Articles Posted in Multi-vehicle Accidents

Certainly there are no guarantees in life, but as motorists we do assume risks every time we get behind the wheel of our automobiles, motorcycles and SUVs. This being said, it would be comforting to know if we could expect a modicum of safety for ourselves and our families while traveling Maryland’s highways and byways. As Baltimore car accident lawyers, I and my colleagues know first-hand the worst-case scenarios that await some people.

A recent study by the Reader’s Digest gave us some hope for drivers throughout the state. According to the report, Maryland ranks in the top one-fifth of states with the lowest chances of a fatal alcohol-related traffic accident. Furthermore, when it comes to speeding-related deaths on our roads, the state falls just below the national average fatal.

What does this mean in real figures? According to the report, Maryland has about 0.28 drunk driving-related deaths per million vehicle miles, ranking it eighth and placing it in the top ten safest states for that category. For the United States as a whole, drunk driving deaths average 0.40 per million vehicle miles traveled.

Automobile wrecks, including trucking-related crashes, can cause severe injuries to drivers and passengers. Traffic accidents on high-speed roads can result in even worse injuries and sometimes fatalities. When it comes to vehicles with higher centers of gravity, a rollover accident is very possible depending on the circumstances. Head, neck and back injuries can result when an SUV, minivan or other large vehicle rolls over on the highway.

Being Maryland auto accident attorneys, my office sees numerous victims of rollover crashes every year. The cost of medical care and reticence on the part of insurance companies to pay claims only makes the physical injuries of a car, motorcycle or trucking-related accident that much more painful. Recovering from cuts and bruises, spinal damage and traumatic brain injury is just the start of a traffic accident victim’s path to normalcy.

Recently a double rollover accident caused injury to three individuals on Maryland’s Route 665 near Annapolis. According to news reports, the crash occurred in the late morning when two vehicles collided and rolled over on in the westbound lanes of Route 665. Based on information from the fire department officials, it took 12 firefighters almost 10 minutes to free a 31-year-old woman trapped inside one of the vehicles.

In my Baltimore injury law office we often hear of accidents involving service vehicles. Taxi cabs, hire cars, limousines and shuttle busses can all be involved in traffic collisions. As passenger, you can be seriously injured in even the simplest automobile accidents. It doesn’t take much to cause an unbelted occupant of a motor vehicle to sustain broken bones, cuts and bruises and even debilitating injuries.

Every Maryland resident who rides as a passenger in a cab, bus or other type of fare-paying transportation should be aware of the potential problems associated with uninsured carriers. And even if you don’t travel in these potentially costly conveyances, you may have an elderly relative or friend who often uses one to get to and from the supermarket or other metropolitan location.

This is especially important because, as we all know, automobile accidents can happen anywhere, any time. People on a fixed budget will find uninsured cabs and hire cars particularly difficult to turn when they offer such low fares. But you must ask yourself the question, “Is it worth the possibly devastating medical or work-loss costs should you become a victim of that driver’s error or negligence?”

To some observers, it could be said that Maryland’s automobile manslaughter laws are not nearly as harsh as they should be for individuals convicted of killing another person as a result of a traffic wreck. While car and truck accidents happen all of the time, a percentage of these collisions are fatal. As a Baltimore auto accident lawyer, I and my colleagues have helped dozens of families deal with the tragic loss of a loved one due to another person’s negligence.

Wrongful death suits can be quite commonplace in instances of gross negligence on a driver’s part. Certain factors can make a vehicular manslaughter charge necessary, such as drinking and driving, excessive speed and aggressive driving, even distracted driving is getting the attention of some states as a cause of fatal passenger car and trucking-related collisions. Pedestrians killed by a motorist’s poor judgment are another group that is represented in the gruesome fatal traffic accident statistics.

A recent editorial brought home some of the heart-breaking details that illustrate typical facts surrounding these sad stories of loss and grief. One example of the seeming injustice of Maryland’s traffic laws was an incident where a driver only had to pay two traffic tickets after an accident that killed a gentleman and was allegedly caused by excessive speed, racing and off-road driving.

Drunk driving kills thousands of people every year across the U.S. and Maryland is no exception to this sad statistic. Whether you live in Annapolis, Baltimore, the District or Columbia, MD, every week it is possible to read another in the steady stream of news article covering fatal traffic accidents caused by motorists impaired by alcohol, prescription narcotics and illicit drugs. Most every Maryland injury attorney has represented his or her fair share of victims and their families following a tragic car or truck wreck.

A bill making its way through the Maryland legislature may help to reduce the number of injuries, such as broken bones, head trauma and spinal cord damage, caused by repeat drunk driving offenders. According to reports, two bills are part of the state’s Drunk Driving Elimination Act, which was created in an attempt to reduce the incidence of DUI across Maryland.

One of the bills would require every convicted drunk driving offender to have an ignition interlock installed in his or her vehicle, and to remain in use for a state-mandated period of time — possibly three months. This potential law, which would affect even first-time DUI offenders, is similar to laws on the books in other states that require the use of ignition interlock devices for people responsible for automobile and trucking-related collisions.

Throughout Maryland and the Washington, D.C., area, even law enforcement professionals can find themselves the victims of bad drivers. As a Baltimore personal injury and auto accident lawyer, every month my office is contacted by individuals who have been hurt as a result of the negligence of another driver. This recent automobile crash involving a county police squad car is just another example of the frequent lack of responsibility exhibited by certain motorists.

According to Baltimore County Police, the department was at the time of the latest news report looking for the operator of a vehicle that struck and damaged a police car as well as injuring the patrolman at the scene. The hit-and-run accident happened on February 17 in the early morning hours in the Essex area. Fortunately, the crash did not result in serious injury to the officer.

