Fatal Traffic Accidents

Police Investigate Fatal Baltimore County Car Accident; Head-on Crash on Interstate 695 Leaves Questions

March 22, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Anyone who has experienced a serious physical injury as the result of a car, truck or motorcycle accident already knows the extent to which medical treatment can impact one’s financial situation. Medical care, including emergency room treatment, surgery, recovery and subsequent rehabilitation are all expensive and, most often, necessary following a very bad traffic collision. Whether it’s an injury received in a pedestrian accident here in Baltimore City, a municipal bus crash over in the District, or a bike crash in Annapolis, the odds are some medical costs will be associated with one or more of those incidents.

As Maryland personal injury lawyers and auto accident attorneys, I and my legal staff are dedicated to helping victims recover costs related to a roadway accident caused by another individual’s careless or negligent act. Some accidents are worse than others, such as high-speed motorcycle collisions or multiple-vehicle wrecks caused by a commercial truck driver. Of course, other factors come into play, but the chances of a serious or life-threatening injury can be quite high even for in-town crashes involving passenger cars or light trucks.

Understanding one’s rights under the law is essential following a serious personal injury accident. Many people who have been badly hurt in a car or trucking-related collision may find they do have just cause to file a personal injury claim if the person who caused the crash did so either intentionally or through a thoughtless or careless and negligent act.

Maryland Driver Dies following Head-on Traffic Accident in Reisterstown; Police Say Suspect was Suicidal

March 16, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Regardless of whether a person is eight years old, 28 years old or eighty-eighty years old, nobody deserves to die in an automobile or commercial truck accident; and certainly not in one that could have been prevented. Here in the Baltimore area, as well as in places like Columbia, Rockville, Washington, D.C., or Annapolis, the frequency of fatal car crashes can give one pause.

As of 2009, Maryland had a highway fatality rate just a tick lower than the national average. While this may sound like a positive thing — and we have seen our traffic death rate drop progressively over the years — it still doesn’t change the fact that in 2010, about 10 people died in this state every week as a result of a traffic-related collision. That is nothing to crow about.

For personal injury lawyers like ourselves, we see the aftermath in human terms on a fairly regular basis; those victims of car, truck and motorcycle wrecks who only fault was being in the wrong place at the wrong time. We see those individuals who have suffered severe and sometimes life-altering injuries such as closed-head trauma, first-degree burns, fractured arms and legs, as well as internal injuries and spinal cord damage. To these people, the fact that total vehicle accidents decreased by 10 percent between 2009 and 2010 doesn’t make their injuries any less painful or their prognosis for a normal life any more hopeful.

Maryland Traffic Injury Update: Parents, Be Aware That City Streets Can Be Deadly for Children

March 8, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

One of the most heart-breaking life events for any parent is the loss of a child. With all the years of nurturing, guidance and love that mothers and fathers put into their kids, parents the whole world ‘round only want the best for their children. It is no overstatement that most any parent would rather something bad happen to themselves than to their young ones, even as those kids get older. And isn’t it true that all we would want for our own son or daughter is a long and happy life? This is only natural.

Unfortunately, life itself can be cruel and the world is often a cold and threatening place even for adults at times. But the one thing any parent shudders to thing about is their child being hurt or killed in a tragic accident. As Maryland personal injury lawyers, I and my skilled legal staff know that there are no guarantees in life. But this is little consolation to a mother or father who has lost a child due to the negligence of another person.

Car, truck and motorcycle accidents can take the life of a child as much as they can an adult. The difference is only in the kind of sadness that follows an untimely death; the lost potential of a life yet to be lived can fill a family with a grief too heartrending for any words.

One Dead, Two Critically Hurt in Alcohol-related Traffic Collision in Baltimore County

March 7, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

How many times does it have to happen before society can even hope to eliminate the senseless, costly and many times tragic consequences caused by drunken driving. As Baltimore personal injury attorneys, we have seen too many victims of alcohol-related automobile and motorcycle accidents come forth in our local courts seeking recovery of medical and rehabilitation costs from negligent individuals who chose to get behind the wheel of a passenger car or commercial truck only to cause a serious roadway collision.

