Personal Injury Law

Family of Baltimore Bicyclist Settles Maryland Tanker Truck Accident Lawsuit Over His Wrongful Death

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

The family of John R. "Jack" Yates has settled their Baltimore truck accident lawsuit with Potts & Callahan Inc. and tanker truck driver Michael Dale Chandler. Yates, 67, died on August 4, 2009 when his bicycle got stuck in the truck?s large wheels. The terms of the Maryland wrongful death lawsuit are confidential.

Yates?s family had initially sought $5 million from the defendants. They had accused the excavation, demolition, and equipment rental company for negligence. Investigators, however, found that Yates was at fault in the Baltimore bicycle accident and charges were not filed against the trucker, who failed to stop at the Maryland truck crash site. Police did not think that Chandler knew he had struck Yates.

However, the family?s Maryland wrongful death lawyer has called the investigation ?one of the sloppiest? involving a death that he has seen in a long time. He claims there was evidence that Chandler failed to signal before turning and that this was not included in the police report. Also, the intersection where the crash happened had two large signs warning that there were bicyclists in the area.

Maryland Large Truck Accidents
The chances of a bicyclist getting seriously hurt when involved in a large truck crash are incredibly high. Truck drivers must exercise caution when on the road. Distracted driving, failure to obey traffic signs, drowsy driving, distracted driving, speeding, and driver inattention can prove fatal. It is usually the bicyclist, who lacks any buffer to serve as protection from the impact of colliding with an 18-wheeler truck, semi-truck, tractor-trailer, tanker truck, garbage truck, big rig truck, or delivery truck that will end up the worse for wear.

Family of cyclist killed in crash settles with truck driver, employer, The Baltimore Sun, December 1, 2010

Baltimore, Maryland Truck Accident Lawsuit Seeks $5 Million for Family of Bicyclist, Maryland Accident Law Blog, March 7, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Trucking Accident Lawyer Blog

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

Full post as published by Maryland Accident Law Blog on December 02, 2010 (boomark / email).