Pedestrian Accidents

Maryland College Student Killed in Hit and Run Accident

February 6, 2014 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier last month a University of Maryland student lost his life while crossing the street in Prince George’s County. According to a report by the Washington Post, the student had recently returned from a study abroad program in Australia and was looking forward to graduating with a degree in kinesiology in May.

According to the report, the student was crossing Baltimore Avenue shortly before 2 a.m. when he was struck by a dark sedan. The student was apparently not crossing at a designated cross walk in an area that students frequently cross when coming home from nearby restaurants and bars.

The driver of the car did not stop and assist the student and instead continued on. Sadly, the student was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead later that day. Also later that day, police found the vehicle that was involved in the crash. As they were piecing together the evidence, the driver of the vehicle came forward and identified himself.

Pedestrian Killed in Prince George’s County Accident

January 20, 2014 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Just a few days ago a 24-year-old male pedestrian was killed when a car lost control, jumped a curb, and crashed into the man. According to a report from the local ABC affiliate, the accident occurred shortly before 7:00 a.m. on the 4800 block of Rhode Island Avenue in Hyattsville when the woman’s car inexplicably crossed the median, went up over the curb, hit the pedestrian, and then ran into an upholstery shop.

Police are still trying to determine what exactly happened. However, several witnesses reported that there had been a patch of ice at this particular location for about a month. Further investigation discovered that there were two pipe leaks in the area, one discovered January 7th and the other January 9th. Both leaks have since been repaired. The driver has not been cited for any traffic violation.

Civil Liability When Multiple Parties Are At Fault

Not all accidents are caused by just one person’s negligence or mistake. For example, take the case above, both the driver and the party responsible for the operation of the leaking pipes might be responsible for the pedestrian’s death.

Maryland Driver Charged in Striking 8 High School Students

October 3, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

According to police, the 19 year old driver who hit eight high school students in Maryland late last month was driving with only a learner’s permit, and will face multiple charges in relation with the collision.

The accident reportedly occurred at some time around 6 p.m., when the young man was attempting to drive to the rear of the school, and failed to yield to a group of junior ROTC students standing in formation in the parking lot. The students that were hit were reportedly transported to a local hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries, which included, bruises, bumps, and possibly broken bones.

Local police believe that the driver was distracted by the sun’s glare when the collision occurred. The driver has been charged with multiple counts of negligent driving and failure to control his vehicle. Additionally, because he was driving with a learner’s permit, he is facing an additional charge of driving without supervision, as required by law.

Maryland School Kids at Risk? St. Mary’s County Police Say Drivers Ignoring School Bus Stop Signals

April 16, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

There are few things in life more precious than our youth. As the embodiment of the future of our world, children should be protected from the dangers that they have yet to appreciate. As Maryland personal injury lawyers, I and my colleagues are all too aware of the fragility of life. This view is based on the years of experience that we have representing victims of automobile and trucking-related traffic collisions, as well as pedestrian and bicycle injury accidents.

Through the decades, we as a society have developed laws and physical safeguards to protect the populace from physical injury or death caused by senseless and unnecessary traffic wrecks, not to mention other types of accidents that may result in personal injury. As motorists ourselves, we understand the dangers that every driver, passenger, pedestrian and bicyclist faces on our state’s roadways. For the children, this is doubly important because they do not always understand the hazards that you and I see as commonplace in everyday life.

Helping kids get to a stage in their own lives where they can recognize inherent dangers and avoid them is the job or parents, relatives, educators and our community leaders. Because traffic accidents are one of the leading causes of childhood fatalities in the U.S., it goes without saying that we should all obey the runs and regulations that protect not only these young lives, but also those of our friends and neighbors.

Maryland Highway Injury Update: Treat All Roadside Emergencies Seriously Due to Potentially Life-Threatening Consequences

April 13, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

We don’t have to tell anyone that being hit by a car as a pedestrian is a no-win situation. Aside from a handful of superheroes, nobody — or perhaps we should we say, no “body” — can very well survive the impact of a fast moving, two-ton lump of iron and steel. It is because a person on foot is no match for an motor vehicle, not even a relatively light-weight motorcycle — and being struck by a commercial truck is simply unthinkable in our estimation.

As Baltimore personal injury attorneys, we know that the chances of being injured to the point of partial paralysis or long-term disability are quite high when it comes to car-pedestrian collisions. In addition to broken bones and compound fractures, damage to organs and internal bleeding are possible results of these kinds of crashes. For those unfortunate victims, a significant percentage of car-bicycle and truck-pedestrian wrecks result in death.

It’s a fact that nearly three-quarters of fatal pedestrian accidents occur in urban areas like Baltimore and the District of Columbia, but this doesn’t mean that being on-foot in rural region is any less dangerous. The higher speeds in less dense portions of the state can mean the death rate among those hit by a car in more open areas is actually high as well. While rarer than injuries and fatalities suffered by drivers and passenger of motor vehicles, an average of 4,000 pedestrian fatalities each year across this nation is nothing to sneeze at.

Warmer Weather Translates to More Foot Traffic, But Also More Urban Pedestrian Crashes

April 8, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

With spring almost in full swing, we can only hope that the warmer days will continue and take us into summer in a couple months. Meanwhile, it may be a good idea to offer a bit of cautionary advice regarding traffic safety. In this case, the safety of those people who walk to work or school, use bicycles to go shopping, or who enjoy a warm-weather exercise regimen of running or jogging in the fresh air.

We have no qualms about people wanting to enjoy healthy pastimes or simply to eschew driving for a spell and take to the sidewalks for a change of pace. However, as Baltimore auto accident attorneys and personal injury lawyers, I and my colleagues are cognizant of the basic risks that those who venture out on foot amid vehicular traffic take on from time to time. Quite simply, pedestrians and automobile traffic do not readily mix, though our state and local traffic safety departments try to maintain safe zones to keep these mutually exclusive groups apart.

Whether one is a pedestrian for economic reasons, health purposes, or just plain enjoyment, it is important that everyone who travels on-foot does so with safety foremost in their mind. This does not mean that one can assume that his or her safety is solely the responsibility of passenger car drivers, commercial truck drivers, or motorcycle riders; it isn’t. Those operating motor vehicles do have a responsibility to watch out for pedestrians and bicyclists, but pinning one’s future well-being on another person’s ability NOT to hit you with their car is not a very good strategy.

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.

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.

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.