Posted on June 10, 2024 in Truck Accidents

Any car accident can be traumatic, but truck accidents are much more likely to cause serious injury and other damages, making them even more stressful. The size and weight of commercial vehicles, like 18-wheelers, can cause catastrophic injuries, and accidents involving these trucks tend to involve more vehicles in a crash. It’s important to know what to do after a truck accident in Virginia.

If you are able to move around and take action without worsening your injuries, there are several steps you should take. These can help you protect your physical health and your future financial interests. These steps include:

Report the Accident

Under state law, drivers are required to report any accident that causes the injury or death of a person. Truck accidents are much more likely to result in injury and death than other types of car accidents. If you are able, you should get out of your vehicle and move yourself and others to a safe location unless it is more dangerous to do so. Take note of your own injuries and the injuries of others so you can report them when you call emergency services.

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 Posted on June 09, 2024 in Truck Accidents

Car accidents are an unfortunately common occurrence, ranging from minor property damage accidents to seriously harmful collisions. By knowing the basic Virginia car accident statistics, drivers can understand common causes of accidents and drive more carefully on the road. While drivers cannot prevent all accidents, they can do what is possible to make smart choices while driving.

The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles and Virginia Highway Safety Office recorded the number and causes of motor vehicle accidents in Virginia in 2023. Virginia has 6.13 million licensed drivers in 2023 and 8.59 million registered vehicles. There were an estimated 83,489 million miles traveled in the year.

Virginia Overall Motor Vehicle Accident Statistics

Motor vehicle accidents are one of the most common causes of personal injury. There were 127,597 motor vehicle crashes in Virginia in 2023, an average of one crash every 4.1 minutes. In the past five years, the year with the lowest number of crashes was 2020, with 105,600 crashes. 2019 had the highest in those five years, with 128,172 crashes, although there were fewer fatalities in 2019 than in 2020. From 2022 to 2023, there was a 4.2% increase in crashes.

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 Posted on May 03, 2024 in Truck Accidents

The Million Dollar Advocates Forum is pleased to announce that attorney Morgan Whitlock of Silver Spring, Maryland has been certified as a life member of both the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. The Million Dollar Advocates Forum is recognized as one of the most prestigious groups of trial lawyers in the Unties States. Membership is limited to attorneys who have won million and multi-million dollar verdicts, awards and settlements. The organization was founded in 1993 and there are approximately 780 members located throughout the country. Fewer than 1% of the US lawyers are members, Forum membership acknowledges excellence in advocacy, and provides members with a national network of experienced colleagues for professional referral and information exchange in major cases. Members must have acted as principal counsel in at least once case in which their client has received a verdict, award or settlement in the amount of one million dollars or more.

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 Posted on May 03, 2024 in Truck Accidents

The main objective of a Maryland personal injury claim is for the injured plaintiff to recover the compensation they need to be as whole as possible again after a defendant has injured them. While you can search for Maryland personal injury settlement amount examples, the reality is that every case is unique, and it is vital to understand what elements comprise a personal injury settlement if you want to estimate the potential value of your claim.

Claiming Compensation With a Personal Injury Case in Maryland

Before the plaintiff of any personal injury case will be able to recover compensation for their damages, they must first prove how those damages happened and identify the party or parties responsible for causing them. Additionally, a plaintiff must prove that the defendant named in their claim is entirely at fault for causing their damages. The plaintiff can bear no shared fault, otherwise they lose the right to pursue compensation from anyone else.

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 Posted on April 14, 2024 in Truck Accidents

If you have recently been involved in a car accident in Maryland, it is understandable to wonder about the average car accident settlement in Maryland and how much compensation you could potentially obtain if another driver caused your recent accident. The right attorney can assist you with your recovery, but it is important to understand the fundamentals of a car accident claim and what you can expect in terms of compensation under Maryland law.

Potential Damages in a Maryland Car Accident Case

Maryland is an at-fault state when it comes to vehicle accidents, meaning the driver at fault for an accident absorbs liability for all the damages they caused in the incident. Proving fault will be essential to your recovery if you believe any other party is directly responsible for causing the accident you recently experienced. You will need to prove fault before you can recover compensation for your damages through insurance and/or a personal injury suit in Maryland.

