Trucking Accident Lawyer Blog

Police believe a truck crash on Maryland’s Interstate I-695 in late July was the result of a truck driver who fell asleep at the wheel. According to news reports, the accident was so severe that Maryland State Police had to shut down the entire inner loop during the morning commute. As a Baltimore trucking accident attorney and personal injury lawyer, I know that drowsy driving is one of the major causes of commercial truck crashes.

A semi tractor-trailer rig is a formidable piece of machinery when compared to even the largest sport utility vehicle or light truck. Passenger cars have little chance of escaping serious damage when hit by an 18-wheeler that is out of control. Even a fully loaded box truck can cause serious property damage and bodily injury if it hits another, smaller vehicle.

According to news accounts, 23-year-old Michael Angel Ocasio was driving a white 2006 GMC box truck along the beltway, a short distance south of the Baltimore National Pike. Authorities said the driver apparently fell asleep and ran into the back of a flat bed trailer around 6am in the morning.

Emergency crews from Baltimore County Fire and Emergency Services working at the crash scene had to extract the truck driver from the wreckage. Ocasio was treated and then transported to Maryland Shock Trauma where doctors provided medical care for the driver’s severe leg injuries.

The driver of the flat bed trailer was taken to Northwest Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. At the time of the article, Maryland State Police police were still investigating the accident.

Police believe I-695 accident this morning was caused by driver who fell asleep, ABC2news.com, July 20, 2010

When it comes to traffic accidents, a passenger car and its occupants are no match for a semi tractor-trailer that crashes into it. But even the driver or passenger of an 18-wheeler may be at risk on the highway when another commercial truck, such as a Kenworth, Peterbilt or Freightliner, gets into trouble on the road.

As a Maryland trucking accident attorney and personal injury lawyer, I know from professional experience the types of property damage and bodily injuries that can result from big rigs crashes. And the danger is posed not only by the truck itself but the trailer and its typically heavy load. When a semi trailer losses its load on the highway, a serious accident can be just split seconds away.

An example of what can happen when a commercial over-the-road hauler dumps its load onto the roadway occurred not long ago along a stretch of Interstate 70 near Maryland’s Rte 66. According to news accounts, the wife of an out-of-state truck driver riding in her husband’s rig was seriously hurt when steel beams from another truck smashed into the couple’s tractor-trailer on a Wednesday morning. It's amazing that someone wasn't killed as a result of the aaccident.

The woman, 45-year-old Evonne J. Whalen, was reportedly riding in the passenger seat of her husband’s Freightliner when a couple structural beams fell into the eastbound lanes of the interstate. Those two huge pieces of steel weighing thousands of pounds apparently crashed into the passenger side of Whalen’s Freightliner, seriously injuring the woman’s legs and effectively pinning her inside the cab.

Emergency responders arriving on the scene required almost 45 minutes to extricate the woman from the damaged vehicle. According to Maryland State Police, the operator of the boom truck was attempting to lift the support beams from the trailer bed when he somehow lost control of the load causing the large pieces of steel to spin into the travel lanes of the interstate. There was no mention of where the boom mechanism or some other equipment was defective or failed to operate correctly.

Continue reading "Maryland Trucking Accident News: Big Rig Passenger Injured by Another 18-Wheeler’s Lost Load on I-70" »

Anyone who rides on public transportation probably feels that there is a certain sense of safety when traveling in that manner. Whether it is a commuter train, a taxi cab or city bus, many people expect that by paying a fare they should be delivered to their destination in one piece and without serious injury to their person.

As a Maryland trucking accident lawyer, I know that reality can be very out of step with a person’s perceptions and expectations. The truth of the matter is that accidents can and do happen no matter what conveyance we choose to get us to our final destination. The Washington, D.C., Metro Red Line accident a year ago last June is one example of how dozens of people traveling with the expectation of safety can end up being seriously hurt through no fault of their own.

Some recent bus accidents in and around the District are an example of how factors can combine to cause injury, but thankfully in these instances, no deaths. According to D.C. police, the passengers on a Metrobus as well as occupants in another smaller vehicle were caught up in a serious accident early on a Monday morning in mid-June.

According to police reports, a Chevy Camaro ran a red light at the intersection of 15th St. and Pennsylvania Ave. As the southbound sports car, which was carrying two persons, went through the intersection it collided with a passing Metrobus that was traveling on Pennsylvania Avenue -- the bus was carrying two passengers at the time, plus the driver.

The force of the impact was so great that the bus driver lost control and ended up hitting a hit a tree and then rammed a parked car alongside the curb. Emergency response teams arriving at the scene treated those five people, all of whom were subsequently transported to a local hospital. An investigation was ongoing at the time of the news report.

