Maryland Trucking Accident Lawyer Blog

Truck Believed to be Cause of Washington Bridge Collapse

May 29, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Authorities released a statement last Friday, stating that they now believe that a bridge that collapsed suddenly last week in Washington State was most likely caused by a truck carrying an oversized load that crashed into at least one girder.

The crash caused two vehicles to plummet into the freezing river below, along with some concrete and steel. Thankfully, the three people traveling in the vehicles were rescued, and no one was killed.

The accident raised concerns about the potential safety concerns of the bridge, which was built in 1955, and reignited a discussion in Washington D.C. amongst lawmakers, regarding the need for a greater investment in our country’s aging infrastructure. Washington state officials stated that, based upon preliminary indications regarding the bridge, including two inspections within the past year, it was structurally sound. The truck striking the support beams with some speed is believed to be solely responsible for its collapse.

Maryland State Authorities Respond to Hazardous Truck Crash on Route 113

May 24, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A single vehicle accident closed Route 113 near Berlin earlier this week, when a truck pulling a trailer crashed and dumped 80 gallons of hydrochloric acid on the roadway.

According to reports, Maryland State Police officers responded to a single vehicle accident on Route 113 at Dee Park Drive near Berlin, shortly after 9 a.m. Tuesday morning. They discovered that a 2007 truck pulling a trailer had driven off of the left side of the road, struck a guardrail, and came to rest near the center median.

The truck’s trailer contained approximately 80 gallons of hydrochloric acid, which was punctured during the accident. As a result, relevant fire and state and local hazardous waste management agencies responded to the scene. Additionally, the Maryland State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division conducted a thorough inspection of the truck and trailer, in order to investigate the potential cause of the accident.

The driver of the truck, who was later charged with negligent driving, was transported via ambulance to a local hospital for treatment of unreported injuries. His passenger was unharmed.

Elderly Maryland Woman Driving Wrong Way on Route 50 Crashes Head on into Tractor-Trailer Truck

May 7, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Maryland State Police are reporting that a 77 year old woman may face traffic violations after driving the wrong way and crashing head on into a tractor trailer hauling fertilizer earlier this month.

Police said the woman was driving her Jeep Cherokee westbound in the eastbound lane on Route 50 when she collided into the tractor trailer. Her car spun out across all three lanes, hitting a Hummer and a Dodge Durango. The tractor trailer went into the median and hit a pickup truck.

The driver and two other individuals were flown to Shock Trauma. The driver of the tractor trailer was not injured.

While in this case a large truck was involved in the accident, based upon the facts as reported, it appears that the blame was on the driver of the jeep.

Trucking accidents are not like accidents involving other types of vehicles. In Maryland, commercial drivers are held to specific standards under Maryland’s commercial vehicle law. A violation of those rules may be enough to hold a driver liable if they end up involved in a collision due to their potential error.

Traffic Accident Investigation Suggests Commercial Bus Driver was at Fault in Fatal Charter Bus Crash

April 23, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

School bus and charter bus accidents happen with greater frequency than most people may suspect. Here in Maryland and across the United States, the tragic results of fatal traffic collisions involving buses can many times be magnified due to the ability of these large commercial vehicles to carry a great number of passengers. Furthermore, the opportunity for a highway or in-town bus accident is increased due to the fact that these large vehicles can be difficult to control under some kinds of adverse driving and weather conditions.

As Maryland personal injury lawyers, I and my colleagues are trained to help victims of car, truck and motorcycle wrecks recover damages resulting from injuries sustained in a traffic accident caused by another driver. When it comes to injuries or death resulting from a traffic-related accidents, the victim or his family should seriously consider retaining the services of a qualified car accident attorney, if only to understand their legal rights following such tragic mishaps.

Because most bus designs entail a high center of gravity, the dynamic stability of these huge commercial vehicles is nothing like that of a standard passenger sedan or sports model. With a rather tall overall height, charter buses in particular have a remarkably high center of gravity; when combined with their greater mass, these large vehicles can pose a real challenge to control in an emergency, even for the most experienced and professionally-trained drivers.

Two Maryland Residents Die in Car-Truck Crash along Interstate 95 in Harford County, MD

April 9, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The unexpected is always around the corner, especially on high-speed freeways and interstates. Here in Maryland, dense traffic and a tense rush hour driving environment can sometimes make an already dangerous situation all the more tenuous for the average driver. Even when the crush of traffic has subsided, some risks remain, while others come to the fore. No matter what the condition, driver aggression can also become a threat to everyone on the roadway.

As Baltimore personal injury attorneys and drivers ourselves, we know how a “normal” driving situation can turn deadly with just one wrong move. Operating a motor vehicle in the Baltimore area, over in the District or in one of any number of densely populated urban areas can lead to some unexpected traffic situations, some of which can result in a serious injury accident or a fatal car, truck or motorcycle crash.

Surely many of you already know of the potential danger posed to the occupants of a passenger car when a commercial delivery truck crashes into the smaller vehicle, but roadway collisions between cars themselves can be just as deadly as those involving tractor-trailers and other large commercial vehicles. Still a commercial trucking accident can precipitate some serious injuries in its wake.

Injury Accident News: Maryland Trucker Charged with Drunken Driving after Near-Accident on I-70

March 31, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

One of the most common causes of commercial trucking accidents in the U.S. is driver fatigue usually brought on by lack of sleep and excessive hours behind the wheel. Although federal regulations limit the number of on-the-road hours that a commercial truck driver can work behind the wheel, it is no secret that many truckers bend or break these rules on a fairly frequent basis. Spurred by on-time or early delivery bonuses, as well as the occasional unspoken negative incentive, some truckers may feel they have to exceed the federally mandated Hours-of-Service rules in order to make a living.

