Truck AccidentsAnnapolis Truck Accident Lawyers

Following safety rules is critical to protecting the public and for driver’s to maintain their jobs. Every truck driver has to demonstrate that they know the rules and are capable of following the rules. Truck accidents invariably follow violations of these rules that are due fatigue, carelessness, weather conditions and laziness. Truck accidents are often investigated by authorities, the trucking companies’ risk management team and also their insurance company. An admission of responsibility by a truck driver may lead to his termination from the company. The truck driver knows the rules that he should have followed and it is important to have a lawyer that knows the same rules. Annapolis truck accident lawyer, George Patterson has litigated hundreds of truck accident cases. The truck accident lawyers at Patterson law know the detailed requirements of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. Many companies that engage in interstate trucking provide copies of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations to their drivers. These detailed requirements provide fertile ground to establish negligence on the part of the driver of a commercial truck.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations do not all apply to every commercial truck accident. Some rules only apply to accidents caused by a truck with a weight of 26,000 pounds or less. Also, trucking companies may try to avoid these regulations by only conducting intrastate business. You should always seek the assistance of a Board Certified Truck Accident Attorney if you were involved in an accident with a truck that has a DOT number or MDOT number. Most vehicles that have a weight over 10,000 pounds require such a number. Truck companies and their drivers may claim that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act regulations do not apply to your accident, but these regulations are often incorporated by State Law and also by the required knowledge and skills for a commercial drivers license.

If you need a truck accident lawyer, pease call 301-888-HURT to schedule a free consultation with a Board Certified Truck Accident Lawyer at our offices in Annapolis or Bowie, Maryland. Patterson Law has an office located near the intersection of Route 2 and Route 50 by the Anne Arundel Medical Center. Our Bowie, office is located in the Omni Medical Building. The Omni Medical Building is located close to the intersection of Route 50 and Route 301.

Commercial trucks have larger blind spots that require the proper adjustment of mirrors for the truck drivers to monitor those areas for traffic. The Bowie truck accident lawyers have litigated numerous cases involving unsafe lane changes made by commercial truck drivers into cars that were in known blind spots. Interstate truck drivers are also required to maintain a log documenting the hours that they had been driving as well as the location and times of stops. This information is helpful to determine if a truck driver was sleep deprived or running late. Violations of the rules of the road are more likely to occur when a driver is tired or rushed. Improper truck maintenance also leads to accidents. Annapolis truck accident lawyer, George Patterson has litigated truck accidents caused by illegally parked trucks and by trucks that failed to have adequate lighting or reflective markings. This is particularly important in preventing night time accidents when trucks are crossing multiple lane roadways. Truck accident lawyer, George Patterson has also handled wrongful death claims arising from serious truck accidents.

Early in George Patterson’s career he was hired by a major trucking company to represent the company after a serious truck accident. The truck accident occurred when a truck driver ran into multiple cars that were stopped on a highway. The weather reports indicated that there had been fog in the area before the accident. An exhaustive review of the driver’s logs and corresponding records followed. Mr. Patterson has experience with meeting with truck drivers immediately after serious accidents and sometimes on location. These meetings were done to preserve critical evidence. Trucking companies hire lawyers immediately after serious accidents as a way to shield the lawyer’s work through attorney-client and attorney work-product privileges. Unless your lawyer knows what evidence to look for, preserve and obtain it is unlikely that the trucking company will voluntarily disclose and/or preserve critical evidence.