Not long after the Pennsylvania Avenue crash, another Metrobus was involved in another traffic accident along Interstate 395. In that incident, two people who were in a passenger car were taken to a local hospital while 18 teenage school kids traveling on the bus were treated for very minor injuries. The crash happened on the morning of June 15 near Maine Avenue southwest.

DC Metrobus, Car Involved in Accident, MyFoxDC.com, June 15, 2010

Car Runs Red Light, Hits Metro Bus in SE; 5 Hospitalized, News8.net, July 5, 2010

Highway traffic accidents involving semi-tractor trailers and other large commercial trucks happen hundreds of times a year. Some of those crashes result in injuries to one or more people. Still others can cause death or permanent injury to occupants in smaller, less massive motor vehicles such as minivan, sedans, economy cars and motorcycles.

Statistics also indicate that larger vehicles, such as tractor-trailer rigs, are more likely to be involved in serious multiple-vehicle collisions than passenger cars. This data also tells us that injuries resulting from truck accidents can be much more serious and many times fatal. Common injuries include spinal cord damage, severe brain trauma, broken bones and other serious and permanent bodily harm.

As Maryland trucking accident attorneys, I and my staff know that any multi-vehicle accident can be fatal, with some causing mostly minor, yet significant injuries. Although people can physically recover from such minor wrecks, even those associated medical costs can become a burden to a family already strapped for cash.

A recent accident along Maryland’s Interstate 95 near Route 32 was one of the luckier types of 18-wheeler wrecks as it resulted in few serious injuries. However, it did show that there is always potential for disaster any time, any where.

According to news reports, the southbound portion of I-95 near Columbia, MD, was the site of a flipped 18-wheel trash hauler. Vehicles of this size can weight as much as 50,000 to 80,000 pounds depending on the type of cargo being carried. In this case, the truck was traveling along the entrance ramp to I-95 South around half past seven in the morning. As the driver of the rig negotiated the ramp connecting Route 32 to I-95, the vehicle suddenly overturned for some reason. Debris was scattered across all lanes and southbound traffic had to be stopped.

There were no serious injuries, although the truck driver likely required some attention. Because the it was an open trailer, debris was scattered all across the southbound lanes of I-95.

I-95 Southbound In Maryland Reopened After Tractor Trailer Carrying Trash Overturns, WUSA9.com, June 29, 2010

A Maryland jury recently found the state of Maryland and a commercial truck driver liable for more than $2 million in damages following the 2007 death of a prison inmate who was killed along a highway exit ramp while removing trash and garbage from I-495. The jury award of $2,025,000 will go to the estate and family of Rodney Jennings, who died after being run over by a dump truck driven by Wayne Goss -- Goss is the owner of W.H. Goss Trucking, LLC.

According to reports, Jennings -- who was 28 years old at the time of his death -- was serving time for a drug-related crime at the Herman L. Toulson Boot Camp in Jessup, MD. Although Goss was not working for Maryland at the time of the traffic accident, the Jennings’ family’s attorney argued that the state was also responsible for the man’s death because it did not sufficiently ensure Jennings' safety.

Based on court records, the plaintiff’s lawyer claimed that employees in Maryland's Department of Corrections -- as well as the State Highway Administration -- did not correctly evaluate the traffic conditions near the exit ramp where the accident occurred. They should have, said the attorney, required that inmates traverse that particular portion of the highway by van, instead of on foot as Jennings was doing when he was struck. The family’s attorney also threw fault on the apparently poor training received by the state workers who were assigned to monitor the inmates work.

A spokesman for the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services said the department has instituted policy changes since the fatal accident in August 2007. Now workers are reportedly required to be driven across exit ramps and other similar traffic areas by way of a state corrections van instead of by foot.

At the time of the news article, it was not yet known what portion of the settlement would be paid by the state of Maryland and how much would be paid by Goss. Apparently, there were also no plans for any criminal charges to be filed against Goss regarding the accident.

Md. jury awards $2 million in inmate highway death, SFExaminer.com, June, 24, 2010

Large motor vehicles such as semi tractor-trailers, dump trucks and tankers can inflict serious personal injury and property damage when operated irresponsibly. As a Maryland trucking accident attorney, I understand the shear power of these vehicles and the potential for injury or death during a traffic accident.

While most drivers of commercial vehicles use caution when operating these large and massive machines, any mistake can be an opportunity for disaster. Smaller vehicles, such as passenger cars, minivans and motorcycles are at greatest risk when a big rig 18-wheeler goes out of control on a highway or city street. The results of a collision with a heavy truck can range from broken bones and lacerations to full-on paralysis and even death.

