Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog

Montgomery County Man Goes Away for Barely 5 Years Following Fatal PCP-related Traffic Collision

August 24, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Kill someone on the road these days and you may not be facing hard time, or so it would seem following the sentencing of a Burtonsville, MD, man who was charged with the death of one person in connection with a 2011 car accident. The charge in question was involuntary manslaughter, according to reports, which happened when the driver reportedly lost control of his vehicle before it struck a guard rail, left the roadway and smashed into a stand of trees back in June 2011.

As Maryland personal injury attorneys, I and my staff of experienced automobile and trucking-accident legal professionals are all too aware of the potential injuries, pain and suffering that victims and their families experience following a severe car, truck or motorcycle wreck. These can range from the mildest of injuries, such as bruises, cuts and abrasions, to neck and head injuries, as well as wrongful death at the hands of a negligent driver. It goes without saying, as usual, that medical costs these days can be quite high, especially for serious injuries that require extensive or costly medical procedures.

And one needn’t be hurt or killed by someone they do not know. Many victims have been riding in the vehicle driven by a negligent driver; someone they know or trusted with their life. Hurting, injuring or killing a stranger is tragic enough, but to cause harm to a relative or close friend is, frankly, unforgivable in many people’s eyes. We bring this up because of the case that was recently closed on a man who reportedly was instrumental in the death of one individuals and the injuring of two others traveling in his vehicle.

Excessive Speed Cited in Baltimore County Injury Accident that Sent Maryland Driver to the Hospital

August 22, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

If one could turn back the clock and prevent a tragic accident or even a less serious one, would it be all that difficult to do? As Maryland automobile and commercial trucking accident attorneys, we’d have to say, “Yes and no.” Understanding how car, truck and motorcycle crashes come to pass is something that every personal injury lawyer learns early on. And while we can’t say unequivocally that changing any one factor leading to a car or commercial truck collision would alter the future, it would not surprise us either.

In cases of a serious mechanical problem leading to a driver’s inability to control his or her vehicle, avoiding the failure of a steering, suspension or braking component could actually avert disaster. Of course, going back in time is only a dream in the real world, which is why we must deal with the consequences of a negligent act or a defective product that may result in a bad traffic wreck.

As personal injury lawyers serving Maryland residents, as well as those people who may have been injured in traffic accidents in the District of Columbia, we know that certain overt acts by drivers can result in a traffic crash or pedestrian accident. Of course, by avoiding certain car, truck and motorcycle collisions, drivers and passengers alike could avoid the various fractures, internal injuries, closed-head trauma and spinal cord damage.

Warning to SUV Owners: Most Sport Utility Vehicles Don’t Handle Like Sports Cars

August 19, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

We’re not ones to tell people what they should or should not do, but there are instances when we prefer to remind people what may be prudent versus what we feel is an unadvised activity or pastime. For instance, although we know that people can more easily be killed on a motorcycle, we also believe that everyone has the right to choose their own mode of transportation. Just be aware of the risks ahead of time.

When it comes to passenger cars, many people decide to purchase a sport utility vehicle because they feel safer riding in a more massive motor vehicle. Aside from the extra storage space or towing capability, SUVs are useful in a number of ways. However, most sport “utes” are not primarily designed to handle like sports cars. In fact, with a higher center of gravity and greater average suspension travel than even a standard sedan, one would be hard pressed to expect “extreme” passenger car handling from the average SUV.

Yet, every year, dozens upon dozens of people are injured or killed in rollover-type accidents mostly involving SUVs, minivans and other light trucks. The problem, it would appear is that a percentage of SUV drivers don’t understand the potential limitations that a sport utility vehicle presents in situations where emergency maneuvers may be required. Driving “on the edge” in an SUV can and does lead to tragic results when the vehicle cannot perform in a manner the driver expects.

Failure to Yield Results in Death of One Driver in Fatal Howard County Car Wreck

August 16, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

It seems that at almost every turn we run into examples of poor driving causing death and injury on Maryland roadways. It’s not so surprising as it is disheartening to see the numerous victims of these senseless car, truck and motorcycle crashes. Not only the victims, but their families are affected by the devastating effects of a bad injury accident, never mind the awful irreversible results of a fatal highway collision.

