Drunk Driving Accidents

Baltimore Auto Accident News: Three Separate Maryland Traffic Fatalities in St. Mary’s, Calvert and Charles Counties

January 22, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Many people subscribe to the adage, Bad things come in threes, but sadly this saying would apply to one news article we ran across a while back. Although many individuals are hurt or permanently injured in the Maryland and Washington, D.C., areas, it is true that a percentage of car, truck and motorcycle roadway collisions result in fatalities.

That said, it in no way lessens the shock and grief that tend to overwhelm a family members following the untimely death of a relative or close family friend. As Baltimore injury accident lawyers, I and my legal staff have developed a deep understanding of the pain and heartache that many of our clients have experienced following a tragic car or trucking-related wreck.

Not surprisingly, the emotional hurt is only one aspect of a serious injury or fatal traffic accident. For those families whose primary breadwinner is involved in a fatal car or truck crash, the loss of income in itself can place a terrible burden on a family that may already have been struggling in this current economy. Even when the news is not as grave for a an automobile accident victim, the weeks or months spent in a hospital — unable to work or earn a living to his or her maximum potential — can also bring a family’s economic survival into question.

Maryland Auto Injury News: Driver Survives, Two Others Die in Fatal Montgomery County Traffic Accident

January 19, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Another alcohol-related car crash has taken the lives of two people in Montgomery County, MD — barely a day into the New Year, according to news reports. As Baltimore automobile and motorcycle accident attorneys, I and my colleagues understand the anguish that victims families go through following a fatal traffic wreck. Most unfortunate, from the standpoint of these grieving relatives, is the possibility that accidents of this sort may have been avoided (or the severity of the collision significantly reduced) had the driver been more thoughtful.

As a Maryland personal injury lawyer, I and my colleagues have had the opportunity to represent numerous individuals injured as a result of another person’s negligence. In the case of fatal accidents, the victim’s family may sometimes bring a wrongful death lawsuit against the person they believe caused the crash, or at least played a significant part in the tragic event.

Naturally, whenever an individual is killed or dies in an untimely fashion, the entire episode becomes an emotional experience for the victim’s family and relatives. Even under the best circumstances — for example, when a person passes away due to natural causes – that individual’s wife or husband, their children can be facing an uncertain future, especially in cases where financial hardship has become a way of life.

Montgomery County Auto Accident News: Maryland Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Fatal DUI Crash

January 10, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Our judicial system has ways of dealing with those who have violated the laws put in place to make our land a safe and civilized place in which to live. Some individuals, whether through malice of forethought or through negligent actions, cross the line between good and bad; those people are often caught and brought to justice, where they face the penalties laid out by lawmakers and their fellow citizens.

As a Maryland personal injury lawyer, I have seen many families torn apart by the thoughtless actions of other people. Fatal traffic accidents, in particular, are instances where a life can be taken due only to the lack of consideration on the part of another driver. Whether the result of drinking and driving, distracted driving, aggressive or other thoughtless operation of motor vehicle, once a person is killed in a car or truck accident there is no bring that individual back to life.

A person found guilty of causing a fatal car, truck or motorcycle accident due to alcohol or drug use can many times be sent to jail for his or her offense. This may help the victims’ families feel that justice has been done, but the void left behind by the loss of those deceased family members can never truly be filled. When a person who killed a loved one out of negligence receives what the families of some victims deem a partial or incomplete criminal sentence, those family members may decide to bring a wrongful death lawsuit against the negligent individual.

Baltimore Traffic Accident Update: Reviewing the Statistical Danger of Meeting a Drunken Driver in Maryland

January 6, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As Baltimore auto accident attorneys, we are always at odds with the actuaries and statistics people, not because we don’t believe the numbers, but because it’s a hard pill to swallow that X-number of innocent people will be injured in car and trucking-related accidents from one year to the next. Unlike those who tally only numbers, as Maryland personal injury lawyers, we are all too familiar with the pain and suffering of our clients.

This brings up an interesting topic that many have touched on over the years; that of drunken driving accidents, injury and fatal, which happen more than anyone would like to admit. Among the top candidates for senseless traffic collisions has to be drunken driving wrecks. This category of car, truck and motorcycle collision is by far the most preventable, since it usually involves a driver who more or less chose to drive in an impaired state.

Truly, victims and families of those killed in DWI and DUI car crashes must live with the memory for the rest of their lives; knowing that the death of their loved one in a sometimes terrible car or truck wreck need no have happened at all if it wasn’t for the thoughtless consumption of alcohol, or the reckless use of prescription or illicit drugs.

We’re told by many authorities that drunk driving arrest rates are down across the country, and by association the number of crashes have dropped as well. But the question that comes to mind amid all this “good” news is whether or not people are drinking and driving less.

