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An insurance claim for a Maryland truck accident is often your best chance of recovery. Even if you hire a Maryland truck accident lawyer to sue the negligent driver who caused the accident, we often recover from the auto insurer and not the driver himself. A truck collision can be the most disastrous accident type in Maryland. A truck can weigh upwards of 80,000 pounds. Compare this to a sedan, which may weigh about 3,000. Accordingly, someone in a sedan, or worse a motorcycle, will suffer catastrophic injury no matter who is at fault. Moreover, unlike the typical car accident, trucks often hit multiple vehicles when they crash due to their length. This creates an insurance nightmare. In the worst accidents, there is far more damage than coverage. But the good news is, semi-trucks often carry more coverage than the typical car.
Moreover, if there is insufficient coverage on the auto policy for the truck that hit you and on the vehicle that you are in, we can even sue the trucking company that is vicariously liable for the actions of their employee. All of this is done through insurance. Thus, an insurance claim for a Maryland truck accident is the best way to make a claim. Moreover, an insurance claim is a form of settlement. While Maryland is a suitable state for personal injury lawsuits, it is still slower and more expensive than settling. This is why we will file the insurance claim with the proper insurer, negotiate an agreement, and receive compensation in exchange for you releasing liability against the defendant in the majority of cases. Below, we cover the most relevant insurance claims you can make after a truck accident.
We also overview how to file an insurance claim after a Maryland truck accident.
The first step is getting medical attention after a Maryland truck crash. After that, you should speak with a truck accident attorney when making an insurance claim for a Maryland truck accident. Every case is different enough that we cannot prescribe a one size fits all plan. This is especially true with the insurance companies. Every insurance company operates a bit differently, and every case is different. The process typically involves gathering evidence, notifying the insurance companies, and negotiating a settlement. If we are unsuccessful in resolving your insurance claim, we file a lawsuit against the defendant. If it is a standard bodily injury lawsuit, we file against the defendant. Then, the defendant’s insurer will retain counsel and we will battle it out at trial.
But if you are making an uninsured motorist claim, we do not have a person to sue. Instead, you sue your own insurance company for breach of contract. We will explore this in more detail below.
A bodily injury claim covers medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering caused by the accident. This is the standard personal injury lawsuit you may consider when imagining a truck accident claim. If the truck driver was at fault, their liability insurance should compensate you for these damages. They are on the hook for your damages when their insured causes the accident. However, insurance companies often dispute claims by arguing that injuries are pre-existing or not severe enough to warrant full compensation. This is when a Maryland truck accident lawyer at Gelb & Gelb assists you with your insurance claim for a Maryland truck accident.
This still falls under the umbrella of an insurance claim for a few reasons. First, we are given a claim number from the defendant’s insurance number. We refer to this as we are navigating the claims process. Beyond this, it is an insurance claim because we are making two claims. First, there is the property damage claim. Our office takes no fee for any property damage check you receive nor do we necessarily represent you in that part of your case. But that will be included if we do sue for liability on the personal injury part of your case. Next, we make the personal injury claim. However, if this is disputed, we will move for a trial.
What do you do when a bodily injury claim is not an option? Perhaps the at-fault driver fled the scene after hitting your vehicle. Or, the driver had actually stolen the vehicle. Another common instance is when a family member of the owner is driving the vehicle, but they are an excluded driver. In any of these instances, no insurance is available on that truck. These are all examples of when we must make an uninsured motorist claim. Uninsured motorist coverage is mandatory on a truck registered in Maryland. Uninsured motorist coverage, or UM coverage, covers your damages in the same way as insurance for the at-fault party. So, if your damages equal $25,000, you may recover that $25,000 from your own insurance just as you would from the at-fault party’s insurance.
But what would you do if you cannot agree to terms with your insurer? Can you sue them the same way you would the at-fault driver? You may make an insurance claim for a Maryland truck accident, which is a settlement with your insurer. Or, you can sue your insurance company for breach of contract. A skilled Maryland truck accident attorney at Gelb & Gelb will handle this suit on your behalf. Generally, we sue the insurer, not where the accident occurred, but where you reside.
A bodily injury claim and an uninsured motorist claim are coverages that exceed a mandatory minimum. If you cannot make a bodily injury claim on the adverse party’s policy, you make it on your own as an uninsured motorist claim. However, an uninsured motorist claim is when the disadvantage of an uninsured motorist claim becomes apparent. You can only make an underinsured, or UIM claim, if you first made a bodily injury claim with the negligent driver. And only when there is insufficient coverage on that policy can you dip into your insurance company’s pocket. Although, a UIM claim is less common when the defendant is a truck driver. This is because we can often also sue the trucking company, which may be vicariously liable for the driver’s negligence. If that policy or company assets are also not enough, then you can also make a UIM claim.
Maryland offers Personal Injury Protection (PIP), a no-fault coverage that helps pay for medical bills and lost wages, regardless of who caused the accident. If you have PIP on your policy, this is almost always a no-brainer. Some plaintiffs are initially apprehensive to use PIP. They do not wish to use their own policy because they worry about increasing their premiums. This is not the case when you use PIP. You pay to have PIP on your policy. So, if you are in an accident, you may as well use it. PIP will cover the first $2,500 or $10,000 of your special damages. Moreover, it will cover these damages whether you are at fault for the accident or not. Thus, it is known as a “no-fault coverage.”
PIP is optional in Maryland, but if you have it, filing a claim can provide quick financial relief after a truck accident.
Call our office today to make an insurance claim for a Maryland truck accident. We offer free consultations to all potential clients at (202) 331-7227.
Copyright © 2025 Gelb & Gelb, P.C. All rights reserved.