Maryland Trucking Accident Lawyer Blog

Maryland Truck Accident Victim: Immediate Actions to Take

December 22, 2008 | Vadim A. Mzhen

The attorneys at Lebowitz & Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers have developed the following list of things to do directly after an accident with a commercial vehicle. We suggest that our readers print out this list and place it in their glove compartment. We also suggest that you store a camera in your glove box in order to take photographs if you are involved in an accident.

1. STOP your car, no matter how minor the accident.
2. CALL THE POLICE to investigate the accident.
3. DO NOT DISCUSS THE ACCIDENT with anyone except the police officer on the scene.
4. GET INFORMATION ABOUT THE OTHER DRIVER AND THE TRACTOR TRAILER before leaving the scene of the accident. Make sure that you have the following information: (a) full name of the driver, (b) name of the trucking company, (c) Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) license number from the side of the cab of the commercial vehicle, (d) telephone number of the trucking company, (e) insurance company and policy number for the tractor trailer, and (f) license plate number of the tractor trailer.
5. GET NAMES, ADDRESSES AND TELEPHONE NUMBERS OF ALL WITNESSES.
6. DRAW A DIAGRAM of the accident.
7. TAKE PHOTOGRAPHS of the damage to your vehicle and, if possible, the tractor trailer, and any skid marks left on the roadway. Additionally, take photographs of your injuries if they are visible.
8. NOTIFY YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY.
9. DO NOT DISCUSS THE ACCIDENT WITH ANY INSURANCE COMPANY until you have talked to your lawyer.

10. IF YOU ARE INJURED, contact a doctor or go to the nearest emergency room as soon as possible.

Government Program Puts Marylanders at Increased Risk of Injury from Truck Accidents

December 16, 2008 | Jack D. Lebowitz

Currently, the Federal Government limits the areas in which trucking companies located abroad may travel within the United States. However, the U.S. Department of Transportation has recently begun a trial program allowing tractor trailers coming from outside the United States to travel without restrictions within the United States, including, of course, Maryland.

Why does this concern us? Because trucking companies located outside our borders are not subject to same safety regulations as trucking companies located in the United States. For example, American truck drivers are subject to limitations on the number of hours they may work per week, drug and alcohol testing, and commercial driver’s license requirements (CDL) before they are allowed to drive on the nation’s highways. In addition, American motor carriers are required to maintain certain levels of insurance to protect injured motorists.

The Federal Government has not published plans to require foreign trucking companies to comply with the federal regulations. We respectfully suggest that Congress take action to stop this trial program before the federal standards are watered down. If the federal rules and regulations are weakened, it seems clear that a greater number of injuries will follow to those who drive on this nation’s roadways.

Drivers of Eighteen-Wheelers in Maryland Must Pay Extra Attention While Driving in Inclement Weather

December 12, 2008 | Vadim A. Mzhen

Under perfect road conditions, it takes an attentive and well trained truck driver 96 yards to stop an unloaded eighteen wheeler traveling at 55 miles per hour. Traveling at typical highway speed, 65 miles per hour, the same truck will take 129 yards to come to a stop. Unfortunately, conditions are hardly ever perfect, and truck drivers are not always attentive or well trained, and tractor trailers are often heavily laden with goods. In poor weather, a loaded eighteen wheeler can take over two football fields to stop. Poor weather and road conditions increase the distance necessary to stop a truck and also elevates the risk of death or injury to Maryland drivers.

Because of these considerations, federal law increased the level of care owed by truck drivers in Maryland during inclement weather. Through rain, sleet, snow, or fog, truck drivers must, by law, maintain a higher level of care. Extreme care requires, amongst other things, that large truck drivers reduce their speed and increase the distance between themselves and other drivers on the roads. Additionally, if the hazardous conditions persist, drivers of commercial vehicles must get off the road until the weather or road conditions improve.

Big rig operators in Maryland know what the law requires and many operate their eighteen wheelers professionally and responsibly through poor weather or road conditions. However, federal law and Maryland truck accident attorneys work to punish those who do not. In Maryland, poor weather caused 25% of the fatal eighteen wheeler accidents. Today, trucking companies are able to transmit up-to-date weather information to the truck drivers they dispatch across Maryland and the nation. Many eighteen-wheelers operating with major carriers have computers installed in their cabs to receive messages from their home offices. Maryland law, if not federal law, should require carriers to transmit information on weather and road conditions to their drivers and direct them to leave the highways during extreme weather. The attorneys at Lebowitz and Mzhen believe that this step could save the lives of drivers on Maryland’s highways.