Far too many people have been hurt or killed on this nation’s city streets, rural routes and high-speed expressways as a result of another driver operating his or her vehicle while impaired by alcohol or prescription drugs. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), someone dies every 45 seconds in an alcohol-related traffic accident day-in and day-out all across this country. And Maryland is no different, with stories in the news almost daily describing the sad circumstances surround these senseless car and commercial trucking wrecks.

Our job here at Lebowitz & Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers, is to work with our clients — the victims of these negligent drunk drivers — and help them try to piece together some semblance of their former lives. For the families of victims killed in a tragic road accident, there is no true recovery when one realizes that a child, parent or spouse has been wrenched away from the ones they love. In cases of where an individual has met an untimely death, a wrongful death lawsuit can be filed against the individual responsible for the fatal accident.

Maryland Traffic Safety Update: Pedestrian Accidents Happening More Frequently

March 5, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Here in Maryland, pedestrians face many personal injury threats, from being hit by a bicycle or motorcycle to being involved in a passenger car-related accident, commuter bus or commercial trucking collision. But while it has been reported that the odds of being involved in a pedestrian accident are rather high in more densely populated urban areas, such as Baltimore and Washington, D.C., the lower vehicle speeds in these areas do not always result in fatalities.

Conversely, in suburban and rural areas, traffic accidents involving persons on foot are much more infrequent, yet the potential for being killed as a result of a pedestrian-car collision is considered higher due to the usually greater speeds in those open areas. As Maryland personal injury attorneys, we know that pedestrian traffic accidents are a fact of life, maybe more in this state than in others, simply due to the fact that we rank sixth in the nation by population density.

More people, walking and mixing with larger volumes of traffic inevitably leads to larger numbers of injuries and deaths. Because vehicle speed plays a significant role in pedestrian fatalities, it would seem that city dwellers and those who work in urban areas may not be safer, but have a lower potential for being killed in a traffic-related collision.

Two Maryland Residents, Pedestrian and Motorist, Killed in Separate Fatal Accidents Near Baltimore

March 2, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Being injured in an automobile wreck or commercial trucking collision is quite common here in the Baltimore area. With the dense traffic in the metro area and high speeds on our parkways and interstates, the chances of being involved in a traffic accident are better than that in the more rural areas of the state. As personal injury attorneys representing people hurt in road accidents here in Maryland and over in the District of Columbia, we understand how painful and long lasting some injuries can be.

For anyone who has been involved in a serious auto accident, we don’t have to tell you that broken bones and compound fractures are just one of the many kinds of injuries that a person can receive in a bad roadway collision. In the case of broken bones, both drivers and passengers can suffer equally. The high forces imparted by a car hitting another vehicle can result in multiple breaks in arms, legs and the pelvis, among other areas. Worse results can come when a commercial vehicle, such as an 18-wheel semi tractor-trailer hits a much smaller and lighter passenger car.

Brain injury is another common result of a bad traffic collision. Known variously as closed-head trauma or traumatic brain injury, these types of injuries can lead to a range of conditions including physical, mental and emotional problems. Brain damage resulting from a vehicle accident can be brought on by any number of issues, such conditions such as concussions, brain contusions, bleeding inside the brain itself or complications from a fractured skull.

Maryland Automobile Safety Update: Traffic Accidents Offer Their Own Argument for Seatbelt Use

February 28, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As we write this, there are millions of drivers on the road all across the country traveling on city streets, rural highways, unpaved back roads, and high-speed interstates. Within the next few hours, dozens will be hurt or killed in traffic accidents they did not cause. While it’s a fair bet that most of those involved in a car or commercial trucking crash will have been wearing a safety belt, some may not. Whatever the reason — be it fear of injury during a roadway collision, lack of perceived comfort, or just plain obstinacy — it’s likely that those who chose not to wear their seatbelt may be injured to a greater degree than those who did. And, sadly, some may die as a result of their decision.

As Baltimore personal injury attorneys, I and my staff of legal professionals have talked to many different clients over the years, many who have been hurt in a car, truck or motorcycle wreck. For those who have been badly hurt, through no fault of their own, the cost of medical treatment, convalescing without being able to make an income, and extended rehabilitation expenses can all add up to put a pinch on many of these individuals and their families. For those people who were not using a safety belt at the time of a crash, the costs could be higher — physically and financially.

