Rockville truck accident cases full of headache-inducing legal red tape

Seldom is there a Maryland truck accident where little or no injury occurs. The sheer size of semi-trailers, 18-wheelers and other large trucks almost always translates to a serious accident involving extensive injuries.

In fact, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported nearly 5,200 fatal truck accidents in 2004 alone. Another 116,000 people were injured in truck accidents nationwide that same year.

As might be expected, more than three-fourths of the fatalities in 2004 were occupants of another (smaller) vehicle.

Common injuries from the aftermath of a serious truck accident include traumatic brain injuries, head trauma, and significant damage to one's neck or back. Any one of these injuries could require months, if not years, of medical care. Truck accidents frequently lead to permanent disabilities.

While it may seem like an easy matter to determine who is at fault for the crash that caused your injuries, the numerous regulations governing commercial trucking often lead to a lot of finger-pointing and unnecessary delays in your compensation.

This is not necessarily because the trucker or his company doesn't want to pay the bill, although that may certainly be a factor as well. Rather, it is simply due to the extra red tape involved with a truck accident.

Truckers are often required to have multiple insurances, making if difficult to know where to send a demand for compensation. Also, depending on where the accident occurred, any number of state laws could have been violated that would make a difference in your personal injury claim.

Other factors that may come into play regarding your claim include:

• Whether the trucker is an independent contractor or employee of a specific company
• Whether the truck driver was transporting goods in one state only or across state borders
• Which state or federal regulations were in effect at the time and place of the accident
• If the truck driver neglected any trucker safety guidelines
• How many hours the trucker had been driving at the time of the accident
• Whether the trucker had sufficient training for what he was transporting
• If the truck itself passed safety inspections
• If the truck itself was overloaded
• If any hazardous materials were being transported

These are just a few examples of the dozens of factors that can become an issue when dealing with injuries or deaths resulting from a serious Maryland truck accident.

Any injury requiring months of medical care or any significant time off work may be reason to talk to a Rockville injury attorney who is familiar with the unique laws regulating commercial trucking and how they affect your personal injury case.

If you or a family member has sustained permanent injury or lost a loved one in a truck accident, you may want to get help from an experienced lawyer.

Rather than trying to deal with the headache of a personal injury claim yourself, call Nickelsporn & Lundin at 1-800-877-9700 or fill out our online form. You have enough to deal with in recovery, so let us take care of the tedious legal details.