Maryland Trucking Accident Lawyer Blog

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.

Maryland State Patrol Officer Survives Close Call with Commercial Motor Vehicle on Interstate 70

January 16, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The unfortunate and mostly unavoidable side-effect of modern day motoring is that large and small vehicle alike end up sharing Maryland’s high-speed and congested thoroughfares. Regardless if one lives or works in Germantown, Glenn Burnie, Waldorf or the District, the potential for an accident involving a commercial delivery truck, semi tractor-trailer, or even a commercial repair van is ever-present across our state.

As Maryland personal injury lawyers, we serve the victims of car, truck and motorcycle accidents who have been sent to the hospital with serious to life-threatening injuries all because of another individual’s error in judgment or simple careless actions. Thousands of innocent people are hurt or killed annually by negligent driving attributed to operators of 18-wheelers, flatbed tractor-trailers, commercial box trucks and gasoline or chemical tankers. We understand how a simple drive to the mall or a trip to the supermarket can end in weeks or months of medical treatment, physical pain and difficult rehabilitation.

Many auto accidents in here in Maryland typically happen on some of the more frequented byways, such as Interstate 695 (also known as the Baltimore Beltway), the Baltimore-Washington Pkwy (I-295), Interstate 95, and I-495/Washington Beltway. Simply bad driving, possibly overworked truckers, and illegally loaded and oversized trailers are just a few of the dangers that can confront Maryland drivers on a daily basis.

Minor Injuries After Two School Buses Tangle with Semi Tractor-Trailer Rig on Highway

January 8, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

At any one time, children represent both a precious commodity as well as one of the most vulnerable assets any family has. As many parents will attest, having kids is a joy like no other, but the worry and concern, not to mention the responsibility, that comes with parenthood can be unnerving to some, if not all mothers and fathers. In the home, we can watch over youngsters, though even the safest household can be fraught with hidden dangers. But when children start to play with friend outside, or begin their school careers, parents must relinquish much of the control they once had to others in whom they must place all of their trust.

For kids who ride on school buses, they can face possible injury should there be a mistake on the part of any number of motorists, truck drivers or operators of large commercial vehicles. We won’t even go into the potential for disaster should a safety-related vehicle component fail while a bus is traveling at highway speeds. The point here, at least from our standpoint as Baltimore personal injury attorneys, is that a bus accident can affect not just one person, but many; not just one child but children of multiple families.

Large commercial vehicles, such as buses, many times are very tall, overall. While this allows the occupants to conveniently move around inside the vehicle, it also results in a much higher center of gravity; sometimes dangerously so. Unlike passenger cars and even sport utility vehicles, which themselves can be prone to rollover-type crashes given the right circumstances, school buses and commercial tour buses, as well as municipal commuter buses, can be hard to control under emergency situations.

Two Successive 18-Wheeler Wrecks on the Capitol Beltway; No Injuries, But Long Tied Ups

December 31, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

We’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: anyone who is injured in a traffic accident caused by the negligence of another driver or other responsible party owes it to themselves and their family to consider speaking to a qualified Maryland personal injury attorney. Especially in cases where expensive medical care and costly rehabilitation is or will be required, there is no reason for the victim of traffic accident to bear the brunt of the costs from a crash caused by another individual.

At Lebowitz & Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers, we understand how easily a family can be sent into a devastating spiral of financial debt and emotional pain when a loved one — especially a breadwinner, such as a single mother or father — is injured or killed in a senseless traffic collision. Over the years, our legal staff has assisted numerous victims and their families affected by bad injury accidents or fatal roadway crashes resulting from the negligent actions of a truck driver, bus operator or cabby. These commercial vehicle-related auto-truck collisions have the potential to interrupt or destroy the lives of victims because of both the physical and emotional injuries that can result.

Whether the financial problems come due to emergency room bills, hospital costs, rehabilitation expenses, or lost wages, victims and their families have the right to pursue the responsible party and recover those costs incurred through no fault of their own. And those responsible do not have to be the trucker himself; many times responsibility in whole or in part can be attributed to the owners of the commercial trucking fleet that employed the driver and supplied the vehicle for him or her to operate.

Maryland Man and Two passengers Hurt in Crash with Semi Tractor-Trailer Rig on I-79

December 22, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Unlike traffic accidents involving passenger cars, collisions between a cars and pedestrians, and motorcycle-related roadway crashes, trucking accidents can be and many times are serious events affecting multiple vehicles and numerous individuals. Here in the Baltimore area, as well as throughout Maryland and in the Washington, D.C., area, commercial truck drivers are held to higher standards than the average motorist.

