Silver Spring, Maryland Truck Accident Attorney

Fighting For Truck Accident Victims in Maryland

The commercial trucking industry is subject to extensive regulation under federal law. Despite these regulations, truck accidents are a frequent occurrence and cause innocent victims to suffer terrible injuries. The effects of these injuries are life-altering.

Obtaining compensation for these injuries can be difficult due to the legally and factually complex nature of truck accidents. If you suffered an injury as a result of a truck accident, you should get representation from an award-winning Silver Spring, Maryland truck accident lawyer, like those at Portner & Shure, P.A. We have spent more than 30 years litigating complexpersonal injury cases including those involving truck accidents.

For a free consultation, dial or contact us online to get started with our truck accident attorney in Silver Spring.

What to Do After a Truck Accident

Here are key actions to take after a truck accident to safeguard your rights and strengthen your case:

• Seek Immediate Medical Attention: Your health and safety should be the top priority after a truck accident. Even if your injuries seem minor at first, it’s important to get evaluated by a medical professional. Some injuries, like internal bleeding or traumatic brain injuries, may not be instantly obvious and can worsen over time without proper treatment.
• Report the Accident to Law Enforcement: Make sure to contact the police and file a report. A police report delivers an official account of the accident, which can be vital when determining liability. Make sure to acquire a copy of the police report as it will serve as an essential piece of evidence for your claim.
• Gather Evidence at the Scene: If you are physically able, collect as much information as possible at the scene of the accident. Take pictures of all the vehicles involved, the surrounding area, and any visible injuries. Capture details like skid marks, road conditions, and weather, as these can all play a role in determining the cause of the crash. Also, gather contact information from witnesses, as their statements can be valuable in corroborating your account of the accident.
• Avoid Discussing Fault: Refrain from making statements about who was at fault for the accident. Even a simple apology can be misinterpreted as an admission of guilt. Let law enforcement and your attorney handle any discussions regarding liability.
• Notify Your Insurance Company: It’s important to notify your insurance company about the accident as soon as possible. However, be cautious about giving detailed statements or accepting any quick settlement offers without first consulting with a truck accident lawyer. Insurance companies could try to minimize their payout by offering a low settlement, especially when dealing with serious truck accidents.
• Consult our Truck Accident Lawyer: Truck accidents often involve multiple parties and demand a thorough investigation to establish fault. Trucking companies and their insurers will likely have legal teams working to protect their interests. Having our truck accident attorney on your side ensures that your rights are protected and that you are not taken advantage of during this stressful time.

Common Causes of Truck Accidents

The working conditions in the trucking industry are difficult. Truck drivers spend countless hours in isolated conditions transporting cargo across our nation’s highways. The working conditions and industry competition cause many truck drivers to ignore federal law and engage in negligent actions that result in truck collisions.

Common causes of truck collisions include:

• Driver fatigue: Truck drivers are required to take mandatory rest breaks while driving. Many truck drivers forgo mandatory rest periods to keep driving. This is because they are financially penalized if they fail to deliver their cargo on schedule. Fatigue causes truck drivers to experience reduced reaction time, impaired sensory perception, and impaired decision-making.
• Drug use: Truck drivers often result to using prescription or over-the-counter stimulants to combat the effects of fatigue. Once the effects of a stimulant wear off, the effects of fatigue are amplified. Additionally, the abuse of stimulants often leads truck drivers to begin abusing other substances such as alcohol.
• Improper maintenance: Due to the competitive nature of the trucking industry, truck drivers and trucking companies fail to perform proper maintenance on their vehicles to save money.
• Illegal maneuvers: To deliver their cargo on schedule, truck drivers sometimes illegally travel in excess of the posted speed limit. Truck drivers sometimes drive in areas where commercial trucks are prohibited from driving such as residential or highly congested. These areas do not provide commercial trucks with sufficient space to turn, which can cause collisions with other vehicles.
• Distracted driving: Truck drivers become distracted with items such as cellular phones and radios. Additionally, the sheer complexity of a truck means that there is more equipment that a truck driver has to monitor, which can also cause a truck driver to become distracted.

Injuries & Compensation in Truck Accidents

A commercial truck is a 40-ton vehicle. When a commercial truck is involved in a collision on a highway, the resulting injuries are catastrophic due to the sheer mass and speed.

Truck collisions produce severe injuries such as:

• Spinal cord injuries
• Brain injuries
• Concussions
• Broken bones

Truck accident victims often require emergency medical treatment along with intensive rehabilitation such as physical therapy, orthopedic treatment, and occupational therapy to fully recover from their injuries. The financial cost of a truck accident can economically destroy a truck accident victim. Truck accident victims can seek compensation for the cost of their medical treatment, future medical treatment, lost wages, and for the pain and suffered they endured as a result of their injuries.

Litigation & Defenses in Truck Accident Cases

Truck accident cases are legally and factually complex cases to litigate. Truck accident cases require extensive investigation and preparation to make a strong case in most instances. To win, a truck accident victim must prove that the truck driver acted negligently and that their negligence resulted in the victim suffering an injury. A truck accident victim must prove their case by a preponderance of the evidence, i.e., 51%.

Insurance companies make it difficult to meet this burden by retaining expensive and aggressive defense attorneys to defend truck accident lawsuits. Maryland law provides several defenses that insurance companies can use to defend truck accident cases. Insurance companies often utilize the defense of contributory negligence, which precludes a victim from recovering if evidence is produced showing that the victim’s negligence contributed to the accident.

What is the Statute of Limitations for Truck Accident Claims in Maryland?

In the state of Maryland, the statute of limitations for filing a personal injury lawsuit after a truck accident is three years from the date of the accident. This means you have three years to file a lawsuit seeking compensation for medical costs, lost earnings, pain and suffering, and other damages. If the claim involves a wrongful death, the statute of limitations is also three years from the initial date of death.

It’s critical to take action within this timeframe. Failure to file a claim within the statute of limitations could lead to losing your right to pursue compensation, regardless of the seriousness of your injuries or the strength of your case.

Contact Our Truck Accident Lawyer in Silver Spring Today

The award-winning attorneys at Portner & Shure, P.A. know how to properly investigate truck accidents. Our truck accident attorneys in Silver Spring are familiar with federal law regulating the trucking industry and know how to obtain crucial evidence such as black-box crash data, truck driver employment files, drug test results, driving logs, and travel schedules. Our attorneys know how to utilize complex expert witness testimony in court to successfully prove their case. Our experience has allowed us to obtain favorable settlement and judgments on behalf of our clients.

Portner & Shure, P.A. receives no fee unless our client obtains a settlement or judgment in court. Our Silver Spring truck accident lawyer speaks English, Spanish, Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), Vietnamese, and Korean. To schedule a free consultation regarding your case, call us at or contact us online.