Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog

Englewood, MD, Driver Survives Life-threatening Ordeal after Driving off Steep Embankment in Harford County

February 19, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

When people think of traffic accidents, such as collisions between commercial trucks and passenger cars, sport utility vehicles and motorcycles, or taxi cabs and city buses, it’s easy to envision crumpled wrecks with leaking fluids, some of them one of the flammable. In fact, fires resulting from car, truck or motorcycle accidents are not as infrequent as one might expect; but they are can be even more deadly than the roadway collision that caused the blaze in the first place.

As Maryland injury attorneys, I and my legal staff know very well how a driver and occupants of a motor vehicle can be seriously burned following a bad traffic accident. Gasoline and diesel fuel leaking from a ruptured fuel tank can feed a fire that may quickly engulf a vehicle and its occupants. Burn injuries are some of the worst types of personal injury scenarios, requiring hospitalization and long recuperation times. Many burn victims never make it out of the hospital, as a significant percentage succumb to their injuries despite doctors’ efforts.

Those who do survive severe burns be scarred or disfigurement for life. Other side effects of a bad burn injury may include loss of one or more limbs, nerve damage, and emotional problems such as depression. Burn victims can experience extreme and almost unbearable pain because of many exposed nerves across large expanses of the person’s body. The recovery time for many types of extensive burn injuries can be measured not in days or weeks, but in months or years — sadly, many burn victims end up with some level of permanent disability due to their injuries.

Victims of Maryland Automobile Accidents Need Not Be in a Vehicle to Suffer Injuries

February 17, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As personal injury attorneys serving the residents of Baltimore, Annapolis, the District of Columbia, as well as other areas of our state, we have met numerous people over the years who have been seriously injured as a result of a car, truck or motorcycle collision on Maryland roadways. To say that automobile accidents happen often is an understatement, but the fact is that an injury accident can happen almost anywhere.

We recall that old auto insurance admonition, which still rings true today: “Most traffic accidents happen within 25 miles of home.” Since most people live and work generally within that radius, it’s a fair bet that if and when a car or trucking-related wreck does befall a person, there is a rather strong chance that it could occur within the range of one’s home.

When one considers the results of a traffic accident, it’s also good to think about the causes, which in many cases may have been preventable. Sadly, with human nature being what it is, eliminating all roadway collisions is likely more a pipe dream than anything else. But as Baltimore injury attorneys, we also know that a traffic wreck can happen to just one vehicle, and not always due to driver error or a mechanical problem with the vehicle itself.

Baltimore Injury Accident News: Maryland Woman Dies in Fatal Multi-car Collision in Carroll County

February 15, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Many fatalities resulting from passenger car and commercial trucking-related accidents come about due to a closed-head injury suffered by the victim or victims. Also known as a traumatic brain injury, the cause can be attributed to the victim’s head striking a solid object, such as the vehicle’s steering wheel, dashboard, A-pillar, or other non-moveable fixture within the car or truck.

Of course, in the case of motorcycle accidents, the road itself or another vehicle can become a blunt-force “weapon” when the rider falls from the bike or is throw by the impact. Helmets are useful and certainly nothing to be taken for granted, but even the best helmet cannot fully guarantee that a biker will walk away from a really bad traffic accident.

As Maryland injury lawyers, I and my colleagues understand the effects of closed-head trauma. We know that a hard enough blow to the head can easily disrupt the brain’s critical functions to the point of partial or complete paralysis, or even death. Commonly associated with passenger car collisions, commercial truck crashes and motorcycle accidents, cases of closed-head trauma have also been tied to sports-related injuries, such as concussions, which have been increasingly highlighted in the news over the past few years.

Back-to-Back Fatal Pedestrian Accidents in Annapolis Remind of Ever-Present Traffic-Related Dangers

February 12, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

On average Maryland sees a little over 100 fatal pedestrian and bicycle accidents each year. This compares with the national traffic-related death rate of 4,300 (based on data from 2010). As Baltimore personal injury attorneys, we have seen estimates for the nationwide cost of these accidents to society in the billions of dollars. Just here in our state, some experts suggest that over a 10-year period, from 2000 to 2009, the economic impact to our state for those pedestrians who were killed (1,057 in total) has been more than $4 billion.

