Maryland Trucking Accident Lawyer Blog

Injury Accident News: Maryland Trucker Charged with Drunken Driving after Near-Accident on I-70

March 31, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

One of the most common causes of commercial trucking accidents in the U.S. is driver fatigue usually brought on by lack of sleep and excessive hours behind the wheel. Although federal regulations limit the number of on-the-road hours that a commercial truck driver can work behind the wheel, it is no secret that many truckers bend or break these rules on a fairly frequent basis. Spurred by on-time or early delivery bonuses, as well as the occasional unspoken negative incentive, some truckers may feel they have to exceed the federally mandated Hours-of-Service rules in order to make a living.

Unfortunately, in making a living in this way, sometimes these commercial driver get into traffic accidents, which may or may not involve fatalities; and many times trucking-related wrecks caused by driver fatigue produce injuries, not just to the driver himself, but to innocent victims who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Other causes of tractor-trailer accidents can include distraction from any number of sources, such as cellphones, smartphones, in-cab navigation devices, audio systems, or any other electronic device that takes the truckers attention away from the task at hand. Speeding and faulty vehicle maintenance can also be common areas that a personal injury attorney might need to consider when formulating a case against a negligent truck driver or commercial trucking company.

Maryland Motorist Changing Tire on Interstate 695 Killed on Roadside by Passing 18-Wheeler

March 24, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As passenger car drivers and motorcycle riders, most people traveling Maryland’s highways and surface streets know how often they encounter a commercial motor vehicle on the same stretch of roadway. For most of us, the reality of having to share the road with a large and potentially dangerous 18-wheeler, big rig semi, or tractor-trailer rig is just something that we learn to accept. Until, at least, a person is involved in a traffic collision with one of these deadly machines.

As Baltimore auto accident attorneys, I and my colleagues have seen the results of multi-vehicle highway and interstate wrecks caused by a negligent trucker. The carnage wrought by these huge vehicles and very heavy trailers can be extensive, causing severe injuries to the occupants of one or more passenger vehicles in the process. As anyone who follows the news understands, roadway collisions involving large box trucks and big semi tractor-trailers can also result in multiple fatalities given the right circumstances.

Being in the wrong place at the wrong time is not something anyone, who themselves has tangled with a commercial motor carrier, would likely wish upon another individual. Not only the potential physical injuries and long-term medical complications, but also the financial and emotional toll, are something that victims of trucking-related traffic accidents suffer from most. While nobody would want to be involved in a car or motorcycle accident, being caught up in a commercial truck wreck is another experience best left to the movies or television dramas.

Two Tractor-Trailers Overturn in Separate Maryland Trucking Accidents; No Serious Injuries Reported

March 16, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

It’s hard to imagine something as large and apparently stable as an 18-wheeled tractor-trailer flipping on its side, but events like this actually happen more often that one might think. And when one of these large commercial vehicles crashes and turns over, you had better not be near it when it does. To be caught in that kind of roadway collision is only to invite potential injury or possible death.

As Maryland personal injury lawyers, I and my staff of legal professionals have seen the victims of commercial trucking accidents and we fully understand the destructive power that these people experienced during their ordeals. Life-threatening events such as a bad roadway collision with a large delivery truck or big rig semi can alter one’s view of what is and isn’t safe on the road today.

With a mass equal to nearly 20 normal-sized passenger sedans, a fully-loaded tractor-trailer rig is one formidable machine. And while most truckers are hard-working and conscientious people, there are some drivers who are less concerned about the safety of others which who they must share the road. It’s this smaller group of bad drivers that can cause most of the pain and grief on the expressways and surface streets around Maryland.

Maryland Trucking Accidents: Tragic Random Events that Yield Serious and Life-Altering Results

March 8, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A fair percentage of people who are involved in automobile accidents escape serious injury, perhaps with only a few bumps and bruises, and maybe a simple bone fracture or a minor cut. Unfortunately, for many others the result of a bad roadway collision can mean weeks or months in a hospital room with complications from an internal injury, extensive reconstructive surgeries or a questionable prognosis related to a closed-head injury. As Maryland automobile accident lawyers, we have come across some very tragic medical situations of people whose only mistake was being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Sadly, we cannot make people well, but at least we can help the victims and their families try to recover the costs and expenses of their medical treatment and rehabilitation from those responsible for their condition. Whether one is injured on a country road or an urban street in Rockville or the District, odds are that some amount of medical expense will be paid by the victim. Recovering those costs, which may be complicated by a loss of wages while the person is in the hospital and unable to work, is of primary concern, after that of getting better, of course.

