A Maryland wide turn truck lawyer at Gelb & Gelb can provide you with the assistance you need after a motor vehicle accident. This is among the most common types of truck accidents. Whether it is a U-haul or a garbage truck, wide turns are challenging for semi-trucks due to the length of the truck bed. For example, if a longer truck wants to turn left at an intersection, it may need to turn slightly to the right first to make the turn without hitting any vehicles waiting at the red light on the left side. Other options for safely making the turn include those vehicles waiting on the left side reversing or the truck stopping, reversing, and then pulling forward to the left side. None of these options are ideal.
It is especially challenging for delivery truck drivers on narrow urban roads, such as those in Annapolis, Baltimore, Bethesda, and other cities in Maryland. Any road with congestion is challenging for even an experienced truck driver. Now, throw in other common obstacles, such as pedestrians, bicyclists, and vehicles that stop past the stop line. As much of a problem as these wide-turn truck accidents continue to be, there are two silver linings to consider. First, the speeds in these accidents are generally lower than in the typical wide-turn accident. This is important because lower speeds are generally correlated with less significant injuries. Second, a trusted Maryland wide turn truck lawyer can assist you in maximizing compensation for the injuries you sustain in this type of accident.
Whatever the cause of the wide turn truck accident is, it is our job as attorneys to prove that the truck driver’s negligence caused the accident and, thus, your injuries. We discuss some of the most common causes our Maryland wide turn truck lawyers handle below.
Driver error is a broad term, but it accounts for all the wide-turn truck accidents we handle. This may be when a driver misjudges the amount of space he needs to make a turn safely. Such a driver error would be enough to constitute negligence. Negligence is the basis of a personal injury lawsuit and is what we look for if we want to hold a driver liable for your injuries. Proving negligence is something our Maryland wide turn truck lawyers do daily, whether in court or a settlement negotiation.
Driver error can take many forms. It covers inexperienced truck drivers, most commonly found behind the wheel of a U-haul, poorly trained drivers, or when the truck is improperly loaded. An improperly loaded semi-truck can throw off the balance of the truck. This can make maintaining control of the truck more difficult, especially during a wide turn.
A failure to signal is generally insufficient to establish liability against a driver. However, it is worth discussing because it is a question our Maryland wide turn truck lawyers often receive during consultations. A turn signal should notify other drivers that the truck is making a turn. For a truck, this is critical as it allows other vehicles to make space for the truck to maneuver into the new lane.
Our Maryland wide turn truck lawyers regularly handle blind spot truck accidents. Blind spot accidents are prevalent during wide turns because of pedestrians, bicyclists, and anyone else quickly running through a crosswalk. Among the biggest issues for trucks as they execute a wide turn is they are not exactly sure where the back of their truck is. They act more from memory as they try to imagine where the vehicles are as they pass them by. This makes executing a wide turn even more difficult and is thus a common cause of wide-turn truck accidents.
Liability in a wide turn or any motor vehicle accident is predicated on carelessness. A trucker has a duty to operate his truck with ordinary care, as would another professional truck driver in good standing in his industry. The idea behind this legal duty is that no professional truck driver would scrape another vehicle during a wide turn. Or, at the least, that is not the legal duty we want to impose, as it would lead to more accidents. Additionally, because most wide-turn truck accidents impact a vehicle that is stopped at a red light, there is no reason why a driver in a stopped vehicle should be held responsible for an accident. This is true even if the vehicle is past the stop line. While this is per se negligent, the negligence is not the legal cause of the accident.
Rather, the legal and proximate cause of the truck accident is the trucker’s failure to avoid colliding with a stopped vehicle. Accordingly, we can hold the driver responsible for the damages. But can we hold the trucking company responsible? The answer is it depends. If the truck driver operates within the course and scope of his employment, the trucking company is liable. This is according to the doctrine of respondeat superior or vicarious liability. We want to hold the trucking company responsible because they have more insurance coverage and typically greater assets to cover a judgment if we succeed at trial or settlement negotiation.
A skilled Maryland wide turn truck lawyer will work to maximize your compensation after an accident. Before discussing compensation, we must establish that there is liability. This is true whether we are negotiating a settlement or going to trial. Then, we can turn to the value of the case. To determine your value, we examine a few key components. First, we consider your medical expenses. This includes all past medical expenses and future expenses. Some insurers will argue that your medical expenses are higher than they should be. This is a baseless claim, but they will try to argue it, especially if you are unrepresented by a Maryland wide turn truck lawyer. Then, we consider all lost wages.
But note that lost wages are only recoverable if you were excused by a doctor or for a couple of hours a day if your medical treatment coincides with your missed time from work. We must also consider any loss of future earning capacity.
While this is less likely in a lower-speed accident like a wide-turn truck accident, it is worth considering. The last component of a negligence claim against a trucker is your general damages. This should compensate you for the time you spent dealing with the injury. If you were in a lot of pain for months on end, that is an unfair cost to your quality of life, and you deserve compensation. The amount you are entitled to is ultimately a jury question. It will depend on how sympathetic they are to you as a plaintiff. However, we use general go-by numbers to evaluate the value of your case in the likely instance that we can settle your case prior to trial.
Call a Maryland wide turn truck lawyer at Gelb & Gelb, P.C. today for a free consultation and case evaluation at (202) 331-7227.