Marlow Heights Truck Accident Lawyer
Truck accidents can happen for numerous reasons, which might not be obvious at first. Fortunately, our lawyers can help you file a lawsuit to determine how your accident happened and who should pay your damages.
Many victims are injured because truckers get drowsy and fall asleep behind the wheel. Others are caused by the driver being distracted when they hit you. Whatever the reason, our team will help you collect evidence of the crash and your injuries. Often, we find that truckers or trucking companies have violated one of the many regulations they must work under. However, we might discover that a third party was responsible for the accident, like a cargo-loading company that actually loaded the truck. Our attorneys will ensure that anyone who contributed to your accident will be named in your claim.
For a free case review with our Annapolis, MD truck accident attorneys, call Rice, Murtha & Psoras at (410) 694-7291.
Common Reasons for Filing Truck Accident Lawsuits in Marlow Heights, MD
Many truck accidents are caused by the same negligent behavior as ordinary vehicle accidents, like running red lights and speeding. However, many other truck accidents have hard-to-identify causes. Fortunately, our experienced truck accident lawyers can gather evidence to determine specifically how your injuries were caused. Truck driver negligence is at the heart of most of these lawsuits, but many other parties could have played a role in your accident. By understanding how your accident was caused, we will know who to file your lawsuit against in Marlow Heights:
Fatigued Driving
Many commercial truck drivers are under intense pressure to make as many deliveries as possible as quickly as possible. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) understands this and has set regulations on the number of hours truckers can drive on any particular trip without taking a mandatory break. Unfortunately, too many truckers and trucking companies ignore these limitations to gain a competitive advantage.
Our attorneys can obtain trucking company records during the course of your lawsuit to determine if the federal restrictions were violated, such as the trucker driver’s logbooks, to see when they took their breaks. The truck’s “black box” will also have the trip information records if the truck was equipped with one. These are small digital devices that can tell us how long a driver was on the road, how fast they were going when the accident happened, and many more details that can help prove liability.
Distracted Driving
Many victims also file lawsuits because they were injured by a distracted driver. Most commercial trucks are equipped with a range of devices that can easily distract a driver, such as GPS, radios, and cell phones. Even a brief distraction could be enough time to cause a catastrophic accident. In other cases, other negligent drivers distract a trucker long enough to crash into you. When we investigate your claim, we will review communication records to determine if the truck driver was using any of those systems at the time of your accident.
Failure to Maintain the Truck
The FMCSA also holds trucking companies to high standards when it comes to inspecting, repairing, and maintaining the trucks they own. Truckers and trucking companies are required to keep truck parts and accessories in good operating condition at all times. This includes regularly inspecting axles, wheels, rims, suspension systems, and steering systems. If we obtain records showing that vital repairs were never made or inspections were never conducted, the trucking company will be held liable. We could also show that inspections and repairs were never done if the trucking company had no records of them at all.
Traffic Violations
Countless truck accident lawsuits are filed for the same traffic violations that cause typical accidents, such as speeding and running traffic signals. However, the consequences are usually much more devastating when a trucker commits a traffic violation. A truck driver who is speeding or runs a red light will often hit the other vehicle at full force, increasing the chances of the accident turning deadly. Truckers can also more easily lose control of their vehicles when speeding.
Other accidents happen because the truck driver fails to check one of the many “blind spots” the vehicle has before changing lanes. Blind spots are areas of the road blocked out by the truck. Considering the size of most commercial trucks, most have numerous blind spots. If they do not check to see you before merging into your lane, they should be held accountable for illegally changing lanes.
Committing a traffic violation is considered negligence per se. This means that breaking a traffic law is sufficient evidence in itself to show the driver’s negligence. Your police report will indicate whether the truck driver was ticketed for the accident.
Storing Cargo Improperly
The cargo on a truck must be properly stored to avoid unevenly distributing the weight. Improperly loaded cargo could cause the truck’s trailer to turn back on the truck, known as “jackknifing.” If the cargo is negligently loaded on an open flatbed trailer, the consequences could be catastrophic.
In some cases, the trucker is responsible for loading the cargo. However, many companies have policies that only allow their employees to load a truck’s cargo rather than the trucker’s. Thus, we might have to sue the truck driver, the business from which the delivery was picked up, or a third-party cargo-loading company.
Negligent Business Practices
Trucking companies can also be held responsible for their own negligent business practices. Besides the strict inspection and maintenance regulations they must follow, trucking companies must also screen potential drivers for past dangerous behavior and alcohol and drug use. If a truck driver is involved in an accident, the trucking company must typically conduct new drug and alcohol tests to determine if substances played a role.
How Fault is Determined in a Marlow Heights, MD Truck Accident Case
It is important to conclusively prove fault in a lawsuit for a truck accident as Maryland still adheres to the traditional common law rule of “contributory negligence.” This rule apportions fault when a defendant presents evidence that the plaintiff partially or totally caused the accident. Most states have adopted a modern “comparative” model to determine fault, which attributes the percentage of fault to each party and reduces the plaintiff’s damages by their share of fault. Most states allow victims to recover compensation if they are not more negligent than the defendant.
The rule used in Marlow Heights accident lawsuits is far more harsh. If the defendant in your case proves that you were even slightly negligent, you will be barred from recovering any damages. The best way to fight this outdated rule is to have as much evidence as our team can obtain.
Our Marlow Heights Truck Accident Attorneys Are Ready to Help You
Call Rice, Murtha & Psoras at (410) 694-7291 for a free assessment of your case with our truck accident lawyers.