Not long ago a man who was driving a moving van was taken into custody by Prince George’s County police following a chase that resulted in a number of traffic accidents along the way. The majority of the incident took place along the Baltimore-Washington Parkway on a Monday afternoon.

According to news articles, around 2pm Monday a caller to the Prince George’s County police department reported a fight between two All My Sons moving company employees in a New Carrolton neighborhood. Police indicated that local residents said the movers were arguing about the manner in which they would move a heavy piece of furniture out of a home.

After one of the men attached the other, the suspect reportedly ran from the house and fled in the moving truck. Prince George's County Police initiated a pursuit after the driver attempted to run a Cheverly, MD, patrolman off the road. The truck hit multiple vehicles during the pursuit, running one passenger car off the road and into nearby woods. The victim of that impact was taken to a local hospital and was listed in fair condition with non-life threatening injuries.

The chase apparently ended when the driver crashed the moving van just south of Powder Mill Road. Officers on the scene took the man into custody at the intersection of Dorsey Run Road and Waterloo Road in Howard County. The entire event caused the Baltimore-Washington Parkway to be shut down for several hours as U.S. Park Police and an accident reconstruction unit investigated the aftermath.

Mover Causes Multi-Accident Police Pursuit in Moving Truck on Baltimore-Washington Parkway, MyFoxDC.com, June 1, 2010

There are many different causes of trucking-related traffic accidents. From poorly maintained or badly designed vehicle equipment, to poor road conditions and driver error, most highway tractor-trailer accidents are hardly ever that… accidents. As Maryland truck accident attorneys, my office knows what to look for when it comes to injuries caused by the negligence of a truck driver or trucking company.

One cause of commercial truck crashes that is frequently in the news is that of driver fatigue. Government regulation limit trucker to a maximum number of hours behind the wheel, which ideally means that the driver then gets sufficient rest before the next day’s driving shift. What the law can’t easily address is how well truckers sleep and whether or not they are fully rested as a result.

Enter the problem of sleep apnea. A common problem with the general public, this affliction can cause loss of concentration and has been known to result in motorists falling asleep at the wheel. But for the average office worker, sleep apnea is more likely to get him chewed out at work than cause him to crash his automobile into a family of five on the interstate.

Unfortunately for the driving public, sleep apnea in truck drivers is a serious and potentially deadly condition, especially since these individuals not only drive eight to 10 hours a day, but their “office” is a 25-ton 18-wheeler traveling at close to 70mph on the expressway.

Apparently the trucking industry is taking this problem seriously as well. According to a recent news report, a recent gathering in Baltimore — the Sleep Apnea & Trucking Conference — where industry leaders, medical sleep professionals, regulators and vendors came together to address sleep apnea in trucking.

It is acknowledged by the industry, in general, that sleep apnea among truckers is a public health concern and that drivers, who admittedly have an already difficult job, can also suffer from multiple health problems. One researcher, Dr. Martin R. Walker, pointed out to attendees that the prevalence of sleep apnea in commercial truck drivers may be greater than most people know — a 2002 study determined that nearly one-third of commercial drivers have mild to severe obstructive sleep apnea.

One interesting item that came out of the conference was a statement by a legal expert who said until that now sleep apnea has not been a “major player” in trucking accident litigation, however it will likely become part of the “legal landscape” sooner rather than later.

Sleep apnea problems discussed, eTrucker.com, May 13, 2010

To some repair garages, dishonest trucking companies and thoughtless semi tractor-trailer drivers, saving some cash now is worth the risk of causing a serious traffic accident in the future. Cause and effect are not always considered by unscrupulous garage owners and the semi truck drivers that employ them. But the dangers are real and the results can be deadly in many cases.

As Baltimore trucking accident attorneys, our office helps the victims of 18-wheeler and commercial big-rig accidents. For those unfortunate families who have lost a loved one as a result of another person’s negligence, emotions can run very high especially when deception and outright fraud are involved.

This was apparently the situation in a case where the owner of a repair garage allegedly sold inspection stickers for a 1997 Kenworth semi with worn brakes that killed a motorist along the Schuylkill Expressway in 2009. New reports say that the garage owner, 62-year-old Joseph Jadczak pled guilty in 2009 to vehicular homicide and also to permitting the operation of a motor vehicle equipped with unsafe equipment.

