Drunk Driving Accidents

Maryland Auto Accident News: Alcohol Suspected in Fatal US 29 Traffic Accident in Prince George’s County

November 24, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Drunk driving is a known killer on Maryland’s highways and surface streets. And as long as alcohol is available to adults there will, sadly, be drunken driving accidents on our roadways. As a Maryland automobile accident attorney, I see reports every week of innocent people hurt, injured or killed as a result of another driver’s negligence.

In the case of driving while intoxicated (DWI) or driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol and prescription medication, drivers have a responsibility not to get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle when they are impaired. That’s why we have the concept of designated drivers; to help prevent serious and sometimes deadly drinking-related car, truck and motorcycle accidents from happening.

Some might say it’s a matter of conscience, but it should really be a matter of personal responsibility to oneself and the rest of society. Yet there are drivers every day who take the wheel of a potentially deadly two-ton weapon when they know full well that they have had too much to drink. Many get from Point A to Point B without killing someone; others aren’t as lucky. The innocent drivers who are killed or injured are always the unlucky ones.

Maryland State Police Suspect Drunk Driver Responsible for Frederick 4-Car Crash on Md. 180

November 3, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As a Maryland car accident and injury lawyer, I have seen the unfortunate results of far too many automobile crashes. While some traffic collisions are unavoidable, many could have been prevented if a driver had paid more attention to avert a car or trucking accident. Quite frequently, especially when driving is involved, simple common sense would have made the difference between life and death.

Sadly, we can’t predict when such factors will conspire to cause a car, truck or motorcycle wreck. But ultimately, people are responsible for their own actions. Take the issue of drinking and driving, which is a hot topic in most anyone’s book. Drunk drivers cause more than their share of costly and sometimes fatal traffic crashes. A news article not long ago illustrates what can happen when alcohol is mixed with motor vehicles.

According to reports, a 40-year-old driver from Hagerstown man was charged with drunken driving following a multi-vehicle accident along Md. 180 near Himes Ave. in Frederick, MD. The crash occurred on a Monday afternoon during the busy rush hour and was apparently made worse by rain and slippery road conditions.

Maryland Auto Injury News: Man’s Family Accepts $100,000 Award from Fatal 2008 Bay Bridge Accident

October 31, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Every so often a life-altering event occurs that makes people think: What would I do in a similar situation? The death of a family member is always a shock to the survivors and everyone involved can be affected a different way. As a Baltimore automobile accident attorney and Maryland personal injury lawyer, I understand that reaching a settlement that will best help the victim’s family is one of the most important goals in a wrongful death suit.

Not only medical costs, but lost wages and other financial matters left in the wake of an untimely death are all concerns for the surviving family members. A recent wrongful death suit was settled, according to news reports, leaving the family of the victim with only $100,000 for the apparent loss of a husband and provider.

Based on court records, the family of 57-year-old John Short accepted the $100,000 limit payable by another driver’s insurance company in the case of a fatal crash on the Bay Bridge back a couple of years ago. According to reports, Short died on August 10, 2008, when he steered his semi tractor-trailer rig off the bridge as he tried to avoid hitting an oncoming vehicle driven by 19-year-old Candy Baldwin.

Baltimore Accident News: Worchester County Driver Charged with Drunken Driving after Single-car Crash and Fire

October 21, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Having represented numerous auto accident victims as a Maryland personal injury attorney, nothing much surprises me or my colleagues and staff. While news of a single-vehicle crash these days might make people think of claims against Toyota for issues of mechanical problems and unexpected acceleration, not all individual car crashes can be pinned on defective vehicle equipment.

Driver error or simple negligence can also be a cause of many accidents, not only here in Baltimore, but in Washington, D.C., Annapolis and Frederick, MD. In cases where an individual is hurt or killed as a passenger of a vehicle may open the door for a civil suit against the driver, depending on possible negligent behavior prior to a traffic accident.

