Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog

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.

Automobile Insurance Premiums for Washington, D.C., Drivers in Top Five of Most Expensive

April 6, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

For the average driver, it’s a fair bet that the he or she looks at auto insurance as a necessary evil; certainly something that they would rather not have to shell out hundreds of dollars every six months. But despite the common sentiment that paying large amounts of money for a car, truck or motorcycle insurance policy that they may never have needed, someday, somewhere you or a family member might just be thankful for that coverage.

As Maryland personal injury attorneys, I and my legal staff fight against lawyers for various insurance companies in court when benefits or insurance payouts have been withheld or reduced unfairly. As much as some people might rail against having to buy car insurance, having a policy that covers one’s vehicle is required by law. That said, it’s important to remind critics why carrying coverage is a good idea for every driver.

For one, car insurance protects the owner and/or driver from personal liability in the event that his car, truck or bike is involved in a traffic accident. If a person gets into an accident and they are found to be at fault he or she can be held personally (read: financially) responsible for the damage to property and for the costs of any medical treatment incurred by those injured as a result of one’s mistake or negligence.

Maryland Auto Accident News: Manchester Valley HS Teacher Dies in Fiery Carroll County Car Crash

April 3, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

When people think about a products liability claim, it is very common to imagine a defective child safety seat, an electrical appliance with a dangerous flaw, even an auto safety recall involving a faulty tire or brake system component on a passenger car or commercial truck. One thing that most people don’t consider is that larger items, very large items, can also be named in a product liability lawsuit. As Maryland auto accident and personal injury lawyers, I and my legal staff understand the faith that people place in products and everyday items.

By saying this, we mean that consumers and those in the general public have a relative expectation that most products and other man-made items will not harm them; certainly one can surmise that there is a belief among most people that they will not be killed if they use a certain product or manufactured item. Naturally, this also implies that the consumer will use the item in the way it was intended, which can be another important aspect of a well thought-out products liability claim.

As an aside, we should remind readers that every one of us is a consumer of multiple products and services every day of our lives. There is almost nothing that you or I touch on a regular basis that is not designed, manufactured, processed or created in some way, shape or form for our use or consumption. And so it goes that when we purchase a product from a store, dealer or directly from a manufacturer we expect that item to perform in the way in which it is supposed.

Three Teenagers Severely Injured in Baltimore City Accident after Police Cruiser Hits Their Car at Intersection

March 31, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

With the traffic death of a young teen in Salisbury a couple weeks ago following a police chase, we happened to run across an older news report from last fall involving a police-related traffic accident. In that earlier incident, several teenagers were seriously hurt when the vehicle in which they were traveling was involved in a collision with a police cruiser that ran through a red light in Northwest Baltimore. At the time of the collision the officer reportedly had his emergency lights on; however, that fact didn’t change the severity of the injuries sustained by three of the young men in the car that fateful morning.

Of course, one cannot have a discussion of injuries caused by car, truck or motorcycle accidents without acknowledging that the leading cause of death for children in the U.S., according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), is highway wrecks. While the incident in question involved a number of older teenagers, the fact that more than 1,000 kids 15 years and under lose their lives every year is not insignificant.

In fact, if we consider the Maryland statistics regarding auto-related injuries and deaths for children older than four years of age, the trend has been heading downward over the past several years, at least through 2011 when there were 280 child deaths attributed to traffic accidents. While it is heartening to see a reduction in the rate of fatal incidents involving children, we must say that any death is one too many.

Maryland Auto Accident News: Unlicensed Teenager Dies following Car Chase with Police in Wicomico County

March 28, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Understanding as we do the devastating effects of a prolonged hospital stay brought on by serious medical complications problems, it’s wise to never underestimate the injury potential of any automobile or commercial trucking collision. Here in Maryland, where we average close to 500 fatal traffic-related accidents every year, the odds of anyone reading this sentence being involved in any kind of roadway accident during his or her lifetime is fairly high.

Hundreds of thousands of innocent people across this nation are sent to the emergency room each year thanks to car, truck and motorcycle crashes. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise us if someone you know has previously been involved in any type of car collision — from a minor fender-bender to an all-out, multi-car pileup — for the simple reason that the annual number of road accidents is somewhere north of five million for the entire country.

