Maryland Truck Accident Lawyer

A loaded tractor-trailer can weigh around 80,000 pounds — about 20 times a typical car. When that much force hits a passenger vehicle, the people in the smaller vehicle almost always take the worst of it. That size difference is why truck crashes so often mean serious injuries, longer recoveries, and larger claims — and why the trucking company and its insurer start fighting from day one.

We handle every kind of commercial-truck crash in Maryland, including jackknife accidents, rollovers, rear-end and underride crashes, blind-spot (“no-zone”) collisions, tire-blowout and lost-load wrecks, and head-on crashes. Each type points to different evidence — and often a different at-fault party — which is why the investigation matters.

Truck claims are not like car claims. Interstate trucking companies that haul general freight are required by federal law (the FMCSA) to carry at least $750,000 in liability coverage — far more than a typical driver’s policy. That larger policy means a bigger insurance team on the other side working to limit what they pay. It also means there is often real money available to cover a serious injury — if the claim is handled right.

Truckers and trucking companies must follow federal safety rules, including FMCSA hours-of-service limits that cap driving at 11 hours after 10 hours off duty, within a 14-hour on-duty window. When a driver breaks those rules — or the company pressures them to — that violation can become powerful evidence of fault. The same is true of skipped inspections, overloaded trailers, and falsified logs, which is why we move quickly to preserve the truck’s records and “black box” data before they disappear.

The roads through Maryland — US-1, MD-198, the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, and nearby I-95 — carry heavy commercial traffic every day: 18-wheelers and tractor-trailers, box and delivery trucks, tanker trucks, dump trucks, and buses. The bigger and more specialized the truck, the more safety rules its driver and company have to follow.

You can only win a truck accident case when you prove the other parties involved were at fault. Evidence submitted by state agencies and police can help — for instance, if the trucking company hired an unqualified driver, the truck driver ran a red light, or the company failed to maintain their truck correctly. Our lawyers use experienced investigators and other attorneys to prove all four elements of negligence — duty, breach, causation, and damages — and get you the justice you deserve.

Truck cases are bigger and more complex than car cases, and they reward a firm that knows where to look. From our office at 329 Prince George St. in Maryland, we represent injured people across the City of Baltimore and Prince George’s, Anne Arundel, Howard, and Montgomery counties. We move fast to lock down evidence, bring in the right experts, and will not let a trucking insurer rush you into a low settlement. The consultation is free, and there is no fee or case expenses unless we win.

Three years from the date of the crash for most injury claims, under Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-101, and generally three years from the date of death for a wrongful death claim. The practical deadline is much shorter. Driver logs, electronic data from the truck, dashcam footage and maintenance records are business records a carrier keeps only for a limited period, and once they are gone they are gone. That is why we send a preservation letter within days, not months.

Jake’s Law is Maryland Transportation Article section 21-1124.3. It makes it a crime to cause a crash that kills or seriously injures someone while texting or using a handheld phone behind the wheel. A conviction carries up to one year in jail, a fine of up to $5,000, or both, and that sentence is separate from any other charge brought over the same crash. The law is named for Jake Owen, a five-year-old boy killed when the family car was struck from behind by a driver on a cell phone, and it was signed in April 2014 after his parents campaigned for it. If a distracted driver hurt you, a Jake’s Law charge is a criminal matter handled by the State. Your civil claim for medical bills, lost income and pain is separate, and you can bring it whether or not the driver is charged.

Maryland is one of a small number of states that still follows contributory negligence. In most states, being found partly at fault reduces what you recover. In Maryland it can bar your claim entirely, even if the other side was far more to blame. Maryland’s highest court reaffirmed the rule in Coleman v. Soccer Association of Columbia, 432 Md. 679 (2013), over a strong dissent, and said any change to it is for the General Assembly rather than the courts. That is why an insurance adjuster’s first move is so often to suggest you did something wrong. Being blamed is not the same as being at fault, whether the rule actually bars a claim depends on the specific facts, and it is the reason to be careful about what you say and to get advice early.