Truck Accidents

Maryland Trucking Accident News: Big Rig Passenger Injured by Another 18-Wheeler’s Lost Load on I-70

August 10, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

When it comes to traffic accidents, a passenger car and its occupants are no match for a semi tractor-trailer that crashes into it. But even the driver or passenger of an 18-wheeler may be at risk on the highway when another commercial truck, such as a Kenworth, Peterbilt or Freightliner, gets into trouble on the road.

As a Maryland trucking accident attorney and personal injury lawyer, I know from professional experience the types of property damage and bodily injuries that can result from big rigs crashes. And the danger is posed not only by the truck itself but the trailer and its typically heavy load. When a semi trailer losses its load on the highway, a serious accident can be just split seconds away.

An example of what can happen when a commercial over-the-road hauler dumps its load onto the roadway occurred not long ago along a stretch of Interstate 70 near Maryland’s Rte 66. According to news accounts, the wife of an out-of-state truck driver riding in her husband’s rig was seriously hurt when steel beams from another truck smashed into the couple’s tractor-trailer on a Wednesday morning. It’s amazing that someone wasn’t killed as a result of the aaccident.

The woman, 45-year-old Evonne J. Whalen, was reportedly riding in the passenger seat of her husband’s Freightliner when a couple structural beams fell into the eastbound lanes of the interstate. Those two huge pieces of steel weighing thousands of pounds apparently crashed into the passenger side of Whalen’s Freightliner, seriously injuring the woman’s legs and effectively pinning her inside the cab.

Emergency responders arriving on the scene required almost 45 minutes to extricate the woman from the damaged vehicle. According to Maryland State Police, the operator of the boom truck was attempting to lift the support beams from the trailer bed when he somehow lost control of the load causing the large pieces of steel to spin into the travel lanes of the interstate. There was no mention of where the boom mechanism or some other equipment was defective or failed to operate correctly.

Baltimore Trucking Accident News: 18-Wheeled Trash Hauler Overturns on Maryland’s I-95 near Columbia, MD

July 23, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Highway traffic accidents involving semi-tractor trailers and other large commercial trucks happen hundreds of times a year. Some of those crashes result in injuries to one or more people. Still others can cause death or permanent injury to occupants in smaller, less massive motor vehicles such as minivan, sedans, economy cars and motorcycles.

Statistics also indicate that larger vehicles, such as tractor-trailer rigs, are more likely to be involved in serious multiple-vehicle collisions than passenger cars. This data also tells us that 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.

As Maryland trucking accident attorneys, I and my staff know that any multi-vehicle accident can be fatal, with some causing mostly minor, yet significant injuries. Although people can physically recover from such minor wrecks, even those associated medical costs can become a burden to a family already strapped for cash.

Maryland Trucking Accident News: Moving Van Causes Several Traffic Accidents

July 7, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Large motor vehicles such as semi tractor-trailers, dump trucks and tankers can inflict serious personal injury and property damage when operated irresponsibly. As a Maryland trucking accident attorney, I understand the shear power of these vehicles and the potential for injury or death during a traffic accident.

While most drivers of commercial vehicles use caution when operating these large and massive machines, any mistake can be an opportunity for disaster. Smaller vehicles, such as passenger cars, minivans and motorcycles are at greatest risk when a big rig 18-wheeler goes out of control on a highway or city street. The results of a collision with a heavy truck can range from broken bones and lacerations to full-on paralysis and even death.

Not long ago a man who was driving a moving van was taken into custody by Prince George’s County police following a chase that resulted in a number of traffic accidents along the way. The majority of the incident took place along the Baltimore-Washington Parkway on a Monday afternoon.

Truckers’ Negligent Driving Can Cause Injuries and Occasional Death on Maryland’s Highways and City Streets

May 31, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Commercial trucks and semi tractor-trailer, such as Freightliners and Peterbuilts pose a significant threat on our highways and byways. As Maryland trucking accident attorneys and injury lawyers, our firm understands the seriousness of a traffic accident caused by negligent operation of over-the-road haulers, or big rigs. Motorists and passengers riding in relatively small passenger cars and minivans have a slim chance of escaping injury when hit by one of these heavy trucks.

Even in busy downtown areas, truck accidents can happen with little or no warning. Motorcycle riders and bicyclists, pedestrians and other commuters can all be injured or killed by a poorly driven delivery vehicle or other commercial motor carrier. The amount of local commerce can be an indicator of the potential frequency of trucking accidents in a particular area.

