Fatal Traffic Accidents

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.

Baltimore County Auto Accident News: Elderly Maryland Driver Dies in Fatal Two-Car Roadway Collision

November 11, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

An elderly woman died following a two-car accident in Kingsville, MD, after the vehicle she was operating was struck by another car along a stretch of Belair Rd. The driver of the second vehicle was seriously injured as a result of the crash and was able to leave the hospital soon after.

Now, we’ve seen the results of this type of fatal car crash before, but it doesn’t make this or any other traffic accident less tragic or lamentable. While some older drivers make it through the majority of their lives without a single traffic collision, others — whether through inattention, physical complications or other problem — end up being involved in a serious or even fatal car or trucking wreck.

As Maryland personal injury lawyers, I and my staff are trained to represent victims and their families following a serious car, truck or motorcycle crash. Injuries from such accidents can range from mild to severe; even life-threatening. As with any motor vehicle collision, speed, roadway conditions, vehicle type and other factors, all have a bearing on the outcome of the crash.

In the case of car-to-car accidents, the occupants are enclosed in similarly sized vehicles, which is sometimes an advantage, but never a guarantee of survival. Even in wrecks involving two or more cars, SUVs or minivans, injuries such as broken bones and lacerations are not uncommon. Head, neck and back injuries are possible, all of which can have long term complications with lingering after affects for those who sustain such injuries.

Trucking collisions, especially those involving smaller passenger cars or pedestrians, can be particularly devastating, again depending on various factors. High-speed highway collisions can cause a passenger vehicle to be literally crushed by the much larger semi tractor-trailer or other heavy commercial truck. Vehicle fires and potentially fatal injuries are always possible following such roadway crashes.

Finally, it goes without saying that motorcycle, bicycle and pedestrian accidents can result in traumatic brain injury, as well as spinal damage and other critical bodily injuries. As a victim of a bike or pedestrian traffic accident, surviving is just the first step on a long road to recovery for many people. Anyone who can literally walk away from such violent traffic collisions can truly count themselves among the lucky ones.

Maryland Auto Accident News: Police Suspect Faulty Wheel and Alcohol in Baltimore Beltway Single-car Crash

October 24, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Drinking and driving is a quick way to put oneself into the hospital, or worse. There is no end to the good arguments for curbing drunk driving, while there is no legitimate rationale to defend the practice. Every year, tens of thousands of people are hurt or killed by drunken drivers, including the offenders themselves. Even when there are no other factors that might contribute to a crash, just being impaired can be a cause in and of itself for a serious or fatal traffic accident.

As Maryland personal injury lawyers, I and my staff understand how circumstances can conspire to create the opportunity for a tragic car, truck or motorcycle accident. How a driver reacts when such conditions occur can make the difference between a simple fender-bender, a serious roadway collision, or a fatal car or commercial truck wreck. A driver who actively drinks and drives only increases the chances of his or her being less able to respond quickly to an accident situation.

One type of automobile crash can be caused by a failure of a car or truck’s safety or critical operating systems, such as steering or braking component failure or malfunction. When a defective component that is critical to controlling a vehicle fails, the driver may not be able to avoid an accident. Being drunk at the time of a catastrophic mechanical failure only makes it more difficult to react to the event.

Two Marylanders Killed in Multi-vehicle Car Wreck following Head-on Collision in Charles County

October 17, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

It’s a sad reality that older people, especially elderly men and women, can die more easily in a car or commercial trucking accident than can younger persons. While older folks have the advantage of greater driving experience, when it comes to unavoidable traffic accidents, the odds of a young driver or passenger surviving a serious car or truck crash is likely better than that of an elderly motorist.

As Maryland personal injury attorneys, we see victims of traffic accidents ranging in age from the very young to senior citizens. These people, from infants and children to parent, grandparents and the elderly, all have one thing in common; they were injured though the thoughtless or negligent actions of another driver.

