Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog

Maryland Auto Accident News: Police Say Excessive Speed Contributed to Fatal Calvert County SUV Crash

November 20, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As Baltimore auto accident attorneys, my firm represents individuals injured as a result of a car, motorcycle or trucking-related highway collision. Naturally, being Maryland personal injury lawyers, we understand the factors that can contribute to a serious or fatal traffic wreck. As such, we know that vehicle speed and mechanical issues (defective equipement problems), weather conditions, traffic patterns and other factors can have a significant bearing on whether or not a motor vehicle accident will be minor or, at worst, fatal.

Of course, as many individuals who have survived horrendous car and commercial truck wrecks already know, luck is also a significant factor in these kinds of severe roadway crashes. Regardless, injuries do occur and fatalities are also quite common for high-speed accidents and those where vehicles of vastly different weights are concerned.

As mentioned previously, vehicle speed is a key factor in determining the severity of a traffic accident. With every doubling of vehicle speed, the crash energy is essentially quadrupled. This is why the old saying, “speed kills” is not just a popular phrase with police and other safety experts. That said, as drivers ourselves, we can understand that the practical considerations of modern life necessitate highway speeds despite the increased danger should a collision occur.

Nevertheless, driving faster than conditions will permit or attempting maneuvers that the vehicle was not designed to handle at high speeds can be disastrous for the car and its occupants. Whether one lives in Rockville, Annapolis or the District, it’s likely that as a motorist you have witnessed the aftermath of some kind of traffic accident. Multiple-vehicle crashes are some of the most common, but single-car and truck wrecks are also frequent occurrences on the state’s roadways.

Maryland Personal Injury News: Two Die in Fatal Fells Point, MD, Car Accident

November 18, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Fatal car crashes leave behind more than broken families; sometimes they can also spell the end of young and promising lives. As Baltimore personal injury attorneys, I and my colleagues have felt the very deep and profound sadness of loss from victims’ families and others who have known the deceased. Sadly, individuals who have been killed in a senseless auto, truck of motorcycle wreck will never again share time with their loved ones, and no amount of compensation can ever change that.

When a young person dies in a traffic accident, many who were close to that individual may ask themselves if anything could have been done to avoid or mitigate the collision. Second guessing and running “what if” scenarios in one’s mind are normal ways in which survivors may grieve, though in the end it may be better to celebrate the person’s life then to replay past events to the exclusion of all else.

As automobile accident lawyers, our job is to help families of victims recover costs for medical treatment, lost wages, and even attain compensation for the loss of companionship, love and comfort of that person. In fact, death does eliminate the right of a family to seek compensation for the loss of a loved one when wrongful death through the negligent act of another is the issue.

Annapolis Personal Injury News: Bar Sold Liquor to Underage Maryland Motorist Who Died in Fatal Accident

November 16, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Highway deaths in and around Baltimore, Rockville, the District, and Frederick, MD, occur for dozens of reasons every month. Many of these fatal car, motorcycle and commercial trucking accidents could possibly be avoided or mitigated in one way or another, but sadly not all. Drunken driving contributes to a significant percentage of car, truck and motorcycle crashes, a result of which is a substantial number of occupant injuries including closed-head trauma, spinal cord damage, and internal injuries.

A local Annapolis bar was in the news recently as law enforcement and the public focused on the serving of alcohol to underage patrons. According to news articles, the Acme Bar and Grill is under fairly intense scrutiny for an episode that occurred this past summer. Based on reports, the bar allegedly served several underage customers on June 15, two of whom died in a motorcycle wreck just minutes after walking out of that drinking establishment.

The incident raised serious questions about the bar’s practices vis-à-vis serving underage individuals, in particular those who may go out and drive a motor vehicle while intoxicated. While personal responsibility is a fine ideal, the law stipulates that people under the age of 21 cannot be served liquor legally. Criminal charges are not unusual in cases like this where a young person has been injured or died after being sold alcohol at a bar, liquor store or restaurant.