An investigation of the tractor-trailer rig involved in that truck crash showed that each of the vehicle’s ten brakes were all severely worn. Despite this, and to the apparent astonishment of the investigators, the rig possessed all of its current and up-to-date inspection stickers. The scary part is that this truck was stopped by police in Maryland and three other states before the accident that claimed the life of 49-year-old David Schreffler on January 23, 2009, in Pennsylvania.

That accident, which occurred on I-76 resulted in the truck being unable to stop with a reported load of 74,000 pounds and then plowing into six cars including the deceased victim’s vehicle. Police reports show that the driver, 56-year-old Valerijs Belovs, had to use the truck’s emergency brake to slow the vehicle, but not enough to avoid the fatal crash.

According to reports, Belovs and the trucking company’s owner, Victor Kalinitchii, pleaded guilty last year to vehicular homicide. The driver was sentenced to time served (just over three months in prison) and was released following his April sentencing hearing. Kalinitchii, who reportedly ordered Belovs to drive cross-country in the truck knowing the brakes were defective, was sentenced to 11 1/2 to 23 months by Judge Thomas C. Branca that same day.

Garage owner petitions to withdraw guilty plea, TimesHerald.com, May 12, 2010

As a Maryland Trucking Accident lawyer, I know the unfortunate correlation between sleep deprivation and driver negligence, especially as it pertains to professional truck drivers and the sometimes careless operation of 18-wheeled tractor-trailer rigs. While not every over-the-road trucker pushes the limits of physical stamina, a percentage of semi drivers have been known to put in too many hours behind the wheel without sufficient sleep.

The results of sleep-related trucking wrecks can be serious, as news reports often depict. According to a recent article, a tractor-trailer accident caused apparently by an over-tired driver blocked a portion of Interstate 81 near Hagerstown, MD on a Monday afternoon last month. The accident occurred south of Showalter Road where Maryland State Police say the truck driver fell asleep, causing the rig with its 48,000-pound load of paper rolls to drift off the northbound lanes of the interstate, ending up on its side.

This is not an uncommon happening here in Maryland and across the rest of the country. A poll conducted last year by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) found that nearly 1.9 million drivers are involved in drowsy driving traffic accidents or near misses each and every year. Sadly, most drivers ignore the dangers that sleepiness can present when it comes to trucking and automobile accidents.

The NSF says that while drivers may quite good at recognizing when they are tired, this doesn’t always stop them from taking the wheel of a car or truck and hitting the road in a drowsy condition. Unfortunately, drivers many times can mistakenly believe that they can “will” themselves from falling asleep, which doesn’t necessarily work. And because a single moment of “reduced awareness” can cause a trucking accident, this kind of thinking can be very deadly.

In the case of the recent I-81 crash, the 76-year-old driver, Augustine Christian had reportedly been driving since 5am, according to state police on the scene. The driver’s tractor-trailer rig drove off the interstate just before 5pm and overturned on the right shoulder, state police said. Witnesses at the scene told police that tractor-trailer continued straight instead of following a curve in that stretch of roadway.

Fortunately, no one was seriously injured in the accident, which closed one of the northbound lanes for several hours as workers cleared the truck and trailer from the area. The trucker, who was charged with negligent driving, was taken to Washington County Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Tractor-trailer accident blocks portion of I-81, Herald-Mail.com, May 17. 2010

Single-truck accidents are not uncommon, however the causes can be very similar to multi-vehicle trucking accidents involving passenger cars and semi tractor-trailers. The force of such truck crashes can easily result in death of the passenger vehicle’s occupants, not to mention the truck driver himself. Whichever is the case, defective truck equipment should always be considered.

A sad fact of highway tractor-trailer and commercial truck wrecks is that lack of safety inspections can sometimes be to blame for a crash. These massive motor vehicles have a large number of moving parts and inter-related components that all need to work properly in order to keep the vehicle operating safely. Passenger car, SUV and minivan drivers, as well as motorcycle riders have died as a result of poorly maintained semi tractor-trailers.

As Maryland trucking accident attorneys, our staff has handled numerous personal injury cases in which one or more critical components have failed on an over-the-road truck, resulting in a serious injury or fatal traffic crash. State law requires truck drivers to individually inspect their vehicle assure that all major components, including safety equipment, are functioning correctly. But while the law requires this, many drivers will perform only perfunctory inspections, noting only nominal inspection times in their vehicle logs.

A recent out-of-state single-truck accident may or may not have been caused by defective or improperly maintained equipment. According to a recent news article, a Maryland truck driver died in an early-morning traffic accident when his tractor-trailer rig crashed at the bottom of an inclined roadway in Pennsylvania.

