Baltimore, Maryland Truck Accident Lawyers

Accident Lawyers Holding Trucking Companies Accountable in Baltimore, MD

Commercial trucks and other commercial vehicles constantly travel through Baltimore's roads, highways, port roads, and urban corridors. When these massive vehicles are involved in collisions, the consequences for people in smaller passenger vehicles can be catastrophic. Because of the size and weight of a fully loaded tractor-trailer, a crash can cause serious injuries, even at a relatively low speed.

Unfortunately for victims, truck accident cases may not only involve serious injuries, but a variety of complex legal issues may also need to be addressed. Multiple parties may share responsibility, and powerful trucking companies and their insurers will often move quickly to protect their interests after a crash. Victims will need to ensure that they have their own legal advocates helping to protect their rights, including a team with access to experienced reconstruction experts who can respond to the scene and collect evidence on a moment's notice. The personal injury attorneys at Silverman Thompson understand what is at stake for injury victims and their families, and we work to ensure that our clients can receive the compensation they need and deserve after a truck crash.

The Serious Injuries Truck Accident Victims Face

Collisions involving commercial trucks are likely to result in injuries that are far more severe than those that often take place in other types of car accidents. The forces involved in truck accidents can cause devastating harm to the human body, including:

• Traumatic Brain Injuries: A violent impact can cause damage to the brain, leading to multiple types of ongoing symptoms, including cognitive impairments, memory loss, seizures, sensory processing issues, difficulties with speech and language, and mood disorders.
• Spinal Cord Injuries: Damage to the nervous system due to broken vertebrae in the spine, compression of nerves, herniated discs, or a severed spinal cord can cause permanent impairments, including paralysis in some cases.
• Broken Bones: High-impact collisions may cause multiple fractures throughout the body, including to the pelvis, legs, arms, and ribs. These injuries may require surgeries, long-term rehabilitation, and months of recovery.
• Internal Organ Damage: The impact of a collision may rupture organs, cause internal bleeding, and create life-threatening emergencies.
• Severe Burns: When a truck carries flammable cargo or a fuel tank ruptures in a collision, a fire or explosion can cause a victim to suffer painful, disfiguring burns.
• Wrongful Death: Tragically, many truck accidents claim the lives of victims. A family that has lost a loved one in a commercial truck crash may take steps to recover compensation for their loss.

Why Commercial Truck Accidents Happen

Trucking companies and their drivers are required to follow multiple federal and state laws and regulations as they transport cargo and operate commercial vehicles, including those related to hours of service and rest time, load weight, and licensing. When those rules are ignored, or when corners are cut to increase profits, the results can be deadly. Some of the common forms of negligence that can lead to truck accidents include:

Traffic Violations and Unsafe Driving

Truck drivers who violate speed limits, follow too closely behind other vehicles, fail to check their blind spots when changing lanes or making turns, or commit other violations of traffic laws can put everyone around them at serious risk. A fully loaded 18-wheeler will require much more distance to stop than a passenger car, and there is little margin for error. Speeding, aggressive driving, or inattentive driving can increase the likelihood that a truck driver will be unable to avoid a dangerous accident.

Driver Fatigue

Hours of service rules that apply to truck drivers have been put in place to ensure that they will remain awake and alert while operating large commercial vehicles. In some cases, pressure from employers and tight delivery deadlines can lead truck drivers to violate these rules or continue driving when they are fatigued. When a drowsy truck driver falls asleep at the wheel, even for a second, they can crash into other vehicles and inflict severe injuries.

Mechanical Failures and Inadequate Maintenance

Trucking companies are required to keep their fleets in safe operating condition. Without proper maintenance, issues such as brake failures, tire blowouts, or steering malfunctions may occur. These issues can cause a truck driver to lose control. A company may be held liable for its failure to conduct inspections and perform maintenance as required.

Improperly Loaded or Secured Cargo

Cargo that is overloaded, unevenly distributed, or has not been properly secured on a truck can cause a truck to become unstable, roll over, or spill cargo onto the roadway. A truck driver, trucking company, or third-party loading crew may be held liable for the failure to ensure that cargo was loaded and secured correctly.

How Silverman Thompson Helps Truck Accident Victims

Trucking companies and their insurers will often have legal teams working on their behalf from the moment a crash is reported. Injury victims deserve the same level of legal representation. Our attorneys can act quickly after a truck accident to gather and preserve critical evidence, including electronic logging device data, truck maintenance records, physical evidence from the scene, and cargo documentation. We will take steps to demonstrate that a truck driver, trucking company, or other party will be held liable for the injuries that occurred in a truck accident.

We will also take steps to document the full scope of a client's injuries and damages. We work with medical and financial professionals to determine the full impact of a victim's injuries, including the treatment that will be needed in the future and the ways their life will be affected going forward. We can calculate the value of lost income, impairment to a person's future income and career, and the personal impact that injuries have had and will continue to have on a victim and their family.

With our experience taking cases to trial and our record of securing large verdicts and settlements for our clients, insurance companies and other defendants know that we will not settle for anything less than the full compensation our clients deserve. We work to maximize the compensation our clients can receive while also taking steps to make sure the compensation that is paid will be used to meet the needs of a person.

Contact Our Baltimore, MD Truck Accident Attorneys

A truck accident can turn your life upside down in an instant. The attorneys at Silverman Thompson are here to help you hold the liable parties responsible and make sure you can obtain the compensation you deserve. Contact our Baltimore commercial truck accident lawyers at 410-385-2225 to schedule a free consultation with our legal team.

Meet Our Truck Accident Lawyers

Andrew G. Slutkin, Senior Partner

Steven D. Silverman, Managing Partner

Ethan S. Nochumowitz, Partner

Jason T. Wasserman, Partner

Laura A. Simmons, Partner

Kurt E. Nachtman, Partner