Maryland Auto Accident Update: Beware of New Year’s Weekend in Baltimore and Potential Drunk Driving Wrecks

December 31, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Anyone new to the Baltimore area should be advised that the city’s bars and other drinking establishments get a special pass each year regarding their operating hours during the New Year. Specifically, state law will allow bars in the city to remain open literally “24-7” from New Year’s Eve through 2am on Monday, January 2. While law enforcement efforts to curb drunken driving are ongoing, we cannot stress enough the need for caution when driving in and around the city during the holiday weekend.

Quite frankly, although drunk driving has for decades been under attack nationwide by state and federal government and law enforcement agencies, the fact remains that the same people who drink still use a car to get around. Designated driving campaigns are helpful, but it’s not hard to imagine that more than a few drunken bar patrons are going to head home this weekend without a sober ride.

Traffic wrecks involving commercial trucks may not be the primary type of injury accident during the New Year’s holiday, but car-to-car collisions are likely to be the order of the day — and night. As Maryland personal injury lawyers, I and my colleagues have seen the result of alcohol-related car, truck and motorcycle accidents; none of which are particularly pretty.

Given the number of DWI- and DUI-related traffic incidents in any one year, it is a certainty that we will see our share of crashes in Baltimore, Rockville, Annapolis and the District this season as well. What we should all keep in mind is that the danger exists and should be avoided whenever possible.

Baltimore Injury Accident News: Suspected Drunk Driver Crashes Car into Light Pole, Occupants Trapped in Vehicle

December 22, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

From the standpoint of most people who drive on Maryland’s roadways, drinking and driving is an activity that we all wish was a thing of the past. But, sadly, as Baltimore automobile and trucking accident lawyers, I and my legal staff know that drunken driving will likely be with us for some time to come. With human nature what it is, it can sometimes take a long while for individuals to see the light even after society as a whole has accepted an idea or renounced a certain practice.

Without a doubt, over the past several decades the mixture of cars and alcohol has been a major contributor to highway deaths across the country. Locally, in Baltimore, Frederick, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, not to mention Washington, D.C., anti-drunk driving campaigns have slowly made inroads toward creating a safer driving environment for all concerned. Still, as we say, there is much work to be done to eliminate the threat.

Anyone who has been involved in a car or motorcycle accident caused by a drunken driver can relate to this subject on a very personal level. Anyone who has lost a loved one due to a fatal DWI or DUI traffic collision knows the pain and the emptiness that follows; a void in one’s life that can never truly be filled. While it is our job, as Maryland personal injury attorneys, to help provide a modicum of closure to those who have lost a loved one in a car or commercial truck accident, no amount of recompense can ever take the place of a deceased relative, spouse or child.

Baltimore Traffic Safety News: Maryland Drivers Face Dangerous Roads in December Due to Increased Drunken Driving

November 30, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As mentioned prior to Thanksgiving, the end-of-year holiday season appears to be a good excuse for some Maryland motorists to drink and drive, making the state’s highways and secondary roads more dangerous for the rest of us. As Baltimore auto accident lawyers and personal injury lawyers, we know how a simple ride to school, work or the store can turn into a life or death struggle to survive a horrendous traffic accident.

Sadly, the message that drunken driving is a danger to everyone — perpetrator included — has not made it to the ears of those most responsible for these kinds of accidents. As a result, drivers in Gaithersburg, Annapolis, Rockville and the District can expect to face continued threat of roadways collisions caused by drunk drivers.

This is not just a theory of ours, but a fact that recent news articles already have confirmed. According to reports, Drunk driving arrests are already up this season based on the opening weeks of a statewide law enforcement safety initiative. Injuries from auto, truck and motorcycle accidents are just as painful and debilitating whether they are caused by distraction, aggression or impairment from alcohol or other substances.

According to news reports, the interval between Thanksgiving and New Year’s has come to be regarded by traffic safety experts as one of the most dangerous times to be driving on Maryland roads. These experts point to a new crop of young adults who don’t remember Maryland’s targeted anti-drunk driving enforcement efforts begun in the late 1980s and carried on into the early ‘90s. Nearly 20 years ago, as news articles remind us, police agencies first began to notice a disturbing trend in drinking and driving. Now, with a new generation coming of age, those older initiatives are apparently not in the current consciousness, hence the renewed enforcement efforts of late.

Police departments across the state arrested nearly 20 drivers for driving under the influence on Thanksgiving eve, a figure that is practically two times that of last year. (The night before Thanksgiving has over the past several years become known as the most dangerous time due to the large number of motorists who likely drink and drive.)

