Maryland Accident Law Blog

Last week, nine school kids were treated and released at the Carroll Hospital Center in Sykesville, Maryland, after their school bus and a 1992 Buick collided with one another near Linton Springs Elementary School. The bus had been 100 yards away from the unloading zone at the elementary school when the Buick pulled out in front of the bus from a side parking lot. About 50 school kids were on the bus at the time of the accident.

· There are 585,000 school buses in the U.S.
· 20 students are killed in bus accidents each year (5 while on the bus and 15 are run while getting off or on buses).
· 6000 students are injured in bus-related accidents each year.

Federal law mandates that small school buses weighing less than 10,000 pounds carry seat belts. Large buses weighing at least 25,000 pounds are not required to have seat belts.

According to a 2002 study on school bus safety by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:

· Safety lap bets can increase the chances of a student incurring serious abdominal or neck injuries during an accident.
· As studies found that young passengers were likely to wear shoulder safety belts incorrectly, having this type of seatbelt on buses could increase the chances of more injury.

The National Safety Council offers the following safety tips when riding a school bus:

· Have a safe place to wait for your bus, away from traffic and the street.
· Stay away from the bus until it comes to a complete stop and the driver signals you to enter.
· When being dropped off, exit the bus and walk ten giant steps away from the bus. Keep a safe distance between you and the bus. Also, remember that the bus driver can see you best when you are back away from the bus.
· Use the handrail to enter and exit the bus.
· Stay away from the bus until the driver gives his/her signal that it's okay to approach.
· Be aware of the street traffic around you. Drivers are required to follow certain rules of the road concerning school buses, however, not all do. Protect yourself and watch out!

The law firm of Lebowitz and Mzhen handles personal injury cases resulting from the negligence of another driver. If you live in the Maryland or Washington D.C. areas, and your child has been injured in a local bus accident, contact Lebowitz and Mzhen for a free consultation.

School bus, Car Collide In Sykesville, Baltimoresun.com, October 25, 2006

Bus Crash Renews Debate On Seat Belts, Washingtonpost.com, April 19, 2005

Recent School Bus Accidents Revive Call For Seat Belts, USA Today.com, April 9, 2005

Back To School Safety Tips, NSC.org

Related Web Resource:

National Coalition For School Bus Safety

The Maryland Transportation Authority says that, according to the latest statistics, the bright pink panels that have been placed along the eastbound span of the Bay Bridge are decreasing auto accidents by helping drivers keep their distance from one another.

According to the MdTA, previous studies had shown that:

· 58% of the auto accidents that occured on the Bay Bridge were rear-end collisions.
· 70% of those accidents took place on the eastbound span.
· 46% of those accidents took place between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

Since installing the panels on the Bay Bridge in Stevensville, Maryland, the MdTA says that the number of collisions have been reduced by 30%.The installed panels are part of the state’s “Keep Your Cool & Pace Your Space” campaign launched right before the summer to decrease the number of vehicle-related collisions. There are 102 pink panels installed on the Bay Bridge.

In 2003, according to the Maryland Department of Transportation, rear-end collisions made up the highest percentage of total accidents among collision types (21.6%) in the state.

The National Safety Council says rear-end collisions are the most common type of vehicle-related collision which occurs in the U.S.

The type and extent of injury a person involved may incur during a rear-end collision may depend on the following factors:

· The position of the occupant at the time of impact.
· The weights of the vehicles involved.
· The road condition (wet, icy, dry) at the time of the accident.
· The speed(s) at impact.
· The head rest heights and position in the vehicle.
· The rigidity of the occupants seat.
· Prior awareness of the coming impact.
· Seat belts and shoulder harnesses.

Whiplash injuries can commonly occur during a rear-end collision. Some types of injuries that can occur as a result of experiencing whiplash during a rear-end collision include:

· Injuries to the head and neck.
· Brain injuries (generally minor brain injuries or concussions).
· Spinal and Clavicle fractures.
· Herniations of the spinal disks.
· Soft tissue injuries.
· Back injuries.
· Internal injuries - sometimes caused by lap belts.
· Bruises.
· Abrasions (scrapes) - sometimes from the shoulder restraint.
· Jaw injuries.
· Chest injuries.

