Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog

Pedestrian Killed by Car While Crossing Baltimore Street near Johns Hopkins Campus

September 9, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Pedestrian-auto accidents occur more often than one would imagine. When they do the results can be catastrophic — injuries from simple scrapes and bruises to fractures, head and spine injuries. Very serious injuries. Our firm, Lebowitz & Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers represents all manner of clients, including the families of victims killed as a result of automobile accidents. As experienced car accident attorneys, we know the proper way to approach personal injury lawsuits to the best advantage of our clients. A pedestrian accident in downtown Baltimore last month is a painful reminder of how the simple act of crossing a street on foot can take a terrible turn for the worse.

According to police, a woman was struck by a Dodge Neon driven by a 71-year-old woman in the 3100 block of North Calvert Street near the Johns Hopkins University Homewood Campus. The accident occurred around 9 p.m. on a Friday evening. Emergency personnel were soon dispatched to the scene and the victim was rapidly transported to Johns Hopkins Hospital, however she was pronounced dead around 11 p.m. that same evening. The driver of the car stayed at the scene, according to news reports.

A preliminary investigation by Baltimore City police indicates that the victim may have been crossing the street against the traffic light. To complicate matters, police added that the weather also may have contributed to the incident, in that visibility for the driver may have been reduced to some extent.

Maryland Auto Injury Law: Car Accidents Result in Untimely Deaths Too Often for Comfort

September 6, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

We’ve all experienced it. Driving along a two-lane highway, taking a vacation up the coast, or just riding to work on a normal day — odds are you have driven past the scene of a fatal car accident whether you were aware of it or not. No matter where you live — Baltimore, Annapolis, D.C. or anywhere in and around Maryland — automobile and truck wrecks are a sad fact of life. As Maryland personal injury and auto accident lawyers, our firm knows how quickly a routine car ride can turn into a fight for life.

Tragically, many passenger car, pickup truck and SUV collisions result in death to one or more occupants. Depending on the speed, road conditions or other vehicles involved, a traffic accident can either be a fender-bender or a life-ending event. In cases where another party is at fault, there is also a chance that a wrongful death suit could be pursued.

When an individual dies because of another person’s negligent or wrongful behavior, it can often be appropriate to file a wrongful death claim against that party. Claims of this type allow the victim’s family to receive compensation for the loss of their loved one. The loss mentioned here refers not only to the victim, but also to the loss of the comfort, love, companionship, and financial support that individual would have given to surviving family members if the tragic event had not occurred.

Maryland Auto Injury Update: Car, Bicycle and Boat Accident News for Anne Arundel County

September 3, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Annapolis

A Glen Burnie motorist received a reduced 60-day jail sentence for his part in a near-fatal automobile collision in early 2008. The 24-year-old defendant, Jeffrey David Johnson Jr., pleaded guilty recently for his responsibility for inflicting a life-threatening injury while under the influence of alcohol — a blood test taken after the accident recorded the man’s blood-alcohol content at 0.25 percent, three times the legal limit in Maryland. Being auto injury attorneys in the Baltimore area, our office has represented many clients injured by drunk drivers even after a criminal trial has been concluded.

According to reports, the accident took place in the early morning of March 15 last year as Johnson was heading southbound on Crain Highway. The defendant’s car reportedly hit another vehicle attempting to make a left-hand turn from the northbound lane onto Old State Road. A passenger in the other vehicle was critically injured in the crash. The judge suspended all but 60 days of the two-year sentence due to the other driver not yielding right of way to southbound traffic.

Millersville

A 66-year-old driver was injured recently during a late-morning crash on Cecil Avenue, which caused one occupant to be trapped in the wreckage and left two other passengers with minor injuries. According to Anne Arundel county fire officials, emergency personnel received a call just before 11 a.m. in the area of Waugh Chapel. The woman’s injuries were listed as serious, but not life-threatening.

Odenton
For reasons as yet unknown, a pickup truck crashed into a local 7-Eleven convenience store during a mid-August afternoon. One person received minor injuries after the truck drove into the building. Firefighters were called to the scene where they transported the victim to Baltimore Washington Medical Center in Glen Burnie for treatment of minor injuries
Arnold

A bicycle rider from Cape St. Claire received serious and life-threatening injuries when she was struck in the face by the sideview mirror of an E-350 full-size van driven by an Annapolis resident. The accident occurred on College Parkway at Bellerive Drive shortly before noon on August 11. Emergency crews responded to the accident where they treated Shamika Baker, 22, for a severe head injury and then transported her to a local hospital. According to reports, police suspect alcohol may have been a factor, though the 42-year-old driver of the van, Shane Killeen, had not yet been charged.

