Articles Posted in Fatal Trucking Accidents

Anyone who has survived in a serious car, truck or motorcycle accident knows too well the pain and discomfort resulting from a traffic collision. Here in Baltimore County and surrounding areas, such as Wicomico, Charles and Washington, D.C., automobile and trucking-related wrecks have become an unfortunate part of our mobile lifestyle. Whether one is a daily commuter, a parent shuttling kids to and from school, or a business person calling on customers around the state, the danger of a severe or fatal car crash is ever-present.

As Maryland trucking accident attorneys and personal injury lawyers, I and my legal staff are trained to represent the victims of traffic accidents, as well as families who may have lost a loved one in a fatal car or truck wreck. As drivers ourselves, one thing we all know is that there is little alternative to the freedom that a passenger car, truck or minivan provides individuals and families.

Since road accidents happen with alarming frequency in this state, it is quite possible that someone you know has already been involved in a crash, or will be sometime during their life. For most people, a fatal truck, car or motorcycle collision is unlikely, but an injury accident is a distinct possibility given the law of averages. Sadly, when a crash does take the life of another driver, it is sometimes difficult to assess blame.

In some cases, police may cite the other driver for a basic traffic violation, which the victim’s family may believe was due to carelessness or extreme negligence. It has been noted on numerous occasions that some drivers who cause a fatal accident are not required to appear in court as a result of his or her error in judgment, even though another individual may be dead as a result. Many times, the law allows these motorists to simply pay the fine by mail and never once step into a courtroom to answer for their mistake.

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When a child dies there are no words of consolation for the victim’s family. And so it goes without saying that when a baby — a young infant — passes away as a result of a traffic collision, the sadness and grief felt by all concerned is sometimes too much to bear. As Maryland personal injury lawyers, representing the parents of a minor child killed as a result of another person’s negligence is both humbling and heartrending.

Any accident that causes a death, by its very nature, is a tragedy; but automobile wrecks that take lives and injure people are especially deadly and many times preventable. The fact that car, truck and motorcycle collisions can typically be prevented, or the effects lessened, makes any serious injury or fatality that much more distressing to everyone involved.

Children, of all people, are the most innocent among us. To most any reasonable individual, it is a sad and tragic event when a young child is critically injured or killed in a passenger car or commercial trucking accident. For the parents, siblings and other relative, losing a young family member is horrible beyond words.

And, while no amount of money or compensation can bring back that young life or relieve the personal torment and anguish, parents and/or guardians who have lost a child to the negligent actions of another individual have a right to recover damages for the loss of that child. This includes the loss of their child’s affection or love.

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There’s no arguing against the laws of physics when it comes to serious traffic accidents. Here in Maryland, passenger car occupants as well as motorcyclists are killed on an uncomfortably frequent basis when caught in a collision with semi tractor-trailer rigs. It’s a known fact that smaller, less substantial motor vehicles — such as sedans, economy car, and minivans and SUVs — are no match for those larger and more massive commercial vehicles.

As Baltimore auto accident lawyers and personal injury attorneys, I and my staff understand the physical pain and financial burden that a serious trucking accident can bring upon an auto accident victim and his family. Not only do the injuries from a car-truck collision sometimes take months to heal, if ever, but the cost of medial treatment and rehabilitation can run into the tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.

From just this fact, it is always advisable to avoid 18-wheelers as much as possible when traveling on Maryland’s roadways. Although there is really no way to predict when an accident may occur, tangling with a big rig or commercial delivery truck can sometimes cause serious injuries. The shear mass of these large trucks also raises the possibility of fatalities depending, of course, on the circumstances. But why take the chance?

As Maryland automobile accident lawyers and personal injury attorneys, we speak from experience when we say that traffic accidents involving passenger cars and commercial trucks hardly ever end in favor of the smaller vehicle. With a gross weight on the order of 20 tons or more, a fully loaded semi tractor-trailer rig has as much mass as nearly 10 sport utility vehicles (SUVs), which makes any kind of highway accident a deadly proposition for the average motorist in a family car.

Furthermore, if a passenger car hasn’t much chance, then one can only imagine what the odds are for an economy car or motorcycle that tangles with a 18-wheeler on the expressway or undivided rural road. Needless to say, every passenger car and light truck driver should pay extremely careful attention whenever passing a tractor-trailer rig or other commercial truck. The watchword here is caution.

Even though we try to be careful, accidents continue to happen. A case in point is a crash that happened not long ago when a minivan crossed over the centerline and struck a tanker truck driven by a Baltimore truck driver. The crash happened just after 11am on a Tuesday morning and resulted in the death of the driver of the Chrysler Town and Country, 50-year-old Richard Baker.