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Portner & Shure

Testmonials

Dear Mr.Ruby, Mr. Shure, Mrs. Horseman and Mrs. Linton: I would like to express my appreciation to your professional support and guidance during the 3 overwhelming years. I was involved in a car accident. Mr. Shure came to my home and provided assistance the day after the accident. Then, your paralegals, Sandy and Dawn assisted me on each steps and kept me updated. Mr. Ruby answered my questions and phone calls. He tried and settled my case successfully. Your team professional services is the key in the success of my case. I will recommend your firm to my friend Thanks again!

-Lisa Zhang
I got into a really bad car accident and had no clue what to do. Luckily I called Portner & Shure. Thanks to them I did not have to experience the stress of talking to the insurance company's, or the hassle of gathering additional information about my case. Portner & Shure did it all. They handled all of my medical bills, and even provided a convenient chiropractor that was amazing and made me feel like myself again. They also offered a settlement that I was very pleased with.The staff were friendly and respectful. My questions were answered promptly and in great detail. I felt like I was in good hands throughout the entire process Portner & Shure is top notch. They exceeded my expectations. I recommend this law firm to anyone who refuse to settle for less.. Thanks again Portner & Shure for making this tragic experience a stress-free process and providing a satisfying result.

Jessica Tabron, Montgomery County, MD
First of all I thank God to be alive and I thank you for helping me with my case. God bless you all. It was a great pleasure. Thanks.

Angel Regina Reyes de Hernandez
Pam Brown was the paralegal that was handling my case. She was wonderful. She was always pleasant to speak with on the phone and she always kept me updated on my case. I think her professionalism is a testament to the entire team of Portner and Shure. Thank you guys for everything. Jun Jie Liu

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Maryland Truck Accident Lawyer - Virginia Truck Accident Lawyer

State’s have designated laws to protect motorists from accidents with truckers. Trucks use the highways to transport freight. Many travel up and down the east coast using interstate 95. Since both Maryland, Virginia, and Texas have port cities, countless trucks frequent the cities in all three states to transport cargo.

Problems arise because drivers are often pressed for time to transport their cargo from one place to another. Often this leads to accidents caused by excessive speed and/or driver fatigue. Fatigue related accidents are especially dangerous since in many cases, they lead to a vehicle drifting across the center line of a roadway and hitting another vehicle head-on. Additionally, companies that employ the drivers are often operating at slim profit margins. Hence, many trucks are loaded to full capacity and are overweight. Lastly, truck accidents, like car accidents often occur because the driver was intoxicated. In accidents between cars and trucks, in establishing causation, a recent study on large crashes by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration lists ten things to look for, they are:

Safety is becoming a greater concern of both the Government and truck carriers. As a result, new safety systems are being put in place. Some of these systems, can be used by attorneys to discover the cause of the crash. They include, speed regulators, and systems that record driver performance. Like airplanes, many trucks in fact maintain “black boxes” that can help the attorney and accident reconstructionist determine the cause of the accident.

Maryland, Virginia, and Texas commercial vehicle laws, as well as federal laws and regulations, are designed to reduce accidents caused by the above factors. Attorneys at Portner & Shure are familiar with the relevant truck accident laws. Therefore, they can best protect your rights by proving that the accident was caused by an obvious code or statutory violation.

Another issue in truck accident cases is the immediate preservation of evidence. In large cases, it may be necessary to immediately retain an accident reconstructionist to go to the scene take pictures, measurements and get statements. Further, our attorneys make sure that all relevant evidence is immediately preserved so that it can be reviewed and analyzed by our experts. A letter should immediately be sent to the motor carrier so that all evidence, such as the “black box” is preserved, and a physical inspection is permitted. It is not enough to just preserve the evidence and inspect later, an immediate inspection can bring to light some important details that can be lost.

After proving causation, the attorneys will look at the recoverable damages. A consideration in all serious accident cases is the available insurance coverage. Fortunately, coverage in the truck accidents is generally higher then insurance coverage in automobile accident cases. For example, Maryland requires large commercial trucks to carry $750,000 of insurance for bodily injury and truck accidents. Federal law also requires that trucking companies have the following minimum liability insurance:

$750,000 for vehicles over 10,000 lbs carry non-hazardous freight;
$1,000,000 for those having hazardous materials and oil; and
$5,000,000 for trucks operating portable tanks, capacity over 3,500 gallons, passenger trucks.

When contemplating the filing of the lawsuit the personal injury attorney must consider the fact the truck driver was not qualified to operate the vehicle, was not properly trained or had a bad driving record. In these cases, in addition to negligence, the claims of negligent entrustment and/or negligent supervision must be added.

Truck Accidents: Protect Your Interests in the Face of Serious Injury

Truck accidents stand out from other types of automobile accidents because of the increased likelihood of fatality. Truck accidents are generally more harmful to the parties involved than standard car accidents because of the size disparity between the vehicles and the potentially dangerous cargo commonly carried by trucks. Currently in the U.S., one person dies every 16 minutes as the result of a truck accident. Though truck accidents constitute just 3% of all injury accidents and 5% of all property-damage-only accidents, 8% of the vehicles in fatal accidents are large trucks. In 2008 alone, there were 4,006 fatalities directly attributed to accidents involving large trucks. Of these fatalities, 98% of the people killed in truck accidents are occupants of the non-truck vehicle.

A number of factors exist that are potential causes of truck accidents. Chief among these factors are the demanding schedules and deadlines that are imposed on many truck operators. High demand schedules can cause the truck operator to speed or drive aggressively, to drive tired or be fatigued due to extended work shifts, or even to consume narcotics that impair the operator's ability to drive. The amount of hours that a truck driver has operated their truck is often a relevant fact in truck accident cases, as federal law specifically restricts how many hours a truck driver may log over a fixed period of time.

Another potential cause of a truck accident is poor maintenance or a failure to install safety equipment. Often times, a large truck involved in a truck accident may exhibit poorly maintained or overused brakes, missing blind spot mirrors or defective safety equipment like signals, lights and warning devices.

The overloading or failure to secure truck cargo is also a common cause of truck accidents. Earlier this year, a Prince George's County jury awarded a substantial verdict for injuries sustained as a result of unsafe cargo loading in Diaz v. Earth Hauler Trucking. In Diaz, a family was traveling in a minivan on I-495 behind a dump truck owned by Earth Hauler Trucking. The rear gate of the dump truck suddenly detached from the truck, causing the gate and debris held within to fall onto I-495. Although there was no actual contact between the minivan and the dump truck, the detached gate and debris struck the minivan, causing two (2) of its tires to go flat. During impact, the Plaintiff struck his head on the roof of the vehicle and his knee on the dashboard. The jury in this case rendered a particularly favorable verdict in the amount of $105,755.00, despite the fact that the Plaintiff was able to replace his tires and complete his drive, and that the Plaintiff waited for over a month until seeking medical treatment for his injuries.

Truck accidents are widely considered to be the most likely type of automobile accident to inflict serious injuries on the individuals involved. Serious injuries call for serious legal representation. The attorneys of Portner & Shure have countless years of experience representing the victims of truck accidents.

Accident Lawyers in Maryland, Virginia & Washington DC

For over fifteen years the attorneys at Portner & Shure have been representing victims injured in automobile accidents. You may request a free consultation with our personal injury accident lawyers in Maryland, Virginia & Washington D.C., to make sure you get the benefits you are entitled to.

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