As auto and truck injury accident lawyers, our firm helps the victims of accidents here in the Baltimore area, as well as the rest of the state and over in the District of Columbia. Because so much is at stake when a loved one is sent to the hospital by the negligent act of another driver, we understand the financial, emotional and psychological hurdles that a car, motorcycle or trucking accident victim must deal.

Whether a driver or passenger is due to the negligence or thoughtlessness of another individual, the range of medical complications can be vast depending on the kind of crash, type of vehicles involved and the rapidity with which emergency responders arrive at the crash site to lend aid. From economy cars and motorcycles to sport utility vehicles and large full-size vans, occupants can suffer minor injuries such as bumps and bruises to cuts, deep lacerations and traumatic brain injuries.

Why Seatbelts? Occupant Safety Still Relies on Simplest of Devices in a Car Crash

August 14, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

We’ve all seen this happen; children, teens, 20-somethings or full-grown adults — who, we might remind, should know better — riding in moving vehicles without the benefit of a safety belt. Parents are responsible for their children wearing seatbelts or using approved safety seats in the family sedan, minivan or SUV, but what happens when the adults don’t use seat belts? Sometimes very bad things.

As Maryland personal injury attorneys, I and my team of legal professionals have seen more than our share of car, truck and motorcycle accident victims. What everyone of us knows is apparently a well-kept secret among a small, but unnerving percentage of the driving public. What could be so mysterious? That seatbelts save lives and reduce the potential for serious injury in the event of a bad roadway collision.

It may come as a surprise, but there are grown, thinking people who either through stubbornness, arrogance, or mere lack of foresight actively choose NOT to wear a safety belt when driving or riding in a motor vehicle. Never mind the fact that a high-speed crash between a couple passenger cars, or even a medium-speed impact with a commercial truck, can turn an unbelted occupant into a 150-pound missile heading right for the windshield.

Maryland Police Take Measured Approach to Aggressive Drivers; “Take 30” Created to Reduce Car Accidents

August 10, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

We’ve seen it for years, the effects of aggressive driving and the toll it can take on victims involved in altercations on the highways and surface streets. The sad fact is, aggressive driving is probably one of the more “preventable” causes of traffic wrecks here in Maryland. As Baltimore personal injury attorneys, we believe that innocent victims of negligent acts, such as road rage, deserve they day in court, if only to recover the costs of medical and financial loss due to another driver’s actions.

More than one person has been put in the hospital with a serious or life-threatening medical condition due at least in part to an incident of aggressive driving that escalated into a fit of road rage. With the number of people on Maryland’s public roadways, it is no surprise that every year dozens upon dozens of people are killed or maimed in car, truck and motorcycle crashes. This number could likely be reduced by quelling the epidemic of road rage, or driving while angry.

As injury lawyers representing those hurt in car and commercial trucking collisions, both here in Maryland as well as over in the District, we understand the ease with which a driver and his or her passengers can become embroiled in someone else’s “bad day.” This is really nothing new. Since the early days of the automobile, there surely were instances of one driver becoming annoyed with another motorist. Honking horns, cutting another car off, or intentionally trying to inconvenience another person in retribution of some assumed slight; these are all versions of what people refer to as road rage.

While Helping to Reduce Serious Traffic Accidents, Roundabouts Continully Present Challenges to Maryland Drivers

August 8, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As a personal injury firm that represents automobile and trucking accident victims, I and my staff of legal professionals know the downside of being involved in a serious car, truck or motorcycle collision. The number and severity of auto accident injuries can be quite significant in our line of work. Sadly, no matter how hard we as a society work to reduce the amount of roadway wrecks, there will always be victims; history has shown that while we can always hope for an end to car crashes, we can’t eliminate them completely.

But hope springs eternal, and with improvements in car and truck safety, better roads and continuous breakthroughs in medical science, society at large will likely be safer and safer over time. This brings up a point that road safety is constantly being improved, though sometimes slower than most would like to see. We are reminded of the challenges that traffic safety engineers face on a regular basis when we run across articles covering stumbling blocks to safety.

