Collisions involving commercial trucks usually produce horrible injuries. This is due to the fact that a commercial truck is a 40-ton object that is traveling at a high rate of speed. The force of an accident between such a giant vehicle and a smaller passenger vehicle will be mostly imparted on that smaller vehicle.
The commercial trucking industry is subject to extensive regulations to try to stop serious accidents. Despite these regulations, though, collisions occur at an alarming frequency, which means truck insurance defense companies get a lot of practice to perfect their strategies. If you want to receive fair compensation after a truck accident, then you should recruit a legal team of your own.
Injured drivers in Bel Air, Maryland can count on Portner & Shure, P.A.! We have a team of truck accident lawyers with decades of collective experience under their belts. Choose us first when you need help.
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Common Causes of Truck Accidents
The commercial trucking industry is responsible for transporting large amounts of goods and cargo to all areas of the United States. Commercial truck drivers spend long hours driving trucks across our nation’s highways to make those deliveries. The industry’s extremely competitive nature also tempts truckers and trucking companies into violating federal safety regulations to try to finish a route faster and get the next job. Recklessness like this is often the cause of truck accidents that cause severe injuries and take lives.
A few common causes of truck accidents are:
- Exhaustion: Truck driver fatigue is a common cause of truck collisions. While federal law requires truck drivers to take mandatory breaks, truck drivers often ignore these regulations. This is because truck drivers are penalized if they fail to deliver their cargo on schedule. Driver fatigue causes reduced reaction times and impaired decision-making skills.
- Inebriation: Another common cause of truck accidents is drug use. Truck drivers frequently abuse illegal or over-the-counter stimulants to combat the effects of driver fatigue. While stimulants temporarily alleviate the effects of driver fatigue, the effects are amplified after the drug wears off.
- Reckless driving: Other common causes of truck collisions are illegal maneuvers and driver negligence. Truck drivers often fail to use sufficient space to turn their trucks. They can also break the speed limit to deliver their cargo on schedule.
- Inexperienced driving: Illegal maneuvers and poor training also cause many truck accidents. Poorly trained truck drivers often attempt to turn their vehicles on roads with insufficient space, which results in collisions with other vehicles.
Injuries & Compensation in Truck Accident Cases
Victims of commercial trucking accidents often suffer severe and permanent injuries.
Common injuries in truck accident reports include:
- Spinal cord injuries
- Brain injuries
- Concussions
- Broken bones
Such injuries often require emergency medical treatment and extensive rehabilitation. Maryland law allows truck accident victims to recover economic and noneconomic damages as a result of these injuries. Economic damages are meant to compensate a victim for medical bills, physical therapy, prior lost wages, future lost wages, and the cost of future medical care. Noneconomic damages are meant to compensate a victim for the pain and suffered they endured as a result of their injuries, i.e., more abstract types of injuries.
How to Build a Successful Truck Accident Case
Federal law requires trucking companies to maintain extensive records regarding vehicle maintenance and their driver’s qualifications. It also requires commercial trucks to be equipped with several sensors and recorders that can track speed, location, and so forth. These items provide powerful information regarding potential negligence when investigating the facts surrounding a truck collision.
Insurance carriers retain expensive and aggressive defense firms to defend truck accident claims because they know the evidence will likely point at their client’s mistakes. Representation by an equally aggressive and knowledgeable Bel Air, Maryland truck accident attorney is highly recommended. Our experienced attorneys at Portner & Shure, P.A. know how to build a successful case by gathering evidence, such as black box data, drug test results, driver logs, and expert witness testimonies.
We are Ready to Work on Your Case
Our past clients have rated our legal services with five-star reviews, time and again. Plus, our Bel Air truck accident attorneys do not collect any attorney fees unless we end your case with a successful settlement or verdict in your favor. Pursuing fair compensation and justice doesn’t get much easier than this!
