Upper Marlboro Truck Accident Lawyer

Common Causes of Trucking Accidents

Common causes of an 18-wheeler and semi truck accidents include:

• Truck driver fatigue/falling asleep at the wheel
• Poor truck maintenance
• Brake or steering failure
• Unsafe load or unbalanced freight
• Truck driver DUI
• Trucker speeding or driving recklessly
• Illegal lane changes

In our experience handling serious crashes, we often see these causes come together with heavy traffic, construction zones, and changing weather to create dangerous situations for drivers in and around Upper Marlboro. A truck accident attorney Upper Marlboro residents turn to can investigate cell phone records, maintenance logs, dashcam footage, and police reports from agencies such as the Maryland State Police and Prince George’s County Police Department to identify what really happened and build a strong claim for you.

How Are Truck Accidents Different Than Car Crashes?

Truck accidents are different from conventional auto accidents in Maryland for a number of reasons. Some of these differences are probably very obvious to you. However, you would have to have some experience in either law or the ground-freight logistics industry to automatically know some of the other factors that lead to drawn-out injury cases, teams of lawyers representing the defense and complex insurance matters in many commercial vehicle cases.

Generally speaking, there is a major physical difference in the way large commercial vehicles behave when they collide versus the way smaller ones do. As you might expect, this tends to create extreme consequences for truck accident victims. Seeking compensation for these severe injuries could pose some challenges.

Key ways truck accidents differ from car crashes include:

• Size and weight: Large commercial trucks can weigh many times more than passenger vehicles, which means they need more distance to stop and can cause far greater damage in a collision.
• Complex insurance policies: Commercial trucks are often covered by layered insurance policies that may involve the driver, the trucking company, and sometimes the company that owns the trailer or cargo.
• Special safety regulations: Truck drivers and trucking companies must follow detailed federal and state safety regulations, so violations of hours-of-service rules, maintenance requirements, or load limits can become important evidence in a claim.
• More severe injuries: Because of the forces involved, truck crashes more frequently lead to catastrophic injuries that require long-term medical care and significant time away from work.

Who Can Be Held Liable In A Truck Accident?

Unlike other motor vehicle accidents, there are unique elements of truck accidents that provide different legal challenges. 

In a truck accident, there are several parties that could be held accountable, including:

• The truck driver
• The supervisor
• The trucking company
• The truck manufacturer

Proving Fault in Truck Accident Cases

Injuries from truck accidents can be severe and long-lasting, ranging from broken bones to internal organ damage to traumatic brain injury. Under Maryland’s comparable negligence rule, if the injured is found to be any percentage at fault for the truck accident, they are prohibited from recovering financial damages.

To build a strong truck accident claim, we may:

• Collect critical evidence: We review police reports, photographs, black box data, and driver logs to piece together exactly how the crash occurred.
• Work with qualified professionals: When appropriate, we consult with medical providers and accident reconstruction professionals to explain the mechanics of the collision and the full extent of your injuries.
• Document your losses: We carefully track medical bills, lost income, and the ways your injuries have affected your daily life so that your damages are clearly presented to the insurance company or a jury.

On This Page

• Common Causes
• How Are Truck Accidents Different Than Car Crashes?
• Who Can Be Held Liable?
• Proving Fault

Contact us online or call (301) 231-1737 today. Our team proudly serves clients in both English and Spanish.