Washington County Driver Dead, Passenger Injured in Single-car Crash on Maryland Route 632

August 30, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As automobile accident lawyers, Lebowitz-Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers represents the victims of injury accidents as well as the families of those killed in fatal auto and truck crashes. While the cause of most single-car accidents is driver error, many times the reason can be traced to the failure of a vehicle part or component, such as tires, steering gear or suspension components. Regardless of the cause, there is a strong argument for having a qualified auto accident attorney by your side when pursuing a lawsuit against a company or an individual for medical costs and other damages as a result of a car accident.

A recent news story is typical of the kind of accident that raises the question of faulty equipment versus driver error. The death of a 19-year-old Keedysville youth killed near Downsville as a result of his car leaving the roadway on state route 632 is a typical scenario.

According to Maryland State Police, at approximately 1:25 a.m., Matthew Goetzinger was driving a 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer on the southbound lane of Maryland Route 632 with another passenger in the vehicle. The teenager was allegedly traveling at a high rate of speed when he lost control of his vehicle about a quarter-mile north of the Maryland 63 crossroad.

Olympian Michael Phelps Unhurt Following Three-Car Baltimore Traffic Accident

August 28, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Fate doesn’t discriminate when it comes to sports heroes or entertainment celebrities, which is why it wasn’t too surprising to read that swimming sensation Michael Phelps was recently involved in a three-car accident in the metropolitan Baltimore. As a Maryland automobile accident lawyer, I have represented clients who have far less fame, but just as much claim to recompense for medical costs for injuries sustained or damages suffered as a result of a multi-vehicle collision.

In this case, the costs are most likely for bent metal and not for serious injuries, such as spinal cord injury, or wrongful death as occurs in high-speed automobile crashes. According to news articles, Phelps was driving his Cadillac Escalade through a downtown intersection when it was struck by another car whose driver apparently igonored a red traffic signal. Police said that the 28-year-old Maryland woman whose Honda Accord hit Phelps’ SUV will be cited for running the red light.

Fortunately for Phelps he only suffered a minor injury to his right ankle during the vehicle collision, which reportedly will not affect his upcoming training. On the other hand, the Olympian must still go to court because he allegedly was driving on a suspended Michigan driver’s license, which reportedly was due to Phelps not paying earlier fine for failing to show proof of insurance.

Advice for Well-intentioned Maryland Pedestrians: Traffic Accidents can be Equal-opportunity Killers

August 25, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As a Maryland automobile accident lawyer and motorist myself, I see examples daily of people exposing themselves to unnecessary personal injury — and sometimes death — from traffic-related accidents. The summer especially is a time of increased car-pedestrian accidents. In fact, just the other day while driving down a well-traveled four-lane street, I noted a homeowner pulling weeds from around a light pole just inches away from the curb. With her back to oncoming traffic, this person was apparently unaware of or unconcerned with the cars and trucks passing barely three feet away at 35 miles per hour, sometimes faster.

This incident reminded me of a recent news story about a man, a Good Samaritan of sorts, who was critically injured while observing another unrelated vehicle collision. Having represented people injured by a motor vehicle while on foot, I see this kind of scenario many times over in the courtroom. According to reports, a 44-year-old Clinton, MD, man was hit by a car earlier this summer on Route 32 near I-95 in Howard County.

Police reports showed that Franklin Trowell Jr. was on the eastbound shoulder of the road checking a vehicle accident that had just occurred at around four o’clock in the morning. Perhaps the victim should have exercised more caution, due to the darkness at that hour, however he apparently was more concerned about the other people involved in the earlier accident.

Fatal Car Crash in Maryland’s Washington County Won’t Move Authorities to Install Traffic Signal

August 22, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

For anyone has had a loved die in a senseless traffic accident as a result of poor roadway design or traffic signal placement, it’s hard to imagine that local governments would be slow to remedy even the least dangerous traffic hazards. Still, as Maryland automobile accident lawyers, we at Lebowitz & Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers have represented clients who even the most casual observer would say had a legitimate claim against a local or state government for not doing its utmost to protect motorists.

In Washington County, MD, just such a situation is brewing. Although a reduced speed limit, as well as other changes have been made on Eastern Boulevard since June, news reports suggest that traffic safety in the area near a local YMCA entrance is not nearly what it should be.