A qualified personal injury attorney should be able to bring legal knowledge and courtroom experience to bear when filing a personal injury lawsuit or, in the case of a fatal traffic accident, a wrongful death claim for the family of the deceased victim. The trouble with car, truck and motorcycle accidents is that they are equal opportunity killers. When a distracted driver ignores a stop sign and T-bones a family’s minivan, the choice of victims is usually quite random. The same can be said when the driver of a commercial delivery truck makes a fast turn and clips a bicycle rider, sending him or her to the hospital with internal injuries and brain trauma.

Federal Investigators Focus on Trucking Company for Alleged “Chameleon” Operations following Fatal Highway Accident

February 28, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As a highly regulated industry, one would expect that all commercial trucking firms would follow the laws of the state, as well as federal regulations, yet it is sometimes frightening to find that some of these operations are not always run in a safe and proper fashion. By this we mean to say that, from time to time, a commercial trucking company may cut corners to the point of reduced safety of their vehicles and possibly poor choices in terms of who they choose to drive those large trucks.

Of course, anyone who reads the newspaper or watches the evening news will note from time to time that trucking-related traffic accidents can be traced back to poorly maintained vehicle equipment or questionable employee screening. As Baltimore personal injury lawyers, I and my colleagues have seen the result of accidents that may have been caused by improperly maintained vehicles or truck drivers who may have been impaired — either through drugs or alcohol, or due to drowsiness resulting from excessive service hours and insufficient sleep.

Having seen the kind of injuries inflicted on innocent victims by events surrounding bad trucking-related traffic accidents, it is not hard to understand why the government will shut a commercial firm down after many instances of safety infractions and, possibly, fatal or near-fatal car, truck or motorcycle crashes involving a big rig, semi or large commercial box truck.

Trucker Loses Control of 18-Wheeler in Frederick County Collision; Kills Two People, Injures Three

February 26, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Whether a commercial trucking accident case involves catastrophic claims, punitive damages and/or multiple defendants, a plaintiff will usually benefit from the valuable advice and skills provided by a qualified personal injury attorney experienced in trucking-related traffic collisions. Here in the Baltimore area, it’s not difficult to hear of or read about many traffic-related accidents every week. As automobile and motorcycle injury accident lawyers, I and my staff of legal professionals know first-hand the extent to which victims of these kinds of roadway collisions suffer through their pain and rehabilitee following a bad crash.

When it comes to trucking accident litigation, we understand the stress and worry that victims and their families can experience when filing a personal injury lawsuit or wrongful death claim against a large company with extensive resources at its disposal. This fact, however, does not mean that one’s claim is irrelevant or should be swept under the rug. To the contrary, truck drivers and the companies that employ them have a responsibility to the general public. And when a mistake has been made, especially one that has resulted in serious injury or death, the responsible party must answer for it.

As many people already understand, at least intrinsically, a personal injury lawsuit involving a trucking-related traffic accident differs in many ways from that of a common automobile accident case. Whereas passenger car accidents involve more much cut-and-dried elements, cases covering injuries or fatalities resulting from a commercial truck wreck require particular expertise. This is why it is always good to seek out the best possible legal representation when you or a loved one has been hurt in a serious trucking-related collision.

Auto Injury News: Maryland Mother and Daughter Die in Out-of-State Commercial Trucking Accident

February 15, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

While we hate to sound like a broken record, we feel compelled to remind anyone reading this to be particularly cautious when driving near a large commercial vehicle. It makes little difference if you live in Baltimore, Rockville, Germantown or the District, being involved in a traffic accident with a much larger commercial motor vehicle can lead to life-threatening injuries or even death. As Maryland personal injury experts, I and my legal staff have seen too many of these large-vehicle wrecks not to advise caution when approaching any 18-wheeler, gasoline tanker truck, automobile hauler, or even a municipal or charter bus.

Injuries sustained by occupants of a passenger car or light truck accident, or a motorcyclist injured by a large truck or other massive motor vehicle can be serious and extensive. From contusions and deep lacerations to multiple fractures, internal organ damage and closed-head trauma, many of the injuries received in these kinds of collisions can lead to other complications, lengthy hospital stays and even death. Head and neck injuries have been known to eventually cause severe paralysis or even paraplegia. Considering the choice between a possible lifetime of 24-hour assisted care versus allowing a big rig semi a wide berth, we know what we our choice would be.