Drunk driving, driving while distracted (such as texting), or driving under the influence (DUI) of prescription medication can all be contributing factors in a car, truck or motorcycle accident. A recent news article pointed out the dangers of motor vehicle collisions, even single-car accidents.

Single-vehicle Anne Arundel County Car Crash Sends Three People to Maryland Shock Trauma Center

October 9, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As a Baltimore automobile and trucking accident attorney, I know how mixing alcohol and motor vehicles leads to bad results. Some people might argue that drinking and driving leads to unintended consequences, but at some point we must draw the line and consider personal responsibility. Every year tens of thousands of people are unnecessarily injured or killed in alcohol-related car, truck and motorcycle collisions. I won’t call these kinds of crashes “accidents” because drinking beer, wine or hard liquor is a conscious decision.

Sadly, even with strict anti-drunken driving laws and heavy police enforcement, night after night many Maryland drivers get behind the wheel of their automobiles and drive while intoxicated. Some of them will cause a car crash. Some will be hurt as a result. Others will either injure or kill another innocent person. Those victims and their families are the direct recipients of a drinker’s negligent decision to operate that vehicle while impaired.

Not long ago, an Anne Arundel County man was critically injured during a car crash in Arnold, MD. Police claim that a variety of factors may have been to blame, including excessive speed and possibly alcohol consumption. According to news reports, the driver and two other occupants of a 2010 Cadillac were all injured in the early hours on a Sunday morning when the driver apparently lost control of the vehicle, which then hit a tree on the side of the road.

Ocean City, MD, Accident News: Drunk Maryland Man Causes Rear-end Injury Accident on Route 90

September 28, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Rear-end traffic accidents can cause multiple injuries to the occupants of the vehicles involved in the crash. The effects of these injuries, which can include neck and spinal trauma, can linger for months in not years following the initial car wreck. As a Maryland auto accident attorney representing individuals across the state, as well as in Washington, D.C., I understand the pain and discomfort that can haunt automobile accident victims throughout their lives.

A recent news article illustrated one of the more frequent causes of traffic accidents — a drunken driver. Driving while intoxicated is not a safe way to operate a motor vehicle. In fact, as many people know, the Maryland State Police, local law enforcement agencies and the state’s court system all take a dim view of individuals who drive under the influence of alcohol, much less cause injury accidents when inebriated.

According to news reports, a traffic accident along Route 90 near Ocean City was apparently caused by a man accused of driving drunk. Based on police reports, a vehicle operated by a 19-year-old motorist collided with second car on a Thursday morning resulting in minor injuries to the driver of the other vehicle.

Maryland Man Convicted of Alcohol-related Vehicular Homicide Gets Another 6 Years for Drinking Again

September 20, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Drinking and driving subjects everyone on the road to potential danger involving traffic accidents with injuries or even fatal car crashes. As Maryland personal injury attorneys and automobile accident lawyers, I and my colleagues work to help the victims of car accidents caused by another individual’s negligent behavior. Getting behind the wheel when intoxicated is one way to kill or hurt other drivers and passengers on the road.

According to a recent article, a 43-year-old alcoholic will get another six years in prison for taking a drink at a local gas station. Whether or not this was a so-called “moment of weakness,” the description would mean very little to a person injured by this man, should he not have been caught by police. According to news reports, the man was on probation after being convicted for automobile manslaughter back in 2005, but even that episode in his life didn’t seem to make enough of an impression to keep him from taking a sip of an alcoholic beverage.

Based on reports, Michael Thomas Spears pled guilty to violating his probation, which in this man’s case was spelled out as abstaining from alcohol. In his original vehicular manslaughter trial, it was argued that Spears’ negligence resulted in the death of 92-year-old Berkman Gatton and the partial blinding James Nichols, son of the elderly man.

Maryland Automobile Accident Report: Two Passengers Killed in Queen Anne’s County Car Crash

August 31, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Once again drinking and driving has been pointed to as a contributing factor in yet another car accident in Queen Anne’s County. As a Baltimore personal injury lawyer and car accident attorney, I know all too well how alcohol can play a big role in traffic collisions. The pain inflicted on others as a result of another person’s negligent behavior can be extensive and long lasting.