Based on reports, the officer was driving eastbound on Eastern Boulevard near Chesapeake Park Plaza when a white man driving a dark-colored Honda passenger car attempted to execute a U-turn and ended up hitting the patrol car’s rear passenger side. Because one of the officer’s tires blew out he was unable to pursue the suspect.

Being personal injury lawyers representing individuals in Maryland and Washington D.C., our office sees the sad results of car, truck and SUV accidents every month. Although many traffic collisions do not cause fatalities, these kinds of auto wrecks can produce serious and long-term injury to one or more passengers in a vehicle. Pedestrians as well can be affected by car and truck accidents in city centers.

Cuts and bruises are the most minor of injuries, but during high-speed collisions head, neck and spinal damage can easily be sustained by the occupants of a vehicle. While seatbelts and airbags do provide a fair amount of protection, severe and sometimes fatal injuries often do occur.

Tramatic Brain InjuriesHead injuries, many times referred to as traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are very commonplace in emergency rooms across Maryland and the rest of the U.S. More than a million people receive some kind of TBI every year as a result of a car, minivan, SUV or pickup truck crash. Traumatic brain injuries are usually caused by a blow to the head, quite uncommon in medium- to high-speed car or truck accidents. The impact from such a crash can cause a disruption of the brain’s neurological functions, the severity of which can range from a mild concussion to severe brain damage, coma, or even death.

It is quite tragic when any person dies from a preventable accident. The sorrow and grief attached to an event such as a traffic collision or highway rollover accident can shock a family to its core. As a Maryland auto accident and personal injury lawyer, I have first-hand experience helping individuals and relatives recover from such a heartrending loss.

Whether you live in Frederick, Rockville Bowie or Hagerstown, the loss of a loved one from a car or truck wreck can leave deep wounds, both emotionally and financially. The pain can be even worse if that accident was found to be the result of another person’s negligence or thoughtless behavior. In cases such as this, it may be appropriate to file a wrongful death claim against the party that caused the accident in the first place.

Claims of this type give the family of the victim a chance to receive compensation for the loss of their loved one. While financial reparations can never substitute for the loss of love, companionship and intimacy after the death of a family member, the award for such a wrongful death claim can easy the suffering and help the family survive that huge loss.

It is must be repeated that the loss referred to here includes not only the deceased himself but also to the loss of the comfort, love and financial support that the individual would have provided to his family if the tragic event had not occurred in the first place.

Sadly, many automobile accidents do result in the death of one or more occupants. This can be dependent on the speed and road conditions at the time of the crash as well as the number of other vehicles involved. Variability of these factors can mean the difference between a simple fender-bender and a life-ending event, which can be caused by fatal head injuries or other effects. When another party is at fault, there is a chance that wrongful death is involved.

Please remember that the death of a loved one doesn’t does not take away the family’s rights to be compensated for their loss. Nor does it preclude recovery for the suffering and pain of the person who has died because of the wrongful or negligent act.

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With all of the attention being focused on cell phones and other in-vehicle distractions one would think that bans on handheld cellphones and curbs on texting would at least contribute to a reduction in automobile and trucking accidents. As a Maryland injury lawyer in the Baltimore area, I too was surprised to hear the latest news from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

According to news articles, an IIHS Study has determined that cell phone bans have not reduced accidents even though hands-free usage is apparently up. Reportedly, the study looked at the data and came up with this unexpected revelation. Considering just the frequency of traffic accidents prior to and after enactment of laws that ban the use of handheld cellphones, researchers found that there was no discernable reduction in the number of automobile crashes.

The information for this report came from the Highway Loss Data Institute, a research organization funded by the insurance industry. The group reviewed the monthly collision rates for insurance claims for vehicles three years old or newer in the months prior to and after bans on handheld phone use went into effect.

The areas analyzed included New York (November 2001), Washington, D.C. (July 2004), Connecticut (October 2005), and California (July 2008). That data set was then compared with nearby areas that had no ban in place — for instance, when researchers looked at D.C. they then compared those figures with statewide trends in Virginia and Maryland, and with the city of Baltimore.

Even with adjustments made for economic swings, seasonal changes in driving routines, and other variables, the researchers concluded that laws banning handheld cellphone use simply aren’t reducing crashes. Although some might say that handheld use continues, which may be why the trend hasn’t shifted downward, the IIHS still holds to its conclusion.

According to reports, the IIHS has pretty much confirmed that handheld phone use is down in areas with bans in force, which would seem to preclude the argument that the bans simply aren’t working.

So even though large-scale studies by organizations such as the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute has found that drivers using handsets were at several times greater risk of a crash or near-crash when dialing and up to 23.2 times the risk when texting (for truck drivers), the IIHS results are at best confusing.

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No matter where you live or work in Maryland, be it Owings Mills, The District, Annapolis or Columbia, car wrecks, pickup truck crashes and SUV rollovers can happen without notice. In fact, traffic accidents across the state injure hundreds of people every year. Some of those injuries and even a few deaths could likely have been prevented had the occupants been wearing their seatbelts.

As an experienced auto accident lawyer in the Baltimore area, my years of helping others recover from injury accidents have taught me that certain habits can save lives; others, however, can sadly contribute to the loss of life on our public streets and highways. One habit I’m always happy to see is when a person buckles that safety belt. It’s a small part of every driver’s daily ritual, but it’s a significant one.

Seatbelt use is usually pointed at as one of the top reasons why people survive automobile wrecks. There are many out there, I suspect, who feel that airbags and other safety devices do a better job, but that’s not necessarily true — all of these systems work together to imporve passenger safety. As basic as they may seem, safety belts play a key role in protecting occupants in the case of severe traffic accidents, including head-on collisions, roll-over accidents and other potentially fatal crashes.

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