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 Posted on March 16, 2024 in Truck Accidents

Car accidents happen in many different ways throughout the state each year, and it is vital for every driver to know the risks they face on the road and how they can avoid causing accidents with others. Maryland car accident statistics provide valuable insights into recent trends, and the Maryland Department of Transportation (DOT) regularly publishes reports as part of its Zero Deaths Maryland initiative.

Important Statistics for Car Accidents

Zero Deaths Maryland recently published its latest accident report, covering up to 2022. It takes time for the state DOT and other government agencies to collate accident data throughout the state, but early projections for the 2023 report indicate that accident rates and traffic fatalities are likely to be higher than they were in 2022. Some of the most important statistics regarding the five-year average between 2018 and 2022 include:

• 109,413 total crashes each year on average.

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 Posted on January 16, 2024 in Truck Accidents

Determining whether your child’s safety seat needs to be replaced after a car crash is a critical safety decision. The integrity of a car seat can be compromised in a crash, regardless of whether it was occupied at the time of the collision or not.

It’s important to understand that a seat that has been compromised in terms of safety may not always appear damaged to the naked eye. With that said, not all accidents necessitate the replacement of a child safety seat. Keep the following in mind in order to make an informed decision that will help to ensure your child’s safety moving forward.

HOW SERIOUS WAS THE CRASH?

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) provides criteria to assess whether a car crash is minor. According to NHTSA, a crash is considered “minor” if all the following conditions are met:

• You could drive the vehicle away from the crash site.

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 Posted on January 06, 2024 in Truck Accidents

If you have been injured in a car accident that wasn’t your fault, you naturally expect the responsible party (or their insurer) to pay up – but the legal process of getting to that point can seem daunting.

Fortunately, the vast majority of personal injury claims are ultimately settled out of court. With the right legal guidance, you can often negotiate a fair settlement and avoid a trial altogether. Settlements are often preferred by both sides of a car accident claim, since trials are costly and unpredictable, as well as invasive and time-consuming.

IS SETTLING REALLY IN YOUR BEST INTERESTS?

Every situation is completely different, but settling “out of court” is not always the appropriate path to take in a car accident claim. Here are some reasons you may want to proceed to trial:

• The defendant denies liability: If the defendant denies responsibility for the crash, that can complicate things. An insurance company may be reluctant to pay a claim at all when their client insists that they did not cause the crash.

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 Posted on December 28, 2023 in Truck Accidents

Being involved in a car crash is a harrowing experience, and it becomes even more stressful when there are children in the vehicle. Knowing what steps to take immediately following an accident can help to better ensure everyone’s safety and to safeguard everyone’s well-being.

The first step is to check if anyone in the car, especially the children, is injured. Even if there are no visible injuries, it’s crucial to be cautious as some injuries, like whiplash or concussions, may not be immediately apparent. The health of everyone involved is the most important concern. Everything else can wait. Therefore, you’ll want to dial 911 as soon as possible. Even when it comes to minor accidents, it’s important to get kids – and adults too – checked out by medical personnel before they’re moved.

WHAT NEXT?

Accidents can be frightening for children. Keep them calm and reassured. If they are very young, try to distract them from the scene. It’s important to stay as calm as possible yourself, as children will often mirror the reactions of adults and their trauma may be compounded if the adults involved are – for lack of a better phrase – freaking out.

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 Posted on December 18, 2023 in Truck Accidents

While a collision between two vehicles in a parking lot is unlikely to be as serious as one out on the open road, it can still result in severe injuries.

It’s not just drivers who are at risk in parking lots either. Pedestrians and cyclists could still be killed if a driver hits them, despite the lower speeds than the road.

DISTRACTION IS THE BIGGEST ISSUE

Drivers get distracted all the time, yet there is a high risk of them being distracted in a parking lot. This is partly because there is so much going on – they need to hunt for a parking space or reverse out while avoiding others entering the parking lane. And it is partly because people think they are safe once they are off the road. People can do things like programming their satnav, calling someone they are set to meet, or reaching for their shopping bags while waiting to park – making it easy to miss something happening around them.

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