In Baltimore and other busy metropolitan centers, motorists must use extreme caution in and around industrial areas where truck traffic is usually the highest. These huge vehicles and their trailers can weigh a total of 80,000 pounds, the rough equivalent of 30 economy cars. Even large sport utility vehicles (SUVs) or light-duty pickup trucks are no match for a fully-laden tractor-trailer rig. In a crash, a fully-loaded semi can literally accordion a smaller passenger vehicle, injuring or killing the occupants.

Being a Maryland injury attorney, I have seen the aftermath of these kids of heavy truck-passenger car accidents. I know how every year hundreds of individuals are cars caught up in traffic accidents involving big rigs — some wrecks are fatal to the occupants of these passenger cars. This is one of the sad and sobering facts of trucking accidents.

Statistics show that injuries resulting from truck accidents can be much more serious than car-to-car crashes. Common injuries include spinal cord damage, brain trauma, broken bones and other serious and permanent bodily harm.

One last unfortunate fact that comes up time and time again; many trucking-related accidents can be avoided. While many trucking companies take the time and effort to ensure that their trucks and drivers are safe, still others do not. An overloaded trailer is one of the most frequent causes of truck wrecks.

Maryland Accident Update: Injured Parties can Use Trucker’s Traffic Citation as Evidence in Injury Suits

May 7, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As a vehicle driver or passenger car occupant hurt or injured as a result of a truck driver’s negligence, you have the right to present the police-issued traffic citation as evidence in a personal injury or wrongful death suit against a big rig operator or trucking company. Being involved in a crash with an 18-wheeler can have serious medical implications and can cause life-changing results to a victim and his or her family.

As Maryland trucking accident lawyers, we know from first-hand experience how a multi-vehicle accident involving semi tractor-trailers can affect individuals months and even years following a crash. Whether someone is involved in a collision with a delivery truck, tanker trailer rig and over-the-road commercial hauler, the results can be financially crushing and medically devastating to say the least.

Injuries from such accidents can range from typically serious injuries, such as head and neck trauma, to lesser bodily harm like cuts, bruises and contusions. The smaller the victim’s vehicle the more chance there is for serious injury or death.

When it comes to bringing a suit, the injured party can use the truck driver’s traffic citation as part of his or her evidence that the truck driver was considered by the police to be negligent. As any person who has received a speeding ticket in this state knows, our traffic laws govern all Maryland drivers. What is important to understand, however, is that truck drivers are also governed by other federal as well as state regulations. If a commercial truck driver violates any of these laws and causes a car accident, the injured party may use that violation as evidence of the truck driver’s negligence.

Since heavy trucks including Mack, Volvo, Freightliners to name a few are used to maintain the commerce of our state and country, the number of these large trucks found on public roads will always be significant, especially during the work week. Busy metropolitan areas see a significant number of truck traffic, both expressway and surface street truck volume, and especially in areas populated by industrial parks and manufacturing centers.

Drivers of small family vehicles, such as minivans and passenger cars, must continually deal with the presence of these larger vehicles on a daily basis. In fact, a fully-loaded semi can weight as much a 80,000 pounds — close to 20 times the weight of an average car or SUV. In a crash, a fully-loaded semi can literally crush the smaller vehicle with little effort.

Maryland Trucking Accident News: Semi Driver Could Face Charges after Baltimore County Commuter Train Collision

April 30, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In Maryland highway collisions as well as automobile accidents on Annapolis, D.C., Columbia and other cities’ streets, occupants of a passenger car can be severely injured when hit by a large commercial delivery truck or over-the-road tractor-trailer rig. But even these large trucking company vehicles can be damaged and the drivers hurt, if not killed, if they are hit by a train.

Depending on the circumstances commuter train riders and railroad employees can also be hurt if the engine hits a large truck sitting on a railroad crossing. Personal injury attorneys in Baltimore and elsewhere can receive numerous inquiries following severe train-truck wrecks. The speed of the train and the size of the commercial vehicle usually determine how many passengers might sustain serious injuries as a result.

A few weeks ago, a truck driver operating a Volvo-powered 18-wheel rig crossed paths with a light rail passenger train. According to news reports at the time, investigators were checking into the collision in Cockeysville, MD, and were expected to lodge charges against the truck driver.