According to local officials, 40-year-old Steven Washington Robinson of Baltimore County, MD, was declared dead at the scene around 4am after apparently succumbing to severe head injuries following the crash. Robinson was reportedly an eight-year employee of CMD Logistics.

Reports indicate that Robinson was traveling eastbound on Route 422 when his big rig ran off the road and traveled down a steep embankment, striking a tree at the bottom of the hill. Fire department personnel, as well as a local hazmat team, responded to the accident. State police investigators said that Robinson was unrestrained in the cab of the rig and reported died from blunt force trauma to the head, according to a local corner’s report.

While the trucker’s death had been ruled accidental by police, toxicology tests were pending at the time of the reports. Defective equipment likely would not be ruled out until a full investigation had been carried out. That investigation was being undertaken by the police and no results were available at the time of the news report.

Trucker killed in Cherryhill Township crash, IndianaGazette.com, May 5, 2010

Commercial trucks and semi tractor-trailer, such as Freightliners and Peterbuilts pose a significant threat on our highways and byways. As Maryland trucking accident attorneys and injury lawyers, our firm understands the seriousness of a traffic accident caused by negligent operation of over-the-road haulers, or big rigs. Motorists and passengers riding in relatively small passenger cars and minivans have a slim chance of escaping injury when hit by one of these heavy trucks.

Even in busy downtown areas, truck accidents can happen with little or no warning. Motorcycle riders and bicyclists, pedestrians and other commuters can all be injured or killed by a poorly driven delivery vehicle or other commercial motor carrier. The amount of local commerce can be an indicator of the potential frequency of trucking accidents in a particular area.

In Baltimore and other busy metropolitan centers, motorists must use extreme caution in and around industrial areas where truck traffic is usually the highest. These huge vehicles and their trailers can weigh a total of 80,000 pounds, the rough equivalent of 30 economy cars. Even large sport utility vehicles (SUVs) or light-duty pickup trucks are no match for a fully-laden tractor-trailer rig. In a crash, a fully-loaded semi can literally accordion a smaller passenger vehicle, injuring or killing the occupants.

Being a Maryland injury attorney, I have seen the aftermath of these kids of heavy truck-passenger car accidents. I know how every year hundreds of individuals are cars caught up in traffic accidents involving big rigs — some wrecks are fatal to the occupants of these passenger cars. This is one of the sad and sobering facts of trucking accidents.

Statistics show that injuries resulting from truck accidents can be much more serious than car-to-car crashes. Common injuries include spinal cord damage, brain trauma, broken bones and other serious and permanent bodily harm.

One last unfortunate fact that comes up time and time again; many trucking-related accidents can be avoided. While many trucking companies take the time and effort to ensure that their trucks and drivers are safe, still others do not. An overloaded trailer is one of the most frequent causes of truck wrecks.

Continue reading "Truckers’ Negligent Driving Can Cause Injuries and Occasional Death on Maryland’s Highways and City Streets" »

Motor vehicle accidents can happen almost anywhere throughout Maryland and nobody is immune. Even under the seemingly safest circumstances the tragedy of an injury accident or fatal car crash can be lurking just around the corner. As Baltimore trucking accident lawyers, my office takes nothing for granted when looking at the causes of these potentially life-threatening occurrences.

Whether someone is involved in a simple bicycle accident, motorcycle collision or commuter train wreck, the facts tell the story. Understanding those facts is one way of determining who the responsible party is. Every accident has its share of property, medical and associated costs, all of which can combine to place a strain on families who may or may not be already coping with a loss, such as the death of a loved one.

A recent accident in Pasadena, MD, reminds us that our most precious resource -- our kids -- can sometimes be placed in jeopardy. According to news reports, during a community event near Edgewater Road, a number of children were playing on one of the Lake Shore Volunteer Fire Company’s vehicles when it started rolling down a hill and struck a tree. Fortunately for everyone the eight children involved were unhurt in the accident, however a member of the fire company was injured in the Saturday afternoon incident.

According to reports, several children were on the fire engine throughout the day. Based on a statement from Battalion Chief Steve Thompson, at some point during the day the vehicle’s emergency brake was inadvertently released allowing the fire engine to roll down the hill. County firefighters received a call following the crash a little after 1pm.

The one injured firefighter, who attempted to stop the runaway vehicle, was treated and then taken to Baltimore Washington Medical Center in Glen Burnie for further examination. Although the investigation had not been completed at the time of the article, defective vehicle equipment may or may not have been a factor in the crash.

Md. Fire Truck Rolls Away, Kids OK, Firehouse.com, April 24, 2010