Collisions involving commercial trucks and automobiles often forever alter the lives of innocent victims. Truck accident victims often then find themselves facing an uphill battle against insurance companies that usually find any reason to deny an otherwise valid claim.
The attorneys at Portner & Shure, P.A, can represent you in your fight to obtain the compensation and justice you deserve. For more than 30 years, we have been representing injured victims in complex personal injury cases. Do not allow yourself to be left at the mercy of an insurance company. Get our legal aid now!
For a free consultation regarding your truck accident case, call us at (410) 995-1515.
Common Causes of Truck Accidents
Truck accidents are often the result of:
- Distracted Driving: Instead of paying attention to the road and its surroundings, truck drivers use their cell phones and radios while driving.
- Driver Fatigue: Truck drivers are required to take mandatory rest breaks to sleep because of the long hours they spend on the road. Instead of taking these mandatory rest periods, some truck drivers ignore these regulations and keep driving, which can cause them to suffer driver fatigue. Fatigued drivers are likely to suffer from impaired decision making, impaired sensory perception, and delayed reaction time.
- Drug Use: To battle driver fatigue, some truck drivers consume over-the-counter stimulants or prescription drugs. The effects of driver fatigue are amplified after the drug wears off.
- Improper Maintenance: Industry pressures lead truck drivers and trucking companies to skip maintenance to save money and increase their profits.
- Illegal Maneuvers: Truck drivers often drive faster than the legal speed limit to deliver their cargo on schedule and to avoid financial penalties. Trucks require significantly more stopping distance than regular vehicles, though, so they can crash.
Injuries & Compensation
Due to the weight of a commercial truck, and the kinetic energy behind the impact, truck accident victims often suffer serious injuries such as:
- Broken bones
- Head injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Muscle damage
- Neck injuries
- Nerve damage
- Severe burns
Emergency medical care is often required to save a truck accident victim’s life. This is only the beginning of the recovery process, though. Truck accident victims must often undergo extensive occupational and physical therapy. Many truck accident victims are forced into bankruptcy due to the cost of their medical treatment.
Truck Accident Litigation
Truck accident lawsuits are complex cases to litigate. A truck accident victim must prove by a preponderance of the evidence, i.e., 51%, that the truck driver committed an act of negligence that caused their injuries. Insurance companies often hire aggressive defense attorneys to defend truck accident lawsuits. These attorneys frequently use the defense of contributory negligence to shift blame onto the victim. To use this defense, the defense must prove that the victim acted negligently and that the victim’s negligence contributed to the collision.
Why Seek Representation from Portner & Shure, P.A.?
The attorneys at Portner & Shure, P.A. bring more than 30 years of experience to each case they litigate. As a result of this experience, our attorneys know how to thoroughly investigate the facts of a truck accident. Our attorneys know how to obtain critical evidence such as driving logs, black box data, accident reconstruction reports, maintenance logs, driver employment files, hiring practice guidelines, drug test results, and travel routes and schedules. Our attorneys know how to use this evidence, along with expert witness testimony to overcome possible legal defenses and to help our clients meet their burden of proof.
All personal injury representation is performed on a contingency fee basis, which means Portner & Shure, P.A. receives no fee unless our client obtains a settlement or judgment in court. To schedule a free consultation regarding your Annapolis truck accident case, call (410) 995-1515. Our professional staff speaks English, Spanish, Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), Vietnamese, and Korean.
