Maryland Trucking Accident Lawyer Blog

As personal injury and trucking accident attorneys, we at Lebowitz & Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers know how over-matched a passenger vehicle is when it comes up against a semi tractor-trailer. Over-the-road rigs weigh many times more than even the largest SUV or pickup truck, much less a small family sedan or compact sport utility vehicle. Like it or not, truck drivers hold the lives of the driving public in their hands when operating these heavy-duty vehicles on public roads. A recent trucking-related crash on the Pulaski Expressway near White Marsh, MD, proves this point.

According to news reports, Linda and Charles Buckland of Edgewood, Maryland, were traveling westbound on the Pulaski Expressway around 1:45am on the morning of Sunday, October 11, when their vehicle collided with a Kenworth tractor that was entering the highway from nearby Stevens Road.

Reportedly, the Buckland’s 2003 Chevrolet Tracker, a compact SUV, was severely damaged in the accident, which fatally injured the driver, 57-year-old Mrs. Buckland. Mr. Buckland, 62, who was riding in the passenger seat, was seriously injured in the early morning wreck, according to police.

A recent semi-truck accident near Baltimore, MD, resulted in a dangerous car fire that could have killed three members of a family whose compact car was hit by the truck on a Saturday afternoon. My firm, Lebowitz & Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers, represents victims of heavy truck crashes not unlike the one that occurred on Interstate 95 in late September. Trucking accidents involving small cars can result in serious injuries and occasionally death. Fortunately, it looks like all three occupants of the small car were rescued and survived the ordeal.

According to new accounts, fire rescue workers from Baltimore City’s fire department rushed to the scene of a truck-car crash on the southbound side of I-95 near I-396 North in the early afternoon of September 26. First responders found a small car enveloped in flames having been struck by a tractor trailer.

After suppressing much of the flames, fire department personnel worked to free three trapped family members from the wrecked and smoldering vehicle. Names were not released at the time of the incident, however police reports show that one adult male, an adult pregnant woman and male child were all caught inside the burning vehicle.

As Maryland trucking accident lawyers, we understand the seriousness of any highway traffic accident involving semi-tractor trailers. Every year, hundreds and even thousands of heavy trucks are involved in multi-vehicle accidents, usually resulting in serious injuries to the smaller cars caught up in the collision; some wrecks are fatal to the occupants of these passenger cars. This is an unfortunate fact when it comes to these big rigs.

What’s worse is that statistics show that large trucks are more likely to be involved in serious multiple-vehicle collisions than sedans, coupes or other smaller passenger cars. These statistics also indicate that time and time again injuries resulting from truck accidents can be much more serious and many times fatal. Common injuries include spinal cord damage, severe brain trauma, broken bones and other serious and permanent bodily harm.

Because heavy trucks such as Macks, Kenworths, Peterbuilts, Freightliners and other makes are important to the commerce of this country, the volume and frequency of these large vehicles on public roads will always be significant, especially during weekdays. Busy metropolitan areas get their fair share of truck traffic, both on expressways and surface streets near industrial parks.

Shannon Brown is a very lucky woman. Not because she recently received just over $1 million in a trucking accident lawsuit, but mainly because she is alive to talk about it. As a Maryland trucking accident and personal injury attorney, I have represented people like Shannon who have been injured in heavy truck and tractor-trailer crashes as a result of another person’s negligence. These types of truck-car collisions happen quite frequently in the Baltimore area and in other cities and towns across the state. Many times the outcome is quite tragic.

Trucking accidents can result at the very least in cuts and bruises. At worst passenger vehicle occupants can many times suffer compound fractures, concussions and traumatic brain injuries, and spinal damage. Fatalities are common. Occupants of passenger cars are at much higher risk of injury or death when it comes to being hit by a large over-the-road truck than by another car. Such was the case back in 2006 when Shannon and her little baby boy became victims of another driver’s carelessness.

The accident occurred on July 13, 2006, when a tanker truck ran a red light and hit Brown’s car. Although she survived the crash, the impact was so severe that her right leg was crushed. Fortunately, her tiny baby who was riding in the car was not even injured in the accident. Brown had two undergo two surgeries for her fractured leg, with doctors placing 18 screws and a plate in the leg to restore it to a usable state.