In many instances, symptoms of these injuries may take 24-72 hours to manifest themselves. Common systems for the above injuries include:

· Pain to the neck and back.
· Headache.
· Blurred vision.
· Dizziness.
· Loss of taste, smell, or hearing.
· Numbness or tingling.
· Difficulty breathing.
· Fatigue.
· Blood in urine or stool.
· Swelling.
· Loss of motion to the area/stiffness/tightness.
· Visualized bruising.
· Shoulder and arm pain.
· Jaw pain.

The personal injury law firm of Lebowitz and Mzhen handles cases in Maryland and the Washington D.C. area where people have been injured in rear-end collisions and other vehicle-related injuries due to the negligence of another diver. Contact Lebowitz and Mzhen for a free consultation.

Pink Panels May Be Reducing Collisions On The Bay Bridge, Hometown Annapolis.com, October 14, 2006

Panels Help Avoid Crashes On The Bay Bridge, Delmarvanow.com, October 13, 2006

Pink Sets The Pace At The Bay Bridge, Maryland Department of Transportation, October 12, 2006

Rear End Collisions, Auto Accident Helpline.com

Whiplash, Auto Accident Helpline.com

Maryland Traffic Safety Facts 2003 (PDF)

Related Web Resource:

Maryland Transportation Authority

The state of Maryland says that insurance company Allstate must refund $17.5 million to more 20,000 auto insurance policy holders. According to the Maryland Insurance Commissioner’s office, the administration had received numerous complaints after the property and casualty insurer had sent premium increase notices to policyholders between January 2003 and March 2005 without detailing the violation or accident that each policyholder had committed which led to the premium increase. Refunds will average $850, and Allstate is being fined $100,000 for not complying with state law by sending the premiums without the required information.

A spokesperson for Allstate says that every policyholder who received the notice of a premium increase had a past violation or accident that justified the increase. They admit, however, that the specific statutory language was missing and have expressed their regret for the error.

Auto insurance laws in the State of Maryland require that all drivers must have:

· Auto liability insurance.
· 20/40/15 liability coverage. That’s $20,000 per person for injuries caused by a driver to another party ($40,000 maximum) and $15,000 for damages caused to another driver’s vehicle or property.
· Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverages.
· A minimum of $2,500 in personal injury protection.

One of the responsibilities of the Maryland Insurance Administration is to make sure that insurance companies and producers follow the state's insurance laws.

There are more than 200 insurance companies that are allowed to sell auto insurance in Maryland. Auto insurance protects drivers from incurring financial losses such as medical bills, legal services, and car repair and rental services that may result in the event of an accident.

There may be times when, following a vehicle-related accident, a person may find themselves in an insurance disagreement with an insurance company over the amount of settlement the person is entitled to receive. The personal injury law firm of Lebowitz and Mzhen handles these types of disagreements and can help you evaluate whether the proposed settlement is efficient. If the settlement amount is inadequate, Lebowitz and Mzhen can file a lawsuit and litigate your case in court. Contact Lebowitz and Mzhen for a free consultation.

Maryland Orders Allstate To Return $17.5 Million, Chron.com, October 20, 2006

Maryland Auto Insurance, Autoinsurancedepth.com

Maryland Auto Insurance, Insureme.com

Related Web Resources:

Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Association

Maryland DMV

Maryland State Police are investigating a vehicle-related accident that took place Near Clarksburg, Maryland last Friday when a car moving south on northbound I-270 crossed a median, hit a flatbed truck, and caught on fire. The woman was pulled out of the truck and is being treated for life-threatening injuries, including burns.

According to the National Institute of General Medical Sciences:

· A burn is defined as tissue damage caused by a variety of agents, such as heat, chemicals, electricity, sunlight, or nuclear radiation. Most common are burns caused by scalds, building fires, flammable liquids, and gases.

· First-degree burns affect only the outer layer (called the epidermis) of the skin.

· Second-degree burns damage the epidermis and the layer beneath it (called the dermis).

· Third-degree burns involve damage or complete destruction of the skin to its full depth and damage to underlying tissues. People who experience such burns often require skin grafting.