Large Trucks in Maryland Must Carry a Minimum Amount of Liability Insurance

December 9, 2008 | Vadim A. Mzhen

In an EARLIER POST, we told our readers that we would briefly discuss some of the major laws that impact a victim’s suit against negligent truck drivers. Today, we highlight the minimum insurance coverage truck drivers must maintain to protect victims of truck accidents in Maryland. The Code of Federal Regulations requires motor carriers hauling different substances to maintain different levels of insurance to protect people injured in accidents.

Expansive Maryland and Federal Statutes Govern Truck Drivers in the State

December 5, 2008 | Vadim A. Mzhen

Did you know that large trucks weigh between 10,000 and 80,000 pounds? If a large truck, weighing 50,000 pounds and traveling at 55 miles per hour strikes a car, it exerts a force of 4710 pounds per square inch into the car and its passengers. Large trucks, whether empty or fully loaded, have the potential to inflict severe injuries and are extremely dangerous when operated in a negligent fashion.

For that reason, the Federal government and the state of Maryland, have many laws in place designed to protect drivers. In the following series of posts, we explain some of the laws that govern truck drivers here in Maryland, and beyond.

Truck Accident in Elkridge, Maryland Injures Seven People

December 2, 2008 | Jack D. Lebowitz

Seven people were injured in a truck accident involving a tractor trailer and a commuter bus. Howard County Police responded to U.S. Route 1 at Dorsey Road in Elkridge, Maryland.

According to police, the driver of the tractor trailer made a wide right turn from the left lane and collided with the Howard County Commuter Bus. Paramedics transported the driver and six passengers, including one child, to Howard County General Hospital where they were treated for their injuries.

Holiday Driving in Maryland: The Tale of the Tail Light

November 25, 2008 | Vadim A. Mzhen

As the temperature drops and the nights grow longer, Maryland drivers prepare to travel to holiday celebrations around the state and around the country. Remembering holiday seasons past, drivers on Maryland highways should be prepared to confront a sea of tail lights and slow moving bumpers this year as well. However, while the kids play license plate bingo, Maryland personal injury lawyers urge our readers to drive safely so that they can enjoy holiday celebrations.

Lebowitz & Mzhen would like to take this time to offer some safe driving tips to make sure that all of you are able to have a very happy holiday surrounded by family and friends.

• Plan your route based on traffic information

Baltimore County Woman Wins Over $830,000 After a Tractor Trailer Struck her Car

November 24, 2008 | Jack D. Lebowitz

I recently read about a case involving an accident involving an eighteen wheeler that occurred on Chelsea Road in Aberdeen, Maryland. A tractor trailer operated by Kaplan Trucking Company, Inc struck the rear of Kathleen Festerman’s minivan. At trial the truck driver described that he struck the victim’s minivan while he was distracted. A jury in Federal Court in Baltimore awarded the victim in excess of $800,000.00 for her injuries, medical expenses, and lost future earnings.

Younger Maryland Drivers are at a Higher Risk for Serious Automobile Accidents

November 21, 2008 | Jack D. Lebowitz

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 20% of Marylanders killed in truck accidents in 2006 were between the ages of 16 and 25, and speed or failure of the young driver to stay in their proper lane caused nearly 53% of these fatalities. According to the NTSB, young drivers represent less than 7% of this country’s driving population, but make up 13% of drivers involved in fatal car accidents. 66% of passengers killed when teens are behind the wheel are between the ages of 15 and 19 years old. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety young drivers need 500 hours of practice in order to be considered safe drivers.

Maryland Trucking Company Owners May Not Entrust Vehicles to Negligent Drivers

November 15, 2008 | Vadim A. Mzhen

Plaintiffs in Maryland may recover money damages from a negligent truck driver’s employer based on the legal theory of negligent entrustment. Negligent entrustment allows Maryland accident attorneys to accomplish two objects important to a plaintiff’s personal injury suit. First, this method of recovery allows a plaintiff to avoid the situation where the truck driver does not have sufficient personal assets or insurance coverage to satisfy a potential monetary award. Second, the theory allows plaintiffs to punish careless owners of trucking companies who put Marylanders at risk of serious injury or death caused by negligently operated or maintained trucks.

Under Maryland law, negligent entrustment has three elements that must be demonstrated before the court during trial. First, the plaintiff’s attorney must prove that the trucking company owner was a legal supplier that made the truck available to the driver. Second, the plaintiff must prove that the owner knew or should have known that the truck was in defective condition or that the truck driver, due to inexperience or other factors, was likely to drive the truck in a manner that put others at risk of harm. Finally, an attorney must prove that the injured plaintiff was the type of person the supplier would expect to be endangered by a negligent truck driver.

Maryland courts define a supplier as anyone who has the right to permit and the power to prohibit the use of the truck. If the negligent truck driver’s employer owned the truck, then the owners is legally a supplier who made the truck available to the negligent driver. In a number of cases, Maryland courts have held that truck company owners are legal suppliers if they possess trucks and provide them to drivers that they employ.