While different people are affected differently during car and truck wrecks, the unfortunate truth is that many receive serious to near-fatal injuries as a result of a traffic collision. Head and neck injuries are quite common, while broken bones, compound fractures and internal injuries are also not uncommon. Depending on vehicle speed, road and weather conditions, as well as occupant position within a vehicle, fatalities can result during a front, side or rear-impact scenario.

Tangling with a large box truck, city bus, or 18-wheel tractor-trailer can also contribute to the severity of a roadway collision. Whatever the cause, the aftermath in terms of injury, medical costs and financial impact to the family as a whole can be devastating on so many levels. In the case of fatal highway wrecks, no amount of compensation can bring back a lost loved one, but recovering the cost of sometimes exorbitant medical bills and lost wages can give the survivors a better chance to continue with their own lives.

Not long ago, an older couple was tragically killed in a traffic accident in Benedict, MD. According to news reports, a multi-vehicle crash along a stretch of Rte 231 just west of the Patuxent River Bridge involved four separate vehicles and injured a handful of others, in addition to killing the two victims in one of the automobiles.

As Baltimore car, truck and motorcycle accident attorneys, we represent victims of auto accidents in Maryland and the Washington, D.C., area. In this particular instance, the Friday morning accident, which occurred just before noon, involved a rather small car carrying the two victims and a rental truck belonging to the Penske rental firm. Based on reports, Franz and Evelyn Sommer, aged 84 and 67 respectively, were riding in a 2011 Ford Focus when it was hit from behind by the box truck while waiting to turn left from the eastbound lanes at the intersection of Rte 231 and Dicandia Dorsey Place.

Baltimore Auto Injury News: Anne Arundel County’s Growing List of Hit-and-Run Accidents

October 13, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

We touched on this in a previous item, but the problem of hit-and-run automobile and commercial truck collisions is nothing to take lightly, especially in urban areas like Annapolis, Frederick and Washington, D.C. The question for more people is why would someone who apparently knows full well that he or she just struck another person with a motor vehicle not stop to lend aid or at the very least call 911 to report the incident and wait at the scene of the crash until the police arrive.

Personal responsibility, or the lack of it, is the underlying issue here. As members of society we all have a responsibility to our neighbors and fellow citizens. Without this basic trait, an individual shows that he may have less of an appreciation for life and the rules of a civilized society than those around him.

Of course, self preservation can be one explanation for running from the scene of a hit-and-run accident, especially one that proves fatal to the victim, but this is not looked upon by the community as a redeeming characteristic; nor does law enforcement or the judicial system find such behavior acceptable. As Baltimore car and motorcycle accident attorneys, as well as Maryland personal injury lawyers, we find it a sad commentary on our modern times when we see so many cases of fatal and near-fatal hit-and-run crashes across this state.

A recent article lists a number of serious traffic accidents that have occurred during the past year in the county. These accidents have killed numerous people and left others seriously injured. There is little excuse for the actions of those responsible, yet the list is bound to get longer as the year comes to an end. We can only hope that the trend my reverse at some point, but that is something no one can predict.

Baltimore Auto Injury News: Suit Blames Employer for Maryland Man’s Drowsy-Driving Accident

October 6, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The results of sleep-related car and truck crashes can be serious to say the least. As news articles and television reports often indicate, drowsy driving can be as deadly as drunken driving, with similar consequences for all parties involved. As a Maryland personal injury attorneys, as well as automobile and commercial trucking accident lawyers, my firm has seen the unfortunate outcome of sleep deprivation on the state’s roadways.

As a kind of driver negligence, drowsy driving is starting to be looked at as a chargeable offense in many states, as DWI or DUI is currently. While often found to be involved in many commercial trucking wrecks, it appears that sleep deprived individuals from all walks of life are posing risks to other motorists in the roads here in Maryland.

As mentioned in earlier entries, a poll by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) determined that almost two million motorists nationwide are involved in sleep-deprived or drowsy driving-related road accidents or near misses annually. What most people fail to realize is that the dangers of sleepiness can turn out to be fatal to both the driver who operates his or her vehicle in a less than alert state, as well as the innocent motorists and passengers in the surrounding traffic.