· The swelling and blistering characteristics of burns are caused by the loss of fluid from damaged blood vessels.

· In severe cases, such fluid loss can cause shock, requiring immediate transfusion of the patient with blood or a physiological salt solution to restore adequate fluid levels to maintain blood pressure.

· Burns often lead to infection, due to damage to the skin's protective barrier. In many cases, topical antibiotics (creams or ointments applied to the skin) can prevent or treat such infections. The three topical antibiotics that are most widely used are silver sulfadiazine cream, mafenide acetate cream, and silver nitrate.

· According to the American Burn Association, each year in the United States, 1.1 million burn injuries require medical attention.

· Approximately 45,000 of these require hospitalization, and roughly half of those burn patients are admitted to a specialized burn unit. Each year, approximately 4,500 of these people die.

The personal injury law firm of Lebowitz and Mzhen handles burn injury cases caused by auto accidents, motorcycle accidents, defective products, building fires, electric shock, airplane crashes, and hot water. The firm also handles vehicle-related injuries resulting due to the negligence of another driver. Contact Lebowitz and Mzhen for more information.

Accident Shuts Down I-270, wjla.com, October 20, 2006

Fact Sheet: Trauma, Shock, Burn, and Injury: Facts and Figures, NIGMS.com

Related Web Resources:

Burn Survivor.com

Montgomery County Police Department

A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine says that in almost 60% of cases, basic doctor-related errors played a role in incidents where patients were allegedly injured due to delayed or missed diagnosis.

Researches reviewed 307 medical malpractice claims from four U.S.-based malpractice insurance companies:

· 187 of these claims allegedly involved diagnostic errors that ended up harming patients
· Nearly 60% of the claims involved serious injuries
· 30% of the claims resulted in deaths
· All 307 cases involved delayed or missed diagnosis

According to the study, the leading factors that contributed to errors were:

· 79% failures in judgment.
· 59% vigilance or memory failures.
· 48% lack of knowledge.
· 46% patient-related factors.
· 20% handoffs to other doctors.

Researches said that most claims involved several factors, but also involved in the 307 claims were:

· 100 claims involved failure to order appropriate diagnostic tests.
· 81 claims involved failure to establish a plan for appropriate follow-up care.
· 76 claims involved failure to obtain an adequate patient history or perform an adequate physical examination.
· 67 claims involved improper interpretation of diagnostic tests.

Every year, about 200,000 Americans die as a result of medical malpractice or medical negligence. Several hundred thousand Americans are injured due to malpractice or negligence by a doctor, nurse, surgeon, nursing home, chiropractor, and other kinds of healthcare providers.

Common types of medical malpractice cases:

· Delay in diagnosis of a disease
· Delay in recognition of a medical condition that required immediate care
· Surgical errors (for example, laceration of a ureter during an abdominal surgery)
· Leaving inside a patient a foreign body or object (surgical sponge, clamp, retractors, etc.)
· Anesthesia errors
· Administering the wrong prescription medical
· Birth injury or trauma often resulting from a delayed delivery of a newborn that deprives the baby of oxygen, causing brain damage to the infant

The U.S. Department of Justice offers the following statistics related to medical malpractice trials and verdicts in large counties in 2001:

· 90% of medical malpractice trials involved plaintiffs who claimed malpractice had caused death or permanent injury.
· About half of the sampled medical malpractice trials were brought against surgeons, while a third were against nonsurgeons.
· The overall win rate for medical malpractice plaintiffs (27%) was about half of that found among plaintiffs in all tort trials (52%).

The personal injury law firm of Lebowitz and Mzhen has successfully represented many clients in the area of medical malpractice. If you or someone you love has been injured due to a medical malpractice or negligence error in Maryland or Washington D.C., contact Lebowitz and Mzhen for a free consultation.

Study Links Doctor Errors, Bad Diagnoses, Newsday.com, October 2, 2006

Physician Error Factors in Many Medical Malpractice Claims, Study Finds, Kaisernetwork.org, October 4, 2006

Medical Malpractice, Trials and Verdicts in Large Counties, Bureau of Justice Statistics

Related Web Resources:

Annals of Internal Medicine

The Facts About Medical Malpractice In Maryland

Medical Malpractice Today

Charles County Police are looking into a multi-vehicle accident that occurred last Thursday on the 2800 block of Crain Highway in Waldorf, Maryland.