Unfortunately, in making a living in this way, sometimes these commercial driver get into traffic accidents, which may or may not involve fatalities; and many times trucking-related wrecks caused by driver fatigue produce injuries, not just to the driver himself, but to innocent victims who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Other causes of tractor-trailer accidents can include distraction from any number of sources, such as cellphones, smartphones, in-cab navigation devices, audio systems, or any other electronic device that takes the truckers attention away from the task at hand. Speeding and faulty vehicle maintenance can also be common areas that a personal injury attorney might need to consider when formulating a case against a negligent truck driver or commercial trucking company.

Maryland Motorist Changing Tire on Interstate 695 Killed on Roadside by Passing 18-Wheeler

March 24, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As passenger car drivers and motorcycle riders, most people traveling Maryland’s highways and surface streets know how often they encounter a commercial motor vehicle on the same stretch of roadway. For most of us, the reality of having to share the road with a large and potentially dangerous 18-wheeler, big rig semi, or tractor-trailer rig is just something that we learn to accept. Until, at least, a person is involved in a traffic collision with one of these deadly machines.

As Baltimore auto accident attorneys, I and my colleagues have seen the results of multi-vehicle highway and interstate wrecks caused by a negligent trucker. The carnage wrought by these huge vehicles and very heavy trailers can be extensive, causing severe injuries to the occupants of one or more passenger vehicles in the process. As anyone who follows the news understands, roadway collisions involving large box trucks and big semi tractor-trailers can also result in multiple fatalities given the right circumstances.

Being in the wrong place at the wrong time is not something anyone, who themselves has tangled with a commercial motor carrier, would likely wish upon another individual. Not only the potential physical injuries and long-term medical complications, but also the financial and emotional toll, are something that victims of trucking-related traffic accidents suffer from most. While nobody would want to be involved in a car or motorcycle accident, being caught up in a commercial truck wreck is another experience best left to the movies or television dramas.

Two Tractor-Trailers Overturn in Separate Maryland Trucking Accidents; No Serious Injuries Reported

March 16, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

It’s hard to imagine something as large and apparently stable as an 18-wheeled tractor-trailer flipping on its side, but events like this actually happen more often that one might think. And when one of these large commercial vehicles crashes and turns over, you had better not be near it when it does. To be caught in that kind of roadway collision is only to invite potential injury or possible death.

As Maryland personal injury lawyers, I and my staff of legal professionals have seen the victims of commercial trucking accidents and we fully understand the destructive power that these people experienced during their ordeals. Life-threatening events such as a bad roadway collision with a large delivery truck or big rig semi can alter one’s view of what is and isn’t safe on the road today.

With a mass equal to nearly 20 normal-sized passenger sedans, a fully-loaded tractor-trailer rig is one formidable machine. And while most truckers are hard-working and conscientious people, there are some drivers who are less concerned about the safety of others which who they must share the road. It’s this smaller group of bad drivers that can cause most of the pain and grief on the expressways and surface streets around Maryland.

Maryland Trucking Accidents: Tragic Random Events that Yield Serious and Life-Altering Results

March 8, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A fair percentage of people who are involved in automobile accidents escape serious injury, perhaps with only a few bumps and bruises, and maybe a simple bone fracture or a minor cut. Unfortunately, for many others the result of a bad roadway collision can mean weeks or months in a hospital room with complications from an internal injury, extensive reconstructive surgeries or a questionable prognosis related to a closed-head injury. As Maryland automobile accident lawyers, we have come across some very tragic medical situations of people whose only mistake was being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Sadly, we cannot make people well, but at least we can help the victims and their families try to recover the costs and expenses of their medical treatment and rehabilitation from those responsible for their condition. Whether one is injured on a country road or an urban street in Rockville or the District, odds are that some amount of medical expense will be paid by the victim. Recovering those costs, which may be complicated by a loss of wages while the person is in the hospital and unable to work, is of primary concern, after that of getting better, of course.

A qualified personal injury attorney should be able to bring legal knowledge and courtroom experience to bear when filing a personal injury lawsuit or, in the case of a fatal traffic accident, a wrongful death claim for the family of the deceased victim. The trouble with car, truck and motorcycle accidents is that they are equal opportunity killers. When a distracted driver ignores a stop sign and T-bones a family’s minivan, the choice of victims is usually quite random. The same can be said when the driver of a commercial delivery truck makes a fast turn and clips a bicycle rider, sending him or her to the hospital with internal injuries and brain trauma.

Federal Investigators Focus on Trucking Company for Alleged “Chameleon” Operations following Fatal Highway Accident

February 28, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As a highly regulated industry, one would expect that all commercial trucking firms would follow the laws of the state, as well as federal regulations, yet it is sometimes frightening to find that some of these operations are not always run in a safe and proper fashion. By this we mean to say that, from time to time, a commercial trucking company may cut corners to the point of reduced safety of their vehicles and possibly poor choices in terms of who they choose to drive those large trucks.

Of course, anyone who reads the newspaper or watches the evening news will note from time to time that trucking-related traffic accidents can be traced back to poorly maintained vehicle equipment or questionable employee screening. As Baltimore personal injury lawyers, I and my colleagues have seen the result of accidents that may have been caused by improperly maintained vehicles or truck drivers who may have been impaired — either through drugs or alcohol, or due to drowsiness resulting from excessive service hours and insufficient sleep.

Having seen the kind of injuries inflicted on innocent victims by events surrounding bad trucking-related traffic accidents, it is not hard to understand why the government will shut a commercial firm down after many instances of safety infractions and, possibly, fatal or near-fatal car, truck or motorcycle crashes involving a big rig, semi or large commercial box truck.