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.
One significant difference between a typical automobile injury accident lawsuit and one involving a commercial 18-wheeler big rig is the number of potential defendants. Because of the size and scope of a typical commercial trucking business, it is not uncommon for a half-dozen or so corporate entities and/or individual parties to be named in a claim. This is due to the wide range of participation in these businesses, which can include ownership; vehicle maintenance; loading/unloading; and actual driving of the semi tractor-trailer itself. It’s not unusual for one or more of these potentially responsible parties to be held responsible for some portion of the accident that injured or took the life of an innocent victim.
With the millions of dollars hanging in the balance, when it comes to catastrophic injury claims an experienced trucking accident lawyer must study all of the facts and consider every aspect of incident so as to document in detail the damages claimed against the defendant(s). Because of their many times high financial exposure, many trucking companies have the best representation they can afford to fight any claim that follows a serious injury accident or fatal commercial trucking wreck.
And these kinds of serious injury-related crashes take place more often than many people would like to believe. Case in point, consider the collision that happened late last year not far from New Market in Frederick County, MD. Based on news accounts, two people were killed and three others were sent to the hospital when a big rig 18-wheeler apparently went out of control as it was travelling through a curve in the road and flipped over onto a pickup truck heading in the opposite direction. The wreck occurred around 2pm on a Monday afternoon along a portion of Rte 75 a little south of Adventure Park, U.S.A. Police investigators believe that the trucker lost control of his semi tractor-trailer just before it landed on top of the utility pickup truck.
Maryland State Police reported that two of the three people who were inside the smaller vehicle died at the scene as a result of the impact; a third passenger who was also inside apparently survived and was flown by medevac chopper to shock trauma with serious injuries. The driver of the semi was also flown to shock trauma, while a passenger in the big rig was transported via ambulance to Fredrick Memorial Hospital.
There was no mention of the cause of the accident, so it is not known if driver error may have been the cause or if a faulty mechanical component may have contributed to the crash.
Two Killed, Three Badly Hurt in Accident Near Amusement Park; Your4State.com, November 12, 2012