Initial reports say that on the morning of October 12, a 1989 Cadillac driven by Shirley Ann Watson, 69, is believed to have drifted into the lane where Indian Head resident Charles Hurbert Posey, 79, was driving a dump truck. The Cadillac reportedly hit the truck’s front right tire. The dump truck is then said to have gone over the median, hit a Charles County Sheriff’s Office cruiser, and struck a pickup truck driven by Fort Washington’s Donald Raymond Lloyd,60. The pickup truck is said to have flipped over as a result. A Toyota matrix driven by Waldorf’s William Curry Peel, 74, hit debris from the cruiser, while a sixth vehicle managed to avoid the multi-vehicle collision and hit a curb instead.

Lloyd was taken to Prince George’s Hospital Center by a Maryland State Police helicopter and treated for injuries. Posey and his passenger were treated for minor injuries at Southern Maryland Hospital Center.

According to Helpguide.org, senior citizens are more likely to get into multi-vehicle accidents than drivers belonging to other age groups. They are also more likely to be seriously injured when involved in a car accident:

· By age 40, people with 20/20 vision will not be able to see as well at night
· By age 60, drivers need three times as much light to see at night than they did when they were 20 years old.

Other health factors that can become impaired as a person ages:

· Hearing
· Flexibility and range of motion
· Reflexes
· Reaction time
· Cognitive and motor ability

Environmental factors that can affect a senior citizen’s ability to drive safely:

· Signs and road markings that are difficult to see or to read
· Complex and confusing intersections
· Older vehicles that lack automatic safety features
· Newer dashboard instrument panels with multiple displays

In 2001, according to Automedia.com:

· 5,113 drivers, 70 and older, were killed in motor vehicle crashes.
· People 65 years of age and older made up 18% of all traffic-related deaths.

If you are a senior citizen (or you know a senior citizen) who has been injured in a motor vehicle accident due to the negligence of another driver, you may want to file a personal injury lawsuit. Contact the law firm of Lebowitz and Mzhen, and they can assist you with a free consultation.

89 Cadi Initiates Six-Vehicle Accident Involving Dump Truck And Police Cruiser, Southern Maryland News, October 12, 2006

Senior Driving: Risk Factors, Safety Tips, And Transportation Options, Helguide.org

The Dilemma Of Older Drivers, Automedia.com

Related Web Resources:

Seniordrivers.org

Driving Safely While Aging Gracefully

County police in Maryland say that there have now been two pedestrian fatalities as a result of the October 6 accident in Perry Hall where, that night, a Dodge van hit two pedestrians who were crossing the 9600 block of Belair Road.

One of the pedestrians, Anne Silk, 69, died at the Maryland Shock Trauma Center that night. The other pedestrian, Anne Dauria, 77, died a few days later. Police are investigating the cause of the accident. The driver of the van was not hurt.

The CDC says that in 1999:

· Nearly 5,000 pedestrians died from traffic-related injuries.
· Another 85,000 sustained nonfatal injuries
· People 65 and older accounted for 22% of all pedestrian deaths and approximately 8% of nonfatal pedestrian injuries. The pedestrian death rate for this age group is higher than for any other age group.
· The pedestrian fatality rate is more than twice as high for men as for women.
· Hit-and-run incidents account for one out of five pedestrian deaths.
· Approximately one-third of pedestrians 14 and older who were killed by a motor vehicle were intoxicated, with blood alcohol concentrations of 0.10% or more.

The U.S. Department of Federal Highway Administration says that in 1994:

· 1,249 senior adults ages 65 and older pedestrians died in traffic accidents.
· 6,850 older adults were injured as pedestrians.

The personal injury law firm of Lebowitz and Mzhen has successfully handled all kinds of pedestrian-related injury cases. If you or a loved one has suffered an injury as a result of a pedestrian accident in the Maryland or the Washington D.C. area, please contact Lebowitz and Mzhen via email or call toll-free at 1-888-311-HURT (4878) for a free, no obligation consultation.

