A Maryland truck driver narrowly escaped serious injury when his tanker truck struck a guardrail in an attempt to exit a freeway for a detour.
According to the Sheriff’s department, the accident occurred at an exit where a detour is currently in place for the beginning of a construction zone on the interstate. The driver reportedly failed to make the turn at the end of the off ramp properly, which resulted in his truck striking the guardrail. Fortunately, the driver was not injured.
A Sheriff’s office spokesperson stated that the guardrail did its job, so to speak, by stopping the truck from going over the steep embankment.
While the tanker, which was filled with vegetable oil, was not damaged, the tractor sustained significant front end damage, which reportedly included a ruptured diesel fuel tank.
The accident remains under investigation. It remains unclear whether the driver was at fault for failing to make the turn adequately, or rather perhaps there was insufficient room for his truck to pass through the detour area properly.
In Maryland, commercial drivers are held to specific standards, and it is imperative in a trucking accident case that the attorney handling your claim is well versed in Maryland’s commercial vehicle law. A mere violation of those rules could potentially be enough to hold a driver liable should an accident occur.
Additionally, when it comes to collecting evidence in trucking accidents, there are several potential sources of evidence that can be extraordinarily helpful to your claim. For example, many tractor-trailers and semi-trucks contain “black boxes,” or computers that record specific measurements while the truck is moving, similar to the black boxes that are found on some airplanes. The information contained in these boxes can be extremely helpful during the course of a trucking accident lawsuit.
Additionally, in some cases tractor-trailers and similar vehicles may be equipped with onboard camera systems, which can potentially record the fifteen or thirty seconds before and after the collision. These recordings may often showing what happened in front of the tractor and also what the driver was doing before or during the incident.
It is critical that attorneys fight to have this footage preserved as evidence immediately in order to prevent its destruction or disappearance.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a trucking accident that occurred in the Maryland or Washington D.C. areas, contact the preeminent trucking accident attorneys at Lebowitz & Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers today. We are a full service personal injury law firm with an extensive track record of success in handling truck and trucking accident cases. Our attorneys are dedicated to representing victims of trucking accidents, and we will fight to recover the damages you deserve. Contact us today in order to schedule your free initial consultation. You can reach us through our website, or by calling 1-800-654-1949.
More Blog Posts:
Baltimore Box Truck Driver Killed in I-95 Accident, Maryland Trucking Accident Lawyer Blog, published July 29, 2013
Tractor-Trailer Collision Pushes Car Off of Chesapeake Bay Bridge, Maryland Trucking Accident Lawyer Blog, published July 22, 2013