As a Maryland personal injury law firm, our attorneys know the law as it applies to traffic accidents caused by drivers of commercial vehicles. With specific standards required of truckers and the companied for which they work, any personal injury lawyer who handles cases involving these kinds of large-vehicle crashes must fully understand both state and federal regulations covering commercial vehicles. Any truck driver or commercial trucking company that is found to be in violation of Maryland’s commercial vehicle laws, could possibly be held responsible if any one or a number of those rules has been violated while the vehicle in question is out on the road.

It’s quite true that trucking accidents are an unfortunate reality in our modern world; these is really no avoiding these vehicles as passenger car drivers and other motorists must inevitably share the road with extremely large and massive vehicles. It’s no surprise, then, that thousands of innocent victims killed, injured or maimed in accident involving collisions with semi tractor-trailer rigs and other large commercial motor vehicles.

Three Maryland Residents Killed After Car Hits Tractor-Trailer along Rte 1 in Howard County

December 16, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Every Maryland driver must understand that the potential for being involved in traffic accident with a large commercial motor vehicle is a sad, yet inevitable side-effect of sharing the roadways with these large vehicles, in only because modern, large-scale commerce would be virtually impossible without the use of 18-wheelers, fuel tanker trucks, commercial delivery trucks and large construction vehicles. Of course, it doesn’t excuse those truckers from causing a crash, especially if they are found to have operated their vehicle in a negligent manner.

As Baltimore personal injury attorneys, I and my staff of legal professionals understand that after any accident — regardless of whether it is between two passenger cars, an SUV and a pedestrian on foot, a single motorcycle that crashes due to poor roadway maintenance, or a minivan hit by a large 18-wheeler — it is important to assess the situation and determine which party or parties was at fault. This is especially critical in cases where the victims has sustained serious and life-altering injuries, such as spinal cord damage, closed-head trauma or amputated limbs.

As any driver in the Baltimore, Gaithersburg or Washington, D.C., area has likely seen, the aftermath of a commercial trucking accident can be extensive and devastating. Traffic accidents involving these behemoths can turn a standard passenger car into a crumpled, nearly unrecognizable pile of metal and plastic. And no surprise; these large trucks can weigh upward of 80,000 pounds. Compare that to even a good-sized sport utility vehicle at 4,000 pounds; there is no comparison and little defense when such a large and massive commercial vehicle slams into a light-weight passenger vehicle.

Baltimore Bus Crash Injures Members of Girl’s Soccer Team, Two Drivers and a Pedestrian

December 5, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As Maryland personal injury lawyers, I and my colleagues recognize that not everyone can avoid exposing themselves to the many and varied dangers out there on our public roads and highways. This is why we always warn friends and associates to be all the more cautious when driving in dense traffic or taking public transportation.

Naturally, as a motorist, one has more control over any given driving situation than a person who is riding as an occupant of a commuter train, municipal shuttle or school bus. And although passenger car occupants are in a smaller vehicle, they also have the advantage of seatbelts and airbags to protect them in a crash; the same cannot be said for most bus riders. We won’t go into the dangers associated with motorcycle accidents here, but even with a helmet on bikers have less protection overall than commuters on a city bus or a driver in a small economy car.

This latter category is particularly concerning, since children are very precious to their parents and relatives, yet as they get older and begin going to school, they are more and more out of their parents’ control. This is why we believe that the potential for school bus accidents, whether during normal school hours or on extended field trips and traveling to sporting events, can weigh particularly heavy on parents and guardians.

Maryland Injury Accident News: Glen Burnie Woman Killed in Highway Collision with 18-Wheeler Semi

November 30, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Anytime a life is lost it is a true tragedy, but in cases of traffic accidents one must consider that most circumstances likely could have been prevented. Sadly, tens of thousands of innocent people lose their lives in fatal car, truck and motorcycle collisions every year in this country. As Baltimore personal injury lawyers, we more than most understand the pain, anger and resentment felt by the victims’ families at the time of their greatest loss. Nothing can bring back a loved one who has been killed in a senseless roadway accident; and no amount of compensation can make it alright.

Families who have seen a parent, child, sibling or grandparent taken from them by the negligent action of another driver have recourse. Certainly, if the victim was not killed outright, but suffered from his or her injuries, the family is fully within their rights to file a lawsuit to recover medical costs, as well as punitive damages from the responsible party or parties. When a commercial trucker is found to be negligent, both the driver and his employer may be subject to a wrongful death lawsuit as well.

We all can understand that trucking-related accidents, whether they occur here in the Baltimore area, in Annapolis, out in Washington, D.C., or over in Rockville, are something that none of us can stop from happening. Laws are put in place to help protect the motoring public, but laws can only go so far. Physics and fate are sadly the more influential forces in the real world. Short of banning all vehicular traffic everywhere, there is no way that every automobile or commercial trucking accident can be prevented, at least from a practical standpoint.

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.