If one does the basic math, it’s amazing to see that, on average, there are more than 14,000 auto accidents every single day in the U.S. And while Maryland is by no means the largest state, we are in the top half by population. But even the knowledge that our state ranks 19th in population (and 5th in population density), it’s still hard to believe that Maryland motorists get into traffic accidents about once every five minutes; every single day, all through the year.

Motorist Arrested for Attempted Murder by Vehicle after Ramming Episode on Baltimore-Washington Parkway

March 25, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

There are times in this life that make a person step back for a minute and catch one’s breath. Instances of extreme human drama, life and death situations, and other remarkable or stunning events are some that fit into this category. Then there are the moments, when simply as an observer it is incredible to watch something transpire that, if it wasn’t actually happening before your eyes, would certainly be unbelievable to some, or at least judged highly unlikely.

While this is likely the case for the average person, or for those who are not constantly reminded through their profession of the supposed oddities in life; such are the extraordinary circumstances that we, as Baltimore personal injury lawyers, come across on a fairly regular basis. But even I and my colleagues, as automobile, truck and motorcycle accident attorneys, still find that some events occurring on Maryland roadways can be termed stranger than fiction.

Of course, any car or trucking-related traffic collision can be serious for the victims, regardless of the root cause, and we understand this as much as anyone. A great deal of our work involves accidents caused by human error, poor judgment and simple mistakes. But there are instances when an injury received in a traffic collision cannot so easily be described as “accidental.”

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.

No Children Hurt after School Bus Hit in Multi-Vehicle Collision in Timonium, Maryland

March 19, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

When a child is hurt in a traffic-related car crash, the amount of emotion, anger and resentment felt by parents can overwhelm their ability to make the proper choices when it comes to day-to-day activities, not to mention deciding whether or not to file an injury claim against the responsible party or parties. The injured child’s parents and other loved ones may certainly have more important life decisions to deal with when a youngster is in the hospital, possibly fighting to survive a severe or critical injury. As Maryland personal injury lawyers, I and my legal staff have the training and the skill to guide a family through what can be a very emotional time.

While our passion for and commitment to these young victims is quite strong, as professional trial attorneys we are also trained to maintain a necessary level of objectivity in order to plan for a child injury lawsuit or argue a wrongful death claim in a court of law; and always with the goal of attaining the best possible outcome for our clients. When it comes to automobile, trucking and motorcycle injury accident cases, our entire team is dedicated to helping our clients recover full and fair compensation under the law.

As we have mentioned time and time again, the risk of injury or death for a minor child can be quite high in instances of severe traffic collisions. This is true even when a child or infant is properly restrained in a vehicle that is hit by a commercial motor vehicle or even another passenger car. Similar to adults, yet even more so, a bad roadway accident can result in closed-head trauma and other brain-related injuries, spinal cord damage, and even injury to delicate internal organs. The effects of such accident can leave a child with medical problems that can persist all through their adult lives.

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 Auto Safety News: Honda Worldwide Recall Includes 183,000 Honda and Acura Models in U.S.

March 14, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Advances in automotive electronics over the past several decades have truly made a significant impact in the safety of cars, trucks and even motorcycles. From the introduction of anti-lock braking systems (ABS) in the 1980s to front and side-impact airbag systems and vehicle stability control systems of today, it’s no exaggeration to say that passenger cars and light trucks offer greater safety now than back in the heyday of the American automobile industry.

And while car accidents and commercial trucking wrecks still take place on our highways and surface streets, the carnage from these sometimes tragic traffic collisions has been reduced to a great extent by the advanced electronics found in automobiles. As Maryland auto accident attorneys and personal injury lawyers, I and my colleagues know that a car, or any product for that matter, is only as good as its design and manufacture allow it to be. Product defects still occur these days and that’s where trouble can begin.

Relying on a modern automobile to protect you and your family is only part of the equation. Safe driving is another key part of staying alive and safe in the dense, sometimes high-speed traffic environments of cities like Baltimore and Washington, D.C. When a crash does happen, fewer injuries and hopefully no fatalities will result thanks to advanced auto safety devices. This, however, will only be the case when everything in the vehicle is in tip-top condition. Whether through regular maintenance or initial design, every critical vehicle safety system must be working properly in order to save lives and avert injuries in roadway accidents.