According to news reports, a recent Maryland lawsuit sought to place the responsibility of a deadly car crash on an employer who allegedly over worked one of its employees, thus setting the scene for a fatal automobile wreck back in 2006. One thing is certain; with downsizing a common problem at many companies, and with more and more workers being stretched to the limit, could this type of scenario become a trend?

Based on reports, a case that has been slowly making its way through the Maryland legal system raises the question of whether an employer can or should be held responsible when a sleep-deprived employee causes a severe or fatal accident.

The incident that set this particular case in motion happened on a day in late January 2006, when two men from Carroll County are involved in a fatal morning commuting crash along a stretch of Maryland’s Rte 31. According to news articles, 37-year-old Michael Barclay with the Anne Arundel County police was going to work traveling east on New Windsor Rd at about 7:30am as it approached an oncoming SUV driven by 55-year-old longshoreman, Christopher Richardson coming home from his job at the Port of Baltimore.

Maryland Auto Injury Update: State Supreme Court Reverses Appellate Court Ruling in Fatal Car Fire Case

October 3, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Automobile and trucking-related accidents happen for a variety of reasons, not all of them connected with the driver. Although negligence or driver error is often cited as the cause of single- and multiple-vehicle collisions, there always exists the possibility of a faulty safety system, defective component or poor vehicle design that may have directly caused the accident, or contributed significantly to the event, and even the severity of the wreck.

As Baltimore auto accident attorneys and Maryland personal injury lawyers, I and my staff have the training and experience to represent car, truck and motorcycle crash victims and their families. Whatever the cause of a roadway collision, the potential for bodily injury is usually quite high, depending on the circumstances and traffic conditions at the time of the incident.

It goes without saying that injuries can range from minor to critical, sometimes even fatal considering the speed and orientation of the vehicles just before impact. Cuts, heavy bruising and abrasions are the least of the injuries that occupants of a sedan, SUV or minivan can receive. Increase the force of the collision and the potential for broken bones, compound fractures and internal injuries rise as well. In some cases, such as head-on wrecks, traumatic brain injury is a distinct possibility, as is spinal cord damage and lost limbs.

As we said, not every accident is the result of driver error or gross negligence. When a critical mechanical part of a car or truck fails the driver can lose control with little chance of steering or stopping the vehicle before a crash occurs. In some cases, failure of a safety component, such as a safety, seatbelt mounting or seat attachment hardware can make the effects of a crash worse, sometimes to the point of tipping the scales over to a fatal accident.

Not long ago, the Illinois Supreme Court overthrew a lower court ruling that affirmed a previous jury verdict in the case of Dora Mae Jablonski et al. v. Ford Motor Company et al., that of a fatal car crash and fire resulting from what the plaintiff’s legal team suggested was a defective design in a 1993 Lincoln Town Car. In the events leading up to the crash that precipitated the 2003 death of John Jablonski, the man and his wife were stopped in a construction zone on July 7th of that year when a Chevy Lumina traveling at highway speeds hit the couple’s Town Car from behind.

Baltimore Auto Injury News: Maryland Driver Gets 20 Years for Fatal DWI-related Traffic Accident

September 25, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

If you handle automobile accident cases such as those that occur every week here in Maryland, it doesn’t take long before one sees a drunk driving-related injury accident. And while serious traffic collisions are not uncommon, fatal car, truck and motorcycle wrecks happen frequently in and around Baltimore, Rockville, Gaithersburg and Washington, D.C.

As Maryland personal injury attorneys and car accident lawyers, I and my staff represent individuals and families who have been adversely affected by the negligence of other drivers. Whether through inattention, carelessness or malicious motivation, innocent victims of highway or urban automobile and commercial trucking crashes can be permanently disabled or killed as a result of a traffic wreck.

As mentioned in these pages on numerous occasions, the human toll from car and truck accidents can range between mild and severe, sometimes even fatal. Not only can passengers receive painful injuries such as broken bones, compound fractures, deep lacerations and dislocated joints, internal injuries as well as closed-head and spinal cord injuries can result from medium to high-speed collisions.

