two vehicles that had the right of way. One of the vehicles that was struck, a Jeep, was hit on its right fender after it swerved but was able to get out of the way. The second vehicle, a Chrysler, was struck on the left side and swung off the side of the road. The driver of the Chrysler was transported to a local hospital, where he died from his injuries. The accident is still being looked into by local authorities and Maryland State Police Crash Team investigators.

Because trucks are so heavy and take up so much space, many people may not be adequately trained to properly drive or operate them. Truck drivers have to operate their vehicles with additional care, especially because trucks can often take up more space, move at faster speeds, and require the control and dexterity of an experienced driver to avoid an accident or tipping over when turning. Truck drivers also have to be good at ascertaining risk when exiting shopping centers or parking lots, since it takes longer for the entire length of the vehicle to make it onto the road and join the front of the truck. If timed incorrectly at a busy intersection, this could cause a major pile-up.

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.

Who Is Liable in a Maryland Truck Accident?

After Maryland truck accident, it often may not be clear who exactly you can sue to hold liable for compensation. Figuring out who you can sue often depends on the circumstances surrounding how the accident took place. For example, if the truck driver was distracted, speeding, or drowsy, it is more likely that they are liable for the accident. On the other hand, if the driver was an employee of a trucking company forcing them to meet prohibitively tight deadlines or the company failed to keep up with mechanical maintenance of the truck that caused the accident, the trucking company could be liable instead.

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.

All Maryland truck accidents have the potential to be life-threatening and cause serious bodily harm or death. While some drivers may have the good fortune of escaping a Maryland truck accident with just some scrapes, many others may find themselves significantly injured, in the hospital, or even fighting for their lives. Unfortunately, these accidents are more common than many people realize. Across the state, truck accidents claim the lives of far too many Maryland residents.

Tragically, these truck accidents can happen even when someone is in a vehicle that is supposed to bring them to safety: an ambulance. Just like other vehicles, ambulances share the road with trucks, and they often are driving very fast, trying to get an injured occupant to the hospital safely. Tragedy might strike, then, if an ambulance and a truck get into an accident. For example, just recently, a major crash between a dump truck and an ambulance left two people dead and others injured. According to a local news report that covered the accident, the crash occurred around 10:20 one Tuesday morning when an ambulance driving southbound was t-boned by a dump truck in the passenger side. The driver of the ambulance, a 28-year-old woman, and the driver of the truck, a 67-year-old man, were both taken to local hospitals with life-threatening injuries. Fortunately, both survived. Not so lucky were the two passengers of the ambulance: a 17-year-old boy and a 51-year-old male paramedic were both killed in the crash.

This accident highlights how tragic Maryland truck accidents can be, especially when they involve an emergency vehicle such as an ambulance. Maryland residents want to feel that when they call an ambulance because of an emergency, they can trust the ambulance will take them safely to help. While this is true for the vast majority of cases, Maryland residents must remember that ambulances travel on the same roads as every other vehicle and are still susceptible to car and truck accidents. After these accidents, those involved likely will want to know if and how they can recover against the negligent driver. Can they sue for monetary damages? How much can they get? How does their being in an ambulance complicate their recovery? With these questions, Maryland truck accident victims should read out to a personal injury attorney knowledgeable in this area of the law.

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.

Like any other driver, when a Maryland truck driver hits the road, they are expected to drive carefully, or to exercise “reasonable care.” The standard of reasonable care extends even to emergency situations. This means that when a truck driver encounters an emergency on the road, such as a Maryland truck accident, the truck driver must still exercise reasonable care. However, this standard considers the circumstances the driver is presented with and the amount of time the driver has to react.

What Does a Truck Accident Victim Need to Prove in a Personal Injury Claim?

In a Maryland accident case, a plaintiff has to show that a defendant failed to meet the standard of care. In Maryland, if a truck driver suddenly finds himself in a dangerous situation, the driver is not expected to exercise the same degree of care as a driver who has sufficient time to evaluate his or her options and decide what to do. But the driver is expected to exercise reasonable care for his or her own safety and for the safety of others. This doctrine is known as the sudden emergency doctrine. However, the truck driver cannot benefit from the doctrine if the driver is the one who caused the emergency or if the driver is not actually in a dangerous situation. So, if a truck driver damages another person or property in an emergency situation, the question is, when the truck driver was presented with the emergency, did the truck driver exercise the degree of care that a reasonable, prudent person would, given the circumstances? A jury or a judge will also take into consideration the amount of time the driver had to react and evaluate the choices. Failing to take reasonable care under the circumstances may make the driver liable for resulting damages.

One of the best things about traveling via train or bus is having someone else drive and operate the vehicle while the passengers relax, read, sleep, or even get some work done. For this reason, many Maryland residents may rely on these modes of transportation weekly or even daily, to travel within and outside of the state or to get to work. But while the flexibility and ease of these forms of transportation are nice, passengers should remember that there is still the risk of a Maryland traffic accident. And when a bus or a train hits a truck, the accident can be catastrophic and maybe even fatal.

For example, take a recent truck accident involving an Amtrak train. According to a news report covering the crash, the accident happened around 4:30 PM one afternoon when a truck stopped inexplicably on the train tracks. Amtrak crew members aboard the train told investigators that as the train approached the truck, they blew the horn several times. The train was traveling at high speed, and unable to stop, so it hit the truck, causing a significant crash. The driver of the truck was pronounced dead at the scene. The investigation is ongoing, and at this point, it is not clear why the truck driver did not move off of the tracks to avoid getting hit by the train.

It’s not clear from the news report how many others were injured, but in such a serious crash, there is clear potential to cause harm to the train passengers as well as the truck driver. Injured passengers in situations such as this one—in which the train or bus they are riding crashes into a truck—may not think that they have the right to file a personal injury lawsuit and may believe that the train or bus company is the one to handle that. But Maryland state law makes clear that anyone injured in Maryland truck accidents can file a personal injury lawsuit to try and recover for their accidents.

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