We mention this because reducing the severity of physical injuries is something that seat belts have been doing for quite some time now. Most every traffic safety expert will advise that wearing a seat belt is preferable to not wearing one. This is not to say that seatbelts themselves have been known to cause injuries themselves, but the statistics indicate that these most rudimentary of automotive safety devices are more beneficial than not.

Life and Death on Maryland Roadways: Unpredictability of Traffic Accidents Makes Every Roadway Crash Different

February 25, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Something that we as Maryland personal injury attorneys have learned over the years is that life is nothing if not unpredictable. This should, of course, come as no surprise to most people; for one thing the auto, life and health insurance companies have made a relatively good business out of insuring people against the unknown events in their lives. Whether the future holds an unforeseen medical condition, a house fire or basement flood, or an untimely death, an insurance policy should help to cover a persona and her family against certain losses associate with that event.

In the case of car, truck and motorcycle accidents, auto insurance is designed to help the victim with the cost of medical care, vehicle repair or replacement and other property damage claims. It is when an insurance company is reluctant to provide the full amount of recovery expenses that an individual or a family may find themselves in a real bind. With doctor and hospital bills coming in the mail and reduced or non-existent income due to one’s inability to work after a severe crash, it’s not uncommon to feel that the system has failed a person.

This is when the randomness of life really starts to hit home. But it all starts on the road with the unpredictability of a traffic collision. In some cases, the victim can be a driver coming home from work, or a family taking a much needed vacation on the road. Sometimes, just crossing the street can be a risky endeavor. In fact, we would suggest that even getting out of one’s vehicle near a heavily trafficked roadway is an invitation to danger.

One Pedestrian Killed, Two Others Injured in Three Separate Traffic-related accidents in Arundel County

February 21, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

We hear of pedestrian accidents almost every week here in the Baltimore area, though we know that they happen all of the time across the nation; 70,000 or more occur every year according to the statistics compiled a while ago in 2009. It’s no secret that in densely packed urban areas — like Baltimore and the District of Columbia — people on foot who mix with vehicle traffic have a high likelihood of being hit by a car, truck or bus. Being Maryland injury lawyers, we have the skills and training to represent victims of car-pedestrian crashes, as well as commercial trucking accidents involving bicycles.

Driver distraction — whether caused by talking on a cell phone, texting on a smartphone or even eating or drinking a beverage while driving down the road — can lead to some serious injuries on the pedestrian’s part; the driver in those instances rarely receives significant injuries. When a driver is not paying attention, for whatever reason, may fail to notice a pedestrian attempting to cross the street, walking along the shoulder of the road, or pedaling his or her bicycle in the far right-hand lane.

It is incumbent on us to mention that intersections, even those with clearly marked pedestrian crosswalks, can themselves be the scene of a severe or fatal collision between a car or commercial vehicle and a person on foot. Even motorcycle accidents involving pedestrians have been recorded. These can be just as deadly as ones involving more massive passenger vehicles, delivery trucks and 18-wheelers.

Baltimore Injury Accident News: Maryland Woman Dies in Fatal Multi-car Collision in Carroll County

February 15, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Many fatalities resulting from passenger car and commercial trucking-related accidents come about due to a closed-head injury suffered by the victim or victims. Also known as a traumatic brain injury, the cause can be attributed to the victim’s head striking a solid object, such as the vehicle’s steering wheel, dashboard, A-pillar, or other non-moveable fixture within the car or truck.

Of course, in the case of motorcycle accidents, the road itself or another vehicle can become a blunt-force “weapon” when the rider falls from the bike or is throw by the impact. Helmets are useful and certainly nothing to be taken for granted, but even the best helmet cannot fully guarantee that a biker will walk away from a really bad traffic accident.

As Maryland injury lawyers, I and my colleagues understand the effects of closed-head trauma. We know that a hard enough blow to the head can easily disrupt the brain’s critical functions to the point of partial or complete paralysis, or even death. Commonly associated with passenger car collisions, commercial truck crashes and motorcycle accidents, cases of closed-head trauma have also been tied to sports-related injuries, such as concussions, which have been increasingly highlighted in the news over the past few years.