Second Pedestrian Dies In Perry Hall Accident, baltimoresun.com, October 12, 2006

Focusing On The Senior Pedestrian, U.S. Department of Federal Highway Administration

Pedestrian Injuries, 2001-2002 Fact Book, CDC.gov

Related Web Resources:

Maryland Statewide Bicycle And Pedestrian Plan

Safety Tips For Pedestrians, Sharetheroadsafely.org

The June 22 death of 5-Year-Old Connor Freed is causing residents and lawmakers to reevaluate whether there should be more monitoring and regulating of Maryland’s swimming pools.

Freed drowned this past summer at the Crofton Country Club. His parents later filed a $20 million wrongful death suit against the club and its pool management company. The suit claims that the club and company did not do enough to make sure there were enough experienced lifeguards on site.

Freed’s family has established the Connor Cares Foundation and hopes to persuade lawmakers to create new laws that will ensure stricter safety and security around pools in Maryland.

According to USA Safekids.org:

· Drowning is the second cause of injury-related deaths for kids ages 14 and under.
· In 2004, 3702 children (ages 14 and under) were treated in emergency rooms after nearly drowning.
· 40% of these near-drowning incidents took place in swimming pools.

According to Poseidon.com:

· In 2000, there were 3,482 unintentional drownings in the United States; that's an average of nine people per day (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).

· It is estimated that for each drowning death, there are 1 to 4 nonfatal submersions serious enough to result in hospitalization. Children who still require cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) at the time they arrive at the emergency department have a poor prognosis, with at least half of survivors suffering significant neurological impairment (American Academy of Pediatrics).

· Drowning is the second-leading cause of injury-related death among children under the age of 15
(U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).

· 19% of drowning deaths involving children occur in public pools with certified lifeguards present.
(Drowning Prevention Foundation).

· A swimming pool is 14 times more likely than a motor vehicle to be involved in the death of children 4 years of age and under (Orange County California Fire Authority).

· Children under five years of age and adolescents between the ages of 15-24 have the highest drowning rates (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).

· An estimated 5,000 children ages 14 and under are hospitalized due to unintentional drowning-related incidents each year; 15 percent die in the hospital, and as many as 20 percent suffer severe, permanent neurological disability (National Safety Council).

· Of all preschoolers who drown, 70 percent are in the care of one or both parents at the time of the drowning and 75 percent are missing from sight for five minutes or less (Orange County, CA, Fire Authority).

· The majority of children who survive (92 percent) are discovered within two minutes following submersion, and most children who die (86 percent) are found after 10 minutes. Nearly all who require cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) die or are left with severe brain injury (National Safe Kids Campaign).

If your child has been seriously injured or killed in a drowning accident, you may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit. The law firm of Lebowitz and Mzhen handles wrongful death suits and lawsuits involving injuries to minors. Contact Lebowitz and Mzhen for a free consultation.

A.A. County Renews Push For Safer Pools, WJZ.com, October 7, 2006

Drowning Fact Sheet, Poseidon.com

Pool And Spa Drowning, USASafekids.org

Related Web Resources:

Family Sues Country Club Over 5-Year-Old's Drowning, HometownAnnapolis.com, July 21, 2006

Parents Sue Over Child's Drowning At Country Club, Baltimoresun.com, July 21, 2006

Connorcares.org

Swimming Pools, Safety Is No Accident, Consumeraffairs.com

Beginning October 1, 2006, underage drivers who are charged with drunk driving will lose their driver’s license for 12 months. According to the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, there were 9,090 motor vehicle-related accidents caused by drunk drivers in 2003. 12% of those accidents involved teen drivers. The previous penalty for underage drivers arrested for drunk driving was the revocation of their license for 6 months.

The tougher penalties were approved by the Maryland General Assembly in April 2006.

In 2003, according to The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:

· There were 12.5 million underage licensed drivers.
· 24% of underage drivers who were killed in motor vehicle-related accidents had BAC levels of .08 or higher.
· The rate of alcohol-related fatal crashes among underage drivers is two times the rate for drivers 21 and older.

According to the CDC:

· An alcohol-related motor vehicle crash kills someone every 31 minutes and injures someone every two minutes (NHTSA 2005).

