Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog

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.

Baltimore County First Responders Take on Mock School Bus Accident Just Like the Real Thing

March 11, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As most every parent, teacher and community leader intrinsically knows; our children represent the future of this planet. As Maryland personal injury attorneys, I and my colleagues also know that there is no greater tragedy than when a child has been seriously injured or killed in a senseless traffic accident. Whether as passengers in a motor vehicle or as pedestrians walking to school or riding their bicycles, youngsters can be hurt in passenger car or commercial vehicle collisions just as easily as their adult counterparts, perhaps even easier.

Kids can receive injuries in any number of accident scenarios, but traffic accidents are only one category. Many children are hurt or killed each year as a result of dog bites, swimming pool accidents or defective playthings, as well as through pharmacy misfills, physician negligence or hospital errors when they are already being treated for a medical problem. As an aside, each of the latter items requires proof that another party was negligent and that the alleged negligence was the cause of the child’s injuries or death.

As auto and commercial trucking accident lawyers, we know the law and how to apply it to cases of child injury. For example, the parents of an injured minor child are entitled to pursue compensation for the costs of a child’s past, present, and future medical treatment and rehabilitation following a bad accident. Since most families cannot afford around-the-clock medical care for a child, parents can actually file a lawsuit in order to recover medical expenses associated a child’s injuries and subsequent treatment.

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.

One Dead, Two Critically Hurt in Alcohol-related Traffic Collision in Baltimore County

March 7, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

How many times does it have to happen before society can even hope to eliminate the senseless, costly and many times tragic consequences caused by drunken driving. As Baltimore personal injury attorneys, we have seen too many victims of alcohol-related automobile and motorcycle accidents come forth in our local courts seeking recovery of medical and rehabilitation costs from negligent individuals who chose to get behind the wheel of a passenger car or commercial truck only to cause a serious roadway collision.

Far too many people have been hurt or killed on this nation’s city streets, rural routes and high-speed expressways as a result of another driver operating his or her vehicle while impaired by alcohol or prescription drugs. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), someone dies every 45 seconds in an alcohol-related traffic accident day-in and day-out all across this country. And Maryland is no different, with stories in the news almost daily describing the sad circumstances surround these senseless car and commercial trucking wrecks.

Our job here at Lebowitz & Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers, is to work with our clients — the victims of these negligent drunk drivers — and help them try to piece together some semblance of their former lives. For the families of victims killed in a tragic road accident, there is no true recovery when one realizes that a child, parent or spouse has been wrenched away from the ones they love. In cases of where an individual has met an untimely death, a wrongful death lawsuit can be filed against the individual responsible for the fatal accident.

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.

Two Maryland Residents, Pedestrian and Motorist, Killed in Separate Fatal Accidents Near Baltimore

March 2, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Being injured in an automobile wreck or commercial trucking collision is quite common here in the Baltimore area. With the dense traffic in the metro area and high speeds on our parkways and interstates, the chances of being involved in a traffic accident are better than that in the more rural areas of the state. As personal injury attorneys representing people hurt in road accidents here in Maryland and over in the District of Columbia, we understand how painful and long lasting some injuries can be.

For anyone who has been involved in a serious auto accident, we don’t have to tell you that broken bones and compound fractures are just one of the many kinds of injuries that a person can receive in a bad roadway collision. In the case of broken bones, both drivers and passengers can suffer equally. The high forces imparted by a car hitting another vehicle can result in multiple breaks in arms, legs and the pelvis, among other areas. Worse results can come when a commercial vehicle, such as an 18-wheel semi tractor-trailer hits a much smaller and lighter passenger car.

Brain injury is another common result of a bad traffic collision. Known variously as closed-head trauma or traumatic brain injury, these types of injuries can lead to a range of conditions including physical, mental and emotional problems. Brain damage resulting from a vehicle accident can be brought on by any number of issues, such conditions such as concussions, brain contusions, bleeding inside the brain itself or complications from a fractured skull.

Maryland Automobile Safety Update: Traffic Accidents Offer Their Own Argument for Seatbelt Use

February 28, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As we write this, there are millions of drivers on the road all across the country traveling on city streets, rural highways, unpaved back roads, and high-speed interstates. Within the next few hours, dozens will be hurt or killed in traffic accidents they did not cause. While it’s a fair bet that most of those involved in a car or commercial trucking crash will have been wearing a safety belt, some may not. Whatever the reason — be it fear of injury during a roadway collision, lack of perceived comfort, or just plain obstinacy — it’s likely that those who chose not to wear their seatbelt may be injured to a greater degree than those who did. And, sadly, some may die as a result of their decision.

As Baltimore personal injury attorneys, I and my staff of legal professionals have talked to many different clients over the years, many who have been hurt in a car, truck or motorcycle wreck. For those who have been badly hurt, through no fault of their own, the cost of medical treatment, convalescing without being able to make an income, and extended rehabilitation expenses can all add up to put a pinch on many of these individuals and their families. For those people who were not using a safety belt at the time of a crash, the costs could be higher — physically and financially.

We mention this because reducing the severity of physical injuries is something that seat belts have been doing for quite some time now. Most every traffic safety expert will advise that wearing a seat belt is preferable to not wearing one. This is not to say that seatbelts themselves have been known to cause injuries themselves, but the statistics indicate that these most rudimentary of automotive safety devices are more beneficial than not.

National Safety Council Reports Highway Fatalities Rose in 2012 Above Previous Year’s Death Toll

February 26, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

It would be morbid to say that an improving economy may have caused more than 1,500 additional traffic deaths last year than in 2011, but you can be sure that someone will suggest it. As Maryland personal injury lawyers, I and my colleagues have a much more grounded view of things when it comes to injuries and fatalities on our nation’s roadways; there’s never a good reason for people to be killed in senseless and often preventable traffic collisions.

Whether you’re talking about passenger cars crashes, trucking-related wrecks or motorcycle accidents, there are often one or more individuals who will be sent to the hospital with serious or even life-threatening injuries. From broken bones and serious burns, to lacerations, internal injuries and closed-head trauma, few people come away totally unhurt following a bad automobile or commercial truck collision.

Areas like Baltimore, the District, and other densely populated metropolitan centers get their share of roadway accidents. Having met with dozens of accident victims, we understand the physical pain and difficult recovery and rehab periods that many people experience following a car crash. And even if they survive the initial collision, the financial burden that can follow may be just as devastating, especially for families that are already struggling with money issues. Throw in a loss of income when a single parent is hurt or laid up in a hospital bed and the families troubles are only just beginning.

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.