Obviously, reducing pedestrian-automobile traffic fatalities would result in a great savings to everyone, not the least of which would be the families who would be spared the grief and emotional torment of losing a soon, daughter, husband or wife to a senseless roadway accident. For reference, the website Transportation for America ranks Maryland the 15th most dangerous state for pedestrians, giving us a 76.4 on its index of overall Pedestrian Danger.

It’s doesn’t take a statistician to understand how pedestrian and bicycle-related traffic collisions happen. For most people, it’s a basic fact that these kinds of accidents occur most frequently in metropolitan areas where people on foot are in close proximity to other vehicle traffic. Certainly, more densely populated urban areas will see a greater number of pedestrian accidents — involving car and commercial vehicle collisions — than that of more rural areas.

Pedestrian Accident in Anne Arundel Leaves Woman in Critical Condition after Being Hit by Truck

February 9, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

It seems that almost every day we read about someone being hit by car or run over by a commercial delivery truck. Whether it’s here in the Baltimore area, over in Bowie or Columbia, or down in the District, traffic accidents involving bicycles or persons on foot happen with alarming frequency. And not surprisingly, it would seem, since on average a pedestrian is injured every eight minutes across the U.S.

And, as Maryland injury lawyers, we know that the majority of pedestrian and bicycle accidents happen in urban areas where car and people tend to mix, sometimes with tragic results. The National Safety Council has stated that in the U.S. more than 80 percent of all non-fatal pedestrian injury accidents happen in urban areas. As such, large metro areas like Baltimore City and the District of Columbia see more than their fair share of pedestrian-related injuries and deaths, while rural locations are less likely to have such a high incidence of collisions, though the fatality rate is actually greater due to higher speeds on rural roads.

Here in Maryland, the average number of traffic fatalities involving pedestrians is about 100 deaths a year. The overwhelming majority of these are people on foot, although a small fraction of that number is represented by bicycle riders. Obviously, reducing the incidence of pedestrian-automobile collisions would in turn reduce the pedestrian death rate, as well as the number of families who have to bury loved ones each year as a result of a car or trucking related collision.

Drunk Driving Blamed in Deadly Kingsville, MD, Roadway Accident that Killed One, Injured Two Others

February 4, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

If random fatal traffic accidents caused by a moment’s inattention or a simple distraction inside a vehicle can be termed senseless, not to mention tragic, then drunken driving that leads to the death of an innocent person is surely one of the most unforgiveable acts that can possibly happen on our roadways in this modern age.

Of course, as Maryland personal injury attorneys, we can imagine that nearly every generation, since the advent of the horseless carriage, has lamented the senseless, useless and nonsensical deaths that have been occurring on our highways and city streets since early in the last century.

We’d like to think that driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs will soon be a thing of the past, if not for ourselves, for our children and their children. But is this a reasonable expectation? If human nature is any indicator, sadly we would have to say no; at least not in the foreseeable future.

Four Killed in Fatal Head-on Glen Burnie Car Crash on Marley Neck Blvd

February 1, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Far be it for us to make light of any traffic accident that has resulted in serious injury or death of any person, but we will say that the old adage, “Haste makes waste,” can be quite apropos in many instances of automobile, commercial trucking and motorcycle-related roadway collisions. Whether a single-vehicle crash caused by speeding or a multi-vehicle wreck resulting from impatience, whenever one reads of a bad road accident, one must seriously ask if shaving a few minutes off a commute is worth days or weeks of painful hospital recovery. There is obviously no reasonable excuse for an accident that causes the death of an innocent person.

As Maryland personal injury attorneys, we can fully appreciate the anger and bitterness that families of victims can feel toward a driver who through thoughtlessness or outright negligence has caused the death of a loved one. No amount of monetary penalty or jail time can bring back a person who has been killed in what can only be called a senseless roadway collision. While the common vernacular refers to car and trucking-related highway collisions as “accidents,” there are instances when the term has no basis in the reality of the act.

