Truck Accidents

Maryland

Freight is the lifeblood of modern society. Without the constant flow of goods from field, mine, factory, and warehouse, people could not eat or perform any of the daily tasks we consider indispensable to our quality of life.

However, this flow of trucks comes with a price, as it exposes us to the risk of deadly truck accidents. In order to reduce that risk to the minimum possible level, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has established a comprehensive set of rules governing the behavior of all licensed commercial truck drivers on the roads. In addition, the governments of Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia have additional rules designed to keep you safe while on the roads. These rules do diminish the profitability of trucking companies, and in response some trucking companies are prepared to ignore the rules if they feel they can get away with it, putting you in mortal danger.

Trucking companies often see the following dangerous practices as ways to increase profits:

• Unrealistic schedules that require drivers to speed or drive for exhausting periods of time
• Overloading trucks, making them difficult to start, stop, or steer on the road
• Poor oversight of drivers
• Minimal maintenance on trucks

Tractor-trailer truck accidents are far more likely to cause serious injury or death to other drivers because of the truck’s much higher weight.
If you have been involved in an accident with a tractor-trailer truck, the following parties may be liable:

• The Truck Driver when something the truck driver did–such as driving when fatigued, following too closely, driving too aggressively, failing to inspect cargo to ensure its security or the truck to ensure its safety—contributes to the accident.
• The Truck Owner in cases involving poorly maintained equipment that caused or contributed to the accident.
• The Freight Owner if instructions to the shipping, loading, or trucking company did not include any potential hazards in the freight that may have contributed to the accident.
• The Trucking Company when it was supposed to supervise the driver and:
• failed to properly monitor the driver’s performance
• encouraged the driver to operate the truck in an unsafe manner by establishing an unrealistic delivery schedule or
• hired a driver with a known poor safety record

In addition, if the company owns a truck with failed equipment, carried out insufficient maintenance, or improperly loaded or inspected cargo, it may be liable for damages.

• The Loading Company may be liable in any case where improperly loaded cargo contributed to the accident.
• The Shipping Company if it maintained a supervisory role over the trucking company, the driver, and/or the loading company. You can also sue a shipping company for working with a loading company, trucking company, or driver known to use unsafe practices.
• The manufacturer of the vehicle, brakes, tires, or other equipment in cases where equipment failure caused or exacerbated the accident, including impact guards that fail to prevent an under ride accident.
• The Persons or Entities Responsible for Maintaining the Road when defective roadways contributed to the accident.

When you are involved in a tractor-trailer accident, the last thing you should have to worry about is where the money is coming from to meet your medical bills or feed your family when you are injured and cannot work. The experienced truck accident lawyers at Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata, & Siegel, P.C. know how to track down the responsible parties and build a case that holds the wrongdoers fully responsible. Consult our Truck Accident Q&A page for more information, and please call or email our committed truck accident lawyers today for a free consultation.

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