Baltimore Trucking Accident News: Tractor-trailer Crash Kills Husband; Critically Injures Wife in Harford, Maryland

April 7, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Trucking accidents are some of the most deadly for occupants of passenger cars, light trucks and motorcycles. From thrown tire treads to loose trailers and out-of-control semi-tractors on severe grades, a motorist who is in the wrong place at the wrong time could be seriously hurt or even killed as a result.

As a Maryland trucking accident lawyer and personal injury attorney, I am dedicated to assisting victims and their families recover damages following a devastating tractor-trailer collision. Big rigs, also known as 18-wheelers, can haul in excess of 30 tons of cargo. With that much weight traveling at highway speeds, a serious disaster is just one wrong move away.

Not long ago, the Maryland State Police reported a fatal tractor-trailer crash that took the life of a Washington man and seriously injured his wife. According to news articles, the collision occurred on Interstate 95 crash in Harford County, MD, when a semi hit the couple as they stood by the side of the road.

Maryland’s Commercial Truck Drivers have a Responsibility to Keep Their Rigs in Control; Avoid Trucking Accidents

March 30, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

After a rough winter such as Maryland and the East Coast has recently experienced it is easy to say that weather is unpredictable and that drivers can be caught off guard with little recourse to prevent an accident. While trucking accidents can and do happen every week on the highways and surface streets in and near cities such as Annapolis, Frederick, Rockville and D.C. the weather is just one factor.

As Maryland trucking accident attorneys, my office understands how severe a tractor-trailer, delivery truck or commercial carrier accident can be. Many times, persons injured as a result of a truck driver’s negligence must pursue legal means to recover damages, such as medical costs, lost wages and other accident-related expenses. Of course, fatal auto accidents are the worst-case scenario for a truck-related wreck, which unfortunately no amount of compensation can make up for the tragic loss of life.

A recent editorial in the Baltimore Sun brought up the point that truck drivers should be held responsible for situations involving tractor-trailer jack-knifing. While there are many who would argue that weather conditions themselves make a jack-knife accident less avoidable, it is not unreasonable to expect that all drivers are responsible for operating their vehicles within its physical limits based on weather and road surface conditions, such as snow and ice.

Maryland Tractor-trailer Truck Accident Causes Spin-out Crash; Injuries to Car’s Occupants

March 23, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Two individuals were injured by a semi driver during a highway accident near Hagerstown, MD, along southbound Interstate 81. According to news reports, the passengers of a 1992 Dodge Dynasty were taken to Washington County Hospital on the afternoon of February 13 following a harrowing car-truck wreck in Washington County.

As a Baltimore trucking accident lawyer, I and my colleagues are quite familiar with the factors that lead to tractor-trailer accidents involving sedans, minivan and sport utility vehicles. These types of accidents can frequently result in severe injuries, such as head, neck and back trauma, and can occasionally be fatal. In this instance, the two-vehicle crash on the southbound lanes of I-81 sent two occupants of the smaller passenger car to a nearby hospital, according to Maryland State Police in Hagerstown.

Based on news reports, the crash occurred around 1:30pm on a Saturday afternoon. The driver and passenger in the Dodge were heading south along I-81, just north of Md. 68, when a 2009 Peterbilt tractor-trailer made an unsafe lane change, police reports show. The semi trailer hit the Dynasty’s driver’s side, which then caused the car to spin out of control, strike the median and overturn.

Baltimore Trucking Accident News: Maryland Fuel Tanker Overturns, Catches Fire near I-270

February 6, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A trucking-related wreck can be a frightening event, especially for the occupants of smaller vehicles caught up in the crash. A semi tractor-trailer hauling heavy cargo can do significant damage to smaller and lighter passenger vehicles. Even sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks are no match against a fully-loaded big rig.

As a Maryland injury lawyer and trucking accident attorney, I know that the size of these vehicles and the cargo they carry can cause serious harm to the drivers and passengers of multiple vehicles. One of the most dangerous types of truck-related crashes involve tankers carrying flammable liquids such as heating oil, diesel fuel, kerosene or gasoline.

A tanker crash can release thousands of gallons of combustible liquids, which can engulf and burn out of control for hours. Any motorist caught up in a tanker truck crash must have luck on his side to make it through. This kind of traffic accident occurred not long ago on Montross Road above Interstate 270 in Montgomery County, MD.