Personal Injury Law

Family Says Maryland to Blame for Faulty Bay Bridge Construction that Contributed to Truck Driver?s Wrongful Death

By Jack Lebowitz, Esq. and Vadim Mzhen, Esq.

The family of truck driver John Short has amended their Maryland wrongful death complaint to include the state as a defendant. Short died in a truck crash in August 2008 when he swerved his tractor-trailer to avoid another vehicle, crashed into a bridge wall, and drove off the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

In June, the 57-year-old trucker?s family filed a $7 million Maryland wrongful death lawsuit against 19-year-old Candy Lynn Baldwin, who had fallen asleep while driving.

While Baldwin, who had been drinking before the tragic Maryland truck crash, did not have a blood alcohol level high enough for her to be charged with drunk driving, Short?s family says her results would have been different if authorities had tested her BAC right after the truck collision. They have pointed to her MySpace page, which included pictures of Baldwin, a minor, drinking alcohol. One photo shows her holding a bottle of alcohol while she?s seated in the driver?s seat of a motor vehicle.

Now, Short?s family is also suing the state of Maryland for wrongful death. They are citing poor maintenance and inspection of the bridge. While the walls are there as a protective barrier, they obviously weren?t enough to keep Short?s large truck from crashing into the water. Their wrongful death complaint also contends that the two-way traffic allowed the bridge has led to a number of fatalities.

Since the fatal truck collision that claimed Short?s life, Maryland has spent $3 million repairing and inspecting the bridge?s sidewalls.

Truck Accidents Involving Truck Driver Victims
While the majority of truck accident fatalities are the people who weren?t riding in the large trucks when the catastrophic traffic collisions happened, truck drivers do get injured or killed in truck crashes that are caused by other negligent parties.

Md. Named In Fatal Bay Bridge Crash Suit, WJZ, December 12, 2009

Trucker's Family Sues Over Bay Bridge Fatal Crash, ABC2News.com

Related Web Resources:
Maryland

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

Full post as published by Maryland Accident Law Blog on December 14, 2009 (boomark / email).