Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog

Maryland Auto Safety Alert: Some Jeep Owners May Be Driving Around with Defective Airbag Systems

November 9, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Products liability is an area of law that handles merchandise and other goods that have injured or killed an individual or group of people as a result of using or being in contact with those items. It includes holding those entities, such manufacturers, suppliers and distributors, responsible for injuries sustained by people who have purchased or used a company’s products. As Baltimore personal injury attorneys, my firm works to help clients who have been hurt, maimed or killed as a result of an unsafe or defective product.

Here in the U.S., product liability claims most often entail negligence, strict liability, breach of warranty, and other consumer-related claims. When it comes to the law, products liability looks at three major areas of liability claims, including defects in manufacturing, poor or faulty design, as well as failure to warn the consumer about shortcomings in a product. This last area involves what is sometimes referred to as marketing defects.
As Maryland automobile and trucking-accident lawyers, our aim is to assist victims of traffic accidents that have been caused by another individual’s negligence. In some instances of car, truck or motorcycle wrecks, the cause can occasionally be traced to failure of a safety-related component or part that failed and resulted in a roadway crash. It’s not unheard of to have a car or truck part, such as a steering arm, wheel bearing or suspension component break or fail and cause a loss of control for the driver.

Maryland Woman Critically Hurt in Pedestrian Hit-and-Run Traffic Accident, Say Baltimore Police

November 8, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Anyone who walks in or near traffic must understand that they run a risk, no matter how small, of being struck by a passenger car, clipped by city bus, or hit by a commercial delivery truck. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), more than 4,000 pedestrians were killed across the county in 2009 in traffic incidents involving car-, truck- and motorcycle-related collisions. And while several thousand persons on foot are typically killed each year, almost 20 times that number are injured, either severely or with only minor bodily injuries.

From the perspective of a Maryland personal injury law firm like ours, our experience tells us that lion’s share of pedestrian accidents result from driver distraction. This can be caused by a number of activities, including talking or texting on a cellphone or smartphone, changing the radio station or adjusting a navigation system; even eating or putting on makeup have been known to be direct causes of pedestrian traffic collisions.

Because most everyone assumes the role of pedestrian at least once a week, if not once a day, it’s important to remind anyone who walks near traffic to be especially careful when crossing at intersections. Dangerous intersections, something that is quite common here in Baltimore as well as in other busy metropolitan areas such as Washington, D.C., can include the following attributes that make them more dangerous for pedestrians than other roadway crossings:
— Improperly design, which presents a danger to both cars and pedestrians
— Lack of necessary traffic signals/signs
— Poorly timed traffic lights
— No vehicle merging lane

Speed Blamed in Double-Fatality Single-Vehicle Traffic Accident in Baltimore County

November 5, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

We’ve all hear a lot about road rage here in Maryland, but that’s just one of many conditions that people can become involved in on our streets and highways, many times to someone’s ultimate detriment. While road rage can usually be accompanied by bouts of aggressive driving, driving in an aggressive manner is not necessarily accompanied every time by anger on the road. This may sound as if we are describing a medical condition, which would be for the healthcare community to decide; what we mean to discuss here is that aggressive driving on its own can cause serious and sometimes deadly traffic accidents.

As Baltimore area personal injury lawyers, I and my colleagues have enough experience with car, truck and motorcycle accidents to know that, for lack of a better phrase, speed kills. While the auto and traffic safety community is generally in agreement on this subject, many sports car enthusiasts and racing devotees would likely argue that speed doesn’t necessarily kill, but it makes a car or trucking-related collision that much worse, all things being equal that is.

Speed limits are established for one main reason: to keep speeds on public roads to a reasonable level while also maintaining quick, efficient and economical travel for members of the public who use the roadways. As we have said before, however, having laws and regulations in place is no guarantee that people will obey them, which is why we have police to enforce the laws and a judicial system to provide an unbiased forum for citizens who have been accused of a violation of those laws.

Baltimore Traffic Safety Update: Nationwide More Than 1,000 People Injured Daily by Distracted Driving

October 31, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

It is probably a kind of self-preservation that people go about their lives thinking that bad things — such as car accidents, household injuries, heart attacks, even dog bites — will not happen to them. Which might be a good thing considering if any one of us worried constantly about the possibility of injury or death, we probably would not get much done, much less get out of bed in the morning. Having health, car and life insurance helps people to at least protect themselves and their families from serious accidents that can have a life-changing effect on an individual and his or her loved ones.