According to news articles, last summer’s incident involved two people allegedly known to at least one of the bar’s staff to be underage. Events following the entry of 20-year-old
Craig Eney, Jr., and 19-year-old Kelcey Silva transpired rather quickly, based on police reports. After stopping by the bar around in the early morning hours of that fateful day, both individuals consumed sufficient alcohol to raise their blood-alcohol content (BAC) to levels exceeding the legal limit of 0.08 percent.

Maryland Auto Injury Update: Nationwide, Male Drivers More Likely to Drink and Drive than Females

November 14, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Disconcerting as it may be, a recently released study by the national Centers for Disease Control (CDC) shows that men are more inclined to operate car, trucks and motorcycles while under the influence of alcohol than are females. As Maryland personal injury attorneys, we are hardly surprised at the finding of this study, which clearly indicates that male drivers take to the road more often while intoxicated than most any other segment of the driving public.

Although is certain that not everyone who gets behind the wheel of a car, motorcycle or commercial motor vehicle is legally intoxicated, it can be said that many people who do operate motor vehicles while impaired to some degree may not actually realize the chance they take with their lives, much less the lives of innocent people all around them.

Here in Baltimore, as well as Gaithersburg, Rockville, Annapolis and Washington, D.C., even persons who are stopped by police and subsequently charged with drunken driving, may actually be surprised that they had a blood-alcohol content (or BAC) of 0.08-percent or more.

If only for this reason, the Maryland State Police and local law enforcement departments continually try to enforce our anti-drunk driving laws. Of course, a portion of those motorists arrested for driving while impaired are actually under the influence of doctor-prescribed medication; some are even high on illegal drugs.

Regarding the CDC’s report, men nationwide are reportedly four times more likely to drive drunk than women motorists. Based on news reports, the study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates why men many times find themselves being ticketed for drunken driving more than women.

Baltimore County Auto Accident News: Elderly Maryland Driver Dies in Fatal Two-Car Roadway Collision

November 11, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

An elderly woman died following a two-car accident in Kingsville, MD, after the vehicle she was operating was struck by another car along a stretch of Belair Rd. The driver of the second vehicle was seriously injured as a result of the crash and was able to leave the hospital soon after.

Now, we’ve seen the results of this type of fatal car crash before, but it doesn’t make this or any other traffic accident less tragic or lamentable. While some older drivers make it through the majority of their lives without a single traffic collision, others — whether through inattention, physical complications or other problem — end up being involved in a serious or even fatal car or trucking wreck.

As Maryland personal injury lawyers, I and my staff are trained to represent victims and their families following a serious car, truck or motorcycle crash. Injuries from such accidents can range from mild to severe; even life-threatening. As with any motor vehicle collision, speed, roadway conditions, vehicle type and other factors, all have a bearing on the outcome of the crash.

In the case of car-to-car accidents, the occupants are enclosed in similarly sized vehicles, which is sometimes an advantage, but never a guarantee of survival. Even in wrecks involving two or more cars, SUVs or minivans, injuries such as broken bones and lacerations are not uncommon. Head, neck and back injuries are possible, all of which can have long term complications with lingering after affects for those who sustain such injuries.

Trucking collisions, especially those involving smaller passenger cars or pedestrians, can be particularly devastating, again depending on various factors. High-speed highway collisions can cause a passenger vehicle to be literally crushed by the much larger semi tractor-trailer or other heavy commercial truck. Vehicle fires and potentially fatal injuries are always possible following such roadway crashes.

Finally, it goes without saying that motorcycle, bicycle and pedestrian accidents can result in traumatic brain injury, as well as spinal damage and other critical bodily injuries. As a victim of a bike or pedestrian traffic accident, surviving is just the first step on a long road to recovery for many people. Anyone who can literally walk away from such violent traffic collisions can truly count themselves among the lucky ones.

Maryland Automobile Accident Update: Surviving a Bad Car Crash Doesn’t Mean the Pain is Over

November 8, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As personal injury lawyers representing victims of traffic accidents in Maryland and Washington, D.C., we know that recovering from a serious car, truck or motorcycle wreck involves more than just being treated for severe or life-threatening injuries, but also means facing the possibility of persistent and sometimes chronic pain for months or years after the initial collision.