Although many automobile accidents can cause some property damage and some minor injuries, there are a percentage of traffic wrecks that result in severe and potentially life-threatening medical complications. Traumatic brain injury, spinal cord damage and extensive first-degree burns are a few of the more deadly injuries that victims of passenger car and commercial truck accidents can experience.

Maryland Auto Safety News: Toyota Recalls More Than 750,000 Vehicles for Potentially Dangerous Airbag Problem

January 30, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Once again, owners of Toyota vehicles have reason to worry about their safety now that more than 750,000 Corolla and Matrix models (2003-2004) have been recalled due to a problem with those vehicles’ airbag control systems, which could result in sudden and unexpected airbag deployment or seatbelt pretensioner operation. It doesn’t take an engineer to understand the implications of a front airbag going off in a driver’s face while operating a car at highway speeds, so for most people this recall is easy to understand: If you own one of the affected models, contact Toyota immediately and get the problem fixed.

As Maryland personal injury attorneys, our firm’s aim is to help people who have been injured or severely hurt as a result of a car, truck or motorcycle accident. Vehicle safety recalls usually occur after a problem has been reported to the manufacturer or to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) by one or more vehicle owners. With problems like the one announced by Toyota today, there is a high likelihood that someone could be hurt or killed by this apparently serious defect.

Individuals affected by this type of product-related problem may have grounds for a products liability lawsuit, depending on the circumstances and the injuries or property damage resulting from the defect. In general, products liability law starts from the premise that manufacturers of products sold to the public are usually in a much better position than most to prevent faulty products from coming onto the market. Because of their unique position, businesses that allow a dangerous product to enter the marketplace have a responsibility to those injured or otherwise hurt by that item.

Baltimore Auto Accident Update: Avoid the Deadly Mix of Alcohol and Driving

January 26, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Too frequently these days do we hear of roadway accidents resulting from drunken driving. There is an all too common scenario that crops up numerous times every week here in Maryland, where a motorist or members of a family are injured or killed by an individual who decided to get behind the wheel in an intoxicated condition. As Baltimore personal injury trial attorneys, the lawyers at Lebowitz & Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers, understand the anguish that such an event brings to friends and relatives of the victims, as well as the pain and suffering endured by those who are actually hurt in a crash.

Those who are only injured are fortunately spared the ultimate fate of being killed by a drunk driver, but often one or more of the victims can experience a long, hard road to recovery, which may never be quite complete. Amputated limbs, partial paralysis, and even quadriplegia can result from severe traffic wrecks; these are not simple injuries and can complicate a person’s life forever.

Whether the cause is a drunken motorist in a passenger vehicle or a drug-impaired commercial truck driver working over his or her legally restricted hours, the tragedy of a DWI- or DUI-related traffic accident is that it probably could have been prevented. But once done, it cannot be undone. The survivors are the ones who must pick up the pieces and try to press on with their lives, now scarred by a disaster they never caused, but with which they must deal, probably for the rest of their lives.

Prince George’s Patrolman Killed in Fatal Car Crash Was Not His Wearing Safety Belt

January 24, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As personal injury trial lawyers located in the Baltimore area, we see numerous victims of automobile, commercial truck and motorcycle accidents every year. And, as drivers ourselves, we know the value of wearing a safety belt whenever one ventures out on the road these days. With the volume and density of roadway traffic in towns and cities all around Maryland and the District of Columbia, there is no excuse for those drivers who throw caution to the wind and operate their motor vehicle while not “belted in.”

Of course, there are instances when seatbelts have been known to exacerbate accident victims’ injuries, although those cases are relatively few when compared to all of the lives saved by these albeit simple life-saving devices. In fact, since traffic collisions are the single-most common cause of death for people aged five to 34 years of age, it would seem prudent for anyone — drivers and passengers alike — to make it a habit of buckling up whenever getting into a motor vehicle these days.

The statistics speak for themselves: With upward of 40,000 individuals killed each year in highway wrecks, the use of seatbelts is not only a good idea, it has become law throughout much of the nation. Safety experts tend to agree that seatbelts have the ability to cut in half the number of deaths resulting from traffic collisions. Many of these deaths likely come under the heading of wrongful death, since they were caused by another person’s negligence.