On the flipside, not worrying or thinking about something doesn’t mean it can’t happen. Take automobile and commercial truck collisions; these events take place every day here in Maryland. Whether one lives or works in Rockville, Bowie, Columbia or even the District, odds are you or someone you know has been in a traffic-related accident sometime in the past. The same goes for pedestrian accidents and bicycling mishaps; of course, they happen every day, just not to us… right up to the point when they do happen to us.

As Maryland personal injury attorneys, we know that the actuarial tables paint a statistical picture of who might be involved in a life-altering event today, tomorrow, next week or next year. One of the constant contributors to accidents on the road over the years has been driver distraction. Decades ago, this probably meant spending too much time trying to “dial in” a radio station on an analog receiver, or having a heated discussion with one’s relatives while in dense traffic.

Automobile Safety Components: Mostly Unseen, These Clever Devices Exhibit Their Benefits in Many Traffic Accidents

October 29, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Time marches on, as the saying goes, but one thing that comes with time is the steady development of new and better technologies for every aspect of human life. Granted, there are instances were certain products end up being detrimental to our health, exemplified in most any successful products liability case. Yet, on the who we as human beings do benefit from constant improvements to existing devices, as well as through the innovation and development of new and better technologies.

As Baltimore automobile and commercial trucking accident lawyers, I and my personal injury legal staff have seen the results of a wide range of injury-related car, truck and motorcycle wrecks. Even so, there is no end to the potential bodily harm that can come to individuals caught up in serious roadway collisions, many times due in no part to themselves. Many of these innocent victims may have received even worse injuries — including traumatic brain injury, pneumothorax, ruptured internal organs and spinal cord damage — if it wasn’t for the variety of safety devices found in many modern cars, SUVs, minivans and crossover vehicles.

Seatbelts
By many experts thinking, tops on the list of protective automotive technologies would be the lowly three-point safety belt. With airbags, stability control and other “high tech” safety technologies, seatbelts are still the unsung heros of auto safety; one reason why safety experts and law enforcement agencies place great importance on the use of these basic, yet very effect devices. First offered as standard equipment in the 1959 Volvo 122, the two-point lap belt graduated to a lap-and-shoulder-harness design (the now-ubiquitous three-point system) about a decade later, and was made mandatory on U.S. passenger cars in 1974.

Baltimore Personal Injury Update: Another Serious Automobile Safety Recall from Nissan Indicates Steering-related Problem

October 28, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Is it us, or does the auto industry seem to be having more trouble lately regarding serious mechanical issues and automobile safety recalls? This is not an indictment of the entire industry, but there certainly have been some very significant safety recalls from automakers and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) over the course of the past year; problems with cars made by reputable automobile manufacturers such as General Motors and Toyota. Now comes Nissan Motor Company with a potentially life-threatening issue on thousands of their Altima sedans.

As Maryland personal injury lawyers, we know that people expect to be safe in the vehicles that they purchase from car, truck and motorcycle manufacturers. And while it may be a difficult job to build completely flawless motor vehicles, there is a level of safety that every consume hopes for in their vehicle. But, considering the number parts and components that go into every passenger car, SUV or minivan, it’s understandable that some of those items may be faulty. We only hope that the critical ones have been checked and double checked.

Being hurt in a car accident can lead to serious complications. Back and neck injuries, as well as serious head or brain trauma can sideline an individual for months or years, if not a lifetime. Being injured in a car or commercial trucking collision due to negligence of the other driver usually provides a clear-cut case against the responsible party. And although the facts may speak for themselves, it’s always a wise choice to consult with a qualified personal injury attorney to better understand one’s situation following a bad car, truck or motorcycle accident.

Street Racing in Maryland Communities: Does Aggressive, Dangerous Driving Threaten Innocent People on the Road?

October 26, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

We all know that driving while intoxicated, texting or talking on a cellphone, and screaming kids in the back seat — even tuning the radio in a car or truck — can all be potential causes of traffic accidents. Certainly these scenarios can contribute significantly to injuries and deaths in car and trucking-related wrecks. Whether leading to a single- or multiple vehicle collision, each and every cause of serious accidents is a concern to police and traffic safety experts.

As Baltimore personal injury lawyers, my firm is interested in the effects of car, truck and motorcycle accidents, not only because we want to help the victims, but because understanding the causes might help others to avoid tragic incidents in the future. Sadly, even with public awareness, car and commercial truck crashes occur with alarming frequency. Preventing the random and unexpected can prove difficult, yet cutting the number of preventable motor vehicle accidents is theoretically within our power.