Nearly anyone who has been severely injured in an automobile or trucking-related traffic collision will likely tell you that the pain associated with certain injuries can continue on, long after the physical wounds have more or less healed. Nerve damage and other medical and neurological complications can make even day-to-day tasks painful and sometimes difficult to complete.

For anyone injured in a car, truck or pedestrian accident, these are concerns that should always be considered when pursuing a personal injury claim against another negligent party. An article published not long ago brought this topic to the fore, if only because it applies to many individuals in similar situations here in Maryland and around the rest of the country.

The report focuses on a Westminster, MD, man who has had to deal with what medical professionals refer to as chronic pain syndrome. Suffering from full-body complex regional pain syndrome, Michael Harris follows a regimen of aquatic therapy exercises, as well as other physical therapies, in an effort to alleviate the pain resulting from complications after an auto accident back in August 2007.

According to the article, Mr. Harris was apparently caught up in a 2007 car wreck when the vehicle in which he was riding was struck from behind by a drunken driver. The crash happened at an intersection along a stretch of Maryland Rte 140. The victim’s vehicle was reportedly stopped at the intersection waiting for a red light when the crash occurred.

As a result of the crash, Harris received several injuries, including a ruptured spinal disc. Some time after the wreck, doctors discovered that a piece of bone was impinging on the nerves in the man’s back, causing significant pain and discomfort. Harris apparently began to experience a number of associated symptoms, including tingling in his arms all the way to his fingertips, as well as numbness in his upper limbs. Unfortunately, these initial symptoms only got worse as time progressed following the car crash.

Subsequent pain throughout the man’s body included severe shooting pains felt all the way down his right leg, plus complaints of a sharp, “burning sensation” in other portions of his anatomy, as well as excessive sweating and changes in body temperature. His legs and hands also experienced swelling and color changes.

Baltimore Personal Injury News: Driver Escapes Drowning in Howard County after Driving Car into Pool

November 3, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

For some people, aging is accompanied by a progressive loss of physical and mental capabilities. Sadly, for People who cannot — or will not — relinquish their relative independence as a motorist with a car in the garage and places to go. In Maryland, older men and women every year must give up their driver’s licenses either after relatives urge them to stop driving or the state will not renew their operator’s license due to certain mental or physical impairments.

As Baltimore automobile and trucking accident lawyers, we understand the hard choices that families must make when an aged relative has had one to many minor car accidents, or their ability to remember how to get home suggests a potential for a serious traffic accident down the road. For many people in urban areas such as Annapolis, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., giving up driving may be easier with mass transit readily available; those in rural areas may have a more difficult transition.

Despite the potential dangers, many older seniors and elderly people continue to drive beyond a time when they can reasonably be expected to operate a vehicle with sufficient safety. It is at this point that they can become a danger to themselves and a potential menace on the road. As Maryland personal injury attorneys, we sympathize with the plight of the aged when it comes to driving, but it goes without saying that public safety many times must take precedence over an individual’s desire to keep driving despite loss of ability.

A while back, we were reminded of how easily an elderly driver can get themselves into a possibly life-threatening traffic accident. According to news articles, a car crash in Howard County ended with a woman and her vehicle underwater in a neighborhood pool. Based on police reports, the wreck occurred in the early morning hours on a Saturday in Columbia, MD.

Baltimore Auto Injury Update: Burn Injuries Due to Car Fires can be Life-threatening

October 31, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Anyone who has ever survived a vehicle fire — whether the result of a car, truck or motorcycle accident, or because of a defective vehicle component – can truly be considered lucky. It’s one thing to be injured in a traffic collision and have to wait for emergency personal or EMS crews to rescue that person from a disables vehicle, but to be trapped or otherwise unable to get away from a burning passenger car or commercial vehicle is an ordeal not soon forgotten.

As Maryland personal injury lawyers, I and my staff have viewed the aftermath of enough car and truck fires to understand the devastating potential that a vehicular conflagration can present. With gallons of gasoline or diesel fuel leaking from a fuel tank or fuel line, the simplest spark from static electricity or other source can ignite the flammable liquid, causing the entire vehicle to be engulfed in flames within mintues, of not seconds.

