A Maryland fatal truck accident lawyer can lead you through the complex legal process following a truck accident that leads to a wrongful death. When this happens, there are several steps to take. Further, more than one claim may be available. If the wrongful death occurs in Maryland, you may have a claim as a parent, child, or spouse of the decedent in addition to the survival action available to the estate. As a close relative of the decedent, you should immediately seek out a wrongful death attorney. We handle those claims at Gelb & Gelb that are worth investigating. But focusing on a fatal Maryland truck accident, these accidents are relatively rare. There are a few reasons for this. First, there are far fewer truck accidents than car accidents. Nonetheless, when a truck accident does occur, the results tend to be far more catastrophic.
To add a layer of complexity, there tend to be additional laws and regulations governing trucking law that do not exist for the typical motor vehicle accident case. Moreover, there are different municipalities in Maryland with different local rules. Whether you are in an accident in Baltimore, Bethesda, Bowie, on the Capital Beltway, or anywhere else in the state, we stand ready to recover maximum compensation for any loss in your case. With over 70 years of experience, we know how to squeeze as much compensation as possible from the adverse insurer. When there is a fatality in your case, you must leave no stone unturned in pursuing justice. The one silver lining in an otherwise forbidding circumstance is trucking companies have more extensive insurance policies than most other motor vehicles.
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Families’ legal rights and compensation may require advice from a Maryland fatal truck accident lawyer to ensure proper preservation. For the family of the decedent, you are undergoing emotional trauma and costs for something you are not at fault for. Of course, you should not be ultimately responsible for these costs. But how do you go about recovering compensation for these costs if you are not the one who lost your life? Do you have to wait for an inheritance to cover the costs? Fortunately, we can join your wrongful death claim with the survival action commenced by the estate for your relative. Note that if you are not a close relative of the decedent, you may be unable to make a wrongful death claim under the Maryland statute. The statute seeks to limit the number of claimants for a death after a truck accident.
This is because there would otherwise be 10s of claimants when a person dies. Not to say we have much sympathy for the insurance companies, but this would be an undue burden on them. Moreover, if someone is uninsured, it has been deemed unfair for them to pay 10s of friends and family members, on top of the decedent’s estate, for a negligent act directly impacting one individual. Of course, if the decedent has several children, they all are entitled to a claim. This statute seeks to limit claims by siblings, cousins, and friends, to name a few. Of course, these people may still ultimately recover if they are named in the decedent’s will.
A Maryland fatal truck accident lawyer is pivotal in guiding families through the complexities of the legal process following a tragic accident. The attorneys at Gelb & Gelb who handle fatal truck accident cases have an acute understanding of Maryland’s traffic laws, wrongful death statutes, survival statutes, and insurance practices. In fact, there are several insurance providers that only practice in Maryland. These insurers are known to make things particularly difficult for their clients. As truck accident lawyers, we know these adjusters and how to get results from them, as we have done for 70 years. While we provide top legal advocacy to help you strive toward the highest possible recovery, we also offer strategic advice, manage all interactions with insurance companies and defendants, and ensure that the family’s legal rights are vigorously defended.
In many cases, the defendant truck driver or trucking company will be aggressive towards you to keep you from making a claim against them. They know that doing so will increase their insurance rates. But we know if you do not pursue this claim, you may be left with hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs, not to mention injuries from an accident you did not cause. Thus, we are committed to handling every legal detail in your case to protect your right to make a claim.
Building a strong personal injury case involves several steps, and our Maryland fatal truck accident lawyers excel at this. The first thing to do is meticulously collect evidence. We start by gathering police and accident reports, witness statements, and any available video footage of the incident. Of course, when you are still at the accident scene immediately following the accident, asking the truck driver for as much information as possible marks a strong start to building a robust case. Even if they refuse to cooperate, at least taking pictures of the license plate on the truck or any other pertinent information can go a long way. Then, to further our investigation, we may involve private investigators, crash reconstruction experts, forensic pathologists, and any other expert in our repertoire to uncover information that may be useful for a potential trial.
Of course, Maryland statutes and common law are constantly evolving. Nearly every day, a Maryland state court decides a motor vehicle accident case. This has implications for legal precedent. Accordingly, we must stay up-to-date on any caselaw. While caselaw does not necessarily supersede statutes, it does assist with interpreting the law.
Compensation in a fatal Maryland truck accident case is complex. Maryland Code § 6-401 governs survival actions in Maryland. As the estate, you are entitled to damages if the decedent survived the initial truck accident but later passed. The survival statute entitles a claimant to any medical expenses, any lost wages during the time between the accident and death, and any pain and suffering. If the time between the truck accident and the death was relatively short, we will need some evidence to prove that they initially survived the accident. Our Maryland accident attorneys sometimes must get creative to demonstrate this aspect of the claim. The evidence available to do so may dictate the value of the claim. For example, if there is no substantial evidence available, we may have to accept less than the case might otherwise be worth on the chance that a jury awards nothing.
On the other hand, if we have ample evidence of survival after the accident, we may aggressively pursue a recovery to fairly compensate you for the loss of life.
Speak to a Maryland fatal truck accident lawyer to learn the available options. Generally, the sooner you act, the better the chance of recovering fully. Our attorneys offer a free consultation and case evaluation to all potential claimants at (202) 331-7227.