In this latest incident, two people died when the vehicle in which they were riding crashed along a stretch of Maryland’s Route 8. According to news accounts, the accident happened around 8am on a Sunday morning when 41-year-old Victor A. Smith of Annapolis apparently lost control of his BMW, which then crossed the center line into oncoming traffic.

The Smith had been driving his black BMW northbound along Route 8 near Great Neck Road in Stevensville when the accident occurred. As the car veered into southbound traffic, 46-year-old Agnes C. Phelps tried to avoid Smith’s BMW by pulling off to the side of the road and onto the shoulder, according to police reports. Even so, Phelps’ car was hit by the BMW, which then caused both vehicles to leave the roadway.

Baltimore Car Accident News: Drug-impaired Drivers Injure Many, But Prosecution for DUI Difficult

August 25, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

It’s no secret that many traffic accidents are caused by impaired drivers. A subset of this group includes individuals who cause injury and death because they are intoxicated by alcohol, prescription medicine and illegal drugs (also referred to as controlled dangerous substances or CDS). People who are not fully in control of their faculties due to taking drugs or consuming alcohol can be the source of serious traffic collisions involving passenger cars, motorcycles and commercial trucks.

As a Maryland automobile accident attorney, I know the seriousness of injuries sustained by occupants of motor vehicles caught up in these kinds of impaired driving crashes or DUI-related accidents. What may be disconcerting to many people out there is that prosecuting these DUI offenders is not as simple as it may seem.

This is a shame, because thousands of people are killed or injured every year by the thoughtlessness of these individuals. From simple cuts and bruises to broken bones and permanent disability — even death — there is too much suffering imposed on so many by so few who lack a social conscience. Yet recourse against these irresponsible few is difficult according to experts.

A recent article points out the there is a delicate balance between individuals who have a legitimate need for prescription medication and the public good. More and more it is becoming common for drivers to be charged with driving under the influence of drugs following a car or commercial truck accident. According to law enforcement authorities, although drunk driving deaths have reportedly been dropping, there has been an increase in accidents caused by drivers impaired due to prescription painkillers, anti-anxiety medications, sleep aids and other powerful drugs.

The situation has become increasingly worrisome for police officials nationwide because, unlike the effects of beer, wine and hard liquor, there is no agreement on what level of drugs in the blood driving impairment occurs.

Of course, the behavioral effects of legally prescribed drugs varies from one person to the next. Some drugs, such as anti-anxiety medications, can reduce driver’s level of alertness and reduce reaction time. Stimulants, on the other hand, can promote risk-taking and impair a person’s ability to judge distance. Then there is the issue of mixing prescription medication, taking these legal drugs with alcohol or even illicit drugs. All of which can make worsen a driver’s level of impairment, causing a sharp increase in the chances that a driver will cause a traffic accident.

Former High School Football Star Gets 18 Months for Fatal DWI Crash that Killed Teen

August 13, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Drinking and driving is one of the most common and most preventable causes of traffic accidents that modern society has faced. Deaths and injuries resulting from drunk drivers make the headlines of Maryland’s newspapers and local TV news programs more often than anyone would care to see.

Recently, a former high school football star from the River Hill school district was sentenced to a year and a half in jail after being convicted of a DWI-related traffic death late last year of a family friend. The accident happened in late November when now 23-year-old David Erdman was driving a 17-year-old friend, Steven Dankos, in his pickup truck in Howard County, Maryland.

A resident of Ellicott City, Edman pleaded guilty last May to negligent homicide as a result of driving while intoxicated. The charges stemmed from an early morning crash on November 30 when Erdman’s pickup hit several stone pillars. Dankos, who had been traveling in the bed of the pickup truck, was thrown from the vehicle to the ground. Police said that the vehicle was speeding at the time of the crash, which no doubt increased the severity of the accident.