Time is of the essence in situations like this. Police and firefighters know the dangers, but will risk their own lives to rescue a helpless occupant of a burning sedan, minivan or sport utility vehicle. It’s just another example of the selfless sacrifice witnessed everyday across this country.

Although car accidents are one such cause of vehicle fires, there are others; such as fires at gasoline pump islands at service stations. While gas stations are designed for maximum safety, it doesn’t take much for a simple accident — such as a pump not shutting off automatically — to result in pouring several quarts of volatile fuel onto a vehicle and its driver.

Baltimore Traffic Accident News: Pedestrian Hit-and-Runs around Maryland Still Cause for Concern

October 29, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Most anyone who has been following the news over the past few months likely could not help but notice the spate of hit-and-run motor vehicle accidents involving cars, pedestrians and bicyclists throughout parts of Maryland. Of all the different kinds of roadway collisions that can occur, pedestrian accidents are among the most likely to cause serious bodily harm and even death.

People on foot or riding their bikes who are hit by a passenger car, motor scooter or commercial delivery truck can be thrown to the ground with tragic results. While the lucky ones may only receive bumps and bruises, other injuries, such as cuts and lacerations, broken bones and contusions, as well as head and back injuries can also occur.

Closed-head trauma (or traumatic brain injuries) are not uncommon and can place the life of the victim in jeopardy depending on the severity of the impact and the extent of the damage inflicted to the individual’s brain. Partial or complete paralysis, trouble with motor function and cognitive ability and other life-threatening conditions can result from a blow to the head or injury to a person’s spinal cord.

A recent news article made clear the concern that Maryland residents are feeling in the wake of recent hit-and-run accidents around the state. As Maryland auto injury attorneys and Washington, D.C., personal injury lawyers, we too are shocked by the apparent heartless, thoughtless and callous actions of those few individuals who leave the scene of an injury accident without so much as a thought for fellow human beings who may be hurt or critically injured in the wake of a roadway accident.

According to reports, Anne Arundel County police released a surveillance photo of a vehicle that allegedly struck and killed 38-year-old James Schreiber, Jr., just one of many people killed or injured by careless individuals plying Maryland’s roadways. In the Schreiber case, police believe that the vehicle which killed the man had a temporary dealership or vehicle transporter tag affixed to the tailgate on the driver’s side tailgate, just below the rear window.

While police investigators suggest that this upswing in hit-and-runs is simply an anomaly, the observation is little comfort to the victims of these potentially deadly collisions. Crashes like the one that sent a 20-year-old Bulgarian university student to the hospital with a broken clavicle after he was hit by an unidentified vehicle on August 23 while bicycling with friends along a stretch of Forest Drive.

Baltimore Personal Injury, Auto Accident News: Despite New Law, Texting Still Poses Danger to Maryland Drivers

October 27, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As most everyone understands by now, texting while driving is one of the more dangerous activities that a motorist can undertake while operating a passenger car or commercial truck. Since the advent of text-capable cell phones and now smart phones, thousands of traffic accidents have been attributed to drivers texting or being otherwise distracted.

Numerous studies have been conducted been conducted over the years most of which link texting directly to, or as a contributing factor in, roadway collisions. Many of these car, truck and motorcycle crashes were serious enough to require hospitalization; some of them were tragically fatal to the driver and/or occupants of one or both vehicles involved. As Maryland personal injury attorneys and automobile accident lawyers, we know how a seemingly simple distraction can cause a driver to miss or ignore a dangerous situation developing on the road.

In fact, one of those studies from a couple years back cited the chances for a traffic accident occurring when a commercial truck driver was texting at more than 20-times in the absence of texting. While that study was based on data collected directly from video observations of truck drivers in-cab and also from trucking accident reports, one could easily assume that the average passenger car driver is at least as likely to get into an accident while texting as any commercial driver, if only because truckers are on the whole trained professionals who drive for a living.

In any event, the study out of Virginia Tech’s Transportation Institute found that the main reason why texting while driving is so dangerous is the fact that the operators eyes must look away from the road and focus on a relatively small display screen. Experts tend to agree that taking one’s eyes off the road for more than two seconds while operating a passenger car or truck represents a dangerous driving condition.