Trucking-related crashes can be some of the more intense wrecks and cause serious and sometimes fatal injuries to the driver and other occupants riding in a smaller passenger car that is hit by a big rig or commercial delivery vehicle. Of course, even collisions between smaller passenger cars can have serious repercussions for the occupants of sedans, minivan and sport utility vehicles (SUVs).

In particular, drunken driving accounts for a significant percentage of traffic fatalities here in Maryland and across the nation. State and local law enforcement agencies are constantly watching for intoxicated drivers, however many of these inconsiderate drivers go months or years without being involved in a serious car, truck or pedestrian accident. However, when a collision does occur, the results can be catastrophic for the occupants of either vehicle.

Fatal Pedestrian Traffic Accident Involving Maryland State Trooper Leaves Woman Dead in Queen Anne’s County

September 23, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Pedestrian-automobile traffic accidents; this is a common topic in these pages and for good reason. In any urban area where foot and vehicular traffic mix there are bound to be serious and sometimes fatal collisions between walker, jogger and bicyclists and the larger passenger cars, light trucks, SUV and commercial vehicles. The fact of the matter is, pedestrian injuries and deaths happen with alarming frequency in Baltimore, Annapolis, Washington, D.C., as well as many other towns and cities throughout the state.

As Baltimore automobile / motorcycle accident lawyers and personal injury attorneys, we are hardly surprised anymore that Maryland residents traveling on foot or cycling tend to be struck by passenger vehicles and delivery trucks more often than those elsewhere around the nation. These kinds of accidents can result in closed-head trauma and other potentially fatal injuries.

If there is anything good about the situation, it is that added coverage of these mostly senseless accidents has hopefully raised public awareness to the point that people are taking more precautions when crossing city streets or other high-risk intersections and crosswalks. The same goes for bicyclists who not only must be aware of the dangers of the roads themselves, but also of the car and truck traffic with which they share the roadway.

We’ve mentioned it here before, but the statistics for pedestrian-car accidents are simply jaw-dropping, with an average of three individuals struck daily — that’s people every day — by a car or commercial truck in Washington, D.C., alone. Add to that figure, the more than 80 pedestrians and cyclists who were killed in fatal traffic collisions in 2010 across the District, Northern Virginia and suburban Maryland.

Nationwide, literally thousands of people die every year across this country after being hit by a car or truck. Sadly, many of these deaths that came at the hands of a negligent individual could possibly have been prevented with the proper awareness training or safer crosswalks and bike lanes.

Maryland Pedestrian Accident News: Pasadena, MD, Man Killed on Roadside by Hit-and-Run Driver

September 18, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As motorists ourselves, we and the rest of the driving public here in Maryland can quite often the dangerous situations in which police officers and emergency responders find themselves on a daily basis. While patrolmen, firefighters and EMS personnel immediately come to mind when thinking about roadside car, motorcycle and trucking accidents, it’s easy to forget the sometimes overlooked tow truck driver.

As Baltimore auto, truck and motorcycle accident lawyers, as well as personal injury attorneys, we know that there are dozens of occupations that could be termed hazardous. And while it’s no surprise that high-iron construction workers and electrical linemen live their working lives on the edge, tow truck drivers and other roadside emergency personnel sometimes go unsung.

Over the past few years, police agencies have issuing policy changes to help their officers survive potential highway collisions while making traffic stops, attending to stranded motorists and controlling traffic at automobile and tractor-trailer crash scenes. The tow truck driver, many times on his own, is exposed to a high volume of vehicular traffic just scant feet away and whizzing by at 70mph or more.

It’s not surprising that these individuals make up a percentage of all roadway injuries and fatalities every year, across this state and the nation. Not long ago, a tow truck driver from the Pasadena area was killed by an alleged hit-and-run driver. According to news reports, 38-year-old James Schreiber, Jr. was helping the driver of a sewage hauler along a stretch of Rte 100 just before the Oakwood Rd. exit when he was reportedly hit by a Nissan sport utility vehicle that left the scene without stopping.