As mentioned above, drinking and driving and texting, as well as other potentially distracting activities, are things which motorists have an active part in preventing. Getting a sober ride or designated driver can help to prevent DWI- and DUI-related traffic injuries and senseless automotive-related deaths; not taking a cellphone call, putting off texting on a smartphone until one’s car is safely parked; and even using presets on the car radio are all ways to protect oneself, one’s passengers and other innocent people on the roadway.

Pregnant Maryland Woman Survives Being Thrown from SUV During Rollover Crash in Harford County

October 23, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

There are likely few more dreaded scenarios in the life of a woman than to be caught up in a serious car crash while pregnant with an unborn baby. Mother’s all around the country face dangers every day that could cause premature birth or other life-threatening complications to the mother and baby. Unnecessary and senseless car and trucking-related roadway accidents should not be something that places a woman or her unborn child in harm’s way.

As Baltimore personal injury attorneys, I and my colleagues spend our professional lives following the potentially life-threatening events that occur each year, many that affect parents and their children in ways that could have long-term effects on their health, livelihood and happiness. With bodily injuries resulting from car, truck and motorcycle wrecks happening daily all across the state of Maryland, it’s not surprising that a percentage of those collisions, which result in hospital visits, involve parents and children, not the least of which being pregnant mothers.

Having a child become hurt as a result of a traffic accident is one of the last things any parent wants to contemplate, but being on the verge of parenthood and being caught in a bad roadway collision is likely the worst case that a new mother could imagine. Nothing rocks a family to its core than a car or truck accident that takes the life of a young baby, much less an unborn baby. The shock and emotional pain felt by the survivors and other family members can take years, if not a lifetime, to recover from.

18-Year-Old Maryland Driver Dies in Multi-car Accident in Harford County, MD

October 21, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As ever parent learns, from the day your first child is born one’s mind is switched into what we might refer to as “constant worry mode.” This is not a choice that most parents have, instead it is an inevitable part of having children and being responsible for them throughout their developing years and on into young adulthood. While it is true that when kids become adults, responsibility for their actions actually shifts to the children themselves. But the worry and concern for the health and welfare of one’s offspring tends to continue ad infinitum.

As anyone who has kids will heartily agree, there is no good age at which a parent’s concern for their child’s wellbeing subsides; but there are milestones of actual increased worry. These usually include first days at preschool, elementary school and, one of the biggest, the day your child begins to drive by themself. Setting a teenage driver out on the road of life can be an unnerving time for any parent, not only because of the potential increase in insurance premiums, but also the chance for a child’s injury and death. It’s not something any parent or guardian wants to dwell on. But the chance does exist.

It’s a fair bet that most mothers and fathers become somewhat desensitized to the constant threat of physical injury that a young and inexperienced driver can be exposed to. The problem these days is that many more distractions exist for our kids, what with electronic devices like iPods, iPhones and other smartphones, even the radio and other advanced controls in cars these days can divert an inexperienced driver’s attention at the wrong time.

Maryland Drivers Affected as Toyota Recalls More Than Two Million Vehicles for Electrical Fire Risk

October 16, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Being involved in a car fire can be one of the most frightening events in a person’s life. And because many automotive conflagrations occur as a result of a multiple-car crash or collision with a commercial truck, such as a tractor-trailer rig or large box truck, the chances of being trapped in a burning vehicle are even greater. As Maryland personal injury specialists, my legal staff is well aware of the potentially life-threatening traffic incidents that affect residents of Baltimore, Rockville, Annapolis and the District every day.

While electrical fires may not seem to be as common as some kinds of car fires, they are nonetheless serious from the standpoint of personal injury. Whatever the cause of an automobile fire, the risk of a person being terribly burned is always present. With gasoline and other flammable liquids and fluids contained within a vehicle, the threat that a fire, even a small one, presents is quite seriousness. Safety agencies, such as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which handle complaints from people who have been injured in car, truck and motorcycle accidents as a result of possible mechanical problems, take any instance of potential vehicle fires as very serious and unacceptable hazards to the public.

That said, we recently learned that Toyota plans to recall about two and one-half million cars sold in the United States for a problem with window control switches. As a matter of fact, this recall extends beyond the U.S. to other countries where Toyota has sold the affected vehicles. Based on news reports, more than seven million vehicles are affected by this one problem. According to news reports, this particular recall is one of the biggest for Toyota, and the largest nationwide recall since a Ford Motor Company recall back in 1996.