According to reports, there had been three accidents on that stretch of road in the span of two months, one of them fatal. On June 16, four days after that fatal accident, the county’s highway department reportedly reduced the speed limit on Eastern Boulevard from 40 mph to 30 mph for about 600 feet on either side of the intersection in an effort to cause drivers to slow down.

Fatal Car Accident in Anne Arundel County, MD, Claims Two Lives, Injures One

August 19, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Speaking for myself, as a Maryland auto accident attorney, one of the most difficult things I’ve had to do in this job is try to comfort family members who have lost a loved on in a car or truck accident. Any accidental death is traumatic for those close to the victim, but automobile crashes are violent events and it’s so hard for the survivors to deal with the untimely death of a spouse, parent, child or sibling.

In Boston, Annapolis, Washington, D.C., or anywhere across this great state, our car accident lawyers come up against the harsh reality wrought by others’ mistakes. Recently, three members from the same family were involved in a horrendous single-vehicle crash that left two dead and a third in serious condition at a local hospital.

According to reports, a 57-year-old woman was driving her bother and her son eastbound on Maryland Route 4 near Lothian, MD, during the early evening hours of August 3. Police reports indicate that the vehicle was near Lower Pindell Road when it inexplicably left the roadway, struck a sign post, then rolled down an embankment and overturned into a stand of trees.

Maryland Boating Deaths Exceed Last Year’s Total with Three Months Still Remaining

August 16, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

There are still three months left in Maryland’s boating season, and yet we have already exceeded last year’s total maritime deaths. As Maryland auto accident and personal injury lawyers, we at Lebowitz-Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers see this as a potentially alarming trend. Just like with automobile accidents, boating injuries and fatalities are typically a result of one or all of the following:

1) Driver inexperience or error
2) Drunken driving, or boating while intoxicated
3) Unfavorable water and/or weather conditions
4) Equipment failure

Injuries or fatalities that result because of the first three of these usually point to negligence on the part of the captain and/or the owner of the boat. The last one, equipment failure, could be attributable to the captain/owner, a repair or maintenance facility, or the manufacturer of the boat or specific piece of equipment. Whatever the reason for such as failure, if you or a loved one has been injured as a result of defective watercraft equipment, you should retain an attorney experienced in this type of personal injury law.

According to news reports, 10 people have died on Maryland’s waterways, 11-percent more than last year, and despite safety campaigns and concentrated enforcement by Natural Resources Police. In the majority of the accidents — including one last month involving an 11-year-old girl — the victims were reportedly not wearing life jackets.

It is a general rule of law that the captain and/or the boat owner must exercise the utmost level of caution to prevent injuries from occurring to swimmers, passengers in the boat, or anyone else who may be in the surrounding area. This responsibility can extend to requiring passengers to wear floatation devices as required by law.

The current death toll in Maryland apparently also concerns NRP officers because of its geographical sweep, from Deep Creek Lake to Eastern Shore rivers. As is unfortunately too common, the most recent fatality in Baltimore County involved alcohol, according to police. Drinking and piloting a boat can be a deadly combination, as the current statistics indicate.

Since the 2004 and 2005 boating seasons, when the state recorded a total of 27 fatalities, NRP officers have lowered this total using increased patrols, especially on weekends and holidays. The combined total in 2007 and 2008 dropped to 19, which reportedly put Maryland in line with trends elsewhere. Part of the increase in fatalities this season may be lower gas prices, which encourage more boaters to go out on the water.

Three Women and Unborn Child Killed in Fatal Baltimore County Traffic Accident

August 13, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

It seems there has been a spate of tragic car accidents in Maryland of late. The recent death of a well-known doctor in the Salisbury area is one such example, but also in the headlines was a very sad car crash that took the life of three women and an unborn baby. As Maryland automobile accident lawyers, Lebowitz & Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers has represented many accident victims and their families in cases just like this one.

According to reports, 19-year-old Katrina Morrison, Lori Cardwell and Darlene Cardwell were all killed in a fiery traffic accident in Blatimore County as they were driving home from a visit down south where they attended the recent graduation of Morrison’s fiancé from Army basic training. News reports state that Morrison was carrying her fiancé’s baby, which also died in the crash.

It all happened in the early morning hours of July 27 as the three women were traveling in a Chevrolet Aveo through White Marsh, MD. At the intersection of Honeygo and White Marsh boulevards, the Aveo crossed into the path of a large street-sweeper and was hit T-bone style and pushed down the road for about 100 yards. According to Baltimore County fire officials, the three adults were all killed instantly in the collision as the car burst into flames.