· Each year, alcohol-related crashes in the United States cost about $51 billion

· Most drinking and driving episodes go undetected.

· In 2004, about 1.4 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics. That’s less than one percent of the 159 million self-reported episodes of alcohol–impaired driving among U.S. adults each year (Quinlan et al. 2005).

· To further decrease alcohol-related fatal crashes, communities need to implement and enforce strategies that are known to be effective, such as sobriety checkpoints, 0.08% BAC laws, minimum legal drinking age laws, "zero tolerance" laws for young drivers, and others.

If you have been injured due to the negligence of a drunk driver or someone you love has been killed in a drunk driving accident, you may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit. Contact the law office of Lebowitz and Mzhen for more information.

New Drunk Driving Law Goes Into Effect, Hometown Annapolis.com, September 28, 2006

Tougher Laws For Underage Drunk Driving Take Effect Sunday, WBAL.com, September 29, 2006

DUI/DWI Statistics, DriversEd.com

Quick Facts About Drunk And Drugged Driving, CDC

Related Web Resources:

Maryland Website For Parents Of Young Drivers

Maryland Teen Driving Laws

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Maryland General Assembly

In Washington County Circuit Court last week, attorneys for Elisa Devore filed a personal injury lawsuit against The Maryland Symphony Orchestra, Inc., Orchestra Manager Sharon Ahrens, and Ahren’s insurance company.

Devore says that on April 19, 2005, she was forced to swerve into a guardrail after Ahrens crossed a median on Interstate 70, west of Md. 66, and hit another car in a head on collision. Devore says she swerved into the guardrail to avoid hitting the two-car collision. She is also suing the MSO because Ahrens had just returned from a rehearsal with the symphony. Devore claims that she injured most of her body parts in the accident and that Ahrens’s insurance policy did not cover all the injuries she sustained. She is asking for $100,000.

According to the Maryland DMV.org, the state of Maryland requires three types of insurance coverage:

Minimum Liability
Maryland law sets the minimum levels of liability coverage that motorists must maintain:

· $20,000 per person for bodily injury
· $40,000 per accident for bodily injury
· $15,000 per accident for property

Automotive liability is essentially the monetary umbrella you need to have in place if you have been held legally at fault for an accident. In most instances, you will see the above figures presented by insurance companies as 20/40/15. When you break down the numbers, it looks like this:

· The first number is what insurance will pay out per person injured in an accident.
· The second number is tied into the first and reflects the total injury payout available per accident.

Thus, if an accident that you caused entailed more than two parties facing serious medical costs, a claims battle will ensue between those parties. Ultimately, if the $40,000 does not foot the bill, you may be sued in court for more money.

· The last number refers solely to property damage and how much per single accident the insurance will cover. This type of coverage reflects damage caused on a range of property types, from another driver's dented vehicle to houses, garages, light poles, and buildings.

Uninsured Motorists Coverage:
Many states file this under elective insurance, but not Maryland. The state simply wants to make sure all gaps that can come up in the system are closed. Not only will having this type of coverage to go along with the liability save you a headache if you are in an accident, it saves everybody money in the long run.

Paying into an uninsured pot never leaves anybody stuck with a huge bill that never gets paid. You're protected, other drivers are protected, and the insurance companies are protected.

The same minimum levels required for liability coverage are also what you will need to carry for uninsured motorists: 20/40/15.

Personal Injury Protection (PIP):
This type of insurance is popular in most no-fault states. So why do you need it in Maryland, which is a tort state? The answer simply comes down to having added security in case you are injured in an accident and are not able to work. This type of coverage will kick in and help you through. The minimum amount required is $2500, so that may not get you too far unless the injury is relatively minor.

But usually insurance companies allow you to max out the coverage at $10,000. Taking into account the cost of PIP, which is pretty inexpensive, the high end might appeal to many motorists.

Check the details of your health care policy because certain carriers offer coverage equal to or similar to PIP. If you have this type of set up then you are exempt from having to purchase PIP.

If you or a someone you love has been injured in a car accident due to the negligence of another driver, you should contact a personal injury attorney and find out whether you should file a personal injury lawsuit to seek compensation for your pain, damages, and suffering.