Many traffic accidents involving trucks result from driver fatigue. In fact, a Federal Highway Administration’s study showed that fatigue makes trucking accidents all the more possible. According to experts in the field, although most individuals require more than seven hours of sleep a day to function well, the average trucker reportedly gets less than five hours on average. This is shocking, especially considering the fact that there are regulations in place designed to preclude this kind of situation. Sadly, it apparently does not always help; at any one moment all across our country, there are conceivably hundreds of truck drivers operating their vehicles while in an overly fatigued state, if not completely impaired by lack of sleep.

Baltimore Traffic Safety Update: Fog, Heavy Rain, Blizzards Present Serious Risks to Maryland Drivers

February 8, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The next time you hit a fog bank, encounter white-out blizzard conditions or get stuck in a torrential rain storm, please remember that the prudent course of action is to slow down, turn on your emergency flashers and be prepared for any and all possible accident situations. This is not always easy, even for experienced drivers like police officers, EMS drivers and truckers, but it’s a wise idea to be prepared.

As Maryland auto accident attorneys and personal injury lawyers, we have seen the results of too many car, truck and motorcycle accidents not to take seriously any circumstances that can even remotely lead to a traffic crash or roadway collision involving cars, bikes or commercial trucks. Don’t let you or a loved one become just another line in a list of highway accident statistics and please use caution when poor weather strikes.

This advice goes as much to drivers of private vehicles as it does to professional truck drivers. In fact, in many cases, a commercial truck that loses control on a slippery stretch of roadway can cause much more serious and extensive damage to people and property that any passenger car, minivan or sport utility vehicle ever could.

Baltimore Auto Accident News: Minor Injuries Reported Following I-95 Collision in Harford County

January 31, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

When it comes to trucking-related traffic accidents, especially those involving serious bodily injury, there are some key differences between these and the more or less “normal” passenger car collisions. In fact, many people who seek assistance from a Maryland personal injury attorney will often understand this intrinsically, though they may not know the specifics of understanding their rights following such commercial trucking wrecks.

Whether one is injured in roadway accident here in the Owings Mills area, somewhere in the greater Baltimore metro area, or over in the District of Columbia, the aftermath of a bad tractor-trailer crash can be a devastating sight to see. As we alluded, from a legal standpoint, my legal team of auto, commercial truck and motorcycle injury lawyers look at trucking accidents through a much different lens than other private motor vehicle collisions.

For instance, when determining negligence based solely on the rules of the road, there is no particular difference between a commercial truck-related crash and a passenger sedan or motorcycle accident. However, when a violation has occurred in terms of the state and federal rules covering commercial vehicle — such as 18-wheelers, tanker trucks, construction vehicles, commercial service vans, and even municipal buses and touring coaches — there is a large difference.

Easton, MD, Trucking Accident; Head-on Collision between Delivery Truck and Car Kills One Person

January 24, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

It’s amazing when one considers that nearly 200 traffic accidents occur every hour around this country. As automobile, trucking and motorcycle accident lawyers, I and my colleagues are serious when we say that over-worked and over-tired trucker can cause some of the most serious, deadly and large-scale traffic accidents of any motor vehicle drivers on our roads. It’s really a matter of simple physics. With a combined vehicle weight upward of 50,000 pounds or more, the shear mass of an 18-wheeler far outstrips that of our miniscule passenger sedans, family minivans and even the largest of our sport utility vehicles.

To put it succinctly, as well-built as today’s passenger cars and SUVs they are no match against even a lightly-loaded or even an empty semi tractor-trailer rig. The steel structure surrounding a family sedan, which to you and me seems very strong and rigid, cannot very well withstand the impact from a large big rig weighing more than 10, 15 and sometimes 20 times that of the smaller passenger vehicle.

Having practiced for years as auto and trucking accident injury attorneys, the lawyers at Lebowitz & Mzhen have the skills to assist victims of serious traffic accidents recover costs associated with medical treatment, hospital stays and physical therapy. We know from our experience that trucking-related collisions are unlike other motor vehicle crashes. Understanding Maryland’s commercial vehicle law’s, as well as federal regulations governing the trucking industry is important in any case involving injury or death due to negligence on the part of a truck driver or his employer.