‘Tis the Season for Drinking and Driving? Thanksgiving Holiday May Pose Dangers on Maryland Roadways

November 23, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Thanksgiving is tomorrow, but the holiday weekend will continue for several days. As Maryland personal injury lawyers, we feel it is important to advise caution when venturing out onto the state’s highways and surface streets during the coming holiday. According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), 42.5 million motorists nationwide will be hitting the roads this holiday weekend.

Here in Maryland, experts estimate that nearly 90 percent of residents will at one time or another be driving during the coming days — 800,000 people traveling to destinations all across the state. With this in mind, it is essential to remember that Thanksgiving has in many parts of the country become known more as drinking holiday than for the traditional family gatherings of the post.

As Maryland auto and trucking accident attorneys, I and my staff know that roadway collisions can and do happen everyday. While crashes of any kind are quite common, motor vehicle wrecks involving alcohol can make up more than 30 percent of all fatal incidents. Driving during this coming holiday weekend should be undertaken with caution and eyes wide open.

Although gasoline prices are more than 15 percent higher than a year ago this time, traveling by car is still one of the more cost-effective modes, especially when going relatively short distances of 100 miles or so. The gradual rise in fuel prices is not likely to limit the number of cars, trucks or even motorcycles on the road this weekend.

Safety when driving is an important consideration when noting the increased number of cars on the road when compared to other traveling-related holidays. According to the AAA, Thanksgiving holiday traffic represents is the first significant increase in vehicular traffic of the entire year to date. Based on news reports, Memorial Day travel was, one the whole, unchanged from previous years, while the July Fourth and Labor Day holidays saw slight decreases in travel.

Annapolis Personal Injury News: Bar Sold Liquor to Underage Maryland Motorist Who Died in Fatal Accident

November 16, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Highway deaths in and around Baltimore, Rockville, the District, and Frederick, MD, occur for dozens of reasons every month. Many of these fatal car, motorcycle and commercial trucking accidents could possibly be avoided or mitigated in one way or another, but sadly not all. Drunken driving contributes to a significant percentage of car, truck and motorcycle crashes, a result of which is a substantial number of occupant injuries including closed-head trauma, spinal cord damage, and internal injuries.

A local Annapolis bar was in the news recently as law enforcement and the public focused on the serving of alcohol to underage patrons. According to news articles, the Acme Bar and Grill is under fairly intense scrutiny for an episode that occurred this past summer. Based on reports, the bar allegedly served several underage customers on June 15, two of whom died in a motorcycle wreck just minutes after walking out of that drinking establishment.

The incident raised serious questions about the bar’s practices vis-à-vis serving underage individuals, in particular those who may go out and drive a motor vehicle while intoxicated. While personal responsibility is a fine ideal, the law stipulates that people under the age of 21 cannot be served liquor legally. Criminal charges are not unusual in cases like this where a young person has been injured or died after being sold alcohol at a bar, liquor store or restaurant.

According to news articles, last summer’s incident involved two people allegedly known to at least one of the bar’s staff to be underage. Events following the entry of 20-year-old
Craig Eney, Jr., and 19-year-old Kelcey Silva transpired rather quickly, based on police reports. After stopping by the bar around in the early morning hours of that fateful day, both individuals consumed sufficient alcohol to raise their blood-alcohol content (BAC) to levels exceeding the legal limit of 0.08 percent.

Maryland Auto Injury Update: Nationwide, Male Drivers More Likely to Drink and Drive than Females

November 14, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Disconcerting as it may be, a recently released study by the national Centers for Disease Control (CDC) shows that men are more inclined to operate car, trucks and motorcycles while under the influence of alcohol than are females. As Maryland personal injury attorneys, we are hardly surprised at the finding of this study, which clearly indicates that male drivers take to the road more often while intoxicated than most any other segment of the driving public.

Although is certain that not everyone who gets behind the wheel of a car, motorcycle or commercial motor vehicle is legally intoxicated, it can be said that many people who do operate motor vehicles while impaired to some degree may not actually realize the chance they take with their lives, much less the lives of innocent people all around them.

Here in Baltimore, as well as Gaithersburg, Rockville, Annapolis and Washington, D.C., even persons who are stopped by police and subsequently charged with drunken driving, may actually be surprised that they had a blood-alcohol content (or BAC) of 0.08-percent or more.

If only for this reason, the Maryland State Police and local law enforcement departments continually try to enforce our anti-drunk driving laws. Of course, a portion of those motorists arrested for driving while impaired are actually under the influence of doctor-prescribed medication; some are even high on illegal drugs.

Regarding the CDC’s report, men nationwide are reportedly four times more likely to drive drunk than women motorists. Based on news reports, the study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates why men many times find themselves being ticketed for drunken driving more than women.