Not long ago we read a news article that pointed out the frustration of drivers who use the dozens of roundabouts throughout our state. As Maryland and Washington, D.C., personal injury lawyers, the fact that serious injuries and certainly fatalities can be significantly reduced by the implementation of roadway roundabouts is heartening to most anyone who follows traffic safety news. The fact that some improvements can raise other concerns is part and parcel with any radical change that affects the driving public.

Maryland Man Charged Following Car Crash and Fire that Killed Three Passengers in Montgomery County

August 6, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Aside from the old saying that crime doesn’t pay, we also know that nobody deserves to die in a car accident due to the actions of another individual. As Maryland personal injury lawyers, I and my staff of experienced legal professionals have a fair amount of insight into the range of catastrophic results that a traffic collision can impart to occupants of a motor vehicle that crashes at high speeds.

In our line of work, we know that fate, luck, destiny — or whatever term one chooses to describe the random effects of a serious accident — can have in store for the hapless victims of a car, truck or motorcycle wreck. Even for those people who travel on foot, pedestrian-related traffic accidents can happen more often than one would expect, either here in the Baltimore area, out in Columbia or Gaithersburg, or over in Washington, D.C. Anyone who has seen the aftermath of a car-pedestrian or car-bicycle collision knows that being hit by a 3,000-pound passenger car is not something one rebounds from quickly.

The other day we ran across a news article describing a car crash that involved a stolen vehicle and resulted in the deaths of three passengers. Whether or not those other occupants were accomplices, it would be a stretch to say that they deserved to die in the fiery wreckage following a police chase. According to news reports, an 18-year-old man was allegedly behind the wheel of a stolen vehicle when it left the roadway, slammed into a tree and then burst into flames.

Trying to Cut Corners with Your Insurance Company Can Get Drivers in Very Hot Water

August 3, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As Maryland and Washington, D.C., personal injury attorneys, my firm is dedicated to helping those individuals who have been injured or hurt as a result of another person’s negligent actions. Because we cover automotive, trucking and motorcycle accident cases, we have the skills to represent motorists who are suffering the effects of a bad traffic collision. For those families who have lost a loved one to a senseless roadway accident, we also handle wrongful death lawsuits, as well.

The point we would like to make today is that there are likely numerous motorists one the road throughout Maryland who either do not carry insurance on their vehicle or who have knowingly or unknowingly under-insured themselves. For those who choose to drive uninsured, they risk fines and other penalties for simply not following the law. For those who may unfortunately be injured by an uninsured driver, additional problems exist.

If one is caught up in a traffic accident with an uninsured or under-insured driver, the only way the victim can become compensated is if that person carries uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage from his or her automobile insurance company. In such instances, the victim’s insurance company must pay for all of the victim’s loses incurred by that roadway collision. This includes, but is not limited to, vehicle damage as well as medical treatment and even loss of income due to the inability to work.

Driver Gets Three Years in Jail after Conviction for Fatal Olney DWI Car Accident

July 31, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

It never ceases to amaze us as we follow the number of alcohol- or drug-related traffic accidents, even in the light of increased DWI and DUI enforcement and multiple anti-drunk driving campaigns. Still, every year thousands of drivers, passengers, adults and children are hurt or killed as the direct result of drunken driving all across the United States. As Maryland personal injury lawyers, we understand that it is difficult to fight human nature, but at the same time one can only hope that people — drivers in particular — recognize the folly of driving while impaired by alcohol or prescription medication.

Not long ago we read that a 20-year-old man was sentenced to just three years in jail following the fatal car crash that killed several of the driver’s friends, thanks in large part to alcohol. Many people in that community seemed to be torn between feeling a modicum of forgiveness and throwing the book at the man for such a deadly and tragic car accident.

Reading of any fatal traffic wreck, be it a car accident, trucking-related collision or a motorcycle crash, is difficult for anyone who feels that after more than a century of automobile transportation the drivers of the 21st century should have a greater sense of responsibility when getting behind the wheel of a two-ton motor vehicle. But regardless of the number of professional driver training programs, parental admonitions, not to mention social stigma of being arrested or convicted of driving while intoxicated, it appears that a certain percentage of the motoring public has much yet to learn about personal responsibility.