The personal injury law firm of Lebowitz and Mzhen can assist you with a free consultation.

Woman Injured In Accident Suing SMO, Herald-Mail.com, September 28, 2006

Maryland Car Insurance Center, Maryland DMV.org

Related Web Resources:

Insurance Requirements for Maryland Vehicles, Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration

Maryland Safety Highway Administration

In Maryland City last week, three people were injured on September 27 when a stolen Dodge Durango that was being chased by police hit two vehicles on Brock Bridge Road. Police say the truck hit a Honda minivan and a Mercury minivan. The driver of the Honda minivan, Lavinia Ann Solan and her passenger Beverly Gales sustained critical injuries. The driver of the Mercury Minivan, Monalisa Gribble, was treated for her nonfatal injuries at Laurel Regional Hospital.

The driver of the Durango, a 17-year-old male, has been charged with multiple traffic violations and felony theft. Anne Arundel County police say he was speeding at 46 mph in a 25 mph zone.

A person who has been critically injured in a car accident due to the negligence of another driver may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit. Involvement in a hit and run accident or drunk driving incident may also make you eligible to file a claim.

Common types of motor vehicle collisions:

· Rollovers
· Head-on collisions
· Single-vehicle collisions
· Side collisions
· Backup accidents
· Multi-vehicle collisions
· Suicide
· Level crossing accidents
· Rear-end collisions

A person involved in a motor vehicle-related accident can sustain mild, serious, as well as fatal injuries.

Some types of injuries that can occur in a motor accident:

Burns
Broken bones
Spinal injuries
Paralysis

Winning a personal injury lawsuit can help pay for the treatment of your injuries and compensate you for income you may have lost while recovering from the accident. If you have lost a loved one in a motor vehicle accident, a personal injury lawsuit can provide some compensation for your loss.

Contact the personal injury law firm of Lebowitz and Mzhen for a free consultation.

Two Critically Injured In Stolen Truck Crash, Gazette.net, September 28, 2006

Types of Accident, Wikipedia.org

Related Web Resources:

What Should I Do If I Have An Auto Accident, State Bar of California

Driving Safety, Progressive.com

Yesterday, A 7-year-old child was hit by a motor vehicle after she ran onto the 2900 block of Stanton Road. According to police, the child is being treated for bruises and scrapes. This is the second child pedestrian-related accident on a D.C. street in the last few days.Just five days ago, 4-year-old girl was killed by a truck.

In 2005, According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA):

· 64, 000 pedestrians were injured.
· 16,000 of those injured were 14-years-of-age or younger.
· 4881 pedestrians were killed.
· Kids who were 14 years of age and younger made up 7 % (339) of these fatalities.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) explains why child pedestrians are at high risk for sustaining injuries on the road:

· In the United States, 4,641 pedestrians died from traffic-related injuries in 2004, and another 68,000sustained nonfatal injuries (NHTSA 2005).
· Nearly one-fifth of the traffic fatalities among children ages 5-9 years were sustained by pedestrians (NHTSA 2005).

Children are at increased risk for pedestrian injuries for several reasons:

· Their smaller size makes them difficult for drivers to see, especially if they are standing between parked cars on the side of the road.
· Young children are often unable to judge distances and vehicle speeds accurately, so they can easily misjudge whether it is safe to cross a street.
· Parents can overestimate their child’s ability to cross the street. Many elementary school-age children don’t understand traffic signals or how to anticipate a driver’s actions.
· Drivers and child pedestrians each assume (incorrectly) that the other will yield the right-of-way.

The personal injury law firm of Lebowitz and Mzhen handles pedestrian accidents and accidents involving minors. If you have a child who has been injured or killed in a pedestrian-related traffic accident, please contact Lebowitz and Mzhen for a free consultation.

Child, 7, Struck By Vehicle in Southeast, wtop.com, Oct 3, 2006

Traffic Safety Facts, 2005, NHTSA (PDF)

Child Pedestrian Safety, CDC.gov

Related Web Resources:

Pedestrian Safety Tips, Safekids.org

Facts About Injuries To Child Pedestrians, (PDF)