Baltimore Truck Accident Attorney
A serious truck accident can change your life forever. You may be struggling to cope with severe injuries and related medical expenses. You may be unable to work due to your injuries and fall further behind in your bills. To make everything more stressful, your vehicle may be totally destroyed or require extensive repairs, leaving you without much-needed transportation.
If you were involved in a truck accident, you need to learn about your legal right to financial compensation. At Cohen & Dwin, P.A., our Baltimore truck accident lawyers have more than 100 years of combined experience successfully handling these complex claims. We have the skills and the resources to take on big trucking companies and deep-pocketed insurers.
Please contact us today to schedule your free consultation with a knowledgeable Baltimore trucking accident lawyer.
Do You Have a Baltimore Truck Accident Claim?
Many people are unsure whether they need a truck accident lawyer after a crash. An insurance company may try to convince you that you can settle the claim on your own. Or the insurance company may say you don’t have a claim.
The truth is, you should talk to a Baltimore truck accident attorney if:
- Someone else was at fault for your crash.
- You have been injured (even if you are not sure how badly).
- You have medical expenses.
- You may need additional treatment in the future.
- You missed work or are unable to work at all.
- Your quality of life has been affected.
There is no charge and no obligation when you schedule an initial consultation with our law firm. We are here to answer your questions and explain your legal rights. Contact Cohen & Dwin today for your free consultation, and let us help you.
Benefits of Hiring a Truck Accident Lawyer for Your Claim
When you retain the experienced Baltimore truck accident attorneys of Cohen & Dwin, our lawyers will immediately take the pressure off you by handling every aspect of your personal injury claim.
Our attorneys have over 100 years of collective experience successfully handling the claims of injured truck accident victims throughout Maryland. This means we are incredibly experienced in investigating accidents. We know what evidence to collect from a truck accident, how to collect that evidence, and how to use that evidence to determine how the accident occurred and who may be at fault. We also have the experience and resources to collect and understand the medical evidence in your case to show how your injuries were caused and to calculate the medical expenses you have and will continue to incur to treat your injuries.
Our lawyers are also highly experienced in negotiating with big trucking companies and their insurers. We know the strategies corporations use to try to avoid liability, and we will fight fiercely for a settlement offer that fairly and fully compensates you for your losses. Of course, a truck accident settlement is not guaranteed in every case, but our attorneys are also highly experienced and qualified litigators. If necessary, we are prepared to take your claim to court to fight for the maximum financial recovery you need after suffering life-altering injuries in a truck accident.
What Compensation Can Be Recovered in Truck Accidents?
If you have been involved in an accident with a truck, you may be entitled to recover several kinds of compensation. For any personal injuries that you suffer, you may be entitled to recover both economic damages and non-economic damages.
Economic damages are intended to compensate a person injured by a truck accident for specific financial losses that can be calculated from bills, invoices, pay stubs, etc.
Examples of economic damages include:
- Medical expenses, such as hospital bills, surgery, doctor’s office visits, prescription medication, physical and occupational therapy, durable medical equipment, mobility equipment, prosthetics, or home health care
- Lost wages, if you must miss work during your recovery from injuries suffered in a truck accident
- Lost earning potential, if your injures temporarily or permanently disable you from performing the kind or quantity of work that you performed prior to your accident
Non-economic damages are intended to compensate for intangible, subjective losses from injuries.
Examples of non-economic damages include:
- Pain and suffering, which is the physical and emotional anguish and distress caused by your injuries
- Loss of quality of life, which can include the distress caused by disfiguring injuries or disabilities that prevent you from performing tasks of daily living or participating in activities you enjoyed prior to your accident
- Loss of consortium or companionship, which can compensate a spouse or immediate family for the loss of your society and services to the family and household due to your injuries
Finally, if you have suffered property damages, such as your vehicle or property inside your vehicle being damaged or destroyed in the accident, you may also be entitled to seek compensation for the cost to repair or replace your damaged or destroyed property.
Navigating Fault in a Baltimore 18-Wheeler Accident
In an 18-wheeler accident, the fault is determined by looking at a number of factors to identify how the accident occurred and, as a result, who was responsible for causing the accident. In many cases, the actions of the police are critical to determining fault in a 18-wheeler truck accident.
The police may issue a traffic citation or arrest a driver for a criminal traffic violation. If the driver is ultimately convicted on the citation or criminal charge, it is strong evidence that the trucker’s unlawful driving caused the accident. The police may also draft an accident report in which they designate one or more drivers responsible for the wreck.
In addition, we may look at pieces of evidence from the accident, including accident scene photographs, vehicle data, and damage/repair reports. These pieces of evidence are often used by accident reconstruction experts to prepare a report, diagram, or other model demonstrating how the accident occurred and who was responsible for causing it.
Finally, we may also look at other circumstantial evidence that indicates a party’s negligence, such as the truck driver’s logs, the truckload manifest, or the truck maintenance records. These may be strong evidence that negligent driving or negligent use or maintenance of the truck caused the accident.
