Truck Accident Cases Vs. Car Accident Cases in Maryland

One of the differences between truck accidents and car accidents is that trucks are governed by a federal motor carrier safety act and that has to do with the inspection and maintenance of the truck. Inspection and maintenance and upkeep of their trucks and the licensing requirements to carry certain things such as an 18 wheeler or a tractor trailer or anything like that.

Additionally, the size and weight of the truck when it strikes a non-truck vehicle can result in more severe property damage and can cause a greater risk of injury to the inhabitants of the vehicle. Trucking accidents are often catastrophic in nature due to the mass of the trucks involved and the destruction that they can inflict onto other cars or vans or motorcycles that get into an accident with them.

Damages in Maryland Truck Accident Cases

Due to the fact that the truck is a larger vehicle than a typical car or a motorcycle they usually inflict a much more significant degree of damages to anyone else that is involved in an accident. Those damages can be substantial and require significant and time consuming medical treatment and can lead to broken bones or surgery or even death.

Different Standards for Commercial Drivers

Because the commercial drivers are essentially professional drivers they require a higher degree of care than other people on the road. They are held to a duty of care to make sure that their vehicles are inspected properly and timely and that their vehicles are maintained properly and timely and their degree of reasonable care is higher than a regular persons reasonable care because of the kind of damage that their vehicle can inflict.

Insurance Limitations

One of the key differences is the insurance limitations. Typically for trucking accidents the insurance policies on their vehicles are much higher than a typical car accident. In Maryland the minimum liability policy for a car is $30,000 whereas a typical trucking insurance policy would be $500,000 to a million dollars. The reason for that is because of the damages that they can inflict upon the other vehicles and their own. Most trucks are covered by some form of commercial insurance policy as well as an excess or umbrella policy to cover the injuries caused by these vehicles.

Unique Aspects About Truck Accidents

One of the unique aspects of how they are handled is that after a trucking accident happens the vehicle is inspected from head to toe to see if it meets the standards that the truck company is supposed to have on the vehicle which means it is expected much more carefully than a normal vehicle. The insurance adjustors who handle these claims are more sophisticated than your typical automobile adjustors so proving that the truck driver or trucking company violated the federal motor carrier safety act is more difficult than an ordinary automobile case.

Also, a truck  is more likely to rollover or be involved in a rollover accident than other non-truck vehicles due to the nature of the cargo they are carrying as well as the larger size and length of the trucks.  Some trucks, such as tanker trucks, may contain combustible liquids or flammable liquids as well as other types of liquid cargo.  If that liquid cargo is not properly balanced then the probability of that truck rolling over either in whole or in part increases.  Rollover accidents are not exclusive to truck collisions, but the potential for a rollover may be greater when a truck is not handled or loaded properly and in accordance with Federal, State and Local regulations.