Common Types Of Truck Accidents in Baltimore
- Rear-end collisions
- Jackknife accidents
- Underride accidents
- Rollover accidents
- Wide-turn accidents
- Tire blowouts
- Overloaded truck accidents
- Runaway trailer accidents
- Head-on collisions involving trucks
Why Truck Accidents Are More Complicated
Although many people may simply assume that a truck accident is like any other car accident, truck accidents are often more complicated than crashes involving passenger vehicles, pedestrians, or motorcycles. This is due to several factors.
First, the sheer size of tractor-trailers, big rigs, and other large trucks mean that injuries involving these vehicles are likely to be much more severe. Many accident victims suffer traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, traumatic amputation, and other catastrophic injuries that require a lifetime of treatment. This means that victims will need to recover significant compensation to account for their losses after a truck accident.
In addition to the greater risk for severe injury, truck wrecks are more complicated than other motor vehicle accidents due to the greater amount of evidence that can be relevant to the case. Many car accidents rely on accident scene photographs, a police accident report, vehicle damage reports, and eyewitness reports to determine fault. But truck accident cases require an extensive investigation to also examine the truck driver’s log, the load manifest, the truck’s vehicle data recorder, and the truck maintenance logs to determine whether factors such as driver fatigue, reckless driving, unsafe truckloads, or improper maintenance caused or contributed to the accident.
Finally, truck accidents are often more complicated than other motor vehicle accidents because there are multiple parties who may share liability. For example, car accidents usually just involve the driver of the vehicle. But in a truck accident, liability may be shared by the truck driver, the trucking company, a freight company if the truck was loaded by someone other than the trucking company, and the company responsible for the truck’s maintenance. These companies may have complicated corporate structures and multiple layers of liability insurance that can render it difficult to know who should bear the liability and what kind of insurance coverage may be available to pay the injured party’s damages.
Evidence We May Use in a Semi-Truck Accident Case
There are many pieces of evidence that come into play in a semi-truck accident case. Our attorneys will work to gather every bit of evidence that can help demonstrate how the truck driver and/or the trucking company’s negligence caused your accident.
Some of the types of evidence that our Baltimore truck accident lawyers may use include:
- Accident scene photographs – Photographs can capture the position of vehicles after the accident, damage to the vehicles, skid marks on the road, road marking and traffic controls, and weather, lighting, and road conditions.
- Vehicle damage/repair reports – These reports will describe in detail how the vehicles in the accident were damaged.
- Police accident report – The police accident report may make a determination of responsibility for the accident, which is often highly persuasive in determining fault.
- Traffic citations and arrests – If the truck driver is issued a traffic citation or arrested for a criminal traffic violation, that can be strong evidence that the truck driver was negligent.
- Truck GPS data and vehicle data recorder – This data can show how the truck was being operated at the time of the accident, including the speed of the truck and whether it was being accelerated or braked.
- Truck driver’s log – These logs will show how long the truck driver had been on the road in the hours and days prior to the accident, which can support a theory that the driver was fatigued at the time of the accident.
- Truck driver’s toxicology report – After some truck accidents, truck drivers may be required to take an alcohol and drug test. This can reveal if the truck driver was under the influence at the time of the accident
- Load manifest – This can demonstrate if the truck was unsafely loaded with cargo.
- Truck maintenance logs – These can indicate if the truck was properly maintained or if poor maintenance contributed to a mechanical failure that caused the accident
Collecting these kinds of evidence in truck accident cases can be difficult. Oftentimes, trucking companies are unwilling to turn over such evidence. That’s why having a knowledgeable attorney on your side is crucial.
At Cohen & Dwin, our Baltimore semi-truck accident attorneys have over 100 years of collective experience in gathering evidence in truck accident cases and using this evidence to build a strong case for accident victims. Call us now to talk about the specifics of your case in a free consultation.
What Causes Most Truck Accidents?
In the field of law, common causes of large truck accidents often include factors such as:
- Speeding
- Drivers Being Distracted
- Issues With Brakes
- Blind spots
- Misuse of Over-the-counter Drug
- Tailgating
- Oversized Loads
- Truck driver fatigue
- Poor Vehicle Maintenance
- Violations of Transportation Laws
- Operator Negligence
- Inadequate Vehicle Upkeep
Baltimore Statute of Limitations on Truck Accident Claims
Under Maryland law, you have a limited period of time to file a lawsuit to pursue a claim for damages after a truck accident. This period of time is called the statute of limitations. In Maryland, the statute of limitations on personal injury lawsuits arising from truck accidents is three years from the date of the accident. If you fail to file a lawsuit in a timely manner after a truck accident, the court can permanently dismiss your case. However, there are some exceptions to this rule.
If you have questions about the statute of limitations in Maryland and how it applies to your case, contact the truck accident attorneys at Cohen & Dwin for help now.
Your Truck Accident Questions Answered
Here are the answers to some of the most common questions we receive about truck accidents and insurance issues in Baltimore:
Talk to a Baltimore Truck Accident Attorney Today
If you have been injured in a truck accident on the roads of Baltimore, Owings Mills, Garrison, or anywhere in Maryland, you need to speak with an experienced personal injury lawyer as soon as possible. Don’t wait another day to begin the process of pursuing the compensation you deserve and need to put your life back on track.
Contact the experienced Baltimore truck accident attorneys at Cohen & Dwin today to schedule a free initial consultation. We can help you understand your legal rights and options, and there is no charge unless we secure compensation for you.